Saturday 2nd August 2014 Panheel to below Yvos-Ramet lock. 81.5kms 4 locks

Crossing the river Maas. Early morning quiet.

17.2°C Light cloud first thing, sunny and very hot again. Up very early and left at 6.50 am heading gently down to the lock. Nothing much was stirring. Both locks at Panheel had double red lights. At 7 am (lock opening time) the lights on the smaller lock (left) turned to single red and we headed in that direction. Then the lock lights on the big lock changed to red/green and the gates opened as the commercial nearest to it, an empty called Falkland, fired up his engine, untied, and went into the lock. We followed him. I put our centre rope around a floater and Mike sat on

Needs no explanation

the roof keeping control of it while I had some breakfast and did some chores. Dropped down 7.8m and followed the commercial out of the lock at 7.25 am. Ventura, with a strange load of small open steel boats, was heading for the small lock chamber followed by a couple of wedge shaped cruisers. More empty commercials were moored below the lock and by the first bridge. On down the rest of the canal to the junction with the Maas, straight across and on to the start of the Julianakanaal. Mike called Maasbracht lock

In Maasbracht lock. Start of Julianakanaal

on VHF and was told to use the middle chamber. A cruiser appeared, probably from moorings in the lakes at the end of the Wessem-Neederweert canal, and followed us into the lock, there was already one cruiser in the chamber. We put fore and aft ropes through the metal loops on the floaters and rose gently 13m. The expensive looking boat that had followed us into the lock was called The Gambler and had Monte Carlo written on the side at the stern, but on the back of it it had Maastricht as its home port. Hmm. The two cruisers

In Born lock. Julianakanaal

were soon out of sight. At the first bridge we passed Voorwaarts loaded with very smelly woodchip. Fishermen were enjoying their weekend sport at Echt. On the long section to Born locks I did some catching up on the log as I hadn’t written it up the night before. 2.5kms before Born we were overtaken by a commercial and a cruiser so Mike called on VHF and the lady keeper said OK keep coming and held the lock for us. We saw the cruiser go into the

Floater in Born lock. Julianakanaal

chamber and we were eight minutes behind him after Mike wound the revs on until we were doing 9kph. Into the middle chamber again, fore and aft ropes on floaters, rose another 11m. Neither the commercial, an empty called Jolanda, nor the cruiser stopped their engines in the lock. The commercial took his ropes off when the lock was still 3m from being full and drifted gently backwards down the chamber. Left the top at 10.35 am. Tea and buttered currant buns for early elevenses that felt like lunchtime! An empty 110m cement carrier called Phoenix went past heading downhill. It had a car parked on its side decks. There was a load of rubbish in the canal, plastic and bits of wood mainly, but also floating stuff like an old coat and woven plastic bags. Noted there was a new Jumbo supermarket back of the quay at Urmond. A new oil berth had been constructed from large vertical and horizontal tubes at the start of the long, long quay at Stein, where there were only a few pans and a tug plus one empty commercial moored. At the end of the quay there was on offline basin with more loading

Limmel flood locks. End of Julianakanaal

and unloading quays. A large loaded tanker called Deneb came out of the basin and turned on to the canal heading in the same direction as us just as a string of cruisers were coming the opposite way, it missed them all. The canal became narrower as we went into a cutting with trees on both high sloping grassy banks as we went round an S bend following the course of the Maas, which at this point was very close to the canal on our right. A speedboat full of youngsters went past heading downhill but came back past us again about

Boats moored on the wall in Maastricht. River Maas

half an hour later doing about 30kph. At 12.30 pm the sun was hidden by black clouds, so Mike fetched the sunshade down and I shut the canvases ready for rain as we ran down the last long straight of the Juliana to the flood lock at Limmel. The wind picked up and was blowing a gale. A loaded boat called Vera from Amsterdam (80mx9.5) went past at Bunde brug, then there was a series of sand and gravel workings on our right and the wind was howling across as we had no shelter from it for several hundred metres. A loud clap of thunder as we went back

