Jaski Thomas.

Thomas Jaski was born on 01 September 1884 on the island Schiermonnikoog. This island in one of a chain of islands to the north of the Netherlands.  The  name Jaski was wellknown on the island and there were several Jaskies who made it to captain. The earliest one known was in the early 19th. century but it is unclear if this one was part of the family tree of Thomas. It is known that the Jaski family originally came from Weener in “Ost Friesland” which is part of Germany.

A “google” retrieved the following information. His fathers name was also Thomas Jaski born on 04 November 1849 on Schiermonnikoog and was married to Klaaske Faber. Thomas Sr. passed away at the age of 37 on 04 October 1887 at sea.  Cause of dead as of yet unknown and also his function on board is as of yet unknown.  Thomas Jr. had at least one brother called Teunis.  It is assumed (TBC) that he went to the Maritime School on the island.    If we calculate that he obtained his 3rd mates certificate  in 1904 and was born in 1884, then he must have gone to study for the sea around 1900.

He sailed 2 years as sailor from 1900 to 1902 on a ship called the Neptunus (unknown if this was a sailing ship or steam ship) engated in trading to the Baltic. On his first voyage on board he ended up in a hurricane, which wrecked the ship and swept Thomas overboard. All his belongings were lost.  Still he continued sailing and must have gone to school around 1902.

Until he joined Holland America, not much is known of what he did after obtaining his 3rd mates exam on 14 November 1904 but he did sail for another Dutch company, Hudig & Veder a cargo company based in Rotterdam, prior to coming to HAL.  He obtained his second mates certificate on  02 October 1906 and came over to Holland America in 1909 as 2nd officer.

His brother Teunis also went to sea and ended up as captain with Van Uden Scheepvaart Argentuur in Rotterdam, a company who originated as a brokarege but also managed ships.

The love life of Captain Thomas Jaski was quite complicated and extensive. He married on 29 May 1912 Janke van Borssum Waalkes  and she was the mother of the following childern: Thomasina Jaski (born 1913 at Rotterdam),  Jan Jaski (born 1916 at Rotterdam) ,Teunis Jaski (born 1917 at Rotterdam),  Anna Wilhelmina Jaski (1922 at Schiermonikoog) The parents divorced on 15 July 1932 and Mrs. Janke Jaski remained living in The Hague with the Children. (d)

On 10 may 1933 he married the German (from Berlin)  Gerda Elisabeth Sophia Hansche (1901 – 1950) Something must have gone wrong there, as thomas Jaski showed up with another lady and Gerda remained The Hague during the war years. The marriage was annuled on 29 July 1950. She passed away on 19 Feb. 1950 in The Hague. (d)

While married to Gerda he met  a window called Elisabeth Maria Pijnacker (1888 – 1965). She had a son called Udo who was born in the Dutch East Indies. In the beginning of the 2nd World War, he moved with this lady and son to Bilthoven. He then marries on 12 Dec. 1948 at Bilthoven (also called De Bilt) Elisabeth.  (d)

When he arrived at HAL he was placed on board the ss Gorredijk (I). This was a standard size cargo ship for those days and so most likely not much different than he had been used to, although the on board discipline was would have been much stricter, as Holland America tended to run the on board routines on the cargo ships in the same way as on the Passenger ships.

Thomas Jaski was most likely signed on by the HAL on this ship as it had just been bought in April 1909 from the English Furness Withy company  who had sold the complete (Rotterdam) branch of their services to the East coast of the USA (The Neptune or Burg Line) in 1909. This sale included several ships. The Gorredijk (I) was put in service from Rotterdam to the US Eastern Seaboard ports such as Baltimore, Newport News, Philadelphia, Boston.

Then in the next years, he is switching between the cargo and the passenger ships with making one trip on the ss Potsdam in September 1912) before being promoted to Chief Officer. Then he  returns to the cargo ships. Somewhere around this time he must have married as the first child, the daughter Thomasina, was born in 1913.

Peculiar is that although still junior in the Chief Officer ranks he is also assigned to the passenger ships, including the flagship the ss Rotterdam (IV) in March 1915. This was very unusual for the Holland America ranking and rotation system but it might have had to do with the fact that many of the more senior Chief Officers were called away to serve with the Royal Netherlands Navy as Reserve Officer.

