Wednesday 16th July 2014 KP9 Almere golf club to Nederhorst. 35.4kms 2 locks

Egyptian goose scavenging by the boat. Got any bread?

14.4°C Sunny and hot all day, very light breeze. Mike took the mast down to get under the low bridges and we set off at 9 am. Said tot ziens to the neighbours on Isis. Under the first bridge, then a left turn on to the Lange Wetering. Lots of small cruisers were moored along the canal on the wooden stumps provided and in neat offline basins. A long line of houseboats stretched along the right bank, some were three storeys high. A cruiser set off from the next little offline basin and zoomed off in front towards Almere Haven. As we got closer to the basin another cruiser came out heading in the

Half-built hotel. Almere.

opposite direction and another came down the canal towards us as we were passing the junction with the Krome Wetering, which leads to the lake in the city called Weerwater. Two cruisers were below Almere Haven sluis, the first one went into the lock and, although there was plenty of room left in the 20m long chamber, the gates closed behind him and shut the second boat out, he moved down the quay and we tied up behind him. The skipper came to say hello – we’ve met before! It was the cruiser called Excess, whose crew we’d met at Hoogeschmilde when we called there for water. All smiles and laughing, we

In Almere Haven sluis. Flevo

had a natter on the quay, mostly in Dutch as he didn’t speak English but the words we didn’t know in English she translated for us. They went up the lock (they were staying in the haven for water and a bit of shopping) and I sorted out the washing while Mike connected up the Markon drive. The lock lifted the boat about 4m up to the level of the Randmeeren lake called Gooimeer. Mike shinned up the ladder to pay the keeper 2,50€ for the lock, then we headed out through all the moored boats in the haven and turned left into the channel leading to the Gooimeer. It was 11.30 am already. By the entrance there was an underwater pipe bubbling air into the water to oxygenate it. The surface of the lake had a green growth of algae. By the entrance channel a fishing boat was anchored while it washed its nets. Turned right heading northwest for the Hollandsebrug which carries the motorway across from Muiderberg onto Flevoland. There were sailing boats and cruisers and speedboats galore. An empty commercial called Adriana overtook us 2kms before the bridge. As we approached the bridge we could see there was

Almere Haven

lots of work going on to build another bridge with a diesel-powered pile-driver and loads of earth moving plant. A loaded boat called Jomajo came through the bridge, Spes-Vera and Contentus were unloading sand by the bridge and Maaike likewise on the far side before the bridge. Under the bridge and out on to the southern end of the Markermeer, a light breeze powering many sailing boats. It was busy. We headed out for Pampas Island as the weather was so good. Lake

Fishing boat washing nets. Gooimeer

insects were in almost plague proportions, tiny flies and mossies in their millions. Fortunately they didn’t bite, just made themselves a nuisance. I made some lunch and we just had time to eat it before we arrived at Muiden and went into the Grote Zeesluis – the keeper had kept the gates open for us and we filled the last bit of the chamber – opposite our friends with Excess again! The lock emptied (yes, downhill by about 20cms off the sea lake on to the river Vecht) and the long footbridge

Clouds over Gooimeer

over the two lock chambers swung open (a young lady carrying a baguette under her arm sprinted across and made it just as the far barriers came down) and all the cruisers raced off to the next bridge, Rijksbrug, which had a 5m clearance without being lifted so most of them got through it and we followed. More building work for the new road that will cross next to the Hollandsebrug, more pile-drivers and cranes and earth movers. Mike took the mast

down and the sunshade so we could get under the next couple

Pile-drivers. R Vecht at Muiden

of bridges. Under the railway bridges where several large high boats were waiting and into Weesp. Wide narrowboat Water Melody went past, a large Dutch flag fluttering at the rear. Ducked under the bascule bridge with the ensign off, then Mike put the flag and sunshade back up as we could get under the rest with them up. The river seemed to be full of small open motor boats, travelling fairly sedately up and down. Took photos again of the two windmills in Weesp. A person wearing a wetsuit and an orange swimming cap was swimming along the left bank. We overtook (unusual for us as

