Week 7 Mostly boat stuff
Week 7
Mostly boating related...
Because it's winter, I suppose - don't seem to have done very much
.
The boat trip is coming up - so a lot of planning and reading.
A few things to do - the boat comes out of the water in 2 weeks time - just to check the propeller. I was going to get the boat expert to look at something else, but he said that if there is something to do with the propeller, then it will be time well spent - so the propeller it is.
He's is stopping with boat work, so this will be his last job for us. He's going into solar panels, home batteries, heat pumps, etc. Electronics was his original specialty and some of the boat work was getting a bit demanding.
Paperwork to get in order...
Boat licence
Insurance - OK outside the Netherlands??
Boat registration
Proof of Ownership (Is the BTW (GST) paid?)
VHF Licence
Little things picked up from reading...
- Life jackets are required in some locks (we just ordered a third one)
- A spotlight is required in a tunnel (dusted off an OLD one, but probably better to get a much better new model)
- A gangplank might be required in some places - eg a river bank where we can't get close enough - I have a suitable plank to try out re strength and storage
- we bought some canvas shade cloth for the windows - my helper and I are going to make some patterns out of cardboard. The end product will be held on with magnets (We saw this idea last year).
- we're also going to put the doors back on and give the boat a bit of a clean up. We had a bit of Sahara sand last week.
- Espresso Coffee machine for Frank (gotta keep the crew happy) :)
... although I did reach a milestone of walking every day for 2 years. The "Ommetje" app was designed by the Brain Foundation - encouraging people to get out and walk "around the block" at least once a day.
I'm stopping with it now - just going to enjoy it with Boeke, without the need to "keep up with my points". :)
At a DIY store like Bunnings
My Little Tractor...
One of our clients had an operation...
How often does a lot of rain fall in a day in the Netherlands and does the chance increase?
You often hear that in the Netherlands it rains a lot and we like to grumble when the weather is rainy for a few days. However, the reality is a bit different, because if we look at the duration of precipitation, for example, it only rains 7% of the time, which means that it is dry 93% of the time. In terms of amount of rain, there is an average of about 80 cm of rain per year, which amounts to an average of about 2 mm per day. These amounts are not exceptional, and much of Europe receives more rainfall than ours, even in the Mediterranean area.
The fact that we have the idea of living in a rainy country is mainly due to the fact that the weather is rather changeable: on many days it does rain a little and lower periods of weeks with little precipitation are rare. Days with a lot of rain in one day are therefore not very common. For example, in the Netherlands it rains on about 150 days out of 365, but only on about 20 days does more than 10 mm fall in a day and on only 3 days a year does 20 mm or more fall in a day.
Even more rain in one day quickly becomes a fairly rare event: more than 25 mm falls on only 2 days per year and 30 mm on 1 day per year. An amount of 40 or 50 mm occurs only once every 4 and 10 years respectively. These are the data for De Bilt, which is located in the relatively wet center of the country. In the drier south(east) and of the country, the number of days is slightly smaller.
The chance of days with a lot of precipitation is not evenly distributed over the year: the chance is greatest in the 3 summer months (June to August) and half of all days with a lot of precipitation are found in these 3 months. This is caused by the fact that the air in these months is often extra unstable (ie warm on the surface and much cooler at high altitudes), which can cause heavy (thunder) showers that bring a lot of rain in a short time. There are also showers in winter, but they bring much less precipitation at once. In the autumn and winter, it is mainly the prolonged rainy periods that can cause a lot of precipitation.
Due to climate change, the temperature of the air is increasing and the warmer the air, the more moisture it can hold. When it rains, more rain can fall and the chance of days with a lot of precipitation has therefore been increasing for several decades. In winter, the air flow is more often south-westerly, bringing moist air from the Atlantic Ocean, which also increases the chance of days with (a lot of) precipitation.
Currently - on Thursday the weather changed - to wet and windy - the HIGH (below) lasted for about 2 weeks
After the very wet first half of January, when the western circulation sent numerous low-pressure areas over our area, a high-pressure area has appeared on the weather maps and has since kept precipitation away from the river basins, resulting in sharply falling water levels. In the first days of February, some rain areas managed to penetrate to the center of Germany, but last week the high pressure area was right above our area and not a drop fell.
