According to Jongejan, the fact that the helm is still so beautifully intact is very special. “What struck me is that there is no deletion of the pole worm or other shell organisms at all. If he had extended for ten years above the bottom, the pole worm would have already been there. He must have come out of the bottom quite recently.”
Vinder Jan Jurie hopes that the helm will have a nice place. “I don’t need it myself, so I like to pour it. I would have preferred three hundred kilos of shrimp than the helm,” laughs the Vissmanman.
Conserve
Until more is clear about the future of the helm, it is now under the port fine, and it is kept wet. The Nautical Heritage Housing Foundation, housed in the port fine, does not like to keep the helm. “We have seen Barry that it takes a lot of time and effort to preserve, so that is why we have decided not to keep it,” says Tjeerdo Wieberdink of the foundation.
The volunteers of the Nautical Foundation are busy keeping the helm wet again. “You immediately saw that the quality was deteriorating,” says Van Ekelen. The only option to be able to keep the helm for a long time is to preserve. “But there are quite a few costs involved,” says Ernst.