On 22 March 1917 he was assigned to the ss Rijndam (I) but the assignment only lasts barely 3 months as  on 20 June 1917 the ship arrives in New York from Rotterdam and is interned by the US Government.  The ship is officially taken over by the US on 21 March 1918 and is put into service under USA flag as the troopship USS Rijndam. The Dutch crew, (They could not stay on the ship as the Kingdom of the Netherlands was neutral in the conflict) returns with the ss Nieuw Amsterdam (I) to Rotterdam and are then send home to remain on standby. While on board he met his brother Teunis again whose ship must also have been laid up in an American Port and together they arrived in Rotterdam on 12 April 1918. (d)

On 20 August 1919 he joined the flagship the ss Rotterdam (IV) as Chief Officer. This ship had been laid up during the war in Rotterdam and returned to service on 24 January 1919 . Now he remained on the passenger ships until promoted to Captain on 06 May 1921 with an assignment on the ss Poeldijk (I). This was one of the smaller cargo ships of the company  and was assigned to the South America service of the company, making  3 month roundtrips to Buenos Aires. He stayed on this ship for  2 years making 9 round voyages.

Then he is assigned to the North Atlantic cargo ships, which were making on average 1 month roundtrips to the USA east coast ports.

On 27 April 1926 he receives the silver medal of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) for the quality of the Meteorological Journals submitted to the KNMI.

He leaves the North Atlantic in 1929 he joined the ss Breedyk which is engaged in the New York – “British Indies Line”,  sailing to the Dutch East Indies, Singapore and Colombo (Ceylon, now Sri Lanka) That was a one year assignment and the trip to New York and back was made as a passenger on the passenger ships. This is followed by a similar assignent to the Far East on the ss Binnendijk.

Then it is back to the cargo ships engaged in the one month return service on the North Atlantic.

This changed when in 1936 he was assigned to the ms Drechtdyk on the Vancouver service, a ship which had a capacity for 12 passengers and his seniority now made him qualified him for that level of command. This followed by promotion to the ms Damsterdyk which had a capacity of 30 passengers sailing on the same service to Vancouver.  He remained with this ship until the 2nd World War started.

As he had only arrived on 30 April 1940 back in Rotterdam, she ship was not ready to sail when the Netherlands were invaded on 10 May 1940 and he was stuck in the Netherlands for the duration of the war. during that period he was involved in the “De Zeemanspot” the organisation set up by Captain Filippo (see his biography) in supporting families of sailors who were at sea. The was working as a “Guardian” for this illegal banking system and look after the seafaring families in the area around Bilthoven. This work included visiting the families and bring money. These allotments would then later reconciled with the final wages of the husband when the war was over. (d)

With his age of 54 – 59 during the war, the chance of his being arrested for forced labour was relatively small, so he would have been able to move around reasonably free.

In the memoirs of Captain Roel ten Kate (c), he is mentioned as being in the town of Bilthoven during the war. (Bilthoven is a town in the middle of the Netherlands, south east of Amsterdam). Ten Kate himself did not have a clue of what he wanted to do with his future life while still in secondary school but Captain Jaski was considered  to be the step father of his friend Edu Ydo who had come back from the Dutch East Indies. At that time both boys were at school together in Bilthoven and were taken on walks by Thomas Jaski who lived with Edu’s mother.  While on these walks the captain regaled the boys with stories about the sea, his colleagues and life on board.  As Ten Kate was not exactly focused on his school work, Captain Jaski started to put pressure on him to improve  and with the promise that if he went to a Maritime School, then Jaski would arrange a place for him with HAL.

Then we have the next blind spot in his career. The Netherlands were liberated on 10 May 1945 and in the next 6 to 7 months most of the ships returned to Rotterdam. In that period  Captains and Crew who had sailed for 5 years non-stop where relieved as soon as possible and replaced with those who had been stuck in the country for the duration of the war. So those people were all back at sea by Autumn 1945.  Hence the question is, was he kept at home for almost a year after liberation day or did he something else for the company, maybe involved with the construction of the ms Westerdam (?)

However Captain Jaski is only assigned to the ms Delftdyk on 09 March 1946. This ship had been sailing all through the war and had returned to the Netherlands in July 1945.  He makes one voyage on this ship to New York and is then sent to the newbuilt of the ms Westerdam (I).

The ms Westerdam (I) was one of four passenger-cargo liners meant for the direct-intermediate service from Rotterdam to New York. (Direct meaning no other ports enroute). Two, the Noordam (I) and Zaandam (II) had entered service before the war. The Zuiderdam (I) had been damaged beyond repair during the war while being constructed but the Westerdam (I) (although having been sunk 3 times during the war) was in good enough condition to be completed.

 

Although the Westerdam was only a small ship compared to the large Ocean Liners calling at New York (it could only carry 125 passengers in first class accommodation), the ship was the first Holland America ship that re-established the regular post war Liner service from Rotterdam to New York with passengers.