Loaded boat on Markermeer

we’re always the slowest) an open motor boat and then a cruiser which was dawdling along far right of the middle, we got dirty looks for overtaking him on the wrong side. Spotted a round fortress on the left bank that I hadn’t noticed before, it had a large café next door to it and a rusty canon in front of it. Next to it was the entrance to a little canal that we had marked on our chart as “opens for two hours on a Wednesday “. A police RIB went past us heading in the opposite direction just as a small cruiser was overtaking us, 

Moored on R Vecht near Nederhorst

the police officer indicated that he should slow down (the river has a limit of 9khp) Close to the village of Hinderdam where there is a lake by the canal there was a commercial called Union moored, it was unloading sand which was being pumped into the lake using a big pipe (maybe they were filling it in??) We moored on a quay by Charley’s café at the end of a long sprawling village called Nederhorst den Berg, slotting between the cruisers on a three day mooring. It was 4.10pm.

Friday 11th July 2014 KP40 to KP9 Almere golf club. 30.2kms no locks.

A working Dutch barge - Voorwaarts loaded with sand

15.5°C Sunny with hazy clouds. Hot and still muggy even after last night’s very heavy rain. Mike got up early, so did I, and we set off at 8.20 am as we knew we’d a long way to go. The other three boats were still on the moorings when we left. After a short distance heading southwest we turned right heading northwest for about a kilometre, around a left hand bend and then we were running due west, still on the Hoge Vaart. It was very quiet with lots of birds about, coots, mallard, grebe and house martins. Caught several glimpses of big birds of prey but

Voorwarts heading back to Ketelsluis empty

not enough to identify them. Mike took photos of the dividing dike, Knardijk, which separates the two polders, east and south Flevoland.  Voorwaarts went past us, running empty, back towards Ketelmeer. Shortly after we went past where we were sure he’d unloaded by the unloading quays at KP27 Trekkersveld. A cruiser went past heading for Ketelsluis, then Climax, another boat loaded with sand, went past at KP26 – we know where he’s going to unload! Bet his sand came from the Markermeer. A small cruiser was pootling along in the wake

Another sand boat coming from the other direction

and churned mud behind the commercial. Mike made a cuppa then I went in to get on with the chores. Several more cruisers went past heading in the opposite direction to us and two were fast catching us up. There was very little wind and the big wind turbines, here scattered across the fields – not in lines – we all still. As we went past one giant wind generator tower next to the canal I picked the binoculars up to check what I thought was a bird sitting on top of the tower – it wasn’t a bird it was a man’s head and shoulders sticking out through a

Hoge Knarsluis, floodgates in the Knardijk

trapdoor in the power house of the generator, he was on the phone! The first cruiser that overtook us was a low one without a rooftop steering position, the couple on it were sitting comfortably on a seat right at the stern and Mike spotted that the guy was steering using a little joystick remote control. Neat, we ought to have one and sit on our comfy seat in the bows! The second cruiser overtook us, then around KP15 two open boats went past - one was a trailered speedboat, the other one was one of the much favoured in the Netherlands

No it's not a bird - it's a man making a phone call

type of open boat that looks like a small lifeboat with inboard engine and thick rope fendering all around its gunwales. The sun was obscured for a while by the hazy clouds and it became even hotter. At 1.15 pm we arrived at the intended mooring in a small layby with an island at the golf club in Almere. A very large three storey cruiser was moored parallel to the bank with his bows right into the corner. I hopped off into the reedy jungle with the middle rope while Mike asked very nicely if the skipper would mind moving back down the wooden

Moored by the golf club

quay by about a metre so we could tuck our bows into the corner at ninety degrees to his and our stern then wouldn’t be sticking out into the main canal. OK, after he realised our boat was too long to moor behind him (there were fishermen there anyway). Mike knocked some pins in and I made some lunch. After lunch Mike set off on the moped at 2.15 pm to collect the car from Ketelhaven 60kms away on the far side of the island.