The weather map of the current situation (see below) clearly shows how dominant the high pressure area is over Europe. Low pressure areas that can bring precipitation are nowhere to be seen on the weather map.
If you are moored lightly in a lock, it is forbidden to use the propeller. After all, your propeller water can hinder others and can even pose a danger. Especially when it comes to large ships with powerful engines and smaller ships want to moor behind them.
In a case against an inland skipper, the court recently ruled that the skipper had rightly deviated from the rules by using his propeller in the Maasbracht lock. According to inland shipping lawyer Marius van Dam, this means that Rijkswaterstaat must now allow the use of the screw in locks everywhere, but RWS itself thinks otherwise.
In the present case, the skipper had occasionally adjusted the propeller during the passage to keep the ship under control. He was afraid of damage and therefore relied on good seamanship. The judge agreed.
My Little Tractor...
A nephew used to be the foreman at a Tractor sales and repair place - he was head-hunted to become a (Practical) teacher at a school in Heerenveen...
...they need tractors to practice on :) All we have to pay for is any parts or materials used.
One of our clients had an operation...
So the others made their own cards for him...
Ben in Mexico
He was invited to a BIG wedding - 500 people!
Coming home at the end of April - we have booked a couple of nights in a hotel to be with him,
His on line work continues, even picking up a new client - not much with modelling so far.
He had to wait for about 4 hours just to get his temporary residence visa.
He is in shared accommodation at the moment but a friend has offered him an alternative in about 2 weeks time.
Water Levels
https://www.waterpeilen.nl/
peil = level . It is also used in our normal boating in the term NAP (Normaal Amsterdams Peil).
In Friesland, it doesn't vary much, but in some places it might be necessary to know what it is at any given moment for passing under a bridge.
Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, its height was used by Prussia in 1879 for defining Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.
The photo below is of a ditch across the road from us - the top of the barrier has an NAP of 490 - ie nearly 5 meters above NAP.
This is a weekly email that I get about "water levels". He is very knowledgeable and brings it across in simple terms (even when it is Google Translate(d)).
In Friesland, it doesn't vary much, but in some places it might be necessary to know what it is at any given moment for passing under a bridge.
Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, its height was used by Prussia in 1879 for defining Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.
The photo below is of a ditch across the road from us - the top of the barrier has an NAP of 490 - ie nearly 5 meters above NAP.
This is a weekly email that I get about "water levels". He is very knowledgeable and brings it across in simple terms (even when it is Google Translate(d)).
How often does a lot of rain fall in a day in the Netherlands and does the chance increase?
You often hear that in the Netherlands it rains a lot and we like to grumble when the weather is rainy for a few days. However, the reality is a bit different, because if we look at the duration of precipitation, for example, it only rains 7% of the time, which means that it is dry 93% of the time. In terms of amount of rain, there is an average of about 80 cm of rain per year, which amounts to an average of about 2 mm per day. These amounts are not exceptional, and much of Europe receives more rainfall than ours, even in the Mediterranean area.
The fact that we have the idea of living in a rainy country is mainly due to the fact that the weather is rather changeable: on many days it does rain a little and lower periods of weeks with little precipitation are rare. Days with a lot of rain in one day are therefore not very common. For example, in the Netherlands it rains on about 150 days out of 365, but only on about 20 days does more than 10 mm fall in a day and on only 3 days a year does 20 mm or more fall in a day.
Even more rain in one day quickly becomes a fairly rare event: more than 25 mm falls on only 2 days per year and 30 mm on 1 day per year. An amount of 40 or 50 mm occurs only once every 4 and 10 years respectively. These are the data for De Bilt, which is located in the relatively wet center of the country. In the drier south(east) and of the country, the number of days is slightly smaller.
The chance of days with a lot of precipitation is not evenly distributed over the year: the chance is greatest in the 3 summer months (June to August) and half of all days with a lot of precipitation are found in these 3 months. This is caused by the fact that the air in these months is often extra unstable (ie warm on the surface and much cooler at high altitudes), which can cause heavy (thunder) showers that bring a lot of rain in a short time. There are also showers in winter, but they bring much less precipitation at once. In the autumn and winter, it is mainly the prolonged rainy periods that can cause a lot of precipitation.