The ship made a 3 three day trial trip between 5 and 7 June with Captain Jaski in command. After the hand over on 24 June, he took her out on the maiden voyage on 28 June from Rotterdam to New York.

Captain Jaski remained with this ship until retirement which occurred after the ships arrival in Rotterdam on 05 April 1947. He was by then just short of his 61st. Birthday. He returned to Schiermonnikoog for his retirement but was called back in 1950 for a temporary command. This had two reasons:

a. Holland America was quickly expanding by buying a series of 10 cargo ships (The A class Victories) and was thus short of experienced & licensed captains,

b. The Holland America pension fund had only been established in 1933 and, especially for those who had been stuck in The Netherlands during the war, there was not much money to pay out.  So the company gave those retired captains who had this problem some work until the personnel gaps could be filled.

Hence he was given command of the  ss Andyk (II) from 19 June 1950 until 25 August 1950. He made one voyage with the ship from Rotterdam to Cuba, Mexico, American Gulf ports and then returned home via London and Bremen.

With the arrival of the ms Westerdam, its captain came in the spotlight of the community at large. Although he did not mind talking to press people and telling stories, dealing with the “high and mighty”, (or those who considered themselves so) was different as he considered himself  just to be a simple sailor. From the grand daughter of Captain Reifferth comes the following anecdote. When one day a group of these people arrived on board, they all introduced themselves with their double-barrelled names and (potato in the throat) attached accent. Good Captain Jaski almost did a double take and then introduced himself as Captain Jaski-Schiermonnikoog. It is unknown what the “high and mighty” thought about that double barreled version.

Captain Thomas Jaski passed away on 05 April 1965 after a short illness on his home island of Schiermonnikoog  two weeks before his wife Elisabeth (24 April 1965)

Sailing Career: (b)

Date:                         Function:                            Ship:                                    Wages and/or remarks.

05 Apr.  1909      2^nd officer                           Gorredijk                            50,–

06 Apr.  1910      Temporary dismissed to go to school for 1^st mates license. Passed 13 Jul. 1910

25 Jul.    1910      2^nd officer                           Rijndam                              70,–

01 Jan.  1911      2^nd officer                           Rijndam                              115,–

29 Jul.    1911      Temporary dismissed

14 Aug. 1911      2^nd officer                           Soestdijk                             115,–

03 Oct. 1911      2^nd officer                           Soestdijk                             120,–

02 Jun.  1912      2^nd officer                           Soestdijk                             130,–

05 Sep.  1912      2^nd officer                           Potsdam                             130,–

15 Nov. 1912      Chief Officer                      Maartensdijk                   140,–

27 Oct.  1913      Chief Officer                      Maartensdijk                  150,–

30 Mar. 1914      Chief Officer                      Veendijk                             160,–

23 Nov. 1914      Chief Officer                      Nieuw Amsterdam      175,–

11 Mar. 1915      Chief Officer                      Rotterdam                         175,-

05 Aug.  915       Temporary dismissed due to illness

06 Sep. 1915       Wage increase                                                                      190,–

06 Sep. 1915      Chief Officer                      Zuiderdijk                             190,–

01 May 1916       Chief Officer                      Zuiderdijk                            200,–

06 Jan. 1917      Temporary ashore

11 Jan. 1917       Chief Officer                      Noordam                                200,–

29 Apr.  1917      Temporary ashore

22 Mar. 1917      Chief Officer                      Rijndam                                  200,–

04 Jun. 1917      Rijndam confiscated and returns(later)  with Nieuw Amsterdam

12 Apr. 1918       Temporary ashore due to the confiscation of the ss Rijndam

20 Jan. 1919       Temporary appointed for administration to ss Rotterdam. 200,–

20 Aug. 1919      Chief Officer                      Rotterdam                           300,–

01 Jan. 1930     Wage increase                                                                         330,–

03 Jul.    1920     Temporary ashore            wage increase                   350,–                   backdated 1 Jan. 1920

