Peruwelz to Bar le Duc and return

 

We now have a ‘port-attach’, a home port, at Peruwelz, just across the northern French border into Belgium. We had been looking for a permanent base in the north of France or Belgium for some time, having failed to achieve it at Cambrai – our preferred place.

We spent the winter in Valenciennes and they would have offered us a place there, but getting I and out of the mooring was very difficult with the current that can flow there.

Peronne near Tournai offered us a place in theory when we asked but when we got there by car to confirm, they said that the boat which was going to vacate the very space they had in mind for us, had decided not to leave so there was no place for us after all!

So we drove straight along the canal to Peruwelz, and by sheer luck several of the ‘staff’ were present and the upshot was that a place was offered for us there. We returned to the barge still in Valenciennes in early April and set off the next day for our new mooring in Peruwelz. We had an easy day of it and moored up that evening on the quay allocated to us, in our new annual port. We celebrated with a meal in the restaurant at the port.

We started off our cruising season this year with the intention of doing the Doubs via Besancon to the Rhine and down to Strasbourg, returning via Nancy and the Meuse.

However!! We had to return to the UK for a week for a variety of reasons, including to repair the driver’s window on the car which had stuck in the open position. Then, Alex noticed the crown on his implant was loose. WOT? AGAIN! Yes, the same one that had given all the trouble near Den Bosch last year and been tightened twice by his own dentist over the winter.

So we contacted DFDS and they were able to offer us a day return for £45 and the dentist could tighten it again on that very day. So that’s what we did.

Finally we set off cruising on May 7^th – quite late for us. All went well (apart from the torrential rain storms and cold temperatures)

Ready for the next downpour!

till we got near to Vitry le Francois on the Champagne et Bourgogne Canal when the oil pressure light and alarm came on on the dashboard. But the oil pressure was fine on both gauges so Alex disconnected it and carried on. Then other strange readings started to crop up and when Alex finally checked the water level in the engine cooling system he found it well down.

He looked under the engine but initially saw no water there so he assumed the worst and decided the keel cooling must be leaking. This made us decide to change our plan and head back north via the Marne au Rhin and the Meuse.

Several things then came to light. First there was water under the engine (Alex just hadn't looked properly). Second, the leak was from the water pump (replaced less than 6 years ago) not the keel cooling. Third Alex had forgotten that he had amalgamated the oil light and buzzer with water over-temperature sensor when he got the ESTRIN Certificate in 2021 hence the warning light and buzzer. And Fourth, he had somehow transposed the oil and water temperature senders to the respective displays. (IN fact they had been incorrect for 20 odd years but as they are normally within a few degrees of each other it had never come to light.)

We got to Bar le Duc where we had arranged to meet up with Mary and Martin who were bringing with them a replacement water pump!

That all went well and Alex fitted the new pump the next day and we all celebrated by having an excellent meal out in a restaurant in the High Town.

Bar le Duc High Town

Bar le Duc High Town

Our plan had been to return north after Mary and Martin’s visit via the Meuse, but this was scuppered by the VNF who had closed the Meuse just where we would have joined it and in addition had lowered some of the pounds 20 kms beyond Bar le Duc by more than we could cope with.

So, thinking we’d be OK to give Mary and Martin a couple of days’ cruise 10 kms and ten locks upstream to Ligny en Barrois and back again, we set off. But, even here the levels were down and we struggled to make headway, but couldn't give up because there was nowhere to turn round till we got to a particular mooring where the canal gave us the necessary width. Even then, it took an hour to carry out the ‘demi tour’ in the mud, silt and weeds. We ‘moored’ for the night 3 metres from the shore as close as we could get, with one mooring line only over a bollard kindly put there by a passing walker (somewhat bemused to be asked to do this!).

Interesting mooring

Next day of course, the same thing in reverse back to Bar le Duc. But good company and good crack makes up for such problems.

M and M left to catch the train for their onward journey into Germany to visit other family members and we set off to retrace our steps to Vitry and return to Peruwelz via the same route already travelled, but we had run out of other options.

