Lifeboat. This is no longer the old horse-drawn rowing lifeboat in the sea because you can admire it in the museum.
But lifeguarding does belong to the cultural history of this seaside village of Egmond aan Zee. Very well known was also lifeboat the Ubbo and from the heavy sound of the tractor, the whole village knew when it went out. If you want to see the modern lifeboat the “Adriaan Hendrik,” real human rescuers and also the nostalgia of rescues at sea, you should stop by on Friday nights during the summer.
“The boat is going out.” This is a winged expression in the sea village. Whether it’s real action (flare seen!) or practice: a lifeboat going out and sailing through the surf is an experience. From March through October, the crew practices every Monday evening at 7 p.m.
From November through February, the boat goes out at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings. Then the doors of the boathouse will be open, and should you want to know anything, you can venture out. But it could also be that the men are busy with maintenance. From the Boathouse, we cross to Trompenberg Street, named after the hotel that once stood there, toward Pump Square.
The lifeboat is often confused with the Egmond beach rescue brigade, the E.R.B. (they do write the s) The “brigade post” has been on the beach every summer since 1928, right under the lighthouse. The volunteers deal with the safety of swimmers, surfers, sailors, lost children and with E.H.B.O. They hold open evenings every year and then give rescue demonstrations.
Want to see the lifeboat and crew members in action? Practices are held every Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. from March through October. From November through February, the exercise takes place on Saturday mornings at 9 a.m.
The lifeboat is driven from the Egmond Maritime Center via beach entrance De Werf to the beach and launched there. The lifeboat is a favorite object for many visitors to Egmond to photograph. Will you also take a nice action photo?
