8 May 2010 was the National Windmill Day for the Netherlands. When Mr Jacob Hekke offered me a visit to his windmill, named the "Windlust", I jumped for it without any 2nd thought. My only encounter with anything close to a windmill was in making a jig-saw puzzle of a windmill, surrounded by tulips all round. The first thing I discovered was that the entitle windmill could be turned to face the wind and the speed of its rotation is based on the amount of canvas that covers the sail (blades of the windmill).
The Hekke's mill was constructed to grind corn. Others could be built to pump water or to saw timber. Everything within the windmill is a work of mechanical art. To move the direction of the blades to catch the wind, a block & chain is used. To maximise the mechanical advantage, a large wheel (like a steering wheel on a ship) is used to shift its direction, quite effortlessly. Internally, sets of gears also transfer the rotation of the blades to "do work". (Hmmmm !!! Wonder if they could design the windmills to write reports !!!)
With a group of friends and volunteers, Mr Hekke, friends & volunteers spent time maintaining the mill and open it to visitors (for education purpose / his contribution to the community !!!). Though the wind was rather light for the day, the experience was indeed great !!! Happy windmill day !!!
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