Een club voor liefhebbers en/of bezitters van een zeiljacht van het Oostzeejol type Midget.
A week of "England"
Midgetsong 1998
Affliction or virus
German Sands
Razzle Dazzle
"The
Passage" 2003
From
Greetsiel to..
2350 seamiles against the
clock
"Sailing a Midget, an affliction or virus?"
by Cor-Meridiaan- De Jong. Translated by Bill Hart
If you live on an island, as we do, you obviously become familiar with the sea from childhood. In my case, however, it was not because of my parents, but because of my grandfather, on my father's side.
My first contact with the sea, therefore, was was through him. During the war a lot of lumber drifted ashore on the Island of Vlieland, from which his first boat would be constructed. The Germans, who, in connection with coastal defences, were at that time a majority on the Island, usually would check up on him in his shed, to see how his boatbuilding was progressing. He was building a B.M. according to the "Bulthuis" method.
This construction method consists of thin slats ( 1") ,fastened on one side to the frames and on the other side to each other with copper nails. Th term "nails" ought, in this case, not to be taken literally. These nails he fashioned from pieces of copper wire, on one side he filed to a point, while the other side was pounded to a head. As a result, the boat never really got finished during the waryears. He first finished three layers of slats for the hull, only to remove two layers, having numbered the first ones.
This way he could assemble his boat after the war. It was in this "spray-catcher" that I had my first contact with sailing. He quickly discovered that a B.M. was not very seaworthy. Soon a second boat was in the planning stages. This time, however, a"Vrijheid" (Freedom classe), special edition. At that time there was no marina on the Island of Vlieland, so the boat would have to be kept behind the dike on the mudflats. Therefore it was fiited with a centreboard and a retractable rudder.Also the underwater was sheethed in coppersheets, to prevent any damage when falling dry during low tide.
So sailing at low tide was not possible, because at such time the boat was high and dry. If we went out, we would, as a result, sail in such a way
The years thereafter we still sailed with a sailing sloop also built by him. But when this one was wrecked on the dikes during a storm, the sailing came to a halt for a couple of years. After this we had a little fishing boat, but this was not satisfactory. So, on the lookout for a small sailboat. You guessed it, it would be an "Oostzeejol 13". On this we spent years roaming the flats and making trips to the Island of Terschelling. One time things went rather wrong, still no outboardmotor, a sudden windshift, with the result that I turned up for work very much too late. This is when the decision was taken to buy a considerably larger boat with an outboardmotor.
The logical followup would be an "Oostzeejol 15" with an outboardmotor in a well. This was not a success, this boat had severe weatherhelm, while the version with a sternmounted motor sailed beautifully. So, what does one do, look for another, preferable bigger boat. In 1978 orders were issued for the building of a Midget 20' with Renault 8hp inboard diesel engine. What a beauty!
Starting 1979, during all our vacations, almost every day, we sailed with this boat.This was easy because of my job with the PTT (Postal service); in the morning I had to empty the mailboxes on the island at 6:00, after this I was to take the mail to the ferryboat. My responsibilities the did not resume until the ferry had returned to the island at 11:15.
So in the meantime it was sailing,sailing,sailing.We sailed this Midget till 1988, at which time, upon doctor's advice, we either take a boat with standing headroom, or give up sailing altogether. This as a result of what was then referred to as " wear and tear on the knees". So we started to look for another boat. When an LM 27 came to Vlieland, one good day, with a sign "For Sale", and aluminum windows, temptation became too strong so we abandoned our principles. The fact that this was not entirely to our satisfaction is obvious from the fact that we already have sold this one.
The Midget-Experience: for my wife this stands for dependability, seaworthyness and sailingcapabilities. On my friend's Midget 26', with a force 7 wind no fear, while on the LM, even with a force 5 reefing is to be considered. These were the arguments that convinced me to agree with my friend that our boat be sold and his be berthed on Vlieland. So we sold our boat and a week later I read in "Het Spitsgattertje" in the for sale column, that a 1 1/2 year old Midget 31 is for sale.
You guessed it, once you caught that virus, no more medicine will help. The decision was taken to buy this one and sell the Midget 26'. The Midget 31' now proudly lies in the Vlieland harbour. All kind of people on the island congratulate us and the boat has been thoroughly scrutinized. We keep hearing the same thing: Look like your earlier boat, only bigger" If it is an affliction or a virus may be demonstrated by the fact that my daughter sails a Oostzeejol 13' (with sternmounted outboardmotor) and my son owns a Midget 20'.
