week 12

Boat to Grou on Sunday...

The reason I am late with this and totally out of sync. - forgot daylight saving and the boat keys!!! thus losing two hours!

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/581567

On the way, we saw quite a few big ships on the Prinses Margriet Canal... including this one which had a "small" dent at the front, near the name.

We also had a huge ship that was gaining on us. One of the tips from studying was that they can cause a "sucking effect" as they pass - tending to pull the smaller boat off course or worse! One of my boatie mates says that he does a U-turn to come in behind them - so that's what I did today - allowing plenty of time to come around - we were in his "dead corner" for some time and he couldn't see us.  Best to avoid any problems if there is enough room - and time. We're going to be seeing some more big ships when we get away on the Big Trip.

Not much of a diagram - but it does happen!

"Sucking" effect:

 If you are heading in opposite directions as you pass then it becomes a "pushing" effect - so best not to be too close to the sides of the canal.

and we ended up in Grou after 2.5 hours.

More boating stuff...

I was stumped for a while thinking that we have to go through Belgium to get to Maastricht and in so doing avoid going upstream on the Maas... but I got looking and found another canal that at least cuts a fair bit off the Maas route-

The Kanaal Wessem Nederweert.

I even found a drone video of the whole canal - it does seem rather straight - there is no sound on this one.

https://youtu.be/7gdf-YwVkxE?list=PLbe0ATDrdoczCrCn_UFysOAs8EOiYMEaT

The chap's name is Michel Henson, a professional photographer going under the name of Nachtfotograaf on YouTube. The quality is excellent. I'm slowly working my through the more than 80 videos and enjoying every minute of it on the big telly. The list includes quite a few French canals, just to whet my appetite!

Boat Registration:

Finally resolved (although I have to wait until they check my uploaded details and send it officially - usually 10 days)

Beste Ken, Bedankt voor je bestelling bij het Watersportverbond. We hebben de volgende bestelling ontvangen: ICP reguliere aanvraag: € 31,25 63522 Wij controleren de door jou aangeleverde documenten op geldigheid en juistheid. Daarna wordt het ICP aangemaakt en binnen 10 dagen aan je verstuurd. Totaal € 31,25 Bovengenoemde bestelling is reeds via iDeal voldaan. We wensen je alvast veel plezier op het water! Op deze bestelling zijn de algemene voorwaarden van het Watersportverbond van toepassing. Met vriendelijke groet,  Afd. Dienstverlening Watersportverbond  T: (030) 30 77 500 E: service@watersportverbond.nl  I: www.watersportverbond.nl  Facebook: Watersportverbond  Twitter: @watersportNL

Ben's setbacks

Ben missed out on the Europen Road Project and a scholarship to a University in Shanghai. We were disappointed of course, but then I thought about the fact that there haven't been many (if any) setbacks along the way. He was always surprising us with his high marks and awards - and he just kept on taking it all in his stride.

I was reminded, as I so often am, of something Mum would have said - I know she did to me on too many occasions "never mind, something else will turn up" or "just bide your time, it will all fall into place".

We chat with Ben almost daily, using Whatsapp...my message was

Now, I mention it here simply because we had a "truer words were never spoken" moment.

Within days, Ben had a promotion of sorts at his regular work. (He had had a difference of opinion with one of the bosses about Ben being "missing" when he was away doing modelling work. He was able to defend himself and point out that that was the agreement he had). Then followed the promotion, so it must have been OK.!

And then: the offer of 70 days modelling work in Shanghai!
He his still finalising the contract...

So, we wait and see...

Some Dutch Sayings...

Two of my regular sites are iamexpat.nl and dutchnews.nl - both in English.
This one about typical Dutch "sayings" (from IamExpat) caught my eye...
Nr 2 always came up when doing the building works - a bit like "measure twice, cut once". And Nr 3, for obvious reasons!
..and I think I am busy with Nr 1 "it is better to wear out than rust out".




1. Zuinigheid met vlijt (Thrift and diligence)


Many Dutch people grew up hearing this saying. Be frugal, work hard! The Dutch uphold these two virtues above everything. The first virtue is “soberheid” or “zuinigheid” (austerity), which should not be confused with “gierigheid” (stinginess). The Dutch praise economical talents, however, they can be very generous when they need to be.

