We felt both tiny and out of place as we inched our way into Tinnemans Shipyard in Maasbracht, Netherlands. We were surrounded by large, commercial barges. Were we really in the right place?
We continued forward – two commercials out of the water on our starboard side, two commercials rafted together on our port side – and a dead-end in front of us. Something wasn’t right. Had we made a wrong turn?
Over the phone, Jan Tinnemans, the owner of the yard, told us to raft against one of the commercials on our port side. He’d find another place for us in the morning. And there we sat – unable to get to dry land – unable to climb up onto the two commercials we were rafted against.
Our view was different from what we were used to. Less scenic – but nonetheless interesting.
The next morning, under a rare sunny sky, we were told to move forward to our new mooring spot. That “dead end” that had been in front of us the day before had moved to the right. In it was Esme, a lovely Dutch barge that was moored near us in Namur. It had been towed by a giant crane into an ingenious contraption.
As usual, it didn’t take long for grey clouds to appear. But we were paying more attention to Esme. We have known the previous owners of Esme for years – and were about to become friends with the current owners while at Tinnemans Shipyard.
The yard’s official name is “Tinnemans Floating Solutions” and watching Esme rise out of the water, we learned the reason for the name.
In the first photo at the top, Esme comes to a stop on top of a sunken raft. Then, water is pumped out of tanks underneath. As the water is replaced by air, the raft rises , bringing Esme up out of the water. A Floating Solution.
We had a ringside seat. We knew that once Esme was back in the water, we would be next on the raft.
We weren’t alone. An Indian Fantail perched on Aleau’s railing. Not shy at all. We could walk right up to him. In fact, he acted like Aleau was his boat. Apparently, chances of finding a mate increase if you appear to own a boat.
