“If only you knew how many calls we received from owners of old boats whether it will continue this year.” Arnold Schuurman, chairman of the Grachtenfestival in Meppel, has been feeling great relief for a week. It was unclear for a long time whether the event could be held.
The cause was not finances, but a few bridges. In February, part of the top of a bridge in Meppel crashed. Since then, boats could no longer enter the canals of Meppel. On the other hand, a bridge earlier, at the lock to enter the center, suffered a malfunction, which prevented it from opening.
“While we always have to make the decision in February or March and enter into all financial obligations,” says Schuurman. These two bridges are just the first bridges that have to be crossed to get to the canals in the center.
It lasted and lasted. First, the Boaz Bridge was completely closed to traffic. An investigation into the cause of the collapse was underway. The bridge will be accessible to pedestrians and cyclists again in early April, after the entire top has been removed. But boats still can’t pass it. After all, the bridge cannot open.
At the end of May, the entire bridge was removed: boats can enter the canals again. There is only one other problem: the bridge at the lock. It still suffers from a malfunction. A week ago, the fault on the bridge was resolved, saving the festival. “It was exciting for us until the last moment. The bridges were our main concern.” The Sluisbrug is now regularly open for boats, so that they can enter the lock. Larger boats, small boats, sailboats, tugboats, bakdekkers, but especially all old boats.
This weekend is the seventeenth edition of the Grachtenfestival in Meppel. There are just under fifty historic boats in the canals all weekend. “We are in contact with the owners of the boats all year round. For example, we send them a birthday and New Year’s card. We hope that they will want to return to Meppel every year. No new old ships are added, they are not made more.”
Besides the boats, there is all kinds of entertainment. Old professions such as rope maker, glassblower or tinsmith are demonstrated, there is a shanty and pirate festival, model building associations give a sailing show, there are fishing competitions and artists such as De Dikdakkers and René Karst perform. Like every year, the navy also comes, but because of the war in Ukraine, it comes with fewer boats this time.
A new, and one-time, element is the Young Solar Challenge, a competition with self-made boats powered by solar energy. 35 teams of young people aged 14 to 17 from all over the Netherlands are participating. Whoever wins may call himself Dutch champion. A meadow near Steenwijk has been converted into a temporary camping site for the participants. “The movement of the participants and the boats seems like a whole military operation,” says Schuurman.
Young people between the ages of 11 and 13 have built a radio-controlled boat on solar energy and have a competition in it.
The Grachtenfestival starts on Friday with a bungee rowing competition for company teams. The sloop of the teams is attached to the quay with an elastic band, whoever stretches the elastic the furthest wins.