One more time we woke up to the white cliffs of Dover.  

We usually do ship sponsored shore excursions but, on this second time in Dover, we decided to go out on our own.  We considered going to Dover Castle and exploring the tunnels from where the evacuation of Dunkirk were organized.  That sounded interesting but we just weren’t in a mindset to enjoy yet another castle.  That will be a priority if we return to Dover on a future trip.

Our goal for this day was to see the World’s Oldest Sea-Faring Boat.  We learned about it during a port talk on the ship.

We walked about a mile through the port area into town.

We saw some interesting old buildings on our way.

We passed by the old SC&R railroad terminal.  It was built for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway which was a union of two former rival railways. 

We made it to the Dover Museum.  There was no admission fee charged but we were happy to donate our last six British pounds. After all the countries and currencies, we were down to only US dollars.

This prehistoric wooden boat, was discovered in September 1992, during road construction.  Knowing the discovery might be important, the crew called in archaeologists.

Due to the position of the boat and nearby buildings, they were not able to remove the entire length.  In fact, they don’t know exactly how long it really was.

The archaeologists knew that past attempts to excavate boats in one piece had not been successful.  Consequently, a decision was made to cut the boat into sections and reassemble it afterwards. 

Together the teams worked at removing pieces of the boat as quickly as they could both for the road budget and for minimizing the time the old wood was exposed. They kept the wood wet by spraying it with water.

The next step was to drain the water and submerg the pieces in a liquid wax mixture for 16 months.

Then they set the blocks to freeze dry for two years to remove any remaining water.

While waiting, the archeologists built a replica which helped them understand more about how the boat was first made.

Thirty pieces of the original boat were reassembled over 9 months.

After seven years of research and conservation, the Dover Boat came back to Dover.  (I can’t believe it isn’t in the British Museum!) 

The boat’s excavation was an internationally important archaeological discovery. It is considered the world’s oldest known sea-faring vessel.  

The boat is about 3,500 years old, in use about 1500 BC during the Bronze Age.

There were a number of other exhibits in the Dover Museum but the only one of that really caught our attention was about the men and women who swam the English channel, specifically the Straight of Dover.

The first man to swim the channel unaided was Captain Matthew Webb in 1875.  He and his rivals didn’t always play nice.

The first woman was 19 year old American, Gertrude Ederle, in 1926.  It was her second attempt.

Some swimmers went Dover to Calais, others went Calais to Dover.  The latter was considered slightly easier.

We walked back to the ship for lunch and tried a sandwich that was very, very popular with the Dutch passengers on board. 

The ‘sandwich’ is called BROODJE KROKET and is fried veal ragout on a roll.  It is usually served with mustard.  We were both fans!

Our next broodje kroket will have to wait until the next time we are on a “dam” ship – the Oosterdam in late 2026.

Our month long journey, beginning in Rotterdam, and two cruises exploring the British Isles and Iceland, was a great trip. We enjoy visiting and learning about and from other countries. We are thankful that we were able to travel with our friends Cindy and Darrell again!

PS

Guess which one Randy is! He was okay with me adding this. He’s happy with his role.