Thursday 10th July 2014 Ketelsluis to KP40 De Hoop. 22kms no locks

Long straight on the Hoge Vaart. Flevo

15.9°C Sunny and hot with hazy cloud cover at times. Set off at 9.35 am heading southwest down the Hoge Vaart. There was a narrow-beamed DB moored in front of us called Trio 4 and as we went past a hand came out of a port hole to wave and a voice said good morning in excellent English with no accent! A cruiser had set off just before us, heading in the same direction and it wasn’t long before there was no sign of him. The first of traffic going the opposite way to us, a small cruiser, went past just before we reached the first road bridge

Wind turbines. Flevo

(carrying the road to Dronten) and the first bend. It was 10.20 am. Passed two more by the new railway bridge. A train went over the bridge as we went underneath it. On either bank there were massive open fields of corn or cabbages. Distant farmhouses were hidden in copses, trees to form windbreaks. The first mooring was called De Nabbert, at one time it had been the fishermen’s landmark spot in the former Zuiderzee. One small cruiser was moored there. A large dead zander was floating in the canal and a bit

Nesting holes in concrete. 

further on a seagull was struggling to carry a fish that must have been at least its own body weight, it dropped it and it sank. Two more cruisers went past as we went under the overhead power lines. On to the long, long straight (10kms) that goes through and beyond Biddinghuizen. We continued through fields of spuds and wheat, more distant farmhouses and rows of wind turbines, turning gently in the light breeze. It was a butterfly day, peacocks and red admirals were the ones that came close enough to identify – and blue darter dragonflies. In a field

Grebe being brave and not diving out of sight.

before Biddinghuizen there was a diving board sticking out over the canal from a small reed bed, noted there was no ladder beside it to assist anyone to get out again - and who would want to swim in water the colour of chocolate? As we came into the outskirts of Biddinghuizen there was a yard on the right with piles of sand and several piles of broken bricks and concrete. At the end of this there was a wall made of concrete slabs with holes in them that a flock of house martins had made nests in. A man in a small open fishing boat went past and waved. There were lots and lots of ducks and coots opposite the silos. Four cruisers were moored on the outside of the offline

Biddinghuizen moorings

marina, which was now almost full of boats; four more cruisers were moored on the wooden staging in a layby in the town. The long piled quay that occupied the rest of the layby remained empty with its “no mooring” signs. Mike said it was just for show! Beyond the town there were trees on both banks for a kilometre plus. A road with busy traffic was screened form the canal by the trees on the right. Open fields again on the left, still with trees along

Moored at KP40 De Hoop

the road on the right. Several brave grebe swam past without diving or flying away. At the end of the 10kms straight there is a kink to the left and another wooden staging for mooring (this one is called De Hoop). One largish cruiser was moored at the far end, so we winded and moored at the other. It was 1.15 pm.

Monday 7th July 2014 Arembergergracht to below Ketelsluis Flevo. 33.1kms 3 lks

Rainbow over Arembergergracht

12.5°C Grey clouds with hot sunny spells. We set off at 9.15 am, winded and ran south down Arembergergracht to the lock Arembergersluis. A cruiser overtook us halfway there. More boats had just gone into the lock so we both had to wait until they’d gone up and the lock emptied again. We couldn’t fit in with the one who’d overtaken us, the lady keeper said he was 11m long and the lock was a touch under 28m long. No problem, it didn’t take long to turn it round. She said she’d seen another narrowboat the previous week, a green one, heading north (later someone else told us it was called The Hustler). Must have missed it while we were out joyriding round the dike roads. We were soon heading for the Zwarte Water where we turned right and followed a cruiser that was also heading towards the Zwarte Meer. The Genemuiden ferry was still carrying bicyclists across the river although the road on the far side (N331) was completely closed for resurfacing. We paused while Mike put the pins in so we could do some washing. At

Tug pushing a pan of dredgings. Sheepvaartgat

the start of the Zwartediep we turned left into the Sheepvaartgat, a narrow, shallow channel along the southern edge of the shallow, reedy Zwarte Meer. We were surprised to see the bows of a commercial coming towards us and a cruiser catching us up fast. The commercial turned out to be a full dredging pan pushed by a small tug - the dredger was working just around the sharp left corner in the wider channel called the Groot. We passed a cruiser on the bend which was followed by a large LeBoat hire boat with student Australians on board. Had to slow off for the dredger which was listing over well with the grab

Dredging in the Groot.

