Marboei

ON LAKE HEEGER Today nesting grounds and ever larger settlements to undergo holidays surround us but we set sail. The prow trembles, something tosses and turns in its sleep beneath the boat and the first raindrops are already bouncing off the waves. We clutch the rudder with both hands, the wood is sticky and wet. Steering is pointing the way you don’t want to go. We drop anchor to stay safe and close to the bottom yet we are not separated from a mass of water that whips and curses, swallowing west winds to complete its growth spurt, this monster in the making wants to force banks to gobble up the excess water, to press out desperate young crops so that all that wetness can go somewhere. Our boat is much too small. Trapped, nauseated, reeling and what’s that going overboard, maybe the drink, let’s hope it’s the drink, east or west in the bottle is best, the tossing lessens, we are still safely anchored and this buoy is our plug against the depths, we shout down “do your worst!” and the response is chatter, tiny tsunamis that slap the hull with a gentle but steady knocking. Translation: Michele Hutchison

Their numbers have grown each year and there are now more than one hundred: the MarBoei buoys of 'Marrekrite recreation' in the Frisian waters. Most of the yellow and blue buoys can be found in Waterland van Friesland, and they always mark a very special spot in the middle of the water. More poems, moorings and information on the MarBoei buoys can be found at www.marboei.frl