Monday, January 23, 2006

On the 'helling' (slipway)

Most nautical terms in Russia are identical to their Dutch equivalent. Czar Peter the Great studied shipbuilding in Holland and 'imported' Dutch shipbuilders to Russia. They never bothered to invent Russian words for their nautical talk.
I think I'll continue that tradition by using the word 'helling' (literally: inclined plane) until it becomes the common term in the English language. No lack of ambition here.

This week's barge on the helling is so ugly that my camera refuses to record it -and so do I. Instead I give you the image of the the one before last week's.
Now that's a stunner, isn't it? This restored sailing barge, a klipper, is called Anita Jacoba.
To give you an impression of the lie of the land here's a view of our harbour. The helling is all the way at the back under the red circle in this external link.


Trust me, this place attracts tourists by the busload.
The only old building in this picture is the white one in the distance to the right. Guess what it's called?

Same viewpoint, picture taken long before the second World War. Only the White House escaped destruction. (Oops, now I've given away the name ;-)

12 comments:

Dale said...

Dear Koos

Thank you for the kind & encouraging comments on my blog.

I feel that I have found some very nice friends here in cyberspace - all bound by one common love of music & a great appreciation of Pete Townshend.
I'll wager there's no such place like this for Mick Jagger...
Although, I do love him & The Rolling Stones, as well.

Your interest in barges & building them is just a hint at the variety of people we have gathered here.

I still have to ask my dad about the sugar industry in Belgium.

All the best to Valerie.

Love
Dale

Dale said...

BTW, I am feeling better.

Thanks.

Smiles
Dale

Bonfire Jones said...

Hi Koos, Thanks for sharing you 'imprint memory' on my blog! That was very funny! Your's was the 1st imprint memory that didn't have a sad ending.

Your blog & pictures are excellent! Thanks again! Ed

Anonymous said...

Hi Koos,
Please go on with those nice pictures.
I'll like to see the "helling" and all with my own eyes next time when I am in Rotterdam.
Kind regards,
Erik-Jan.

Anonymous said...

Hi Koos,
About you question, I will not spoil it by giving an answer but look at this. You might have to copy/paste/glue the link.
http://www.gemeentearchief.rotterdam.nl/HRIK/afbeelding/1988-466.jpg
Kind regards again,
Erik-Jan.

Anonymous said...

The missing part: ding/1988
So: afbeelding etc. Sorry, not my fault. Has to do with a script at blogger.com and i'm not familiarr with tinyurl's etc.
Erik-Jan.

Anne-Marie said...

Hee. I see you have a fussy camera. I like the shape of the barge in the photo.

Cheers,
AM

Koos F said...

Hi Erik,
Some visitors think they remember the shipyard from the old days. They are mistaken. The shipyard was set up in the 1980s, so is relatively new. Before that at the same spot there was the swing bridge as shown here:
http://tinyurl.com/bvw5c
You can make your own tiny url by copying the long one, go to http://tinyurl.com an follow the instructions. Simple & easy. Thanks for finding this image!
Love
Koos

Anonymous said...

Hi Koos,
This looks like the same spot to me. Ages ago and a port.
http://tinyurl.com/cemya
Or did you mean just the "helling" is new. Thanks for explaning the Tinyurl thing.
Kind regards,
Erik-Jan.

Koos F said...

Hi Erik-Jan
I don't know exactly when the opening, spanned by the swing bridge, was filled in. The hellling was constructed afterwards, when the Oude Haven was designated to the use of monumental barges.
Koos

Mary Beth said...

Hi Koos,

The 'White House' is very beautiful architecture. It reminds me of some older hotels around here - the Lord Elgin hotel in Ottawa, or the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City - they're done in the same style. Buildings like that are precious.

Koos F said...

Hi Mary Beth
I loved the Frontenac castle when I visited Quebec.
I missed the Lord Elgin hotel in Ottawa when I was there, but thanks to you and the Net I can now make up for that. Very impressive indeed.
Our tourist guides don't tire of telling that the Witte Huis was the first office sky scraper in Europe, buit 1898 and a whopping 40 metres / 133 ft high!
Built in Art Nouveau style.
Love
Koos