Author: frederic - page 2

Watergeus – Painting

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15th September 2019 – The den and front cabin got a second coat of paint. I put some order on my deck and put the propellers back on the roof of the bathroom. One of them was slightly to heavy and I had to use my crane. Never underestimate the luxury of having a crane aboard your ship!

On starboard side, I removed a metal strip so the water could easier get of the ship. I did the same thing on port side last year.

The little boat on my deck was cleaned and I moved some old plates and put them under the hatches. All small things that make my ship looking better again.

MS Watergeus

Tordino – Open Monumentendag

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8th September 2019 – There were 198 visitors on the event Open Monumentendag aboard Tordino. A good result.  The people who came were really interested, asked questions and told their own stories. At the end of the evening, I was exhausted and happy to close the hatches….

MS Tordino

Tordino – 4 Vaargetijden alongside

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3rd September 2019 – I had two meetings aboard the Tordino concerning heritage and  cooperation on projects. While waiting the cruise vessel 4 Vaargetijden came alongside. They were surprised I didn’t do difficult them mooring alongside.  I explained them I was a museum and not just a houseboat. They understood me…

MS Tordino

Tordino – Electricity

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2nd September 2019 – On Friday, we will install new fuse boxes on Tordino. The old electricity is working, but unreliable. The back accommodation nearly has no 220v power, or it runs from inverters. I pulled a cable from the bow thruster area to the back accommodation.

In the evening I continued with the computers aboard. I’m getting short in time, so I just mounted them as quick as possible.

MS Tordino

Tordino – Some stress

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1st September 2019 – IT is my business, but my attitude of “I’ll make it” is not really working. I still  have a lot to do for Open Monumentendag and my whole week is fully packed.

Besides working with the computers and preparing the videos, I also had other items to finish. Plenty of new objects were placed aboard. They hadn’t been labelled, so this was also done today.

The flags in the mast lasted a supper, time to replace them and to mount the Open Monumentendag flag as well!

MS Tordino

Tordino – Picking up a model, books and a decoration of a rudder

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31st August 2019 – I drove to Leidendorp to have a good chat with an old skipper. He was selling a model of a ship similar to Tordino and promised me to make another one next year.

In the afternoon I drove to Sluiskil were some friends had their ship. It was a nice afternoon. They had collected some stuff for me in the last couple of years. It was time to meet them again.

On the way home I stopped at some old friends, but nobody was home.

MS Tordino

Tordino – Open Monumentendag coming closer

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28th August 2019 – Open Monumentendag is coming closer. The Library is still filled up with books and computers for the event. Most of it is now sorted out.

I made some more space at the front of the ship, where a part of the archives are stored. Two weeks ago I bought some archive cupboards for and temporary put them in the back accommodation. I will move them over the weekend.

MS Tordino

Sailing to Southampton – Day 3

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23rd August 2019 – The night journey went nicely. Around Zeebruges and Ostend we had some big waves, but the ship handled it well.  When we started the crossing to Dover, daylight came and we had a good trip. Not much traffic around us until we arrived near Dover. There were so many ships we had to alter course on several occasions

The next bit was from Dover to Brighton where we sailed near the coast. Since we were over 24 meters we had to follow the big ships in the shipping lane instead of the Inland Traffic Zone. They called us on the radio, so we changed course.  At that point, we had another 15 hours ahead. Becoming tired and hungry, it was a hard bit to full fill.

Daily Life around the water

Sailing to Southampton – Day 2

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22nd  August 2019 – The day started in the Police station in Ostend. We delivered the papers and had to wait for another check aboard the ship before they could release us.  Not all paperwork was good, but we were allowed to leave the harbour. It took over an hour to get the second bridge working. On arrival in Bruges, Scheepsdalebrug only opened at 14 o’clock. We lost several hours before arriving at the lock in Evergem around 19 o’clock. Smoke came out of the engine room, so we reduced some speed.

At 21:30 we arrived in Terneuzen, heading for Breskens and then to Dunkirk.

Daily Life around the water

Sailing to Southampton – Day 1

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21st August 2019 – We left in Bruges at 6 o’clock in the morning.  Everything went well until we arrived at the lock in Ostend. They didn’t turn the lock and about fifteen minutes later, shipping police arrived to do a check up. The lock keeper didn’t believe we were seaworthy.

The paperwork of the ship was not aboard, so we got detained and had to stay in Ostend. We had no paperwork for the inland waterways and nothing for going to sea. So far  the first day of the crossing. The argument of the Belgian civil servant was to load the barge on a seagoing vessel and unload it in the United Kingdom. Even the Police found it ridiculous, but never the less we were stuck in Ostend.

The wife of the owner drove to Rotterdam to the correct paperwork for the inland waterways. Let’s hope  that they release the ship tomorrow.

Daily Life around the water

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