You may recall our famous Canadian writer Farley
Mowat and his tale of the Boat That Would Not Float? Fortunately, this is not
that tale.
Faithful
Family, Friends and other Readers the launch has occurred! Now we may be able
to get down to the objective of this Blog: cruising down the canals of Europe
and tales thereof.
Let us say simply that yesterday was an exciting
day. We arose at 4AM to drive to the boat yard in Heerewaarden NL. The barge
had been surveyed on Thursday for volume tonnage and on Friday readied for
loading on a flatbed truck with articulating wheels. Driving through the
darkness toward the yard on Saturday morning we took our usual route from Lille
toward Antwerp then Breda and Utrecht and finally toward Rossum and Heerewaarden.
As we met daylight toward our final traffic circle what hove in sight but flashing
lights surrounding our beautiful barge FortyRosesIII. John pulled off the road
and I jumped out to take some head-on photos as the trucks and barge passed by followed
by another vehicle with lights flashing as this was a highly traffic interfering
trip. We pulled in behind as other Dutch drivers, seeing our roadside excitement,
realized the barge must be ours and made room for us.
It
was a tortuous trip as the barge is 4.75M wide and the roads are narrow. The crew
doing the job were true professionals and anticipated every twist, turn, light
standard and tree overhang. The turning toward Kirdriel, where the marina is
located for the launch to the river Maas, was a challenge and the man whose
house is on that corner looked a bit concerned he might have barge for
breakfast. But all went well, slowly with purpose and skill the vehicles moved
this tremendous load... about 40 tons’ weight.
The
last corner and entry to the launch yard was the trickiest and for that the
team plugged in their articulating wheels device and inched through the gates
and turn with centimeters to spare. After that we were astounded to see the
speed with which the boat was drawn into a sling lift, secured and lifted from
the truck bed. As our drivers waved goodbye and moved on to a well-earned coffee
they left the barge in the good hands of the next stage. The blue travel-lift
driver drove that boat to a narrow launch site, propelled his machine onto the
steel rails and suddenly the boat was hanging over the water. The wind was cold
the sun intermittent but we cared not...she was going to touch the water for
the first time. Our good friends Hans and Joke joined us and the crew of
Marcus, Arian and Kees, the builder, had been with the barge from the yard.
Kees filmed the entire trip as I took as many pictures as possible. The lift
driver lowered her to the water and she was in at 10.02AM Central European Time!
Straps were dropped and the engine started first turn and she was reversed into
the Maas river. They pulled her alongside the pontoon and John jumped aboard
for the trip back to the yard, about 1/2 hour away. Hans and Joke and I drove
our respective cars back for morning champagne and cake and a toast to the boat
and all who have helped build her, aboard the Boat That Floats.
The following are some of the photos we took
during the early morning hours of Saturday, January 28.
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A22 out of Lille. . .Very Early Saturday
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Hopefully Dawn Soon and a Coffee?
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Dawn Looking Good and Coffee Tasting Even Better
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Not Many Others Out and About
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Here She Comes!
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A Parade
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Secure We Hope
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Kirkdriel Turn Broadsides
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Made It
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Full Road
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Dodging Trees
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Arian Holding Speed Controls Out of the Way
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More Challenges
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Another Turn Accomplished
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OK! Parked Cars!
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No Name on Her Yet but Soon Name and Port
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Navigating Town
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Up the Dike
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Over the Dike and a Glimpse of River
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Still Snow Here. . .
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But not Much
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Fishermen Watching the Show
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Last Obstacle. . . the Marina Gates
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Lining Her Up
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It's Convenient to Have Articulating Wheels
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No Scratches Is the Objective
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Helpers and Watchers
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Narrow Gate Ahead
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Men who Know Their Business
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Just a Fit
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I'm worried but Not the Crew
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Walkie Talkie Communications
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All Clear
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Next Stage..Truck Drives Under Travel Lift
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Perfect Drive-Thru
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| Lift Straps in Place |
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She is Rolling Now!
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You Can Trust This Guy
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You can See Her Traditional Red Moustache and Anchor
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The Recording Team
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Almost There
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On the Rails
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Starting Down
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She Fits
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Crew Aboard
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Deck Top in Sight..Check out her Solar Panels on Wheelhouse
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On the Water at 10:02 Central European Time, January 28, 2017
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Free and Floating
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Looking Good..Planning in 2014, Design August 2015, to Launch Today...A Long Process
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Mast Up and Bumpers Down
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Proud Owner at the Outside Helm
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Arian and John
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Kees at the Helm
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Next Stop Boat Yard
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Kees the Builder (with crown), son Glenn and Master Mechanic Arian
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Hans and Joke our Good Friends
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What Better Way to Celebrate; French Champage and Cake in a Dutch Boat
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Arian the Man Who Knows Every Inch of this Boat: Hats Off!!
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Crumbs left
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The Most Beautiful Bouquet!
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Forty Roses from Hans & Joke. . . What a Lovely Gift!
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Kees, Dean and Glenn
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View From the Wheelhouse as She Floats
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Well Earned by All
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Joke, the Friend who is Always Encouraging and so Thoughtful
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Naturally, there is
still work to be completed : all systems tested and cleared, the Boatmaster and his Crew fully trained on those systems and all the cleaning and setting up finished before we Sail Away.
Soon. . .
