NL2

Let’s stay in Leiden for two more posts. Here’s a 3:32 minute time lapse showing the city, about the same size population as Elizabeth NJ.

The Dutch seem to understand the touristic attraction of old boats, making available–I was told–free docking for vessels fitting certain parameters of restoration. They’re yachts, no longer work boats although they COULD do light work.    I wandered until I located the docks for old tugboats.  This “block” is about 1000′ north of the one we saw yesterday here, just south of the first “o” in “Noorderkwartier” in the map below.

From a bridge looking east, we see the 1916 Amor first in line and she’s for sale (“te koop“).

Then looking north from the same spot, that’s Gerda on the left and Alba on the right.  We’ll get back to Alba at the end of this post.

Here’s a side view of Gerda, about which I found no information.

Let’s walk northward along the land side of photo above, Oude Herengracht Straat.   The third boat back in the photo above is Lodewijck, 

a 1927 build.

Notice her towing hook.

This one, Grietje, two farther northward along the right side of the photo #2 above.

Notice her pelican hook for towing.

Behind her is Obsessie, dating from 1925.  Click here for an incomplete alphabetical listing of the restored tugboat fleet, aka motorsleepboot vloot.

 

Here she is as seen from the other side of the canal.

Jan dates from 1920.

 

Here were are on the other side looking at the first in line in photo #2 above.  Alba is a beauty that dates from 1911.  Click here for another set of her.

 

These and others–actual steam vessels–will make their way through the waterways to events like this one in late May.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who will post about a different historic vessels “block” in Leiden tomorrow.