LAUNCHING OF LIFEBOAT WITH HORSE POWER

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aukepalmhof
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LAUNCHING OF LIFEBOAT WITH HORSE POWER

Post by aukepalmhof » Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:35 pm

The Dutch Post issued in 2019 a miniature sheet in the Beautiful Netherland series, which shows in the margin the lifeboat of Hollum pulled by horses during launching from the beach.

Like the other Dutch Wadden Islands, Ameland is separated from the mainland by the Wadden Sea. This sea is the world's largest interconnected system of sand plains and mudflats which dry during low tide. The nature conservation area has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since June 2009. When viewed from the west, Ameland is the fourth of the five inhabited Dutch Wadden Islands from the series Beautiful Netherlands 2019. The farming communities on Ameland have governed themselves since centuries. This changed when Ritske Jelmera, a rich Frisian nobleman, moved to Ameland in the fifteenth century. Because of his wealth and prestige he managed to extend his authority over the whole island. His grandson Haye called himself Cammingha and the family remained in control of Ameland from the Camminghaslot for another two hundred years. In 1704 Ameland was sold to the Frisian branch of the Nassaus as a free domain. Ameland lost its independence after the arrival of the French. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century Ameland experienced a period of great wealth because of the whaling trade. Nowadays tourism is the most important source of income.

The design of the postage stamp sheet Beautiful Netherlands 2019:
Ameland was made on the basis of the well-known design and perforation of the series Beautiful Netherlands. On the stamp with a light blue background there is a huge black 1 on the left. This value is connected with a blank island map of Ameland with a blue contour line. All around there are photos with typical Ameland images: the lighthouse Bornrif at Hollum, the bell tower of Nes, a Frisian horse with blown-about manes, the propeller monument between Hollum and Ballum and a characteristic Ameland commander's house from 1675 in Hollum. The country name Nederland (the Netherlands) is shown in blue on the right of the stamp and the island name Ameland is in white on top. The year of issue 2019 has been placed at an angle in the sorting symbol on the left.

On the sheet edge there is a large island map of Ameland which extends under the stamps. The map includes a panorama photo of the dunes, the beach and the sea at the entrance to the North Sea beach near Nes. Around the island map there are nine circles with blue contour lines, including photos of striking Ameland places and objects. The flag of the island is pictured at the bottom right. All photos are explained through brief captions. In and around the large island map there are three small icons (a horseman and two cyclists) as a symbol of the tourist activities for which Ameland is known.

https://www.wopa-plus.com/en/stamps/product/&pgid=54535
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14 August 1997 the drowning of eight horses.
After the Hollum lifeboat station on the Frisian Island Ameland was alerted about a yacht in trouble on the Kofmansbult the WINDSPIEL 4.
The superintended blow the steam whistle, and when everybody had arrived at the station the eight horses pulled the carriage with the lifeboat to sea. On the launching site there was a heavy surf that normally would not be a problem to launch the boat, but the horses were going too fast and too far in sea ended up just on the safe side of a deep channel. The lifeboat was released from the carriage without using the launching mechanism, the coxswain of the boat had to give full ahead to avoid cross seas put the boat again on the carriage.
The release mechanism of the slip hooks, that should have been released the horses from the heavy launcher failed. The pulling power of the surf washing back into the sea in combination with soft footing on the seafloor pulled the launcher with the struggling horses still harnessed in the deeper channel and with the heavy carriage the eight horses were pulled in the deep channel and drowned.
Bewildered were the many spectators on the beach to witness the disaster. What would be a spectacle ended in tragedy.

The lifeboat crew did not notice what did happen with the carriage and the horses and proceeded to the yacht in distress. She put a towline on the yacht and towed her to the Ballumerbocht.

Dismay prevailed on Ameland in the death of the eight horses. This system was used from 1824 and never anything went wrong with horses and carriage. The remains of the horses have been buried in the dunes, the grave got a beautiful tombstone which reminds us how they came to their end.

After the disaster and after a lengthy discussion if new horses had to be trained to pull the lifeboat in sea, the decision was made to get a new horses and train them. After ten months of training the Hollum lifesaving station Hollum was operational again.
But the lifeboat ADRIAAN DE BRUINE was less often used for rescues. De RIB and a dingy both already in the water were much faster and more efficiently, and it was the end of traditional horses used to pull the lifeboat to sea.

Ameland is a holiday resort, and the council decided to retain the traditional horse traction as a tourist attraction.
One can still see this in action today. A number of times per year islanders and horses demonstrate how such a rescue mission of the past took place. Owners bring their specially trained horses from their land or stables to the rescue boat location. From there the horses will powerfully pull the boat to the beach. The horses will then continue into the sea and help pull the boat through the surf. Afterwards those same horses, with all their might, will pull the boat from the sea, through the loose sand, toward home again

Source: KNRM and internet.
Netherland 2019 SG?, scott?
Attachments
launching of the Amelander rescue boat with horses power..jpg
2019 ameland.jpg
2019 ameland (2).jpg

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