Friday 1st August 2014 Weert to above Panheel lock. 16kms 1 lock

Our mooring for a week at Weert

14.6°C Sunny and very hot again. We did some shopping at the supermarket just up the road but went by car as we needed heavy stuff like mike and spuds. I gave Mike a hand to unload the bike off the roof and he stowed it in the car to move the car on to Panheel. When he returned I gave Mike a hand to put the bike back on the roof but didn’t put the cover on as the engine was still hot. I noticed someone outside and Mike went to look. It was an elderly guy from one of the houses looking after “his” garden, the periwinkels along the edge were his and he said

Lock 15, bottom end gates - note shape of lock

he often fishes there. Told him we’d be leaving in a couple of hours. Mike gave him an Amaryllis plant. At 1.20 pm we untied, winded and set off back down the Zuid Willems Kanaal, going with the flow this time we were much quicker getting to lock 15. A short wait, hovering in the middle as a cruiser left lock 15 and we followed another cruiser into the chamber and dropped back down 5m. Mike looked after the rope while I finished setting the washing machine up. Below the lock

Lock 15, top end gates note gates are offset,
1st boat in moves over and is therefor 1st boat out, simple.

there was a loaded boat, called Myos, waiting to go up and a cruiser. We tied on the very end of the quay and Mike set the gennie up so we could do some washing. I did two short programmes en route to Panheel. Turned right at the junction on to the Kanaal Wessem-Nederweert, a long straight canal with trees both banks, reeds, a few ducks and a road along the right bank. Long, straight boring and hot. At 4.30 pm we moored above the lock on the left where one cruiser was moored before the commercials, a couple of dozen

Boats below lock 15 Zuid Willemsvaart

of which were moored on either side above the lock, all empty and at this time of year probably their crews were away on holiday. Several had their cranes in the air, so no cars on board. Had a text from the Snails to say they were at Engis and were staying there the next day for shopping before moving on to Ampsin where they would wait for us.

 

Moored at Panheel above the lock - with working boats on holiday