Dutch sailing barge

[Alicatt]

I have no feel for language but even I am starting to get the hang of it now, my step sons and daughters want me to speak English to the grand kids so they can learn it and my wife can pass herself off as a native English speaker. In the house we speak a mixture of English and Flemish

Perhaps it was a typo and he meant the Scandinavians he meets on Tresco?

Surely he meant frisko* as they are Scandinavian

* Ice lolly in Flemish dialect

 

[Frogmogman]

Was watching it and they passed where we stayed and went for a canal cruise on a little sloop from last September at 10:39 into the video on their way from Lemmer to the Fluessen island
I had a most enjoyable day looking at all the Lemsteraak in the basin at Lemmer.

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We were based at Koundam (just to the right of where it says Paardenhoek) between the Morra and Fluessen lakes, you can see on the above chart the island in Fluessen where they tied up.

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Going up the same canal from Morra but we are heading into the marina just ahead to port.

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Lemmer town centre the Lemsteraak LE50 was built in 1901, and we ate at the restaurant on the other side Lange Piet, really good food there, and a good view of the boats queuing up to get through the opening bridge just behind the camera.

Thanks for posting the link.

I have very happy memories of a glorious day's sailing on a beautiful dutch barge type yacht of about 55ft back in 1982.

On board the Southampton Uni/Portsmouth Poly Royal Naval Unit tender HMS Woodlark, on a goodwill visit to Holland, we threw a cocktail party in Medemblik, having asked the harbourmaster to round us up a few suitable guests. One of the guests, (who one might have guessed was a tramp to look at him), turned out to be an extremely pleasant fellow. He asked if any of us fancied a day's sailing on the morrow.

So it was that half a dozen of us went out with him on his truly beautiful boat. We had a fantastic day, were very generously entertained by our charming host, and the boat sailed far better than I would have imagined possible; perfect for the shallow waters of the Ijselmeer.

Having helped our host to tidy the boat away, he shook hands with us, hopped into a Mercedes 500SL and roared off. We asked the harbourmaster to tell us a bit more about him. It turned out he owned one of the biggest stainless steel fabrication businesses in the Netherlands.

 

[Laminar Flow]

Fortunately for me, most Dutch people speak better English than most of the people I meet in Tesco's.

Same for Scandinavians

We were much amused when David Davis suggested that the UK had an edge on international (brexit) trade as the Brits spoke English. You can have a perfectly sophisticated, grammatically and idiomatically correct conversation in English with any supermarket cashier in Holland. Of course, you could also have that very same conversation and with the same person in German, Dutch or Friesian. Add French/Italian/Spanish to that, if that nice young person has been to Dutch Grammar schools. Politicians don't seem to get out much.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

We were much amused when David Davis suggested that the UK had an edge on international (brexit) trade as the Brits spoke English. You can have a perfectly sophisticated, grammatically and idiomatically correct conversation in English with any supermarket cashier in Holland. Of course, you could also have that very same conversation and with the same person in German, Dutch or Friesian. Add French/Italian/Spanish to that, if that nice young person has been to Dutch Grammar schools. Politicians don't seem to get out much.

That said, I have German-speaking relatives in Germany, and although some speak excellent English, more than half have very limited English. The best are my nieces whose mother tongue is Cantonese, their everyday working language is German and they are fluent in English (and possibly other languages as well!) One of them is incredible - she can switch languages almost mid-sentence without any pause at all, usually when she's translating for her mother or father for me!

 

[Frogmogman]

We were much amused when David Davis suggested that the UK had an edge on international (brexit) trade as the Brits spoke English. You can have a perfectly sophisticated, grammatically and idiomatically correct conversation in English with any supermarket cashier in Holland. Of course, you could also have that very same conversation and with the same person in German, Dutch or Friesian. Add French/Italian/Spanish to that, if that nice young person has been to Dutch Grammar schools. Politicians don't seem to get out much.

The Dutch talent for languages is remarkable. I remember being bowled over by the fact that a 12 year Dutch old lad I met in Muiden when delivering a Sigma 36 up there in about 1981, not only spoke perfect English, but could do so in the style of Dallas, Eastenders, Coronation Street etc.

 

[Laminar Flow]

That said, I have German-speaking relatives in Germany, and although some speak excellent English, more than half have very limited English. The best are my nieces whose mother tongue is Cantonese, their everyday working language is German and they are fluent in English (and possibly other languages as well!) One of them is incredible - she can switch languages almost mid-sentence without any pause at all, usually when she's translating for her mother or father for me!

Germany was much slower off the bat teaching languages, compared to the Dutch, and the Scandinavian countries; things are improving. Though my German is fluent (I would have made a perfect spy, if the bottom hadn't dropped out of that market in '45), I never, ever use it in Holland ...