We also realised that if we did not hang about too much we could make it back to Peruwelz, and our car, in time to get back home for Will’s 50^th birthday bash and the following weekend Charles and Genevieve's wedding celebration, thus avoiding having to find a short term mooring and catching trains back to pick up the car (and the whole thing in reverse afterwards).

So it was a fairly full-on journey back, the last few days of which were in the heatwave.

Yet again - another heatwave

We were so glad to have electricity on tap when we got home to Peruwelz so we could run the air con without running the genny. And it has been soooooooo hot, the air con has ben been on virtually 24 hours a day since.

We have seen far fewer private boats again this year which is both strange and depressing as it means the VNF is less wiling to maintain the remainder canals (ie the ones with almost no commercial traffic).

Points of interest on an otherwise fairly uneventful season so far would be in order of occurrence:

We were roundly castigated for being on the mooring at Fresnes lock which another barge, Kalibel, wanted when it arrived at 6 o'clock. We offered to help them moor up on the quay behind but were told they had 22 years of boating and needed no help, then they cocked up the mooring well and truly!

The next day they rushed off at 9.15 and we followed at a more leisurely pace at 10 o'clock. And there they were 45 minutes later stuck at the first lock saying that there was no reply on VHF 18 and no answer on the phone line. Alex immediately contacted the next lock on VHF 22, explained the situation and within a few minutes we were all into the lock. 22 years?!!

We spent a night moored alongside BANDRA with Ray and Rachel and had a lovely fish pie with them for supper.

We were joined at our next mooring at Denain by an 86m x 10m barge which arrived travelling backwards up the canal towards us. We suggested we’d be happy to move but the captain said no, he could get in fine, and then he was going to be doubled by his mate and colleague on another barge. OK so far. But then the mate, on a 110m x 12m barge, arrived virtually trapping us in as there was a cruiser behind us. But next morning the cruiser made an early start and we were able to simply reverse out.

Spot the RICCALL

We decided an early stop at Vic sur Aisne and had lunch at the local bar/restaurant. Far too much food (as always) but a good meal and half went into the doggy bag in Louise’s handbag, enough for a whole lunch the next day

And the couple from the small boat ahead said that now the fishermen had left there was room for us with free water and leccy ahead of them. Maria and Harry on BAT YAM came for drinks – a very nice couple.

We admired all the new moorings being created at Reims but as yet there appeared nowhere designated for barges

Too small for us

so carried on past Sillery to Beaumont sur Vesle where there is a VNF depot and large basin. In the past we have never dared to cross to the quay, being uncertain of available depth. This time it was getting late and we decided to give it a go. It was absolutely fine and we moored up easily. While there, a young woman on a bike stopped to chat. She was English (called Louise) and was cycling from Geneva to Littlehampton via Calais!! What an adventure!

Intrepid cyclist Louise

At Conde we met Nats and Andy on EBENHAEZER, a boat that we have often seen pictured in the DBA magazine but we had never met before. They too came for drinks on RICCALL and we hope to meet up again for a return match.

On the return journey we passed through Soissons, mooring on the quay opposite the visitor moorings - free and perfect for us, and stayed an extra day to visit the market which had been so brilliant some years ago.  Well, the moorings had been upgraded, but the market was sadly going in the opposite direction!  We did a walking tour of the town and came across an impressive war memorial away from the main town streets which we hadn't seen before.  Quite something.

Soissons war memorial

We also came across an interesting boat called FALKE.  When speaking to its captain, we discovered that it had been a German patrol boat with a top speed of 24 kmh!  

FALKE

We moored at Peronnes ‘Car Wash mooring’ as we call it in the hope of finding a bit of shade and there was some to start with, but as the sun moved round we sadly lost most of it. However, in the middle of the night Alex heard some sort of commotion between the side of the boat and the quay. Eventually he went out investigate. There was something down there! He got the barge pole and started poking to try and move it down the boat and away. It fought back biting the barge pole! Eventually after much encouragement with the pole it emerged at the front of the boat and turned out to be a coypu!

