2014 Barging Netherlands

Where is Neo Vita?

Posting a combined effort of a very emotional helm and crew

Medemblik

Early in our research into Neo Vita, we found her on StreetView, moored in Medemblik. You can see her on towards the end on the mooring, with the rear sun deck and burgundy colouring.

StreetView of Neo Vita

So, yesterday, when we went to see Neo Vita for the first time, naturally we checked where Google had directed us in the past.

Neo Vita is gone!

No Neo Vita there!

As we had arranged the day before to meet Paul, one of Neo Vita’s ex-owners, we hopped into the car to continue our search. Off to the nearby town of Middenmeer.

(Actually, all along we knew Neo Vita had been moved. Mooring at Medemblik is far too expensive in summer, and in April, Paul had moved her to Middenmeer – nearby and much cheaper.)

Middenmeer

Paul met us on his bicycle and we followed him towards the canal.
There she was.

First view of Neo Vita

Not the best photo; far, far, far t0o excited to compose something that could do justice to the vision resting in the dappled sunshine; with her beautiful lines; decked out with flags and bunting fluttering in the gentle breeze; resplendent in her shiny cream and burgundy paintwork.

Let’s say there were tears all round, and leave it at that.

Then Marianne presented us with the keys – more tears.

We are the owners!

Then Lisette unlocked the wheelhouse and we went inside for the first time – more tears.

Crossing the threshold

Impossible to really convey the wonder of those first few minutes as we crept around. Paul and Marianne waited patiently out on the aft deck while we took in the beauty of our boat. Awesome comes close, but still falls short. She was all we had imagined but real – and ours!

Marianne and Paul had placed a wonderful plate of lovely cakes and freshly brewed coffee so we could sit down at our table and recover. There was also a bottle of wine and two glasses set out for us to celebrate once we were alone.

Delightful cakes

This photo was taken a bit later, we were too much in the moment for photos at the time, so half the cakes have gone!

Also, flowers to welcome us.

Welcomming Flowers

We chatted, laughed, shared remembrances and dreams and finally set down to business: getting familiar with Neo Vita. We spent the next few hours going over her intensively, then had some lunch – also thoughtfully provided by Marianne and Paul. Next, our first cruise.

We did a spring from the canalside ( a , technical term for a mooring manoeuvre), reversed out and set off on a short cruise down the canal.

We took turns at the wheel and practised keeping position and a straight line.

Lisette at the Helm

It’s obviously a long way to the wheelhouse to the bow, and impossible to hear spoken communications from either point over the noise of the engine (which is really quite unobtrusive).

A long way to the wheelhouse

Most people use signs, but you can see the speaker low down on the mast, which also has a microphone, so both helm and crew can hear each other clearly. Never seen or heard of his setup before. She is the best barge!

We moored up again after turning Neo Vita around in the very broad canals that seem to be the norm in the Netherlands. We could look out of our windows at the canal as we packed away all our gear, and moved in.

There's where we want to go

We said farewell to Paul and Marianne, and asked them not to turn their phone off!

Don't go too far

Next, we were off to the local supermarket to stock the lard and begin our wine cellar.

Dutch carrots

After a false start with the cooktop (needed to run the genny to allow it to work), our first meal was ready.

First meal

Night had fallen by then, on one of the best days of our lives, and so we retired to our enormous bed to prepare for the tomorrows aboard Neo Vita.

Night Night


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    13 Responses

  1. Hi Ian, your writing is very lyrical (or is it Lisette’s?). Do I see another career looming? I hope that the rest of your stay is as happy as your first encounter with Neo Vita. I’m looking forward to your next post.
    Cheers
    Mark

    1. I write, Lisette corrects and adds material. Pretty busy at present, and a bit hard to fit it all in, but many moments are a pure delight!

  2. That bought a tear to my eye “best day ever!’ – a lovely blog and a lovely experience – well done and thanks for sharing it with us – I wish you fair winds and full wine cellars!

    1. Winds can be a problem as we have found already, so thanks for the plea! Wine cellars are more under our control, and we are already planning on how to to improve the bilge stowage to better accommodate wine bottles!

  3. Thank you for letting us share in your joy! Wishing you both many more best days!

    1. Thanks Melissa. Today was a cracker, and tomorrow we are off. Finished practicing, watch out Dutch boaters!

  4. How lucky are you? It looks awesome.Home from home.
    Have a great time. xx

    1. Very fortunate indeed. It did take a lot of effort and planning, but good fortune certainly played its part.

  5. That brought a tear to my eye too, could really feel the joy and excitement. Couldn’t be happier about your journey. It’s definitely a topic of discussion among all us kids xx

  6. Really excited for you both. Glad it’s exceeding your dreams

    1. I guess you, more than most, would understand how Neo Vita becomes almost a person, with foibles, but you look forward to returning to her at the end of a long day. Had our first ‘touristy’ day today, beautiful weather, and visited Edam and Volendam. Lots of cheese came back.

  7. Ian & Lisette, how lucky are you both. Neo Vita looks like she was made for the 2 of you. Have a wonderful time and we will be in contact later.

    1. We can’t but have a great time, and we’ll look forward to hearing from you, and catching up some time, finally.

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