 

[Alicatt]

Last summer, we as a family were sitting around the pool, all 16 of us, and my middle daughter was struggling to say something in English to me, when my 9 year old grandson piped up from behind his iPad and gave the proper English phrase for what she wanted to say. Not to say we were all left a bit stunned and amused as he had been sitting there quietly and ignoring us - or so we had thought, he is a bright kid and he loves aeroplanes just like his grandfather does

All the family, except me, can speak at least 2 other languages, Dutch/Vlaams, French, English, and German, my wife also speaks a bit of Spanish in addition to all of those. I understand a good bit of Dutch and the local dialect of Flemish but my daughter -in- law of my middle son I cannot make head nor tail out of what she says, her dialect from the next town just goes past me, very frustrating indeed, I can get by in Dutch but nowhere near fluent, from subtitles on TV programs I have picked up the written word and now I have stopped saying "He/she never said that..." in response to bad ondertitels.

My youngest daughter was working for a recruitment agency and I had to call her at work one day, she answered the phone and we had a conversation in English, when she hung up her boss came over and said "I never knew you spoke that good English, here is a promotion, a car, and a move to an office near Brussels..."

 

[Gary Fox]

I spent a lot of 1999 on an ex-East German trawler, with many original crew from communist times, plus a handful of youngsters.
The old boys all spoke slangy Russian when they were drunk and arguing (every day...) but not in front of strangers.
The young lads all spoke English of course. It all changed pretty much in one generation.

 

[Gary Fox]

Germany was much slower off the bat teaching languages, compared to the Dutch, and the Scandinavian countries; things are improving. Though my German is fluent (I would have made a perfect spy, if the bottom hadn't dropped out of that market in '45), I never, ever use it in Holland ...

My mate Hans, from Bavaria married a Dutchwoman, and they brought up their son in Amsterdam. They all speak great English of course, but I think you would be fine talking German in Holland.
If it was 1950 and you had a military bearing, maybe you would get dirty looks or spit in your beer, but it's ancient history now.
Edited to add, much of the lock machinery, pumping systems etcwhich keep the N.Sea out are German made..

 

[Adios]

My 1895 Hollandse Tjalk, she's a gaff cutter, with wire running rigging. 40 tons, rivetted wrought iron. Made in Papendracht to carry dyke-building materials.
The dry-dock, in Arctic Road, Cowes, is a decade older.
Yes the jib is wrong, it's a hand-me-down tops'l from the TS Winston Churchill.
Motor is a Gardner 4LW, a mere 70 years old.
She's been in dock to fettle the stern gear, a reliable motor is fairly vital on a big iron boat; I'm confident manuovering under sail in a yacht, but the tjalk has the potential to do some serious damage if you cock it up, and she doesn't exactly turn on a sixpence

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When I was living aboard in London one of my now sadly departed neighbours lived in a smaller version of this. Had the best smelling engine room/bilge, many decades of various sulphurous greases blended together. He wasn't very adventurous so I never managed to persuade him to go drying out and exploring the dengie sand flats with it. Could have been a unique trip

 

[Alicatt]

My mate Hans, from Bavaria married a Dutchwoman, and they brought up their son in Amsterdam. They all speak great English of course, but I think you would be fine talking German in Holland.
If it was 1950 and you had a military bearing, maybe you would get dirty looks or spit in your beer, but it's ancient history now.
Edited to add, much of the lock machinery, pumping systems etcwhich keep the N.Sea out are German made..

Wouda you say that again?



Wouda stoomgemaal which was built in 1913 is a steam powered water pumping station at Lemmer, due to the covid restrictions in force they could not fire it up to give demonstrations, it is now only used for tourists and when the water levels get really high but it takes a good few hours to get the steam up in the boilers.

 

[Laminar Flow]

My mate Hans, from Bavaria married a Dutchwoman, and they brought up their son in Amsterdam. They all speak great English of course, but I think you would be fine talking German in Holland.
If it was 1950 and you had a military bearing, maybe you would get dirty looks or spit in your beer, but it's ancient history now.
Edited to add, much of the lock machinery, pumping systems etcwhich keep the N.Sea out are German made..

I am not quite so sure of that.

We've had several experiences that say otherwise.

When we were in Enkhuizen on the Isselmeer, I went to the harbour master's office to pay my moorage. There was a German chap ahead of me and they were talking in German, which I understand just fine. When it came to pay the fellow pulled a 50 Euro bill and the harbour master immediately waved him off saying he couldn't make change. The German argued, but no go; its at least a two km round trip to the next bank in town to get change. He grumbled and left. I was next and all I had to pay was a 50 Euro bill as well. We spoke in English and I told him we had the little, fat ketch on D, you know , the one with the Canadian flag up ... With a deep sigh he reached under the counter, brought out his cash box and made change.

The second time, while waiting at the tie-up to pass the harbour lock at Stavoren a large Dutch Botter with a bright oak hull pulled in behind us and dropped their boat hook in the process. I jogged over and fished it out for them. Then a German boat with an elderly mom & pop crew ahead of us got into trouble when their stern line let go and they ended up cock-a-many across the canal. So I helped them get tied up again (in German). When we got into the the lock the Dutchman was behind us, they pack 'em tight, and the woman on the bow said to me: "ain't you the hero today", nodding at the German boat. "Ahw, it can happen to anyone," says I. "Not really, they are German, it's just that we are used to it", came her answer.

