Evolution of The Ship Excursion - Part IV
By Don Dressel

Now we are on our way to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The first stop was the Batavia Werf, were we visited the BATAVIA and De Ruyter’s famous ZEVEN PROVINCIEN, which was only in frame. My wife and I and already seen BATAVIA in

Australia when the Olympics were there, so this was an added treat. We got to climb all over the BATAVIA, but not the ZEVEN PROVINCIEN. Note the typical painting on the stern of the ship which Sid Siegel was so good at. The BATAVIA is built like the real thing – there are no modern items added to the ship. For that reason, she cannot sail with people aboard. It was about as real as you can get. There were also many fine models of Dutch ships in the Batavia Werf’s Museum, which for space reasons, cannot be included in this little article. Here’s hoping that more money can be raised to complete the ZEVEN PROVINCIEN.

The next day we took a tour of the city of Amsterdam, then had time to visit the historic Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh Museum, along with the quaint canals and gabled houses of this famous city. In the evening, which was Day 13 of the trip, we had a farewell dinner for those who were leaving the tour at this point. Just before the dinner, we visited the AMSTERDAM, a full-scale replica of a 17th century Dutch East Indiaman.

For those continuing the tour (which included my wife and I), a train trip was scheduled via Brussels for Day 14 going to London, England (we went underneath the British Channel on the STAR train). We only spent a short time in London, as our destination was Portsmouth. While in Portsmouth, we visited the Royal Dockyard Museum which houses many models and the HMS VICTORY, HMS ROSE and HMS WARRIOR. I will not go into detail on
these three famous ships, but, as a ship lover and modeler, you will really have a great day at this museum. You can climb all over the HMS VICTORY, see the HMS MARY ROSE (what is left of her, although they are still spraying her with preservative solution, but you can see quite a bit), and take tours of the HMS WARRIOR in addition to the museums and shops that are there. A full

and enjoyable day! There were many models in the various museums (there were three, one for each of the ships present), and a number of wonderful diorama’s showing how things were done then. You could spend as much time in the museums as you could inspecting the ships The MARY ROSE, c 1514, was a great carrack and capital ship of Henry VII which capsized off Portsmouth in battle when trying to fend off a French invasion in 1545. This magnificent vessel combined several types and eras of ship construction. Artifacts preserved from the wreck present a complex picture of late medieval naval warfare and seafaring life.

HMS VICTORY, 1557, 1757, was Admiral Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar. The VICTORY is not only the most famous ship-of-the-line from the climactic battle of the age of sail and the sole surviving three-decker man-of-war, but is representative of the penultimate sailing machines which determined the course of empire from the time of the Spanish ironclad.

HMS WARRIOR, 1861, was the first modern battleship. A contemporary of Star of India, WARRIOR revolutionized the nature of naval warfare, establishing a dynasty of naval technology that reached its apogee at the battle of Jutland in 1915.

We then went from Portsmouth to Bristol, visiting on the way the magnificent church at Salisbury, Stonehenge, and the City of Bath, were the Roman built a magnificent temple and bathing complex that still flows with natural hot water around Britain’s only hot spring.

SALISBURY is unique amongst medieval English cathedrals, built within on century with no substantial later additions. She also houses one of the oldest clocks in the world, and tours are conducted to see the interior of the cathedral and the many monuments to the people who were buried there, most of whom were royalty. It was also interesting to see the model they had of the cathedral under construction.

The next stop made was at Stonehenge, which stands, seemingly alone, in the midst of a great tract of Salisbury Plain. The origins of Stonehenge lie in the middle Neolithic Age of around 2900 BC, while the famous stones were erected and being used between 2550 and 1600 BC. It was a mysterious place to visit and made one think of the ancient people who once inhabited this region.

Then, we visited the city of BATH which is famous for the hot springs, the only ones in Britain. The Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex that still flows with natural hot water. It was also a fashionable social center for Georgian life for flirting, flaunting, gossiping, gambling, and “taking the waters”. Not all the trip was spent visiting ships.

On Wednesday, May 30, we visited the last ship, the SS GREAT BRITIAN of 1842. She is the first modern steam ship and one of four surviving to have carried emigrants under sail (during at time in her life she was a pure sailing ship). This masterpiece of mid-19th century technology was the greatest success of that century’s greatest engineer, Isembard Kingdom Brunel. She was a contemporary of the STAR OF INDIA and the technological source point of the steam powered merchantman.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and so the trip was concluded with this trip to the SS GREAT BRITIAN. After an early breakfast, we transferred to London, were we caught our flight back home. Many more pictures were taken, especially of the many beautiful models seen at the various museums. Perhaps one day a presentation to the club can be arranged, if so desired. Comments would be appreciated by the membership. Thus concludes this short dissertation on a great trip.