Categories for Timeline
1916 Construction
Dedemsvaart is a busy place, on the border between the peat colonies of Overijssel en Drenthe. Peat is brought in and loaded into barges and tjalks, to be sailed across... Read more
1919 sailing cargo
Ships are the main mode of freight transport in the Netherlands. For most skippers this is a free but hard life. They often work day and night, for in unfavourable... Read more
1932 First engine
In the narrow waters where sailing is impossible, ships have to be towed or punted. There’s usually no money to rent a draught horse, so the whole family helps to... Read more
1940 – 1945 War years
Sailing continues during World War II; it is the only way to get food on the table, even if it means shipping goods to Germany. Geert Otten takes the helm... Read more
1950 End of an era
After World War II, sailing ships quickly disappear from the Dutch waterways. New roads and bigger diesel engines get the freight to its destination more quickly. Geert Otter takes over... Read more
1971 Scrap metal
Cargo ships are getting bigger and bigger. Engines are stronger, and new locks and bridges have greater capacity, so the human scale is no longer a factor. The former sailing... Read more
1974 New hope
Some people recognize that the old vessels are an important part of Dutch history, and deserve to be preserved as such. This doesn’t take much of an investment to start... Read more
1982 Old glory
This next generation of skippers means to restore their ships to their original state. They search for old pictures and ask retired skippers about how things went in the old... Read more
1986 Charter ship
Restoring a ship takes time, and quite a bit of money. The young skippers offer to take friends, family and tourists to come along for a sailing trip, for a... Read more
1990 Professionalization
Charter sailing becomes a professional business; the skipper becomes a host. Others make a living from the supporting business, producing and repairing sails, masts and leeboards, or start a booking... Read more
1999 New rules
The relatively flexible Dutch regulations in the 90s allow charter sailing to blossom, but in the new millennium it comes under threat of stricter European legislation. However, things don’t turn... Read more
2005 Direct contact
From the early years of charter shipping skippers have relied on agencies for their bookings. However, as it becomes easier to maintain Internet communications on board, Jos and Sandra start... Read more
2006 Next generation
At less than one week old, their daughter Elies comes along on her first sailing voyage. Many trips follow, often with Sandra’s mother Renate as nanny. Daughter Mia is born... Read more
2013 Nederland Waterland
During the summer of 1913 the IDTV film company records “Nederland (Netherlands) Water land”, a documentary series for Dutch TV. For five weeks, the Catharina van Misdirect serves as accommodations... Read more
2016 A hundred years
Finally, the Catharina van Mijdrecht gets to celebrate her centenary. She was launched a hundred years ago, starting an eventful life that she has undergone with flying colours. Of course... Read more
Old photos
The here displayed old photos are unfortunately not all of the Catharina of Mijdrecht, from before 1970 there are no pictures available. These are “sister ships”; identical ships built in... Read more