Posh new sewage works. Maastricht

into the (relative) shelter of the trees and an empty called Kinevy went past heading for Maasbracht. Mike put the brolly up but we hadn’t mended it since the helicopter stripped the cover off it and we lost the strings and hooks to hold it down to the handrails. I got some cord and the scissors and Mike found the new S hooks he’d modified and he added new tethers to the brolly. A loaded tanker called Parkkade (110x10.5 2420T) came past and we slowed down so that a tug called Jilly-F pushing a small pan filled with sand

Below Lanaye lock. Bye Bye Netherlands, hello Belgium!

dredgings could overtake us just before Limmel. We bounced all over the place in his wash as we followed him through the double guillotined flood lock at the end of the Julianakanaal. Another speedboat was fast catching us up – there was a speed limit of 4.5kph through the flood lock, which he ignored completely. Into Maastricht. The tug turned hard right into the arm leading to the Zuid Willemsvaart. We went through the town centre past the moorings on the wall between

Above Lanaye in Belgium. Albert canal.

two road bridges, it was full with double moored boats at one end. Through the pointed arches of the old bridge, St Servaasbrug, passing several moored passenger boats. A large one had just loaded with passengers and set off through the bridge on the other side of the wall and soon overtook us. There were boats everywhere, sail boats, speedboats, cruisers and trippers – all the way to the lock, Saturday afternoon! Mike called the keeper at Lanaye in French and he replied in English, sort of.

Cockerill-Sambre steel works Vivegnis

Follow the hotel boat into the big lock. OK, makes a change from ropes up the bollards in the small lock chamber, which feels like a chimney as it is 14m deep. The hotel boat (offering cycle tours) was already sitting on the wall below the chamber so we attached behind him to wait for the tripper and a cruiser that was coming down to leave the chamber. The hotel boat went in on the right and we went behind him but he didn’t go far down the chamber. A cruiser came in too and went around us and the hotel boat to tie on the wall in front of him (the left wall remained empty)

No idea! Artwork at Chelate

The floaters were too far apart to have one at our bows and stern so we ended up with bollards again anyway! The bollards were set into the wall in large oval recesses and, as the incoming water comes through the floor and shoves the boats hard against the walls, the holes kept trapping my fender, no real need for ropes. It survived. When the lock was full Mike said take our MET number up to the office so we’re on the Belgian computer – so I climbed the long open staircase up to the lock office, but the keeper said his

King Albert memorial at start of Albert canal

computer was kaput, so back downstairs I went. Everyone else had left by the time I was back on the lockside. It was 3.30 pm as we set off on the Albert canal and said hello Belgium. Mike found the courtesy flags out and swapped the Dutch one for the Belgian. It was half an hour before we saw the first boats moving, a high speed RIB coming towards us then an empty tanker called Dinara (125mx11.45 3518T) as we were going through Hemalle-sous-Argenteau. A large cruiser heading downhill produced a huge wash which reverberated off the concrete

Hotel boat moored in Liege city centre. Alone.

walls both sides of the canal and the wind had picked up too, making it very bouncy for a while. It was nice to see some hills once more. Beyond the river Meuse to our left there were tree covered cliffs with small villages stretching up into the hills. A loaded tanker called Anversa was fast catching us up, but it stopped to moor opposite the silent steel works of Cockerill-Sambre, now part of Arcelor-Mittal (taken over just like the German steel works where we spent last winter). Another tanker went past, an empty one, called Valcheren, it had the same

Liege blocks of waterfront flats

livery (orange) of the tankers that went past us daily when we were moored at Weert on the Zuid Willemsvaart. Loads of commercials were moored at Vivengis along the right hand wall, including a loaded coal boat called Myzako (110x11.45 3282T) then we spotted the Carrefour supermarket – that’s why they were all moored there! A loaded boat called Ludovic was blue boarding to come into the moorings, so we went left to keep out of his way. On the left bank at Chertal there was a strange “sculpture” of a car between the blades of a giant pair of scissors. A big new incinerator plant had been built on the right, the smell was pretty bad as the wind was blowing towards us from it. Loaded tanker Noord (51x6.3 463T) overtook us before the

