John had a huge admiration for captain Jacques Yves Cousteau, who studied the sea and all the life forms in it, and made many movies about that. Jacques Cousteau passed away 25 June 1997, just a few moonths before John.
John visited him a couple of times, the report of his first visit was an important part of the TV-show "An Evening With John Denver". As a sequel to that visit John wrote the song "Calypso" in 1975, named after the ship of Cousteau.

John closed many concerts with this song, from which he donated the income by the copyrights to the Cousteau Society.

In 1987 Sonja van Kan started a project to recreate the Calypso to scale. After five years, this model was ready. The model is 110 centimeters long and 50 cm high, and when it's ready to sail the boat weighs about two and a half kilogram. He once sailed radiographically, but that no longer happens these days.
Photos of the model were shown on television prior to John's interview with Ursel de Geer on 7 May 1992.
John was very interested and asked Sonja if he could see the model after the concert in Ahoy on May 24. Sonja took the model with her, and after the concert John was able to hold the model.
John was very impressed and wanted to buy the model from Sonja, but because of the emotional value that was not an option. Building a second model also was not in the cards.

The model is therefore still at Sonja's home.