Due to climate change, the temperature of the air is increasing and the warmer the air, the more moisture it can hold. When it rains, more rain can fall and the chance of days with a lot of precipitation has therefore been increasing for several decades. In winter, the air flow is more often south-westerly, bringing moist air from the Atlantic Ocean, which also increases the chance of days with (a lot of) precipitation.
Currently - on Thursday the weather changed - to wet and windy - the HIGH (below) lasted for about 2 weeks
After the very wet first half of January, when the western circulation sent numerous low-pressure areas over our area, a high-pressure area has appeared on the weather maps and has since kept precipitation away from the river basins, resulting in sharply falling water levels. In the first days of February, some rain areas managed to penetrate to the center of Germany, but last week the high pressure area was right above our area and not a drop fell.
The weather map of the current situation (see below) clearly shows how dominant the high pressure area is over Europe. Low pressure areas that can bring precipitation are nowhere to be seen on the weather map.
Another Boating email had this story...about the notion of "good seamanship" (via Google Translate)
(the author cautioning against using the argument to excuse breaking the rules)
In a case against an inland skipper, the court recently ruled that the skipper had rightly deviated from the rules by using his propeller in the Maasbracht lock. According to inland shipping lawyer Marius van Dam, this means that Rijkswaterstaat must now allow the use of the screw in locks everywhere, but RWS itself thinks otherwise.
In the present case, the skipper had occasionally adjusted the propeller during the passage to keep the ship under control. He was afraid of damage and therefore relied on good seamanship. The judge agreed.
(I suspect that it was just laziness - if the ship was properly tied off then he wouldn't have to manoeuvre. We also turn off the motor because of the diesel fumes in an enclosed space).
There are, in my opinion, two salient points in this case. That the forces on the ship during locking were so great that the help of the propeller was necessary. That says something about the passage, the lock, the dimensions of the ship and the crew of the ship.
In addition, we notice that good seamanship is becoming increasingly important in court cases concerning shipping. Increasingly, attempts are being made (successfully or unsuccessfully) to excuse deviations from the rules by invoking good seamanship.
Deviation from the sailing rules is allowed under good seamanship. The idea behind this is that the ship that does not have to give way, will nevertheless give way to avoid a collision if it is seen on board that ship that the other ship that is obliged to give way is not doing enough to avoid a collision. What good seamanship is, however, is not explained anywhere. The Inland and Rhine Navigation Police Regulations, the Shipping Regulations Western Scheldt and, for example, the International Provisions for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (BVA) all mention good seamanship without explaining what this is. It is also striking that the provision in which it is permitted to deviate from the rules is described in different ways in most navigation rules. Most inland shipping rules are derived from the international shipping rules laid down in the CEVNI. There is no such thing as good seamanship, but there is the provision that it is allowed to deviate from the rules in order to avoid danger. The original text of the BVA mentions good seamanship, but only in relation to collision avoidance measures.
One thing is certain in our opinion; deviating from the sailing rules does not equal good seamanship. Deviating from the rules is sometimes necessary to prevent worse. But good seamanship is also about taking adequate measures to avoid getting into a situation that forces you to deviate from the rules.
In this specific example, the court ruled in favor of the skipper that he deviated from the rule that the propeller may not be used while passing through. The BPR was applicable in this case. In Article 1.04, the BPR expressly stipulates that 'the circumstances in which the ship is located' must be taken into account. The court is therefore right to look at all the factors that were of influence. It is going too far for us to conclude that every skipper is now allowed to use his propeller while passing through. And especially to bring in good seamanship.
We must be careful not to justify any deviation from the rules by referring to the term 'good seamanship'.
There are, in my opinion, two salient points in this case. That the forces on the ship during locking were so great that the help of the propeller was necessary. That says something about the passage, the lock, the dimensions of the ship and the crew of the ship.
In addition, we notice that good seamanship is becoming increasingly important in court cases concerning shipping. Increasingly, attempts are being made (successfully or unsuccessfully) to excuse deviations from the rules by invoking good seamanship.