Moored below Yvoz-Ramet lock against what will be new lock wall

suspension bridge in Herstal. An empty tanker called Poseidon (110x11.40 2512T) went past, followed by a loaded boat called Koufra (86x9.5 1500T) as we were passing Monsin lock, where some tankers lock down to load at the refinery on the Meuse. Made a cuppa as we passed the immense statute of Albert, King of the Belgians, at the end of the canal that bears his name and on to the river Meuse. Loaded péniche Optimist went past as we went into the outskirts of the city of Liège. The cycling tour boat was moored in the centre – it must have had special permission to tie up there, no one else moors on the quays. Loaded boat Karima (85x9.5 1538T) went past at the new suspension bridge after the gold painted bridge called Pont de Franges. It was bouncy again after he’d gone past. A boat called Skyline (110x11.45 3224T) was moored at the new container port before Cockerills at Ougrée. The sunken commercial that had been there last year was still there, just the top of the cabin showing above the water. An empty called Raypa (80x8.24 1082T) went past heading downriver, followed by loaded Renata (62x6.65 756T) as we were passing Cockerills coking plant at Seraing. It was 7.30 pm. The next lock, Yvos-Ramet, was now closed. I did some catching up with the log as we went along the river to moor at the lock at 8.45 pm. A tanker that had passed us earlier (Noord) was moored below the lock on the left, tied to some dolphins which were totally unsuitable for us to tie to. The concrete wall on the right was where we’d moored before but a new lock was being built and the mooring loops set into the wall had been removed so we had no alternative but to moor on the new concrete wall immediately below the lock which had not been finished, steps lead down from the top but there were no ladders below them and there were lots of bits of rebar sticking out. New inset bollards were useful to tie the bows to and Mike found one bollard by a set of steps to tie the stern. Good job we didn’t need to get off the boat. Another commercial arrived around 11.30 pm.

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

Saturday 26th July 2014 Helmond to Weert. 33.1kms 6 locks

Lock 9 and the old canal (still used by commercials) Helmond south

14.7° C. Rain overnight, roof and bike cover wet. Misty start, light clouds, sunny and hot with a light breeze later. Four cruisers set off from the moorings on the dot of eight, the last of them had navi lights on so Mike couldn’t resist saying it – you’ve got your lights on – yes, she said, I know, it's misty; so he retorted how fast are you going to go? – she didn’t follow his English sarcasm, visibility was at least 2kms if not more. We set off after Mike got all the pins out at 8.15 am. Turned right at the crossroads on to the new ringvaart around Helmond. We were overtaken by another cruiser and a wide short fishing boat style of steel boat. An

Silos and unloading quay below lock 11

empty called Let’s Go was moored at the end of the lock waiting area, washing down. We joined the queue for the lock. It was 9.30 am. The sun came out at 9.50 am. At 10.15 the lock gates opened and we went into the deep lock with seven cruisers and the fishing boat. Rose about 6m and followed the others out of the lock at 10.40 am. Away went the queue at around twice our speed. We ambled on to the junction with the old canal then on up to lock 10. On the long straight we could see the boats we’d locked up Helmond with were just leaving the top of lock 10 -

The last remaining lock houses. Lock 11. Mike on rope duty

before we’d even got there! We arrived below lock 10 at 11.30 am and Mike called on VHF Channel 18. The lock emptied, there was just us to go up a couple of metres in the new lock. Nearly midday when we set off for lock 11. The N279 continued to follow the right bank of the canal, hidden from view by tall reed beds, but we could hear the traffic noise. Two cruisers went past heading downhill. Surprise, lock 11 was empty, gates open and we’d got a green light. Below the lock was an unloading place at a silo, it had piles of sand but they were covered in a growth of grass. Into the lock, up and out in less than ten minutes! Four downhill cruisers went past in

