Bonaire was built for the Royal Netherlands Navy as a gun vessel with
barquentine rig and a retractable
screw. She was
launched at
Rotterdam on 12 May 1877. From 1924 she served at
Delfzijl as living quarters for the Dutch Nautical College, and was renamed
Abel Tasman. After
Abel Tasman lay abandoned for many years, a restoration programme began in 2005 at
Den Helder to secure the future of the ship as a floating
museum. == See also ==