Luxury motor ‘Bona Spes’ which launched in 1930 as ‘Jacqueline’ was a so-called self-unloader. The ship carried mostly sand and gravel and could unload that cargo with its own rigging. The sailing area at that time was all of the Netherlands and Germany. In World War II, the ship transported 92 starving children from The Hague to Groningen. It was also used in the February 1953 flood disaster.

Later it was converted into a crane ship and so served as a transshipment vessel until 2008. So that’s almost 60 years! When the ship went out of service in 2008, the current owner bought it. He took the crane off and put the original unloading rig back on. The owner is justifiably proud of the authentic look of the “Bona Spes. He regularly takes boating trips around the Netherlands, but in the future wants to take a trip to France.