Origin

  ...While writing the stories based on the photos, all sorts of moments also surface that I feel need to be told, anecdotes or, in other words: tall tales, like this one.. Uit mijn 'memorial'.     Just after boarding the ‘Utrecht’, an oiler ... Lees verder »

  ...I don't even know if his name is spelled correctly.He was from Scheveningen, a place near The Hague.I met this colossal man on the aft deck of the ‘Utrecht’.   He was a greaser on board, but I remember him as the man who was always playing with ... Lees verder »

  ...Was it theft or an attempt to keep a memory alive? Just before my decision was made to nail an anchor at the door and say goodbye to sail, something goes through you. A simple shot glass with 'BW' on it.           I ... Lees verder »

  ...A captain who could sail well, but also had the necessary bravado. I sailed on the ‘Utrecht’ a few times with this ‘old man’.You could often tell that he was on board. Captain A. Christiaans on board the 'Utrecht'?   He usually had the working ... Lees verder »

  ...It seemed as if this man had sailed all his life as Chief engineer on the 'Utrecht'.   I also experienced this calm and sympathetic man.He knew everything in the engine room and pampered the engines. The main engines still had real copper cooling ... Lees verder »

  ...This is a story I took from the esteemed site: www.bureauwijsmuller.nl. I experienced this trip at the time as an assistant engineer on the 'Utrecht'. It is a good representation of how life on board of a ship took place, in which the captain has to weigh ... Lees verder »

  ...That is how the galley on the ‘Utrecht’ was also labeled..     The ship still had an oil-fired stove, and the day watch (04:00 – 08:00), also known as the ‘food watch’, always had to light it. A specific technique was required for this; if you ... Lees verder »

  ...On the 'Groningen' we had B. v/d Velden as captain, a typical man with a sensitive heart.A sociable person.   While we were sailing through the Indian Ocean, he was sunbathing on the scaffold and almost burned alive.Afterwards, that man looked like ... Lees verder »

  ...As mentioned earlier, the 'Utrecht' was a special ship.It's engine room layout also had some differences. Most tugs had their engine room under the aft deck and behind the main engines a reduction gearbox with a short propeller shaft.   The ... Lees verder »

  ...What do you do on a quiet evening on April 7, 1970, in the Persian Gulf? You try to catch some fish.There were plenty of them swimming around the ship.But, they weren't biting. What are you supposed to do then?   So we went catching snakes after ... Lees verder »