Over the next few days we had an easy run through Hensies Lock onto the Pomeroeul Conde Canal. As we approached the lock we could see on the AIS that we were being caught up by a commercial KARIN. We could hear the lock keeper trying to contact KARIN on Channel 20 multiple times and then on Channel 10. No reply to any of it so we entered the lock, the gates closed and up we went. Poor old KARIN left out in the cold, as it were. but worse was to come for KARIN because as we exited the lock the lights turned to double red behind us – the lock was ‘en panne’. We could then see KARIN heading back the way it had come to take the long way round through the double locks at Peronne a good 4 to 6 hour round trip! It certainly pays to keep your radios in good working order, and switched ON!

!!!

Mining subsidence?

A long wait for VNF to get this bridge open

Interesting mooring at Revigny 

Another crack at the weed

Vreeswijk to Valenciennes

We set off from Vreeswijk Historic Harbour (leaving our car in a side street)

  Vreeswijk  mooring       

having first checked with the lockkeeper that we had time to get through his lock before the water levels made it impossible. (This lock only operates when the tidal river and canal level are equal - 2 hours either side of high water)

We had to be out of the harbour before 11 am and we were at the lock by just after 10am so that was good. It’s not easy exiting the historic harbour as there are two bridges which have to be opened – one road bridge and one pedestrian bridge operated by a ‘civvy’ who is alerted by the harbourmaster.

We crossed the Lek and stopped at Meerkerk for the night. We’d hoped to stay at the lock on the south side of the Mass for the next night but having made us wait for the lock for about 15 minutes the lockkeeper said, ‘No you can’t’ so that was that!

We trundled on for half an hour or so trying to spot a pontoon where we had stopped for the night in 2016. Suddenly we saw it, though it looked quite unlike we remembered, but there was now a sign saying only with permission and a phone number. A quick call and yes, it was OK and no charge. Phew – the next possibility was hours further on.  Reaching Den Bosch we were joined by a VERY fancy yacht!  At night lit up like a Xmas tree.

When we reached the north side of Den Bosch Alex noticed that his newly-fitted implant crown was coming loose. Bloody Hell! The emergency dental hospital said they couldn’t deal with implants so that was no good. Four dentists all asked if Alex was a registered client and if not they couldn’t help, but the fifth one asked for details of the implant and offered an appointment at 10.30 the next morning. Result! A 45 minute cycle ride and 10 minutes in the dentist’s chair and the crown was fixed again. €80 for the repair and a tip of €20 for Yolande the receptionist/practice manager for being so kind and helpful, and getting Alex a timely appointment; and we were on our way again.

A couple of days later we had to divert from our planned route yet again as the lock beyond Weert was out of order.

In due course we arrived at Maastricht and after a rather speedy arrival at the wall for the first night (exciting the couple on their small boat which we just missed)

we moved on to St Pieter’s basin, one of our favourite moorings,

 but, you’ve guessed it, the crown on Alex's implant was beginning to come loose again!

An email to the practice in Den Bosch got an answer from Jackie rather than Yolande and she was not nearly so accommodating. After several email exchanges however, things suddenly changed and an appointment later that day was offered and accepted. Alex decided this time though to give up on the crown, just go back to the ‘healing cap’ and deal with the problem with his own dentist when back in the UK.

We decided that as Den Bosch was half way back to Utrecht near Vreeswijk, we would carry on and collect our car after the dental appointment that afternoon. This all worked out fine but it meant that we didn’t get back to the barge until after 8 pm. We left the car in a free car park close by and spotted this rather lovely tree in a local garden.

We spent another day at St Pieter’s then headed slowly south, stopping overnight at the darse (commercial harbour) at Harcourt for a quick nosey round the moorings at the lock on the little parallel canal, then on to fuel up at Neptunia in Liege.

                                                            Amazing statue in Liege canalside.

Alex missed his footing when swinging onto the steps of the fuel barge to pay the bill and managed to crack a rib as he swung back against the hull.  (Wot, again?!!!)

We had to wait for hours to pass through the Amsin lock as only the old lock was operating, and that on only one sluice gate and there were lots of large commercials taking priority. But later it gradually became obvious that whatever problem had slowed up our passage had become a complete closure as suddenly there were no more barges of any sort coming up behind us.

