In Memoriam — Fleur Nooteboom
This film follows the final journey of Fleur, made just weeks before his death.
Fleur was an intensive care physician, deeply respected and widely loved by his colleagues. He had an exceptional drive to help others and to share his knowledge generously. With his ever-present ponytail, he was something of a gentle outsider in the medical world — and all the more cherished for it.
He also had a second family at sea. Fleur worked as ship’s doctor on the Stad Amsterdam, the three-masted clipper where I first met him. His love for the Stad was as deep and enduring as his devotion to Radio Caroline.
Radio Caroline — the legendary offshore pirate radio station — was always playing in his house, day and night. Its last ship, the Ross Revenge, still lies at anchor in the River Blackwater in Essex. Once a month, the same iconic DJs from the 1970s and 1980s broadcast live from on board, turning the rusted vessel into living radio history.
When Fleur became seriously ill, he had one final wish: to be there one last time. Unable to make the journey alone, we went together, in his lovely old Volvo.
This video - shot on my iPhone - is not a documentary, and not an explanation. It is a quiet record of a farewell — to a ship, to a lifelong passion, and ultimately to life itself.
Fair winds, my dear friend
Thijs Heslenfeld, December 19th 2025