Waiting below lock 12 for a bunch of cruisers

two groups of two. A commercial was in lock 12, the group in front had already cleared it. A loaded French péniche called Broomstick from Dunquerque went past heading downhill and we went into lock 12. Mike held the rope while we rose another 2m and I made some lunch. We moored below lock 13, which had a liftbridge at the tail end, it was empty with the gates shut and there were more cruisers coming up in the lock behind us so we had to wait for them. Ten minutes later the first cruiser was heading for the liftbridge and it opened as he got there so we followed him in, the remaining three cruisers arrived a few minutes later and we all rose

View from lock 12 back to lock 11
 and the cruisers we had to wait for

together a further 1.5m. It was 2.30 pm when we left the top. The cruisers did their usual 12kph+ and we motored on at our most energy-efficient 6.5kph. The passantenhaven at Neederweert, a small square offline basin with end on moorings at each side, was almost full. Most of the crews were sitting out in the sunshine, they waved as we passed by. On to the crossroads with the Noordervaart to our left (a dead end), the Wessem-Nederweert straight ahead (which leads to the the Maas at Maasbracht and the Juliana kanaal – the route we’ve always taken before) and the Zuid Willemsvaart continued to the right. We turned right, on to new waters (we’d never

In lock 15, old lock with offset gates - bottom end gates

been this way before) at 3.35 pm. The boats we’d locked with were below lock 15 still waiting. Mike called the keeper on Ch 20 and got a reply. A few minutes later the gates opened, two cruisers came out and we followed three of the four we’d locked up with in lock 13 into the 5m deep old brick chamber with offset gates of lock 15. Two of the cruisers took the right hand wall, one had gone right to the front on the left wall so we took the left wall. The lock filled from halfway along the right wall and the water came across

In lock 15, old lock with offset gates - top end gates

the chamber and forced us off the wall. Glad we’d got fore and aft ropes and not the single centre line we’d used with the previous five locks! We’ll know next time! I managed to haul the bows back to the wall so I could lift the rope up the recessed bollards. That was fun. There were two men in the lock cabin but both were so engrossed they didn’t speak and we noticed the lock had many cameras so it may have been remotely operated but was having problems. The cruisers hared off into the distance. It was 4 pm as we set off after them. There was a considerable flow on the canal,

Biesterbrug closed - a good quiet mooring.

around 1.5kph, so we were going slower than normal. At Weert, in the distance, we could see the two liftbridges we had to go through to get to the mooring we intended to use to stay on over Sunday. The cruisers went through the bridges but when we arrived at the first bridge Biesterbrug, it had double reds. They’d gone home! It was 4.30 pm. Looked in our ten year old Wateralmanak and found that on Saturdays they were open 7 -17 and closed Sundays! (That was wrong the bridges open on Sundays nowadays) We knocked pegs in on a section of new piling by some houses next to the bridge and settled down for the rest of the weekend. Gave Mike a hand to get the moped off the roof and he went to get the car from Helmond.

Wednesday 23rd July 2014 Den Bosch to Helmond north. 30.6kms 4 locks.

Little Rival unloading at Den Bosch

19.4°C Hot and sunny all day with a moderate wind blowing. Winded and left at 8.20 am, backing out as we had a cruiser close to our bows and an empty commercial moored tight on to our stern. Two empties were coming down the canal towards the bridge at the end of the moorings. Just beyond the bridge Rival was unloading at the quay, as was Erato. We were overtaken by the first cruiser within the first twenty minutes. An empty was fast catching up as we arrived at the first liftbridge, Dungensebrug, but an empty from the opposite

Reconstruction of the canal at Den Bosch
CLICK HERE to have a look at the photos of the new canal and locks

direction, called Anna from Maasbracht, was at the bridge first so he came through then us and we got out of the way of Erato so he could overtake easily. The widening work on the canal was advancing towards Den Bosch and there was a new high road bridge alongside the canal carrying the busy N279 which follows the canal all the way into Helmond. They’d piled a new edge back from the original and were taking the soil out. The piling continued under the new bridge to our left that’s where the new canal and replacement lock for lock 0 is under construction. The next empty, Albertina,

