BHPian Jeroen recently shared this with other enthusiasts: I attended the Lekko-dagen at Wijk bij Duurstede last weekend. Last year I made the same trip with Sirion; have a look here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/comme…ml#post5851416 In terms of what there is to see and do, this year was very similar. It usually is with these sort of events. But I enjoyed myself very much and it is likely to be my last trip in Sirion this season before sailing her back to her winter storage in less than two weeks from now. Once on the Lek, within a few kilometres, I have to pass huge locks at Hagestein, where there are also movable “visor-dams”. The lock was open as I arrived. Together with another yacht, we sailed in, and they closed the lock doors immediately. But then nothing happened. I was chatting to the other skipper. He said; He probably forgot about us, happens all the time. So we called the lock operator on the radio. Sure enough, after he had pushed the button to close the lock, he forgot to push the next button, which would raise the level of the water! The weather was not as great as last time, but the Lek is a pretty river, no matter the weather. Happy boy on his boat! I pass the main harbour with all the vintage tugs on my way to Marina Rijn and Lek. This is the fourth time Sirion has moored there! I took my camera and walked over to Wijk bij Duurstede. By and large, the same tugs were present as last year. Also, the RC boats were out in force once again! I sailed on the sister ship of this ocean going tug, the Smit Enterprise This was an interesting model; The Dutch only aircraft carrier; HMS Karel Doorman. Eventually, she was sold to Argentina (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HNLMS_Karel_Doorman_(R81)) Some interesting details on these lovely vintage tugs! And, of course, plenty of engine rooms to inspect. This must be one of the nicest small engine rooms I have come across. It might be small, but it has all the essentials of a real big engine room. The only steam engine tug; Jan de Sterke. You will have seen many images of this tug in this thread. Because it is present at lots of maritime events and is moored in Gorinchem, less than 4 km from home and Sirion’s home harbour! A few more details. You will have me describe the procedure of passing starboard to starboard on high-current rivers. All ships over a certain size will need to have this blue sign. Normally, it’s kept in this horizontal position, but when they move over to the other side of the river to pass other ships starboard to starboard, it can be tilted vertically. It also has a strobe light in the middle. Here is something you don’t see very often anymore. This tug has a safety chain attached to its rudder. If, for whatever reason, the rudder falls off, it is still attached to the tug and can be easily retrieved. It can happen during mishaps whilst towing, or for instance, when breaking ice. Another “tug detail”. The towing line can be attached in two different ways. The classic way is to wrap it around the huge, massive bollard. Or they can use the hook. The hook, look closely, has a release mechanism as well. So the skipper can release the hook at any time. This is also a very safe way of towing. The main disadvantage of using the tow hook is that the tug can not adjust the towing rope length whilst underway. A few more impressions: This is the former Royal yacht “Piet Hein”. She was given by the Dutch to the then-queen Juliana. These days, a floating museum. You could book a short trip on her or get to visit her. I have come across her at various other events as well. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
