21st December 2022 – This afternoon I visited the houseboats in Anderlecht. Not much has changed since last time. It is surprising to see how these ships still exist.
Category: Daily Life around the water
15th November 2022 – I had the chance of visiting two skippers in Ghent. Both of them had some very nice stuff for the museum. Both of them retired a few years ago and the boats they were talking about were ships I’ve known in service and seen converted into houseboats. Interesting to talk about the past of these vessels!
11th October 2022 – I managed to visit the scrapyard in Antwerp through the help of a friend. I ended up with some paperwork and a nice ‘spoelbak’, a metal box to do the dishes outside.
Afterward, we went to his place where he gave me many documents and a nice model of an otter for the museum.
10th October 2022 – We walked around in Ronquieres, paid a visit to the houseboats and then went along the old canal, looking at the abandoned locks and the lock keeper houses. It was a nice day!
1st October 2022 – Another maritime event, so I went. This time I visited the Furieade in Maassluis, paid a visit to the museum and met some friends. A Saturday wel spent!
11th August 2022 – Since I was a child, I’ve always known this ship to be in the port of Ostend. They towed it away and it will be taken out of the water in the next couple of days. I don’t know if many people will notice the ship is gone. It is believed to be an old Mickey, an English minesweeper from during the second World War.
29th July 2022 – We drove to Gouda to enjoy a beautiful event organized by the LVBHV. Over 400 historical vessels were present. I met some friends, had a good lunch an got to see many lovely vessels.
10th July 2022 – Today we had the big jump in Plassendale. People jumping in the water to make a statement it should be cleaner. I was aboard the vlet Djoey as standby in case something would go wrong.
2nd June 2022 – We made an evening walk in Ostend. They were dredging the harbour, it reminded me of the old days working on the Musin in the Vuurtorendok when all their equipment was there.
20th May 2022 – Together with my girlfriend, we visited Oostende voor Anker, in the morning we did the barges and little boats. It was raining heavily.
In the evening we made a boat trip. Nice weather, a little breeze and a lot of sun! I must admit that the barges were looking better on the canal then docked alongside each other….
18th May 2022: Some nice barges sailed on the canal for the event Oostende voor Anker .
17th May 2022 – There was a big nautical event in Gorinchem. It is a fair with all the big companies from Holland and some Belgium companies. It was nice to meet some people again, have a drink and a meal!
The previous owner of Tordino was there and he gave some old navigation lights, flags and an anchor!
13th May 2022 – Tomorrow I will deliver the keys to the new owners. I closed down the website watergeus.be and the Facebook page of Watergeus. The website Living Afloat which was intentionally built for people to follow the conversion of the Watergeus will remain online. I’m not leaving the water, still having the Stern and Tordino and living along the water in a canal house…
I will continue to help people with tips and tricks to live on a barge. And who knows, maybe one day I might just buy another one. All my tools are in storage, not thrown away!
For the followers of my blog, not much will change. I hope to start soon on finishing the Stern and in the meantime, you can follow the life on the canal and the museum aboard Tordino.
where it all started in December 2005
18th April 2022 – I can’t remember the days where I walked weekly through the harbour of Ostend for taking pictures. I was in Ostend this evening for a walk with my girlfriend. I took three pictures…
12th March 2022 – Today we visited two cemeteries in Bretagne. The last one was in Douarnenez where we had a good access to the boats. It still intriges me how they were built and how they still last in that condition after all these years.
