"You can say, that from an early beginning I was marked with the life of seafarers. I'm named after the ship BELINDA, a beautiful, white-coloured bulk ship owned by Norwegian shipping company A.H. Mathiesen which was spotted by my father Lars Gustav Hoff who at the time in 1965 was sailing as second mate on board the vessel M/S JARILLA.
In 1967, my father signed off for good and opened one of the first maritime pubs in Brielle called ‘Nordkapp’. After meeting my mother Maryca there, they moved to the main street in Brielle, called ‘Voorstraat’, and in 1969 they opened their pub 'De Roef' which means ship's mess in Dutch. Many seafarers have come here. They dropped by for a nice meal, relaxation from the busy life at sea and maybe a chat with the locals and the Hoff family behind the bar.
I can remember that when I was 17, I witnessed the arrival of the world's biggest bulk ship BERGE STAHL in the Port of Rotterdam. The ship's officers & crew came to visit my father's pub, and it turned out that both Norwegian Captains were from the same region Nordland in Norway as where my father originates from. What a small world! My family and I became good friends with the Norwegian and Indian officers and crew, and during last years, Captains Darbari & Sharma and their crew welcomed us kindly on board the huge ship. And each visit on board BERGE STAHL, with her 342 m length and 63.5 m width, remains impressive even after 25 years. It was amazing.
The life at sea amazed me, and I started to work for North Sea Ferries (now P&O Ferries) in Holland. First ashore and a little later on, I began working as a Chief Purser onboard the cruise ships SEAWIND CROWN and BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS. It was amazing working with so many different nationalities. On board SEAWIND CROWN, we were 400 crew members from 43 countries and 800 passengers from the whole world. It was so 'skikkelig' a ship!
I look very much forward to applying my experiences with the life at sea in the welfare club in Brielle. Seafarers can expect guided tours to experience some diversion from the sometimes rather tough life at sea. The city is full of lovely shops, cosy cafés, picturesque monumental buildings, an iconic windmill and church, a museum, art galleries, supermarkets and delicious restaurants. The local people are very friendly, and they are used to seafarers from all over the world. And of course, there will also be the option of simply hanging out in our cosy club, using the computer, relaxing and maybe play some cards, darts and have fun."
Belinda is replacing welfare consultant, Jacob Christensen, who will return to Denmark with his wife Tonje, after five years of service in Rotterdam. Jacob will continue his work with seafarer's welfare from the SEA HEALTH & WELFARE house in Copenhagen focusing on seafarers' health.