27 Sep. 1920      Chief Officer                      Nieuw Amsterdam           350,–

05 Nov. 1920      Temporary ashore

10 Jan. 1921      Chief Officer                      Noordam                               370,–

05 Mar. 1921      Temporary ashore

05 Apr.  1921      Chief Officer                      Rijndam                                370,–

06 May 1921       Captain                               Poeldijk                                  650,–

15 May 1922      Captain                               Poeldijk                                  560,–

13 Mar.1924       Captain                               Grootendijk                        560,–

01 May 1924      Captain                               Beemsterdijk                     560,–

05 Sep. 1924       Captain                               Blijdendijk                           560,–

20 Feb. 1925      Captain                               Boschdijk                              560,–

22 Apr. 1925      Captain                               Binnendijk                            560,–

06 Jun.  1925      Captain                               Poeldijk                                 560,–

16 Jun.  1925      Captain                               Ashore                                   560,–

13 Jul.    1925      Captain                               Westerdijk                          560,–

24 Aug. 1925      Captain                               Ashore                                    560,–

14 Sep.  1925      Captain                               Blijdendijk                           560,–

26 Aug. 1926      Captain                               Westerdijk                          560,–

01 Apr. 1927      Captain                               Westerdijk                           580,–                   wage increase

01 Jan. 1929      Captain                               Westerdijk                           600,–                   wage increase

02 Mar. 1929      Captain                               Ashore                                  600,–

14 Mar. 1929      Captain                               Rijndam                                600,–

(As passenger sailing to New York to join the ss Breedijk )

27 Mar. 1929      Captain                               Breedijk                              600,–

30 Dec.  929      Captain                               Nieuw A’dam                     600,–

(As passenger returning home from voyage in the ss Breedijk)

15 Jan. 1930      Ashore                                                                                    600,–

27 Jan. 1930      Captain                               Grootendijk                        600,–

01 Jan. 1930      Wage increase                                                                    620,–  (retro active)

01 Aug. 1930                                                       Ashore                                 620,–

09 Aug. 1930      Captain                               Bilderdijk                            620,–

09 Apr.  1931      Captain                               Binnendijk                          620,–

13 Feb.  1932      Wage reduced                                                                   496,–

07 May  1932      Temporary ashore                                          70%       496,–

20 Jul.    1932      Captain                               Binnendijk                          496,–

01 Nov. 1932      Wage decrease                                                                 446,–

12 May  1933      Temporary ashore                                                           446,–    regular leave

30 May  1933      Captain                               Binnendijk                          446,–

28 Jun.  1933      Wage decrease with 5% in accordance with circulaire no 929 dated 27 June 1936

31 Jul.    1933      Captain                               Beemsterdijk                     446,–

28 Sep.  1933      Captain                               Burgerdijk                           446,–

28 Dec.  1933      Wage decrease with 5% in accordance with circulaire no 929 dated 27 June 1936

10 Apr. 1934      Captain                               Boschdijk                            401,40

03 Jul.    1934      Captain                               Binnendijk                          401,40

16 Aug.   1934      Temporary ashore                                                         401,40

21 Aug. 1934      Captain                               Burgerdijk                           401,40

25 Sep.  1934      Captain                               Breedijk                              401,40

01 Oct. 1934      Wage decrease                                                                385,50

15 Jan.  1935      Captain                               Binnendijk                          385,50

26 Sep.  1935      Temporary shore                                                           385,50   Regular leave

01 Oct. 1935      Captain                               Binnendijk                          385,50   Relocating ship.

02 Oct. 1935      Temporary shore                                                           385,50   Regular leave

15 Oct. 1935      Captain                               Binnendijk                          385,50

10 Jun. 1936       Captain                               Drechtdijk                           390,–

03 Jun. 1937      Temporary ashore                                                             390,–    Regular leave

17 Aug.   1937      Captain                               Drechtdijk                           390,–

01 Oct. 1937      According to new regulations                                     435,–

10 Aug. 1938      Captain                               Binnendijk

28 Sep. 1938       Captain                               Damsterdijk

30 Apr. 1940       Arrived in Rotterdam with Damsterdyk. Ship could not leave due to invasion spend the war in the Netherlands.

09 Mar. 1946      Captain                               Delftdijk

One voyage to New York ending 12 April.  Assigned to Westerdam newbuilt.

05 Jun. 1946       Captain                               Westerdam Trial trips

28 Jun. 1946       Captain                               Maiden voyage

05 Apr. 1947       Captain                               Westerdam                        Final arrival Rotterdam .

Retired.

19 Jun. 1950       Captain                               Andijk (II)  until 25 August.

Sources:

(a) Captain Albert Photo Collection & database.

(b) Stam & Mouvement boeken of the Holland America Line archives, as held at the Rotterdam Municiple archives of the city of Rotterdam.

(c) Een zeevarend zondagskind. The memoirs of Captain Roelof ten Kate. (by Roelof ten Kate and Nico Guns) ISBN 978-94-91354-28-1

(d) Laurens van der Laan. HAL historicus Par Eminence.

Last Updated: 09 Dec. 2025