We spent a night at the nice mooring at Amay then on to Huy wall where we had a long chat with the captain of barge LIBRIA, owned by a South African couple who obviously had a lot of money to be able to employ, full time, a captain/handyman.

At Namur we moored just up the Sambre which was OK but we might have been better on the Meuse just before the junction as the Sambre became very busy with both pleasure and commercial boats – probably the backlog from Amsin Lock, now fixed?

We decided to pass through Charleroi and carry on up the Sambre a couple of kilometres to Marchiennes and moor there for the night. The only problem was that it was full of boats there for a festival on that weekend. We passed through, turned round and headed back through the assembled throng to the only mooring left about 50m downstream of the gaggle of boats. No sooner had we tied up than one of the old guys organising the festival came down and invited us to join in the following day. How kind, but we explained that we had a bit of a time pressure and would be moving on.

The quay at Soudromont was taken up with a huge commercial and also a new Neptunia fuel barge! This is quite an innovation as finding fuel on-line is often tricky. But unfortunately no room for us this time, so we moored up on the new commercial quay at Pont de Manage.

On our way to the Strepy-Thieu lift we passed the biggest fishing competition we have ever seen – we counted 90 fishermen!!

We spent the night at Mons at our favourite mooring next to the car park next to the swimming pool.

Later in the day a campervan turned up and we got talking to the lady owner. 

                                                                  The lady in the van!

We invited her for aperos and soon discovered that she was ‘born again’ and on a sort of pilgrimage to ‘find herself’.  

Alex caught the train back to Maastricht to collect the car and leave it at Mons Grand Large. He had worked out that this was the best way to achieve moving the car along as the trains from Valenciennes to Maastricht didn’t link up time-wise and it would take all day.

At the Pommeroel-Conde Canal quay we awoke to thick fog! And had to wait till 11.45 before we could see enough to set off safely.

Thereafter we had an easy day to Valenciennes at which point everything turned belly-up.

Alex underestimated the flow down into the port and although we had told the Capitaine that we were coming in, she failed both to move a boat moored in ‘our’ place, and to explain where we were supposed to be mooring. She also tried to insist we turned round before mooring up, which would normally be our preferred plan, but the flow was just too great.

We spent about half an hour trying our damnedest fighting the current and trying to get a line onto anything that might help stop our forward momentum. Eventually we got a line onto a lamp post and then miraculously, the flow eased off and we nosed into a temporary spot which was going to be occupied by another barge in due course.

This occasional flow is created by the weir at the end of the moorings which controls the level of the canal, so sometimes it is open to reduce the level and sometimes it is closed when the level is low enough. So the speed of the flow in the port is very variable and unpredictable, and a trap for the unwary, as we found out. Strangely, the flow can sometimes even be upstream if the weir is closed and the adjacent lock is being filled.

The arrangement for water and electricity in Valenciennes is by a card which is loaded with litres or units by the Capitaine and then off-loaded onto the borne chosen. What was not explained, was that only 30 units would be transferred when the button was pressed (we had assumed the whole amount would be transferred). Each subsequent press transfers another 30 units. Thus our electricity ran out after 30 units while we were away and on our return the power was off and our domestic batteries were down to 16v – probably terminal. AGAIN!!!

Totals stats for the season:

1674.85 kms

100 locks

149 bridges (lift or slide aside)

Cambrai to SRF

We had moored for the winter in Cambrai: a lovely port and a very pleasant town and while there, we remembered that there was a boatyard just half an hour’s drive away near Douai. Regular blog readers will recall that we needed this because we had had an ‘encounter’ with a 90m barge last year and needed repairs to the rear port bulwark. 

We had the car with us so drove round and spoke to a pleasant young lady, Melanie, who was very helpful and assured us that an engineer might be able to look at the damage, and that her boss, who spoke English, would also call us. 

Needless to say, nothing whatsoever happened and after several unanswered emails, we had to abandon this very local possibility and look elsewhere. 