 

[Adios]

-

 

[westhinder]

The Dutch talent for languages is remarkable. I remember being bowled over by the fact that a 12 year Dutch old lad I met in Muiden when delivering a Sigma 36 up there in about 1981, not only spoke perfect English, but could do so in the style of Dallas, Eastenders, Coronation Street etc.

That boy demonstrates the good sense of the TV channel bosses in the Netherlands and Flanders in the 1950s when they decided to subtitle foreign TV programs and not dub them. So we get exposed to the various languages and accents and learn without noticing. A similarly talented British, German, French... boy would not have had that opportunity

 

[Bajansailor]

I had a temporary job skippering a small (40') tug for a Dutch dredging company during the summer of 1989 off Langstone Harbour (they were digging a trench a few miles long for a long sewage outfall pipe to be laid) - and I remember being very impressed by the dredger crew's ability to swear very passionately and proficiently in a variety of languages (I even learnt a few choice Dutch swear words for future reference).

 

[Frogmogman]

That boy demonstrates the good sense of the TV channel bosses in the Netherlands and Flanders in the 1950s when they decided to subtitle foreign TV programs and not dub them. So we get exposed to the various languages and accents and learn without noticing. A similarly talented British, German, French... boy would not have had that opportunity

That was what his Father explained to me, and why I expressed his accents in terms of TV shows.

These people showed real kindness to my friend Peter and I. We had endured quite a tough trip up from Hayling Island, with a rough crossing of the North Sea into the teeth of an easterly force 6. So it was that we arrived two and a half days later than we had originally envisaged in Muiden on a Sunday evening, cold, wet and having eaten all of the food we had brought.

This was in the days before you could withdraw cash from a machine using a foreign card, and we had no Dutch currency with us. A Dutch Gentleman and his son were putting their boat away. Peter explained our situation to him, and asked if he could help us out by exchanging some Stirling for Guilders. The man replied that, alas he had no cash about his person, but would happily buy us some dinner; he took us both for the most fantastic meal at the teppanyaki grill at the Sheraton, where we all enjoyed an extremely jolly evening.

 

[Alicatt]

This weeks video is from Stavoren to Hindeloopen

Hindeloopen is where we went with the wives to see how they would like doing a bit of canal cruising next summer, Stavoren is at the Ijsselmeer end of the canal where we stayed, we had planned on going there on our day out but with the weather so bad we cut the trip short and headed back to de Kuilart.
My wife gets seasick on the ferries and I was a bit concerned about going out on a 6.5m sloop on such a rough day, we had a short chop of about .5 to 1m crossing the lake Morra heading to the canal to Hindeloopen, my wife was fine and enjoyed it and was totally unconcerned with the trip, the other lady was not so keen but she kept dry and safe under the cuddy.

Coming into Hindeloopen


Looking for a parking place...


Our little sloop in the middle


Wife's first lessons





Air draught was a concern...

 

[Laminar Flow]

I had entertained the thought of writing an article on the unique "Sloepen" culture in Holland and the equally unique type of boat it has bred. The boats are frequently based on either Scandinavian double ended designs or 19th century ship's boats. Equipped with a small diesel, much love and detail is lavished on these dayboats. Most are around 20' or so but some are as much as 50' and worth several hundred thousands of Euro; none are cheap. The culture is a direct derivative of what can be seen in 17th century Dutch painting, a wealthy middle/upper class out to enjoy time on the water. It is still very much a case of seeing and being seen with opulent and properly stocked and styled picknique hampers on prominent display. Where other nations might go for a promenade on the plaza in the evening or take the Merc for a Sunday spin, the Dutch take their Sloepen for a tour around the neighbourhood canals. It is not just old fogeys like us that indulge, but we have often seen crews of teenagers, all boys, all girls or mixed, out for a good time. One does have to envy them; it certainly beats hanging out at the mall.

 

[Bajansailor]

Please do write that article LF!

The most difficult part (I am sure) would be in trying to keep it as an article, rather than allowing it to become an encyclopaedia, as there are just so many interesting boats of all shapes and sizes and types in the Netherlands.

 

[Alicatt]

Please do write that article LF!

The most difficult part (I am sure) would be in trying to keep it as an article, rather than allowing it to become an encyclopaedia, as there are just so many interesting boats of all shapes and sizes and types in the Netherlands.

I echo this, please do write the article, I found the area where we were in Friesland very interesting, there are loads of different boats all interesting in their own way.

When looking for a hire boat for next summer some were limited to only the canals and had very shallow draught while others are allowed out into the Ijsselmeer and tended to have a bit more keel to them and there were all sorts of hull shapes.

We were there in September last year, we had one bad day out of the 10 days we spent there, it coincided with the day we had booked the boat - it was the only day there were any available and the little marina there had 40 of the 6.5m sloops, they also have 6m sloops which are very similar, and then 5m and 3.5m boats too, we had the boat on a thursday and due to the weather it was not as busy as the other days but there were still a lot of craft on the water there.

6m sloop similar to the 6.5m


Traffic jam in Geithoorn, the boat hire people were complaining because there was a lack of tourists!


Café on the meer


Midweek in Koundam, it was like this most of the time, looking towards Stavoren


Low bridge!