Volgas in the port of Batumi

[Georg Weinstabl]

During my stay in Batumi (Georgia) I had the chance to see two Volgas in the harbour. One of them in a quite good situation. It was obviously changed and I learned that the change was done in Bulgaria. They had some doghouse and It was not really my taste, but in very good condition. The other boat must have had an accident and the hydrofoils were taken away and ther was also no propeller anymore. The boffin owning that boat however must have installed a Lada engine inside it and with the axle of it he had a starboard and a portside wheel like the Mississippi passenger Ferries 130 years ago. It is a real pitty that the photos I took were not very good and few of them are what I can show here. I''ll enclose however a warm promise that I will take a photo the next time I ll be in Batumi.

As far as I have understood there are not many Volgas left in Batumi. These were the only ones I was able to see on sea. Maybe there are some still in garages or gardens hidden on the black sea. So there is not much left of what was once a city having a shipyard building Volgas.