Sixth Boro Sailing Barges

If you’re a new reader, I use “sixth boro” as a way to recognize the city space that IMHO deserves recognition as its own unitary name;  without the water, justification for the concentrations in the other five boroughs of New York City would disappear.  Hence, all the city water and  . . . extensions thereof in all navigable directions I call the sixth boro.  Want to go to Fiji or  Philly or Fundy . . . follow the sixth boro.  I need someone to write a wikipedia entry for the sixth boro.

More Flinterduin offloading fotos here;  I’ve got many more if you’re interested.  Let’s follow Sydsulver, a steel Lemsteraak built in 2004.  Lemster is a location name, so this is an aak from Lemster, like a Brooklynaak.  For the record, most of the barges are either aaks or tjalks (pronounced “chaw lick”) .  Tjalks were originally used for cargo on inland waterways, and aaks  . . . for fishing on the Zuiderzee, now called the  IJsselmeer.  Double click on fotos to enlarge them.

Note the helmets all around.

I would not have predicted the number of traditional Dutch design “airships” appearing in this blog this year.  Captions follow.

How to lead a barge to water.

How to inculcate an interest in sailing among the next generation.

How smooth and polished to get a painted surface.  And how to maneuver in tight basins.

Splash.  That’s  Groenevecht lying to the right.

Carving detail and

closer up.

The most beautiful tiller ornament in the sixth boro and far beyond.

Held in the basin.  Brown sail is HZ108 Janus Kok, a wooden botter from 1934!  Botters are traditional fishing vessels also.  Design on the sail is the sponsor’s logo, “old amsterdam cheese.”  To the right along the wall is Windroos, a hoogaars built in 1925.  Now if you know that “hoog” means high . . . as in “up high,” then you can figure out the “ars.”  “Hoogars” vessels have a more upswept stern than aaks, botters, or tjalks.  More Windroos to come.

Painted ships in a painted basin.

Flinterduin shifted forward so that the offloaded barges could leave to make space for the rest.  Sydsulver leaves first.  Notice the decoration around the hawse.

Escape into the boro.  You can’t keep the Dutch pinned up long.  Everydayeastriver foto’d one of the explorers/escapees.

and posing.  That’s the Williamsburg Bridge and –of course–Empire State Building in the background.  By the way, on the bowsprit flies the Friesland provincial flag.

Again, many thanks to the fine folks at GMD and to Carter Craft for access.  The barges will cavort in the sixth boro and surroundings waters for the next month.  Some foto ops may happen at North Cove soon, home of Atlantic Yachting, new on my blogroll.

Another newcomer  on my blogroll is NY400.blogspot.com, an account of the barges’ month here by Arjen Wapenaar, captain of the Sterre, a tjalk built in 1887!!!  English site about Sterre here.  Amazingly, Sterre has been in New York harbor before:  some 20 plus years ago for the Statue of Liberty celebrations.  Scroll through that English-language link and you’ll see Sterre in the harbor with the Twin Towers in the background.  Does anyone have pictures to share of that event?  I hope Arjen posts lots of fotos so that non-Dutch readers can enjoy his sailing barge tales.

More Flinterduin AND the tug races this weekend.  Haven’t they cancelled the US Open because the sixth boro activities draw greater crowds?

All fotos here by Will Van Dorp.