Deviation from the sailing rules is allowed under good seamanship. The idea behind this is that the ship that does not have to give way, will nevertheless give way to avoid a collision if it is seen on board that ship that the other ship that is obliged to give way is not doing enough to avoid a collision. What good seamanship is, however, is not explained anywhere. The Inland and Rhine Navigation Police Regulations, the Shipping Regulations Western Scheldt and, for example, the International Provisions for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (BVA) all mention good seamanship without explaining what this is. It is also striking that the provision in which it is permitted to deviate from the rules is described in different ways in most navigation rules. Most inland shipping rules are derived from the international shipping rules laid down in the CEVNI. There is no such thing as good seamanship, but there is the provision that it is allowed to deviate from the rules in order to avoid danger. The original text of the BVA mentions good seamanship, but only in relation to collision avoidance measures.
One thing is certain in our opinion; deviating from the sailing rules does not equal good seamanship. Deviating from the rules is sometimes necessary to prevent worse. But good seamanship is also about taking adequate measures to avoid getting into a situation that forces you to deviate from the rules.
In this specific example, the court ruled in favor of the skipper that he deviated from the rule that the propeller may not be used while passing through. The BPR was applicable in this case. In Article 1.04, the BPR expressly stipulates that 'the circumstances in which the ship is located' must be taken into account. The court is therefore right to look at all the factors that were of influence. It is going too far for us to conclude that every skipper is now allowed to use his propeller while passing through. And especially to bring in good seamanship.
We must be careful not to justify any deviation from the rules by referring to the term 'good seamanship'.
Yet another source of information for the trip to France
A Google Translate failure....
The Meuse formed the natural western border of the Holy Roman Empire when it was founded in the 9th century.
Since the Middle Ages, the Meuse has played an important role for the adjacent industrial areas. Professional shipping has played an important role throughout the history of this river and will probably continue to do so for a long time to come. Because this river is so important to many companies, many adjustments have been made over the years to make the Meuse more navigable.
Sailing on the Meuse
The river rises in France and then flows into Belgium at Givet. This first section forms a large part of the Canal de la Meuse which runs from Troussey to Givet and largely follows the course of the Meuse.
The Meuse is navigable from Sedan by pleasure craft and spits . Only after the river flows through Belgian territory is the Meuse also navigable by larger ships from commercial shipping thanks to the larger dimensions of the locks .
In Belgium, the river flows past Namur and Liège to reach the Dutch border near Visé. Between Eijsden-Maastricht and Smeermaas-Kessenich, the Maas forms a natural border between Belgium and the Netherlands before flowing further through the Netherlands.
The route through the French and Belgian Ardennes and the border region of Belgium and the Netherlands is full of meanders . On the Dutch border, this makes shipping impossible as far as Maaseik, but the large deposit of pebbles has triggered large-scale mining.
Because shipping on this stretch of the Maas is impossible, there is the Zuid-Willemsvaart on the Belgian side and the Juliana Canal on the Dutch side. Ships can therefore cross the border without any problems and continue sailing towards the North Sea.
In the Netherlands, the Maas runs through Maastricht and Roermond. In Maasbracht, the Juliana Canal flows into the Maas. From there, the Meuse was canalised, but the Wessem-Nederweert canal and the Lateraal canal were also constructed to cut off a meander.
The river then runs for a few kilometers along the German border. The Maas therefore flows through the South of the Netherlands and runs via the Bersche Maas and the Amber to the Hollandsch Diep where it flows into the North Sea.
A Google Translate failure....
I think this was from one of the tales on that site - we have stopped at Ypres twice and attended the Last Post ceremony - very moving.
Of course we mainly know Ypres from the First World War. The museum dedicated to this is world famous, and a must for every visitor. You should also experience the “Last Post”, under the Menin Gate. This tradition is kept alive every day, so that the memory of all those useless dead will never be lost.
Of course we mainly know Ypres from the First World War. The museum dedicated to this is world famous, and a must for every visitor. You should also experience the “Last Post”, under the Menin Gate. This tradition is kept alive every day, so that the memory of all those useless dead will never be lost.
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