19th December 2022 – The first job today was to check if there was any damage in the engine rooms of the ship. It has been freezing a whole week and some days temperatures stayed below 0°C. Luckily no damage was noticed.
In the afternoon I continued scanning books and postcards for the inventory.
18th December 2022 – I had a visit of some old skippers. Sadly it was really cold, around 2°C in the hold. They didn’t stay long, but I received some nice books for the library!
Starting from tomorrow, temperatures will be again above freezing point, so it should be better!
17th December 2022 – Today I went to pickup a model of the Aquarel. It was custom made for our museum.
13th December 2022 – Last night was the coldest night in at least two years. Since it is to cold to work in the hold, I worked in the accommodation where I have my pellet heather running. When you live aboard it is easy to keep it warm. Now I have to drive three times a day to fill up the heather.
A few more nights and we are safe again!
12th December 2022 – It was a cold night, but tonight will be worse…
7th December 2022 – The Jogo 2 came by again, the ship headed for Oudenburg.
6th December 2022 – I was just in time to capture the Scheldestroom. It arrived late last night and left this afternoon from Ostend.
6th December 2022 – Another evening of scanning…
4th December 2022 – A family of skippers, and close friends of me, came to visit the Tordino. They were curious where the models they gave me were showed. It was a nice afternoon!
30th November 2022 – Nearly every evening, I’m scanning postcards or old documents for the museum. While sorting out the Library today, I noticed how much scan work I still have to do. For the museum MAS in Antwerp, they are looking for volunteers to help them scanning. Knowing how much that needs to be done at their side, it would be much wiser to take a dedicated person into service. If only I had the money, I would do the same….
I installed a second screen to the working computer, so describing a photo will become easier. Photo on one screen, the tool on a second one. It was a job I wanted to do for weeks now…
29th November 2022 – While driving along the canal of Nieuwpoort, the tug Bobo was passing by. It was foggy, so I managed to get some nice shots.
26th November 2022 – Today, I picked up two nice models of inland barges, one of a sleepspits and one of a kempenaar. Both of them will become part of the core collection of the museum.
In the afternoon, I continued scanning postcards….
24th November 2022 – The pusher Zeerover and its pontoon passed by. I was a little late taking the pictures….
24th November 2022 – Just another day of scanning postcards, today I decided to go for French canals and barges. Sometimes you need a change….
While scanning the cards, it gives you the feeling you want to travel. It once was my plan in 2011 to travel through France. Maybe one day…
Anyway, I have over 600 cards that need scanning. At the moment, I’m doing around 34 cards a day…
23rd November 2022 – I wasn’t expecting it, but the bilges were dry. I think it dried out because of the wind. This weekend I will seal the leak in the hatch. Not sure when I’ll be able to continue on this little boat…
Priority 1 will be making a proper access to the engine room.