We’d used De Schroef on the Belgium/Holland border before and had been very impressed by their helpfulness and reasonable prices, but after contact with them we were told they had been taken over! The manager with whom we had previously dealt sent us their new prices – now astronomical! (Utterly ridiculous - €150 to provide a ladder for us to get off the boat, €150 just to plug into their electricity supply and €1000 just to check the stern gland!!) 

So, we decided to make a year of it and return to SRF in Harlingen in northern Holland. They gave us a reasonable quote on the basis of our photos of the damage and we felt confident that they would be fair with the other work we needed. 

We entered the precise route we wanted to take into our PC Navigo program and set off. 

Sapeurs-pompiers' activity made for an interesting lunchtime stop!

We used the Pommeroel Conde Canal, recently re-opened, to access the Nimy-Blaton-Peronne Canal and passed through the Frensies Lock and then the Pommeroel Lock. Both are deep but this second one is a very deep lock indeed and has some amazing sounds to accompany you on your rise! 

When we got to the Strepy-Thieu Lift we were informed that due to a collapsed former bridge ahead, the canal was closed for some indefinable time. A redundant motorway bridge was being demolished when part of it collapsed onto the waiting barge below, killing the driver of the digger being used in the demolition. 

PC Navigo was determined that we COULD take this route so, of course, we began to wonder whether our regular downloading of stoppages on our route were actually being heeded. We took the decision many seasons ago not to update PC Navigo annually - at a cost of some €80 or so – so maybe that was the problem? We did a few tests on routes we knew were closed for various reasons and yes, the program is now useless for closures. 

We now had to change our planned route and this added four days to our journey, which was not in itself a problem as we had time in hand, but it did cause us to have to consider a route to Ghent instead of Namur, and a downstream journey on the Schelde to Antwerp, never our favourite waterway! As it turned out, the tide times were not in our favour (high tide at Merelbeke at 5 am) so we decided to go via Terneuzen, the Westerschelde and Oosterschelde instead. 

We traversed Terneuzen without difficulty and the Westerschelde was not too choppy but the huge sea-going vessels passing us in both directions did knock us about a bit. However, we had timed it well, so that the rising tide gave us a few kph extra speed. 

Ships in Terneuzen

Westerschelde 

Westerschelde

By the time we got to Hansweert we had both had enough and turned onto the Oosterschelde and into Wemeldinge Haven. Louise had put her foot down and was prepared to pay whatever was charged, which turned out to be €60!!!

Wemeldinge €60 mooring!

A quiet night followed, but tomorrow was the Oosterschelde! It turned out to be somewhat more difficult than the Westerscheldt, as we had less help from the rising tide, more wind and more splashy, splashy over the bows. Of course, the water is saline and thus the boat was now utterly covered with salt, all of which would have to be washed off as soon as fresh water was encountered. 

This turned out to be Tholen. Louise rang the port in good time and was told that they did indeed have a place for us. Thank goodness! BUT, it turned out to be a ‘box’, into which we would have to reverse. This is not something we normally do, and when box number 65 came into view, we had just passed it, but Alex decided that if we stopped immediately, our prop walk would take us in quite well, and it DID! much to the amazement of the other boat owners, and us! Well sometimes it just works and sometimes it just doesn’t. Tholen was still pricey, at €40, but then so are all the other ‘sea havens’ everywhere in the world. 

The following few nights were free – the first on literally a ‘fence’ in the middle of the river at Steenbergshe Vliet and then at the start of Mark-Dintel Canal at a lovely village mooring at Stampersgat. The village had taken to its heart a downed British pilot in the 2nd world war, Denis Lee. His body was buried in the village graveyard and the town had named one of its roads after him – Denisleestraat! A friendship had built up with Cheltenham where he came from and regular twinning activities still occur, apparently. 

Stampersgat

Denis Lee's grave in Stampersgat . . .

. . .  and a bench in his honour

From Stampersgat we cycled 6 kms to stock up at a Jumbo supermarket – hard work in the wind but very good for musculature and continuing health!   And just look at the inventive way of stacking rubbish waiting for collection!

Brilliant!

