Onder Zeeniveau

Is this an addition or not? It’s not clear to me.

Last Saturday was one of the best days of 2023. The best day was LoveSwim, the annual swimming party in the Amstel, but this day August 5 a close second.

The Canal Parade. Dutch people often say the kennel parade but in English, the emphasis is on the last part of the word. (Cunell)

After years of absence, we had a boat again with our swimming club, and I, the oldest member and gray-haired, had been asked several times: Dia are you coming on the boat? After many Nos followed my Yes, with the condition that I could sit occasionally.

After much organization, the time had come. We had a small boat and a human of about twenty-six who could get on the boat. Our boat was beautiful. It was made into a real swimming pool, with pool tiles, a ball line, and blue inside. For me, a seat in the back was made which moved me.

On the side were the names of our sponsors NZ and Church and the slogan because the theme of this Pride was: #youareincluded, Everyone can learn to swim, no one heads down.

Our member Michel made a choreography, and we practiced our movements two evenings on the song Aquarius from Hair where Emerence had mixed a cheerfully gabber version.

I thought it was hilarious and we were all in good spirits and excited. Gay men, lesbian women, bi people, and non-binary people, we were handsome, slim, young, older, and fatter, we were inclusive.

At the National Maritime Museum, we waited until it was time to start. We waved to other boats, sometimes dancing along.  Most of the boats were gigantic. The boat of the Municipality of Amsterdam had a thunderous sound system, and the Vegan boat had a dirty diesel push-up boat with smelly black smoke coming out of it.

And then we could go. The audience lined up. We did our dance, swimming movements, and going underwater with nostrils closed, we expressed with movements that we had understanding and harmony. On the quay, people danced and sang along. They may have been mostly straight people on the quay, but these were cheerful people who supported our struggle. I got that impression from all the thumbs up, the kissing movements.

For me, it was a celebration of who we are and the freedom we have in this country to be who we are.

We were on TV for a while in which Splinter said some pleasant things but then the attention was on the boat behind us, I believe the Booking boat with professional dancers.

For me, it was a genuinely nice experience with my club to stand on such a small boat, to do our dance, and to feel the love of the audience.

As I said, a celebration of our choice to love who we love and to be who we are, we Gay Swim Amsterdam, stands for who we are.

On Sunday evening I watched the summary of AVRO/TROS TV with the same Splinter in his beautiful suit. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of our boat but no, no attention to our boat.

A lot of attention to all commercial boats, yes, they will be necessary to keep it all affordable. One big boat after another sailed past me in front of the TV.

Nice, colorful dancing people, sometimes with a nice glass in hand, but what did it have to do with me?

Yes, I saw the trans boat, the refugee boat, the youth boat, the sports boat.

I looked for the connection but didn’t find it.

What AVRO/TROS TV showed was not like I experienced it with our little gay boat and our gay dance and our gay people.

If I had only seen this summary I would have really thought what does this have to do with me?

Maybe everything, but I didn’t feel represented on TV.

Still, it was a beautiful day for me that fifth of August.