Oostende voor Anker

The day after Ascension Day, to Ostend to visit the 'boat girls' from the Wednesday morning coffee at Hotel Martin's. They live on their boats, with their husbands, in Brugge, on the Coupure, from

 The Giants of Dendermonde

October to May and then depart to travel the waterways of Europe. Except that this year, Sandy and Brett are retiring from what can be a strenuous life, to Woodbridge for a permanent berth. Both boats left a week ago and are still in Oostende hence our little visit which also coincided happily with an annual celebration called Oostende Voor Anker, Ostend at Anchor.

 Mercator

The superb weather provided a perfect backdrop as we boarded a train for the coast, packed with holiday-makers. First, to the zeilschip Mercator only just returned from extensive renovation. Mercator is the last training ship for officers and seamen of the Belgian merchant fleet; between 1932 and 1960, this was where cadets were initiated into life at sea. Since 1964, Mercator has been at anchor in Ostend; it is described as a three masted barquantine and now serves as a splendid museum run by volunteers. The very recent renovation was paid by Belgium and the E.U. but the finance only covered the external work which was extensive; the equally comprehensive interior up-date has been done by a group of volunteers and done brilliantly. A visit to Mercator gives an amazing insight into earlier maritime life.

From the delights of Mercator, we went to visit Clair and Andy on their boat. Access involved

 A temporary taste of the high life.

clambering over five boats at anchor, sides touching, in the harbour after which we were rewarded with cooling drinks and shade from the merciless sun on a very hospitable boat. We then reversed our scrambles to find Sandy’s boat at anchor alongside the pontoon, and once aboard, silently acknowledging in my case that I am not now up to living easily on a boat, clambered up to a little top deck with large parasol, and table with chairs. We sat there, talking and drinking, for ages, luxuriating in the breeze and enjoying the panorama of boats and flags, set against tranquil water and summer skies. Perfection.


 

 

But we had also come to see the Reuzen van Dendermonde, yet another procession, a major folk event listed since 2005 in the UNESCO World Heritage sites. The giants, Indiaan, Mars and Goliath, proved, indeed, to be gigantic, propelled by unseen gymnasts on stilts, hidden beneath colourful costumes. There was a uniformed handsome band and lots of children in costume dashing about. The Belgians do love their ancient processions, and tourists and visitors alike, are all caught up in admiration as they soak up the atmosphere.

 The George Stephenson on the Thames

When the procession had passed, our temporarily-resident guide, Clair, suggested we walk on to visit the George Stephenson steamship which happened to be berthed briefly in Ostend, en route to the Chatham Dockyard [for a visit by Prince Charles, no less!]. I had never heard of this particular vessel but visiting it turned out to be such an unexpected treat. The interior is incredibly beautiful with many pipes, plates, handles, hooks, wheels, taps made of copper and brass and polished to within an inch of their lives. The cumulative patina on view is dazzling! I particularly loved the radiators which were little works of art. The entire vessel spoke volumes of the love and care of the staff and the owner, Faas [Servaas] Strik, who sat in some state in the main dining, bar area, answering queries from visitors. From him we learned a little about the boat and, intrigued, I subsequently went online and discovered the astonishing short history of the boat with its historical components.
 

 The wheelhouse, buffed to perfection

The keel for the George Stephenson was laid in 2006 but it took until early 2014 for the ship to be completed as it is now and owner, Faas Strik, continues to further perfect it. Although the
apparently historic ship is, in fact new, its interior and exterior contain all kinds of historic treasures. Some examples culled from the SWZ Maritime magazine published in November 2014 after its editors had been invited aboard to view the ship prior to its initial launch:

• The cabin has a radiator that dates back to 1920 and which stems from a French fishing vessel.
• The wooden floors come from an English passenger vessel that was scrapped in 1935 in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, the Netherlands.
• The timber on the walls come from the doors of the former Defence department building in Paris.
• The solid wood interior doors stem from the ships, the Kenya Castle and Windsor, of the Union-Castle Line and the Norway.
  The round door knobs were acquired from the US navy and twist both ways for safety reasons.
• The ship's sanitary fittings, such as the sink and toilet, are originals made by the important English inventor Thomas Crapper (1836-1910).
• The bronze anchor chain stems from an English mine sweeper of the HAM class from 1952.
• The steel bow anchor was acquired from the British navy.
• The steam whistle come from a steam tug from New York.
• The teak decks come from a school building that was built in 1888 in Bombay.
• There is no new wood on board this ship.
  

  

   Radiator as work of art

  So, the George Stephenson is the determined product of one man’s maritime obsession and when the result is so incredibly beautiful and interesting, a unique piece of floating history, we may salute obsession in its finest form!

 Elderly replicas, one from Portugal, one from Spain,
of the boats which set off to explore the New World.
They were anchored next to Andy and Clair's boat.
They are astonishingly tiny to have taken on a mighty ocean!