109 Back in the Muzeeum in Vlissingen

After much ado and thanks to the interference of Bert I finally got word that I could come and sketch the model of Michiel de Ruyters ship the Salamander in the Muzeeum in Vlissingen. The Salamander was the ship on which De Ruyter made his profitable voyages to Morocco. The model was taken out of storage and placed on the table in a meeting room. Bert and I were welcomed by Pol Verbeeck one of the curators of the museum. He explained that several models of the ship had been made over the years. They were all made by retired ship builders from the nearby wharfs who modeled the Salamander after descriptions given by De Ruyter in his Diary. The model in the Muzeeum wasn't older than 60 years. While I was sketching Bert had a conversation with Verbeeck about a young man from Eindhoven who had written a book about the 10 years that De Ruyter sailed on the Salamander. Verbeeck did rather scathing about the scientific content of the book. Apparently there was a lot of speculation but he had extensively written about Iligh. Bert's curiosity was peaked. During the lunch break we went to the local bookshop only to find that the book was not only sold out but also out of print. Later Bert had mail contact with the writer, but when she found out he hadn't even visited Iligh, she lost interest.