4th April 2011 – I went for a walk on the beach in Brentford. taking pictures between the barges, walking around at the old shipyard, etc… After having a chat on nearly every boat, we went back to Belgium in the late evening and arriving the next morning at three O’clock.
3rd April 2011 – In December last year, I had no time to make a small trip to my friends in London. I went on a quick journey to London, leaving today in the early morning and coming back Tuesday morning.
For the first time, I went a bit further then Brentford, making a nice walk along the Grand Union Canal. After about walking for twenty minutes, you could hardly imagine being in one of the world busiest city.
In the afternoon, I met a few people living on a barge. I had a nice chat with them.
15th January 2011 – In the morning I went shopping, buying wallpaper and tiles to finish the back accommodation of the watergeus. In the afternoon I went to Ghent to visit some boat friends.
More important today is the article published in the newspaper De Standaard. A two page large article on my barge and myself.
1st January 2011 – Where the most of the work will go: Escapde and the back accommodation of the Watergeus
4th December 2010 – I just received the news that one of the neighbours and close friend, Rogianne Gaytant has passed away after a tragic bus accident in Peru.
17th November 2010 – There had been no updates for some time. I sold the Frantsis and bought a yacht from the 20’s. I worked hard in the back accommodation of the Watergeus and had some personal issues. Updates will follow more quickly again!
15th & 16th November 2010 – My neighbour is having some trouble with her diesel heater. On Monday I temporary mounted a small heater, but it was to small. So today I had to put back the other one. It is one of the most dirty jobs since fuel and ashes really get deep into your hands. It takes ages to clean them.
29th October 2010 – For a few days now I have been looking on information for bakdekkruisers. It is a very fascinating kind of ship. I never worked with yachts before so everything is new to me. A smaller engine, a thinner hull, more shapes and curves, trying to get most out of a space, etc…
19th October 2010 – I went looking for a yacht in Ghent. Not sure yet what I should do. Too busy at the moment, But I’ll write some more in the future.
9th October 2010 – Many people asks me for information. Wherever possible I always tried helping them. Since these questions and barge visits are taking a lot of my time, I’ve just started doing this as a semi-professional job.
Please have a look at my site (under construction).
4th October 2010 – In the early morning I went to the Ross Leopard to take some pictures of her being towed away. The tug never showed up and I felt asleep in the wheelhouse. Half of the morning was gone…
While I was waiting for the wood to be delivered, I painted the front accommodation. When this was done and the wood aboard the Watergeus, I finished the second entrance to the boat.
1st October 2010 – I’m using my girlfriends camera. New pictures will be illustrating the text again. Thanks Carmen!
27th August 2010 – While driving in the country side I noticed a little sign “16 écluses d’échelle”. It were 16 locks spread over a distance of 4 tot 5 kilometers. Skippers need an hour and 15 minutes to pass them. Two girls were turning the lock, after a little chat I discovered one of them was the lock keeper.
A few locks further, they had a little barge. That lock was different from the others, it was nicely decorated, including the house attached to that lock. It had a style, something like the hippies in the 60’s and an English cottage house.
26th August 2010 – As a real tourist, I made a little boat trip in Briaire. Besides the spits barge, also point of depart, and a visit of a lock, there is actually nothing else worth mentioning.
25th August 2010 – I visited a few locks, for one way or another, French locks interest me a lot. Many of them are still turned by hand.
In the afternoon I visited two very interesting museums. One of them was an old Toueur, the other a mine. The Toueur is a tugboat that pulled barges on the Loire. It had a fixed route and used chains to make its way on the river. Only five of them are still in existent in France.
A little further down the road, there was a walenmajol (wooden spits barge). The visit of the mine, even noting nautical related,