out as far as it would reach. Mike took the mast down and the flagstaff off to go under the only liftbridge on the navigation, called Mandjeswaardbrug, which was remotely operated and lifted as we approached it with perfect timing. Mike put the mast and flag back up. I changed wash loads. There were cruisers everywhere going upriver into Kampen on the Ganzendiep, two were overtaking us as traffic was coming towards us. Big sweeping bends of the river were lined with holiday bungalows, each with its own boat, or two, of all shapes and sizes. The Ganzensluis was closed for lunch when we arrived. Tied on the wooden stumps with a cruiser behind us. Within

Garden ornament or a real radar speed trap for boats??

five minutes another lady keeper pressed buttons to lift the guillotine gate and we went in, followed by the cruiser. We rose a matter of 2cms and the top end guillotine went up. A crowd of cruisers were waiting on the other side for the lock, some were milling about as there were not enough stumps for all of them. Down a short channel and we turned right heading downstream on the Ijssel in Kampen. The far bank was lined with old buildings and old sailing boats. A fast open speedboat went tearing past us on the wrong side, then stopped to fish! The river was very busy with pleasure

Waterfront. Kampen on the banks of the Ijssel

boat traffic in both directions, including another very large LeBoat hireboat. An empty commercial overtook us, just before the junction with the Katerdiep off to our right; Nawa 9 (80mx8.8m 920T) from Szczecin, was the first Polish boat we’d seen in the Netherlands. We carried on, following him straight on down the Keteldiep towards the Ketelmeer. A large wedge-shaped German cruiser was fast catching up but he eased off to go past. In a lull in the traffic we drifted for a few minutes while Mike disengaged the Markon drive. Soon after a small empty coaster, called Klagarie, went past heading upriver. A cruiser following it went up on the plane after he’d passed us. A loaded boat called Takana (70mx7.20m 853T) from

Kilometre marker 1000 - from upper Rhine?

Rotterdam went past heading upstream as we reached the lake. I’d forgotten how many swans live in the shallow lake, hundreds and hundreds of them, tails in the air dredging the plant life off the bottom. We went across the corner of the Ketelmeer to wait above Ketelsluis at Ketelhaven behind another cruiser, which had also just arrived. We could see there were now cameras surrounding the lock and the couple on the boat in front said they had rung the keeper (who resides in an office in Lelystadt and works everything on the island from there) and the lock would be ready soon. Ah! No lock keeper means no drinking water at the lock now,

Motorway bridge with lifting span

so we decide to shove across to the yacht haven opposite and get some water. As we moved off the lock gates opened and the cruiser went in. A very pleasant young woman with two small boys who were playing by their boat told us where the tap was. There was no coin in the slot but she said the harbour master would be back in about an hour. We’ll still be here, it wasn’t a fast tap. We had just finished refilling when he arrived and he had a chat with Mike. No charge! That was very nice of them. While we were filling up, a Waterways boat came past with masthead light and full navigation lights on – Mike was on his soapbox – “you’re the first boat we’ve seen this year travelling with lights on in full sunshine!” – they waved. (We’re used to a big percentage of the Dutch driving their cars around with lights on in daylight, so it was only a

Waterways boat - all lights on!

question of time before we saw the first boat doing it!) We moved over to the waiting area for the lock. Mike called on VHF Ch18 and got no reply; he called the number on a notice board - no reply to that either; there was a button to press – he tried that and got no response. Then another cruiser arrived whose skipper spoke a little English and told us that all the VHF radio on Flevo was on CH1. The guy said the controller was probably busy, just as a loaded 40m commercial called Voorwaarts arrived – looked like he’d been sand dredging as he had a hold completely full of wet sand. Strange to see such a small boat still working in the Netherlands. It wasn’t in a very good state of repair and Mike said to me if you want to know what gearbox whine sounds like listen to that as the skipper put it in reverse when his bows were almost in the lock gates. I made a cuppa as it was going to be a long wait. Eventually the lock refilled and we dropped down 5m. Moored among the cruisers next to a wooden landing stage with square wooden mooring stumps. It was

Moored below Ketelsluis - 5m below sea level

4.50 pm. Unloaded the moped off the roof and Mike went to get the car – a long way round as the N331 was still closed and the best and most direct route would have been across the Ijssel on the ferry at Genemuiden to the N331. 

Ketelsluis - 5m up to the Ketelmeer