Former Navy man Harco Slot is a volunteer miller.
‘'Step into the world called the Navy,' has been the advertising slogan for decades. Harco Slot once stepped into that world. And had a golden age there. Now, the former naval officer and chairman of the Willemsoord Museum Harbour Foundation is stepping into a completely different world: that of the wind. He is one of the volunteer millers of the De Goede Verwachting windmill, currently under construction on the Fabrieksgracht.
For a technician like Harco Slot, it is a new, fascinating world. No gas turbines, generators, or printed circuit boards. Over the past few years, he completed a theoretical and practical training course to become a miller, covering terms such as stampers, augers, rooster beam, tail, brake, donkey, rear wolf, and winding wheel. He now knows everything about the position of the sails, such as the going position, the birth position, and the joy position. He learned to read weather maps and discovered all sorts of things about high and low pressure systems.
Sailor
,"I am a sailor, so I knew something about the weather. Now I understand even better what is going on. What to look out for. At sea, you can sail around a bad weather area. You can't near a wind turbine. So you need to know in advance what the weather is going to do."’
The miller as weather forecaster. It is not without reason that Bert Garthoff's famous radio program 'Weer of geen weer' (Whether or not it's true), which aired from 1955 to 1978, included a segment featuring the weather forecast by 'the miller in the middle of the country.'‘
Harco Slot was fascinated by windmills from a young age. Not the modern turbines that have since filled the landscape in our country, but the traditional mills that made their appearance in the Netherlands starting in the thirteenth century.
Fascinating
,"When I used to cycle past a turning mill like that and saw the door standing open, I would always go in for a look. I found it fascinating. So when it became known three years ago that the Helderse mill foundation De Onderneming was looking for volunteer millers, my wife said: 'Isn't that something for you?'"’
He signed up with the Guild of Millers, paid the course fees, and three days later a box with three full binders of study material arrived. But he wasn't finished yet. "I gained practical experience at my 'internship mill,' the mill in the heart of Den Oever. Together with the mill in Hippolytushoef, it is owned by the Wieringer Mills Association."‘
Safe
,"Rien Eykelenboom, also a former Marine, was my instructor. Technically, I understood a lot about how a windmill works, but there is much more to the job of a miller. The most important thing: you have to operate safely. Safe for both people and the windmill. You are talking about enormous forces that are unleashed when the sails turn."’
Keeping the mill turning involves a lot of manual labor. "When the wind shifts, you can't just press a button. You have to manually turn everything into the wind. That is called 'cranking' and you do it with a capstan wheel. Next, the tail of the mill, and with it the cap, is secured with chains so that the cap does not move on its own during grinding or when the wind direction changes."’
By hand
Currently, employees of the Zaan-based construction company Jan Vet BV have started assembling the windmill in parts. "It takes time. You don't just order parts from AliExpress. Everything has to be made by hand."’
In addition to Harco Slot, Jans Boes has also qualified as a volunteer miller. "Furthermore, there are two others in training." He can't wait until De Goede Verwachting is ready in mid-May. "It will be an eye-catcher, and we hope to be able to operate it frequently. That attracts visitors and creates a buzz. As a miller, you are essentially an ambassador. Of the Helderse Windmill Foundation and of the national association De Hollandsche Molens."’
RONALD DEN BOER
