Week 14 Aboard the Good Ship "The Two Beeches"

Boat progress

Robin and Joy have gone to live aboard their boat. It's been a busy 4 weeks but they now have a new paint job, a new shower/toilet, a boiler and a heater.

As well as being an ex-firie Robin is also an ex-tradie and it shows in the quality of the work.

Johanna is now sporting the same colours as Jacoba (and De Twa Buken!) - Antique Green and Antique White

Robin and Joy have been doing 10 - 12 hour days working together on the boat. They were leaving our place every day at 0600hrs! Joy did most of the painting as well as being the "extra pair of hands" as required for all the other jobs.

They will now be able to live fairly independently - Robin's trade was as an electrician, so he has installed solar panels and inverters - enough to run just about everything on 240 (220) volts. This will be even more of an advantage when they get to France.

The new Shower/WC

The Caronavirus has curtailed just about all boating for the immediate future - so much uncertainty! A spokesperson for the Charter Boat Industry has said that "about 50% of the Charter companies will go bankrupt". 

Bridges and locks will be operating on the Winter timetable (maybe opening upon request). With all that in mind and the need for limiting contact with other people, Robin and Joy will probably stay in Friesland until it all becomes a bit clearer.

We were going to have three days on the boat - not venturing too far, but simply enjoying "being there" - BUT....

Just before we left - I had the car half packed - I received this email from our haven (marina)...

We would like to ask everyone to follow the instructions of the national government in order to prevent the spread of the virus together. All marinas must close. We do not choose to hang a lock on the fence, but rely on your cooperation:
Stay home and don't come to the ports
If you already have to be at the port, not by car through the gate and maximum 1 person per boat
The guideline of 1.5 meters also applies to the ports
No recreation on the ports
There is limited service by the harbor masters
The gas station (diesel sales) is closed
DIY sheds may be used in consultation with the harbor masters
The canteens and toilet facilities at both ports are locked.
The period of winter storage on shore is extended (free of charge)
until October 1, 2020
Campers are not allowed on the grounds of De Welle
The administration (Tuesday and Friday afternoon) is closed

So, at De Twa Buken, we have to find a new routine. It seems strange not to have the clients and kids around with all the associated "work" (it hardly seems fair to call it work). I particularly miss our paid volunteer - the place is already looking pretty good thanks to his work - I'm sure I couldn't have managed it alone.

The Caronavirus Disruptions

For the time being, we can keep going as usual (but without the physical presence of the clients). Janny and Ankie are maintaining contact with them and even allocating some "homework" to keep them busy. 

Lotte, our niece and principal carer of the kids, has been in touch with the parents to offer any support that we can. For example, our newest family is under some stress at the moment, as they fear that they may indeed have the virus. A doctor is monitoring the situation to ascertain if they need testing and/or hospitalisation. Asthma in the family is an added complication. Janny has taken the kids some games and craftwork and did this weeks shopping for the family. 

Janny has taken it all very seriously, so much so that she wears a facemask and gloves to do the shopping.

Now that we are back to just the three of us (plus Mem) and the work is completed on the boat, we are contemplating a new routine to see us through.

Ben is doing lots of study and workouts. He has also developed into quite a cook - something he has learnt along the way with all his travelling.

For myself, I have started a new routine of :-

0800 - 1000hrs paperwork (funny how that hasn't stopped) 

1000 - 1200hrs - exercise (walking the dogs and a workout in our "gym"). Janny and Ben cleaned out the room and re-arranged all the fitness apparatus. 

1300hrs - maintenance work for as long as I can...

A modest start...

A sign for walkers in the forest...

Dear Visitor

We want to keep this area open, so we ask the following...

Busy? find somewhere else

two people (unless a family)

1.5 metres distance from other people

walk in a clockwise direction

Janny is maintaining contact with the clients and spending the mornings contacting all involved - including other Care Farms and Institutions. She is also doing surprisingly long walks with Boeke - all those kilometres on tiny legs - but he loves it!

My first maintenance project is to paint all the doors and window frames - a long overdue job!

Note the same colour as the boats!

Things that caught my attention...

Almost 30 years ago, I went with Janny's brother Sipke, to see the building of a replica ship - the Batavia. There were no plans, just drawings and so the builders had to "rediscover" the building methods of hundreds of years earlier. The building site became a commercial success and so the construction took much longer than intended. The replica ship sailed the original course and returned to Lelystad.

But, in the intervening years the ship has apparently deteriorated (men and ships rot in port?).

The relocation of the dilapidated replica of the VOC ship Batavia in Lelystad to the Frisian Stavoren continues. The province of Fryslân and the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân announced this this morning at the town hall of Sneek. The illustrious boat is to be placed on the lawn next to the pompous glass artwork 'The Block House' on the foundations of a former fortress. The glass and steel structure with stairs and gate is ideal as a stepping stone. The Batavia was not wheelchair accessible in Lelystad, but it will be in Stavoren. An elevator will be built next to the stairs.

The Frisians had already offered the polder board to take over the attraction in the middle of last year, after it appeared that the province of Flevoland and the municipality of Lelystad could not get the financial resources to carry out the urgently needed restoration. An action group launched in the rush of autumn 2019 led by shipbuilder Willem Vos - he took the initiative 35 years ago to rebuild Batavia, which ran onto a coral reef near Australia in 1629 - attempted to prevent an imminent relocation to Friesland. , but stranded at the Provincial Council of Flevoland: they did not want to put a cent in the multi-million dollar project. The province of Flevoland previously promised € 750,000, but that is not nearly enough for restoration according to the guidelines of authenticity. At least two million euros must be put on the shelf. In Friesland, where the provincial government has been looking for a top attraction on the IJsselmeer coast for years, they expect to have the necessary amount above water within a year and a half with a sophisticated marketing and entrance policy.

(parts of)The original ship are in Fremantle and Geraldton.

and lastly...

We wash our hands umpteen time a day - as does the rest of the world, presumably.

One of my favorite podcasts is titled "Stuff You Missed in History Class". This weeks episode was about Ignaz Semmelweis - who apparently "discovered" the importance of washing hands (particularly doctors) but was largely ridiculed for his work in this field.

Now, I can't wash my hands without thinking about Ignaz Semmelweis!