Pusher pair The-An leaving lock 3 Schijndel

went past heading for Den Bosch at the end of the first long straight, round the left hand bend and Laurein loaded with containers went past heading downhill. We arrived at the first lock, number three Schijndel, at 10.05 am and tied on the waiting area. Two boats came down the lock, loaded boat Leeuw and empty C’est la Vie. Then the gates closed behind them! Mike called on channel 18 but got no reply (found out later that it had changed to channel 20). Two cruisers arrived and went on

In lock 3 Schijndel with Henmar

the quay in front of us, neither crew spoke English. The lock was refilling. A black and red tjalk bashed into the quay behind us and another cruiser arrived. Pusher pair The-An came out of the lock, by which time an empty called Henmar had arrived and went into the empty chamber. It was 10.45 am. The two cruisers in front went in slowly heading for the wall behind the commercial on the right, so we went left and went alongside him on the left wall, the other cruiser came in behind us and the tjalk made no move to enter the lock so the gates closed and we rose 3.6m, swapping the ropes on up the

In lock 4 (nr Veghel) with cruiser

bollards recessed into the concrete walls of the lock chamber. The lock keeper came down from his high cabin and gave us a new map of the Noord-Brabant and Midden-Limburg canals, a very useful basic map with VHF channels, moorings and water tap locations. Great, because we only had a small map in our ten year old ANWB Wateralmanak. Left the top of the lock at 11.05 am. Two loaded boats, Mea Vota and Carmen, were heading for the lock, followed by four

Waterways survey boat creeping along the bank

cruisers and a yacht. At the next new road bridge we met Pia, loaded, headed downhill. A tiny Waterways survey boat was trundling slowly down the canal next to the left bank. An empty called Harja went past. The water had turned chocolate coloured, the colour of disturbed peat. Traffic on the road backed up as a German lorry had stopped, broken down most likely, great queues formed as the busy road is only two lanes wide. The boat we’d locked with, Henmar, winded and went to where some dredging was going on – that explains the colour of the water. Into the new port area of Veghel (pronounced Feckle, rhyming with freckle) and there was a long line of moored boats on the left, factories and

Lock 6 - on our own

silos on both banks. Animo (loaded) was moored by the first bridge, Festina Lente was unloading by the silos. The new container port was on the right bank and a huge warehouse for the supermarket chain Jumbo was on the left. There was a row of moored loaded boats on the left, Anta, Speedy, Salem, Marja; Maurice, Swing and Novalis were moored three abreast - and little Pax (37.45m x6.52m – an odd size, wonder where it was built for?) was moored next to a larger boat called Corma, both were loaded. On the right Memento was unloading and Spessecunda was waiting to unload. Beyond them Emeraldis with a digger on board had paused from doing work on the bank piling up rocks.

Modern lock cabin now redundant, all locks remotely operated

The dividing wall that used to be all the way along the port when it was just the left side had now gone as had the old railway lift bridge. The passantenhaven in the old arm into Veghel looked full. Noted that the water point was still there opposite the Campina Dairies at the start of the arm. We arrived at lock 4 at 12.20 pm and threw a line around a stump. Mike called on VHF 20 and was told there was a boat coming down. Marian, a loaded boat, came down the lock and a cruiser called Ferres had caught up. Another tjalk, a white one, had turned into the arm. We locked up 2m with the cruiser behind us. It was 1 pm when we left the top on the 5kms pound so I made some sandwiches for lunch. It was getting hotter and hotter. We “shade chased” along the pound, keeping to

The line of moored boats at Helmond north

the right as far as possible in the shade from the trees. The cruiser sped off into the distance. No sign of him when we reached Erpsebrug so Mike called on VHF. The keeper said there was a boat “coming at us” and we could go up lock 5 with the cruiser! (He’d been kept waiting by a loaded boat called Ostrea coming down). Ferres was right up by the top end gates, we stayed at the back, calmest place to be in a lock that fills at the front through gate paddles. Up another 1.9m. Another 5kms pound, chasing the shade. We could see the boat we’d locked with fast approaching the next liftbridge and three more cruisers coming towards us and a workboat with hydraulic drive also went past heading downhill. Paused for Donksebrug to be lifted. No

