William Reynolds: Ship's Captain

Captain William Reynolds has been captain of the Half Moon and Director of the New Netherland Museum since 1998. Before coming to the Half Moon, he captained numerous seagoing vessels, both historical and industrial. His background also includes training and work in the environmental sciences. He currently lives with his family in Selkirk, NY, and is looking forward to seeing the new student crew meet the challenges this Voyage of Discovery places before them.

Kipp van Aken

Kipp van Aken is serving as the Half Moon's chief engineer. Mr. Van Aken has a background in history, anthropology, and business, is a graduate of Hope College , and holds an MBA. He is a veteran of the US Navy Submarine Force and is retired from Southern California Edison's San Onofre Nuclear Station. He is a direct descendant of three early Dutch families in New York and is an original shareholder of the ship.

Scott Beiter
Educator, Rensselaer Junior Senior High School

Scott Beiter is the 8th grade physical science teacher at Rensselaer Middle School. This will be his eighth Voyage of Discovery. He always looks forward to the history/science immersion of the voyage.

 

"This is what education is about, not textbooks and worksheets."

Hennie Groenvelt
Educator, Bornego College

Hennie Groenevelt is 52 years old and teaches French at the Bornego College in Heerenveen, Holland. She has two adult daughters and two cats. She is very glad to be on the Half Moon with the Dutch students.

Bob Hansen

Ship's mate Bob Hansen started sailing on the Hudson on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater; later, on two engineless sloops. Since the 1990s, he has served as a volunteer and mate on the schooners Spirit of Massachusetts and Ernestina, as well as other vessels.

Having recently retired from a career as a self-styled "bureaucrat" with the New York State government, Mr. Hansen has now turned his attention to serving as second-in-command on board the Half Moon.

Menno de Leeuw
Educator, Bornego College

Educator Menno de Leeuw lives in Heereveen (Friesland) and usually crosses the shallow Wadden Sea on foot. He's looking forward to his fourth Voyage of Discovery and hopes that his students are having a wonderful time.

Doug Lyke

Doug Lyke lives in Poughkeepsie and works at Dutchess County Community College as an A/V Technician. He first came on board in 2009 during the River Week voyage. His wife asked him to search the Half Moon's website to see when tours were being held during its stay in Poughkeepsie a few weeks before River Week. While searching, he saw where to click to volunteer. The next thing he knew, he was climbing aboard the Half Moon in the middle of the night at Piermont!

John W. Mangrum

Originally hailing from the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA , John W. Mangrum holds one of the most anachronistic positions the crew of a 17th-century wooden sailing ship could imagine: the Half Moon's webmaster. Seldom seen in front of the camera, the self-titled "Ship's Chronicler" oversees the daily updates to this website during our voyages. A roleplaying game designer in a past life, Mr. Mangrum has been sailing on board the Half Moon since the summer of 2004. What started as a simple, impromptu dockside tour of the ship has since turned into a life of adventure.

Henk Morel

Henk Morel has been a sailing instructor and has organized sailing camps all of his life, usually working with small open boats. His interests include classic sailing, restoration of old ships, and old-fashioned nautical skills. Besides this, he was worked for the Dutch government in location managing and also as a teacher in several practical technologies. The father of recurring Half Moon bosun Mark Morel, Henk Morel has returned for his third Voyage of Discovery. He is pleased as ever to do so. He hopes to once again have a good time with the youths, to help overall, and to demonstrate some ropeworks and sailmaking.

Carolyn Niehaus
Fall 2000 Voyage of Discovery Alumna

Carolyn Niehaus has been an active member of the Half Moon since 1999 and first sailed as a Voyage of Discovery student in the fall of 2000. Now, Carolyn enjoys working with the Half Moon both on the ship and in the office.

Jan de Vries

Jan de Vries is 65 years old and recently retired as a schoolteacher. He worked with developmentally disabled children the ages of 17-18. He likes traveling, cycling, and skating in the wintertime. He is a friend of Henk Morel, who organized Mr. de Vries’ presence on the voyage. This is his second voyage as the Half Moon’s cook, and he wants to do the utmost to make everyone satisfied.

Woody Woodworth

Woody Woodworth has a home in Schenectady, NY. He has worked as a professional photographer for 27 years. He joined the Half Moon in 1998 and is best known for keeping the ship's head working.

Mr. Woodworth assisted with voyage preparations at Verplanck, NY.