DE MERCURIUS OF ENKHUIZEN (NOT THE SHIP OF BARENTSZ)
Those of you who are familiar with my logs will know that I have spent the last two and a half years relentlessly researching and building two variants of the Barentsz’s ship. The fact is that researching and finding out as much as I can about the three polar expeditions of Barentsz has become such an integral part of my life, that building any other ship from a different era and/or nationality feels weird.
This is not meant to take anything away from the HMS Pandora which I am currently building. The Modelship Dockyard kit of the Pandora is superb and the ship itself must have been one of the most beautiful vessels ever to have roamed the oceans. However, each time I took a break or waited for the glue to dry, I found myself back behind my laptop searching for new information on the Dutch Polar Expeditions of 1594-1596.
Whilst I have given up on finding any conclusive evidence that will point to a definitive identity of Barentz’s ship during the last and fatal (to Barentsz and a few of his men) 1596 expedition, my enthusiasm for the ships that partook in these expeditions remained untainted.
Of these ships there I regard the Swane of Zeeland and the Mercurius* of Enkhuizen - which both partook in both the 1594 and 1595 expeditions – as the two stalwarts. Of the two I have the most information on the Swane pertaining to her acquisitioning, how she was equipped for the journeys, who had sailed on her and how she handled and fared during the expeditions. Of the Mercurius I have less information. Other than her description as a “Vlieboot” of approximately 50 lasten and the crew who sailed on her, I have no further information. Of neither of the ships do I have plans or even a visual representation – other than the illustrations which appeared in the journals of Gerrit de Veer.
*Please note that Mercurius refers to the Vlieboot from Enkhuizen and should in no way be confused with the Mercurius (of Amsterdam) which Barentsz captained during the first expedition. During the First Expedition (1594) the Enkhuizen Mercurius was captained by Brandt Ijsbrandtsz Tetgales with Jan Huygen van Linschoten as Commis. During the 1595 expedition she was under the command of Thomas Willemszoon.
So, imagine my excitement when I found out this morning that the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam houses a model which is claimed to be the Mercurius of Enkhuizen. Shown in the configuration of the 1594 (First) Expedition and built by J.B. Martein in 1963, the model depicts a three-masted (cross-rigged main- and foremasts and a mizzen mast with lateen sail) vlieboot with a bowsprit and a total of six sails. Both fore- and main masts are secured by means of stays, five and six shrouds with ratlines respectively, and deadeyes. The mizzen mast features only two shrouds without ratlines and no stay.
The underwater of the wooden hull is painted in white harpuis and features three wales. Armament consists of two cannons on either side. A red and white strip underlines the lower bulwarks while a strip of alternating white and green triangles flanks the upper bulwarks. On deck, in front of the mast, a sloop is lashed above the front grate that gives access to the hold. Behind the large mast is another grate, with behind it a capstan with four spokes and a bilge pump. On the flat transom is a blue trapezoid with an image of the Roman god, Mercury. The main mast carries a yellow flag with a Red Lion in the middle.