Moored next to grassy bank at end of moorings

answer this time on the radio or the intercom. Made a cuppa. Eventually the bridge lifted and lock 6 emptied. A new mooring had been added between the liftbridge and the lock, it was 50m long and was a three day mooring. Half of it was occupied by a Dutch barge. We went up lock 6 on our own, rising another 2.1m. Past a factory for sale next to an ancient crane in Beek en Donk. To our great surprise the cruiser Ferres was moored on the stumps by the very busy road bridge, liftbridge Beeksebrug. The crew had been shopping and they rushed to get on board and untied to follow us as the bridge was lifting as we approached it. The cruiser overtook us as

Moored by the reeds in Helmond north

soon as it could but when it arrived at the crossroads with the Wilhelmina kanaal to the right, straight ahead the dead end of the old canal through Helmond (now used as moorings and where we were headed) they turned left on the new ring canal around Helmond. Great, we thought, they aren’t going to grab the last space on the moorings! Nope, they were already full. What do you expect at 4 pm? We made our own mooring on the end before the wooden staging. A helpful guy off the first boat came to pull on a rope while we moored on pins. Mike chopped down the high herbage with lots of nettles, thistles and brambles. Set up the TV, found no Wi-Fi and then gave him a hand to get the bike off the roof and he went to collect the car from Den Bosch. 

Monday 21st July 2014 Jutphaas to Arkel. 23.7kms 2 locks

Konninginnensluis

18.0°C Dull and overcast, heavy rain later. Winded and set off at 9.30 am noting the the “no mooring” area continued beyond where we’d tied up and went as far as the junction with the Doorslag (which leads to the Hollandse Ijssel). There were just two cruisers left on the “no mooring” area of grassy bank and both were permanent moorers. We turned left, keeping on the Merwede Kanaal, into Nieuwegein. The first liftbridge had ample room for us to pass underneath without taking the mast down, then we had a short wait by the Wiersebrug, by the steel works (used to be British Steel, then Tata, now it’s got a Dutch name.) Passing into the town there were many moored commercials with private boats moored alongside them. A boat club

Mooring charges at Vianen

moorings on the left looked pretty full, might have been a slot for about an 8m long boat. Signs said the moorings on the right were for commercials only and restricted to 14 days, there were quite a few DBs among them and one small cruiser tucked in between the big boys. On the opposite bank there was a line of houseboats stretching all the way down to the lock, Koninginnensluis (12m wide by 120m long) with a liftbridge across the top end gates of the lock. We threw a rope around a bollard and waited while three

Watering up at Vianen,
note 8m length of mooring from water point = 10m overhang!

cruisers came up in the double chambered lock (bottom end chamber, which is hardly ever used, can turn it into a staircase if need be). The liftbridge went up, the cruisers left and we went in, liftbridge down again and a ten minute wait while two more cruisers arrived, liftbridge up again and they came into the chamber and went right to the front, liftbridge down again. We dropped down 15cms (the drop depends on the water levels in the river Lek, a branch of the Rhine) and followed the two cruisers out of the lock – there were three more waiting to go up. We turned left on the Lek – amazed that we saw no commercial traffic, then right into

Wooden staging at Vianen

the continuation of the Merwede Kanaal. The waiting area below the lock had been turned into a passanthaven with boats moored both sides of the passerelle. Mike called the Grote Sluis at Vianen on the radio and had a reply from the keeper. After a short wait the gates opened and an empty péniche called Nova Cura (39mx5.05m) from Tiel came out first and was followed by nine cruisers of various sizes. Just us to go up. The keeper came down on to his lockside to chat as we rose 0.6m. He

