We passed this unusual-looking ship every morning we were at the festival, as we walked from the Galeon to the marina bath house. I was curious about the name, and learned that it was indeed used for hyrographic mapping and research, built for the Dutch Navy and launched in 1910. Over the years it has also served as the vessel used by the Queen to visit the out islands before a combination of roads and dams was built to connect them, and as the vessel used by Sinterklaas (the Dutch "Santa Claus") to deliver presents. More details about its history are available here. More recently, it has been used as a dockside attraction and party barge. They hosted a gathering for the crews of the visiting ships one evening, and we were treated to a fabulous behind-the-scenes tour by the ship's owners.
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| Publicity photo of the Hydrograaf. |
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| Lovely dining area. |
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| The robe worn by Sinterklaas. By their legend, he travels not by sleigh from the North Pole, but by ship from Madrid, to deliver presents. He appears on the bow of this ship every year for the kids. |
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| A full, fancy bar below decks. Just around the corner outside of my photo were pictures on the wall of the Queen in this exact spot during one of her visits. |
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| They had a 4-piece band; no idea if this is also the location they would have played to entertain the Queen, but it was certainly quite nice. |
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| A few of our work-hard, play-hard crew enjoying the party. |
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