We spotted an inviting-looking quay down a short arm off the Mark Canal, so we did an emergency stop, nosed in and managed to turn round with inches to spare before we moored up. We took the ferry across the canal and cycled into Breda for a look-see (unimpressed) and lunch in a bit of a dive cafe but it was excellent. On the way back Louise spotted a plant nursery. Maybe at last we could stock up on the flowers we always like to have on the boat in the summer. The quality of the plants was amazing and the prices were amazingly reasonable! The main problem was getting them back to the boat in one piece on our two bikes, but they survived to live on, and on, and on. 

Terheijden - a great mooring if a tight turn.

We trundled on north via the eastern route through the Biesbosch stopping on a lovely rural mooring, on the unlikely named Ruigt Ruegt or Nerzien Plaatje on the Gat van Paulus! 

And so on to Gorinchem: advice from the lock-keeper, when he asked us our destination of Meerkerk, was that we would NOT be getting there for some days if not longer, as the Bazelbrug bridge, just before Meerkerk was out of order. This was very concerning, but the lock-keeper suggested we go onto the Linge Canal/River to find mooring. Now, we know this area, because our good friends Paul and Diane on BEATRICE winter-moor at the De Gors Haven. Louise immediately called up the Haven and yes! they could accommodate a 19m barge. The havenmeester, his assistant and several other gentlemen of the haven came out to greet us and help us moor. Subsequently, when it became clear that the bridge wouldn't be open for 10 days, we confirmed that we would like to stay on the mooring till then, collected the car from Cambrai (5 trains and a 3 hour drive!) and set off for home and 8 days in the UK. 

Our short cruise north to Vianen went without incident though we knew that there might be some delay in Vianen due to the tug boat festival being held that weekend and so it transpired. Some small problem with lockgates meant a 3-hour wait for us, but the upside was that we were in prime position to watch as at least 20 tugboats left the lock not once but twice: they’d had to wait outside the lock on the Lek while the lockgates were repaired. How had they managed to get so many into the lock on each lockage? We were impressed and amazed – so much so that we forgot to take any photos! 

Our original plan had been to stay for a week in the historic harbour in Vreeswijk (Nieuwegein) but by now it could only have been for one night, having lost a full week waiting for the Bazelbrug to re-open, but when we crossed the Lek and expected entry through the Koninginnensluis into Nieuwegein, we were told that because of water height difference, it wouldn't open till 6pm, several hours later. We decided with others to take the alternative route via a short section of the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal before being able to enter the Nieuwegein Zuidsluis and a decent mooring for the night: too late now to cruise down to Vreeswijk, we had to ‘give backword’ and admit defeat: we wouldn't be able to make it to Ton’s harbour that night. So Vreeswijk would have to wait until August where we have booked a month’s stay while we return to the UK, for this, that and the other. 

Our final few weeks of our journey took us through Blokzijl (one of our favourites) and we spent nights here and there until we eventually reached Franeker two nights before lift-out at SRF. We entered the dead end canal that makes up the mooring at Franeker and as we came in felt sure there was enough room to turn round. However, several moored small boats meant we had to go well in before we could turn. What we had not realized was that the channel became narrower as we progressed, so we started the turn and at the last degree got stuck! Alex had to leap off the front of the barge and push her back round. Then we had to reverse back up between all the small boats while their owners looked nervously on. All of this happened of course in howling winds, making the job even trickier.

A short 6 km journey the next day and we arrived at SRF with a whole day to prepare the boat for the work to start on Monday. 

It hasn’t been a tranquil, restful cruise by any means, but once released from the shipyard in a week or so, we hope to be able to wander around aimlessly for a while and get back to enjoying the boating we know and love.

Vreeswijk to Cambrai

 

We got back to Vreeswijk a couple of days before Mary and Martin were due to arrive so we discussed it with the harbourmaster, Ton, and he agreed we could stay on for them.

Ton and his wife Riny came for tea on the Friday and we had a lovely chat with them. We promised to wave to them in their flat overlooking the port de plaisance when we left on the Sunday.

Mary and Martin arrived late on Saturday evening, as their bus had been re-routed due to a historic vehicle event which had been taking place throughout the day, travelling right past our barge. We were in pole position and enjoyed seeing all the interesting ancient vehicles and tractors passing by.

