Wendy was born and raised in Tholen, a small town in the beautiful province of Zeeland, where she could always be found in and around the local waters. After completing her Maritime Officer training (1994–1998) at the Maritime Institute De Ruyter, she began her career with Wagenborg Shipping in Delfzijl. After several voyages as a maritime officer, she chose to focus on the deck officer side, advancing from third officer to first officer on various ships.

After meeting her future husband, Wendy decided to come ashore and joined Rijkswaterstaat, where she operated bridges and locks for 3.5 years. She was then given the opportunity to become a first aid instructor. After fifteen years working at two other companies, she found a new challenge at DRTC, where she can now combine her two passions: teaching and the water.

At DRTC, Wendy provides training in First Aid, Emergency Response (BHV), and Elementary First Aid (EFA) within Basic Safety. She also delivers part of the GWO courses and assists in other training programs, preparing to teach those independently in the future.

Outside of work, Wendy enjoys reading and practicing judo. She has earned her black belt in the sport and gladly shares her knowledge with others. With the same passion and enthusiasm, she hopes to inspire many participants in her role as an instructor.

Mathanje den Boer-Besemer is married and the mother of three wonderful boys. She was born in 1976 on a Dutch military base in Blomberg, Germany, where she spent most of her childhood. At an early age, she obtained all her swimming diplomas and immediately joined the DLRG (Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft). Around the age of fourteen, she also began assisting with teaching the youngest children.

Shortly before her seventeenth birthday, she returned to the Netherlands. There, she joined a local lifeguard association and completed her MDGO-AB education. However, she did not fully find her passion in this line of work. She started a university of applied sciences program to become a recreation officer but soon discovered that she is more of a doer than a thinker who sits in an office. This led her to switch to swim instruction, where she specialized in adapted sports. Building on this, she co-founded a foundation for people with medical limitations together with a friend, which she led for 25 years.

In the meantime, it became increasingly clear that the field of emergency services continued to attract her. She joined the Red Cross, became an instructor for both the Orange Cross and the Red Cross, and after five years of teaching the crew of KNRM station Hansweert, she herself became a crew member ten years ago. Since then, she has gained international experience, including an exchange in Croatia and training in Finland with Women in SAR.

Also ten years ago, Mathanje started working at DRTC as a first aid instructor. She greatly enjoys teaching and values the contribution she can make in the world of emergency services—whether with the Red Cross, Witte Kruis, the riot police, or the KNRM. For her, it is meaningful and rewarding work, and she hopes this is also reflected in her lessons.

With nearly 20 years of experience as a professional firefighter, Waldo brings a wealth of practical knowledge to DRTC. His career began at the fire department, where he specialized in various disciplines, including firefighting diving, hazardous materials incident response, and shipboard firefighting – a field in which he has become a highly experienced instructor.

Waldo’s passion for the profession goes beyond the fire station: in recent years he has also served as a volunteer firefighter, continuing to apply his expertise to improve safety in his region.

His maritime experience stems from an internship on board a cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea, where he gained valuable insight into life and work at sea – an experience that makes him particularly well-suited to delivering realistic and practice-oriented training in maritime fire and incident response.

With a no-nonsense mentality, a sharp eye for safety, and extensive hands-on experience, Waldo is a reliable and dedicated member of the DRTC team.