While it may be true that many Dutchies are not fond of parting with their money, there are notable exceptions. Just think of the many times Dutch people have collected big sums of money for charity, when people somewhere in the world experienced a disaster.

Austerity goes hand in hand with another virtue, “vlijt” (thrift, diligence, hard work). Whatever you would like to achieve (an academic title, promotion), do it with “vlijt”.

Another saying with which you can practice rolling your Dutch r’s is “rust roest” (rest rusts). According to dictionary Van Dale this translates to: “It's better to wear out than to rust out”.

2. Meten is weten (Measuring things brings knowledge)

The Dutch are firm believers in the power of reason and common sense. Measuring things, they say, is the gate to wisdom. Be suspicious of your intuitions. An emotional stance can be extremely hazardous, for it might lead to biased opinions and fatal mistakes. Knowledge should therefore, be based on scientific facts.

Two thousand years ago some hot-headed conquering Romans observed that large parts of the low lands were neither land nor sea. They wondered what kind of headstrong barbarians would want to live in such uninhabitable parts. These people, the forefathers of the Dutch, studied the freaky behaviour of water and later generations developed precise instruments to measure the movements of the rivers and sea.

Accurate measurements and corrective measures eventually led to a better chance of survival. Never forget that over half of the Netherlands is located metres below sea level. Meten is weten…

So, take good care when a Dutchie utters these three simple words to you. It probably means that you have not done your homework. If he or she then adds: “gissen is missen” (guessing things causes mistakes), you will have to work even harder to regain their trust.

3. Oost west, thuis best (East, West, home is best)

Like their ancestors, many Dutch people travel a lot and no matter where you go on this Earth, you’ll meet thrifty and zealous Dutchies. However, you will find that their home will always be where their heart is (“eigen haard is goud waard” / your own fireplace is worth gold), because the Dutch worship “gezelligheid”.

4. Gezelligheid kent geen tijd (Cosiness knows no time)

Gezellig (enjoyable, pleasant, entertaining, sociable, companionable, convivial) is the cosiest of all Dutch words. It can be attached to almost any other word: coffee, film, man, fire… They can all be “gezellig”.

When in Dutch company, make sure you utter the word “gezellig” several times. This way, they’ll find you very “gezellig” and you’re sure to be invited to the next “gezellige” party.

5. Haastige spoed is zelden goed (Haste makes waste)

When you meet a Dutch person in an elevator and you ask how life is treating them, you’ll very likely get the answer “druk, druk, druk” (busy, busy, busy). Why three times “druk”? Why three kisses on the cheek? Nobody knows. It’s a ritual.

Even when the Dutch do not seem to be “druk”, they’ll insist that they have a lot to do. This is probably connected to the idea that they need to be “vlijtig” (hard working), or at least give the impression that they are. However, don’t forget that things in the Netherlands should never be rushed, because haste makes waste… And that’s not “gezellig”.

Around the farm...

Well, it has been a long winter... but finally we are getting outside more and with "warmer" weather - rather sad that you can consider 8 degrees C to be warm!

The last of the ice...hopefully.

We convinced the kids that it would be good if they could saw some firewood - we have a couple who would rather use a chainsaw.... yeah, right!

We still have a bathroom to organise, but it keeps getting to the bottom of the list after the asbestos removal, solar panel installation, boat repairs, etc., etc. (But Janny is still working on it).

Privacy Referendum

We had local government elections last week and a referendum on security legislation

The Dutch voted by a majority of 49.5% to 46.5% against the new legislation, which is due to come into effect in May and has been described as a ‘Big Brother charter’ by critics and privacy experts.

My own question would be "how many of the NO voters have a Facebook account". As we have seen, there is a greater problem there with people's privacy - than the Government having the power to detect criminals and terrorists. Oh well...

And to finish with the rather unfortunate observation that my Footy Team is awful - but far worse is to say that I am ashamed of my Cricket Team! Thank goodness it is Boating Season again!