A lockful of boats turning into the arm for water

wanted to know where we were going. Surprised we were going all the way to Arkel and not going up the river Linge (another contender for the prettiest river in the Netherlands, but no moorings convenient for us and everywhere else on the river had no mooring signs when we went up it and back many years ago). We told him we could exit the lock without lifting the Julianabrug. He had to lift it shortly after as there were four more cruisers heading for the lock. On the mooring areas both sides of the canal above the lock, there was only one commercial moored, called Boreas (it looked about 67m), probably its crew were on their

Chaos reigns as they all get in the way of one another
all wanting water!

holidays and everybody else was missing as they were working! Usually it’s quite crowded. We turned right into the arm where there are moorings in Vianen and paused while we took on water. The last 8m of the long wooden landing stage was reserved for the water point and a cruiser was moored immediately at the end of that. I put a side rope on and Mike threw a stern rope to the bank which he went and attached to a lamp post as 10m of the boat had no staging to lie against. A sign said the charges from 1^st April until 31^st October were 1,35€/m per night, pay at the machine. This included (we presumed) water and electricity. As we finished topping up the tank a cruiser, called Cpt

Bolgerijensebrug swingbridge

Haddock, was reversing down the moorings – he wanted to water up – we backed out and winded as another lockful came out of the Grote Sluis and all five of them went into the arm as another one was leaving, all getting in the way of one another as they all wanted water! It was 11.45 am as we pushed on along the Merwede Kanaal. Just one small cruiser from the last locking was following us, not long before it caught up and went past. Six more cruisers went past heading for Vianen. We had to wait at the first bridge, a swingbridge called Bolgerijensebrug, we couldn’t keep up with the

Senang at Zwanskuikenbrug

cruiser, had no intention of wasting diesel trying, so he had continued and we had to wait. I threw a rope around the wooden stumps and made some lunch while we waited for the next lot of cruisers to arrive, one more caught us up – we went through first - the wind was blowing from the right so it blew us off the stumps as I took the rope off.  Seven more cruisers had arrived and went through from the other side, two more were catching us up, but the bridge went down to let the road traffic cross so the two cruisers going the same way as us had to wait. It started to pour with rain. At Zwanskuikenbrug liftbridge an empty commercial called Senang came through towards us, followed by two cruisers. The two fast cruisers that had been kept

Zwanskuikenbrug

waiting at the previous bridge were racing hard to catch up, they followed us through the bridge and overtook at high speed. They got through Meerkerksebrug liftbridge, which shut after them and, as we were a long way behind, we had to wait again until another bunch of cruisers came from the opposite direction. As we were motoring on past the moorings in Meerkerk, a large cruiser cut right across in front of our bows heading for the only gap in the moorings at the end nearest the windmill. Mike gave a loud hoot on the horn and asked him what he thought he was playing at! I was making a cuppa so I shouted at him too from our side doors as he went past close, down the “wrong”

Grassy bank moorings at Arkel. River Linge

side. And after all that the mooring was too short for him. We think he was trying to beat us into the mooring – except we weren’t stopping! There were several more moorings available further on the way we were going, a long one by the café (noisy) and one by the road junction (also noisy). An empty called Tempore overtook us and we followed him through Bazelbrug liftbridge, whoopee no waiting! More heavy rain. Next wait was for the swinging railway bridge where two trains went past before the bridge swung open for us. A cruiser had caught up and had been hovering mid-canal as we were on the wooden stumps – he overtook and went for the stumps by the next liftbridge, Schotdeurnsebrug, on the start of the verbindingskanaal leading to the river Linge. He hadn’t got a rope round a stump before the lights changed to red and green and the bridge lifted. We followed him through the liftbridge and through the floodlock then he was off like a whippet to get himself a mooring in Arkel before we got there! There was bags of space. A British-flagged tjalk was moored at the nearest end of the long grassy bank moorings and there were about half a dozen cruisers with big gaps between them. We went right to the far end, winded and tied up in the rain. It was 4 pm. The trip timer recorded 6 hours 20 minutes, but moving time was only four hours – two hours twenty minutes hanging about time! Knocking pins into the rocky bank was exhausting. Being sodden as well didn’t help. Finally got inside and dried out.