On Sunday morning we were all ready to go and Alex went to start the engine, but instead of it bursting into life there was an almighty explosion in the engine room. One of the two 12v batteries that power the 24v starter motor had exploded – bits of battery, battery compartment and battery acid all over the place. So a bit of a clear up required, plus the purchase of two new engine batteries. But – as this was Sunday in Holland, not a single place to buy them anywhere within a 20km radius: Alex and Martin drove round and round, to no avail.

Come Monday morning at 8am they were off again and this time, success! A couple of suitable batteries were acquired for an amazingly reasonable price of €170.

So, off we went on Monday and Ton said he wouldn't charge us for the extra night. (Maybe it was the box of Scottish shortbread biscuits we had given him and Riny when they came for tea that did the trick!) But how kind. We gave them a cheery wave, as promised, when we passed their flat as we left the historic harbour.

The Hollandsche Ijssel turned to to be a lovely cruise after the first few industrial kilometres, and we stopped for a peaceful night at Oudewater.

We got another early start but were held up for an hour at Haastrecht where the bridge only opened for passage to boats every two hours! Goodness knows why, as the bridge itself was hardly busy with cars. In fact I think there were more boats waiting at the appointed hour than cars that had crossed the bridge!

We had lunch at Gouda and then set off to cruise south to Dordrecht.

There was a fair amount of barge traffic and we cruised down minding our own business, when suddenly we spotted the container ship which had been catching us up for some time was right on our tail and about to ram us!

We had all been momentarily distracted by watching a breasted-up couple of barges travelling in the opposite direction and so this emerging situation had escaped our notice. Alex immediately called the container barge on the radio but to no avail and it subsequently rammed us on the port quarter, thankfully missing both rudder and propeller.

Re-arrangement of the rear port quarter

RICCALL shot forward but the momentum of the container barge meant that it careened down the whole port side of RICCALL bending the handrail in by a foot or so and the rear quarter of the bulwark of the back deck.

Being 'carried' down to Dordrecht

The crew member of the container barge came to explain that the captain had alerted ‘the Sector’ and they would take us abreast down to Dordrecht where the police would be waiting to take statements. But before we got the lines on properly, the barge took off again and it was all we could do to hang on to its very rear being buffeted about by the propeller wash.

However, we got to Dordrecht finally (rather more quickly than we could have managed on our own!) and were interviewed by the land police, the water police and breathalysed: eventually at 8.30 pm and in the dark we were told we could finally make it to the historic Wolwevershaven, our intended mooring for the night. The RWS police boat accompanied us there and even organised for the lift bridge to be opened for us.

I must say, mooring up in the dark in a harbour you’ve only visited once 15 years before and with no idea of where and if there might be a space would be pretty daunting at the best of times. But we made it despite still feeling pretty discombobulated. Mary and Martin had done sterling work clearing up all the dislodged items down below and made supper for the two weary sailors! and the next day had to leave for their flight back to Scotland. We sat back to lick our wounds!

The owner of the sailing boat behind RICCALL came and chatted to us, offered us electricity and the help of the young man working for him on his boat, another Martin. Martin said he would be happy to help us the following morning at 8 am with straightening the handrails so that we could at least walk down the port deck!

8 am came and went and no Martin, so Alex got one of his bottle jacks, filled it with fluid, found some old timber baulks once used as fenders, and he and Louise set to work.

Alex hard at work re-aligning the port handrail

By 11 o’clock the rails were all but back in position with just one upright needing to be welded into position at the bottom and the lifting gate rail requiring welding into a new temporary position to cope with the re-positioned back quarter.

At this point Martin came up trumps. “I’m a welder,” he said and for €20 did all the welding absolutely beautifully. Yes, Alex could have done it but nothing like as neatly.

So the rear of RICCALL was not quite what it was, but she was serviceable and we could continue to our winter mooring in Cambrai.

The trip down the Merewede and onto the Amer went without incident but not unnaturally we gave every large barge a wide berth! The Wilhelmina Canal onto which we now turned presented much smaller locks and barges and we felt more at home as our shattered confidence gradually built up.

