The history of the Spes Mea
Beltvaarder
The Spes Mea, a seafaring "tjalk" (a Dutch inland ship for low tides) from Groningen, was built in 1902 by commission of Jan Dost, at shipyard Boerema in Martenshoek (Closeby Hoogezand in Groningen). She was first let to water as a coastal sailing vessel of 91 GRT (Grosse Register Tonnage = 2.8 m3), transporting salt, lumber, coal and livestock to England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Because she sailed through the Baltic Sea (In Dutch: de Belten), she was nicknamed the "Beltvaarder" (vaarder = sailer). In other words, the Baltic Sailer.
Barge
In 1924 the Spes Mea was purchased by a Mr. R. Krook, who sailed her with his wife and son. When she was no longer apt for competition with the newer, bigger sea vessels in 1938, she was converted into a barge for inland navigation (her last trip on the sea, transporting turf, had lasted a month, but yielded a profit of a mere 300 guilders). Inland, her maximal holding capacity was 168 tonnes, and her cargo was mostly bulk goods at this point. Krook senior was (thankfully) quite conservative compared to his peers, who were continuously building bigger ships with less rigging; he kept to sailing. Krook junior, however, became more than fed up with sailing and, the minute his father called it quits, removed the tiny aiding engine and replaced it with a full, double cilinder Deutz engine with 38 horsepower. The sailing rig was removed to make way for more cargo space. Still, this conversion didn't occur until 1954, a lot later than most other inland vessels.
From living boat to charter vessel
But inland riverboats too were getting bigger and bigger, and within no time the Spes Mea was, by all accounts, quite an old-fashioned sight once more. Krook junior called it quits in 1968, mooring the ship in Purmerend and becoming a bridge guard. He remained living on the ship until his passing in 1987. Afterwards, the ship switched owners to be converted into an official houseboat.
In this shape, however, her charisma and appeal seemed to slip, causing the ship to be sold off to a Jan van der Berge. Jan van der Berge had known the ship from when he was a schoolboy coming to visit the then owner. He decided to restore the Spes Mea to its former glory, and turning her into what she is today: a beautiful, sturdy seafaring tjalk.
n 1998, by then a comfortable charter vessel with room for 20 guests and Harlingen as her home port, Spes Mea became the property of Klaas Bosch and Danny Munnikes. Danny resigned his ownership in 2003, leaving Klaas Bosch as Spes Mea's sole proprietor.
In our photoalbum are more pictures from the old days.