Tilburg’s myriad of bridges posed no problem or hold up whatsoever. We never even slowed down through any of them, each one opening as we arrived. Finally, at the last bridge Alex was so impressed by the bridge controllers that he thanked them for a brilliant passage. ‘No Problem’ came the laconic reply.

We then discovered that Keith and Louise were here on this very canal and we caught up with them at Orangesluis. Another opportunity for drinks and catch up.

We turned onto the Zuid Willemsvaart Canal to head south leaving ASCENSION behind. At lock 12 we were kept waiting for some considerable time and then into the lock came barge SUZANNA. We had last seen Dick and Lin in 2016 in Bruges, so that made for a happy re-union. We both moored up at Lock 16 near Weert and more drinks and chat followed. We stayed on for shopping after they left the next day.

                                                                            SUZANNA leaves Weert

When we got to Lier we decided to spend a day moving the car from Vreeswijk to Vilvoorde as that meant an easier pick-up again when we got to Cambrai.

For the day of departure for the Rupel we were advised to be at the Duffel Sluis to leave at 7.30am to catch the tide, to reach Klein Willebroek Sluis before it closed at 10 am.

However, at 7am when we asked the lockkeeper, he told us the tide had been late arriving and he couldn't let us out before 8.30 which meant that Klein Willebroek Sluis would be closed by the time we got there. Oh hell!

So we decided, with his advice, to wait at Duffel until we could go down river on the ebb, stop on the floating pontoon at Boom (over the river from K W) near low water then wait there until K W opened again three hours before high water.

We turned round in the ebb just upstream of the pontoon and eased our way backwards onto the inside where we would be out of the way of the ferry mooring.

                                                Safely moored awaiting the flood to enter Klein Willebroek Lock

Three and a half hours later we were able to contact K W Sluis who let us through and allowed us to moor up on the lock moorings for overnight.  On our way south  and just after Halle, we came across this most amazing piece of street art.  It stretched for hundreds of metres and was truly wonderful.

                                                                  Enough said!! Just marvellous!

Now we had the Brussels-Charleroi Canal under our keel and the several lift bridges and locks to negotiate before continuing onto the Canal du Centre. Of course, when we got to the Ronquieres inclined plane on Sunday afternoon we discovered it closed on Sundays! (despite all info giving 7-day opening). 

                                                                                    

                                                                                                Almost there

 An early night, then off early to the Strepy-Thieu lift – once again we were alone in this marvellous ‘machine’.

The next day more excitement to look forward to – traversing the newly re-opened Pommeroel-Conde Canal. All went well and we moored below the Hensies Lock still just inside Belgium. We had moored at the very extreme end of the moorings which was fortunate as at midnight an 80m barge squeezed into the space we had left. He left at 6 am, as soon as the lock opened.

At Trith-St Leger Lock we moored right behind a 39m barge which had obviously been there for some time. At about 11o’clock that night an 80 x 10m moored up behind us (just exactly enough room) then later another one appeared and moored on the 39m in front and on little us! Blimy! They both left around 6. I’d like to say they slipped away silently into the dark morning, but they didn’t – engines roaring, propellers thrashing. Hey, ho!

And strangely at 10 am when we ourselves left, we had the canal and locks to ourselves all the way to the turn off onto the Escaut Canalise, which leads to the St Quentin. We decided to stop at Estrun and spent an uncomfortable night moored, with permission, on Ray and Rachel’s barge, BANDRA, as the wind in the Bassin Rond was very strong indeed. But we made the decision to carry on next morning despite the wind, and in the shelter of the canal itself we felt much happier.

We made it to Cambrai by 2.30 pm that afternoon and settled into our winter mooring spot. Hurrah!

Now, only 4 trains to collect the car from Vilvoorde! Alex had planned the itinerary and by booking split tickets and a slightly convoluted route, we did the whole thing for €34 for the two of us. And the car was unmolested and right where we had left it, outside the police station!

Quite an end to a momentous year. But of course, now we have the unenviable task of finding a shipyard which can undertake the repairs RICCALL needs!

This year's stats:

1826.88 Kilometres

114 Locks

235 Mobile Bridges