We left Dordrecht (having consulted Theo – long term moorer in Dordrecht and knowledgeable about all things to do with the rivers, for the optimum time viz a viz the tides) at 9.30 am. ‘Rosa Klebb’ (the nasty one) was on duty so we had to wait 10 minutes (while she stuck a spiked shoe into 007 no doubt) before she deigned to open the bridge for us. But we did manage to get a grimace of a smile out of her as we left. We missed the turn off for the scenic route up the Wantji through confusion so decided to continue and do the ‘big boys’ route on the Merewede. We had already done the other route on the way into Dordrecht months ago.
Everything passed without incident (this being a Sunday it was very quiet) until we turned east onto the Waal. Not only were there three large vessels bearing down on us but the tide had turned and it was now wind against tide. So we had waves breaking into spray over the bow and breaking all the way back to the wheelhouse. Alex loved it! Then we turned into the dreaded Biesbosch, but this route was so different from the previous one which caused us to go aground. Here there was plenty of depth and apart from almost going round the ‘wrong’ side of an island, all was well.
We stopped for lunch at a flood lock about 2 ks from our day’s destination – Waspik, the mooring of our friends George and Susanna on ‘Aeolus’ where we were going to stay for a couple of days. Over lunchtime the heavens opened again and for the rest of the day we were submerged in cloud, torrential rain and mist and we decided to stay put and go on tomorrow.
The following morning we arrived at the yacht haven of G & S, whom we had first met at Dordrecht in July, and what a lovely spot – quiet, out in the country, no major roads. Yes, big boats loading up in a canal arm not quite opposite and so no disturbance but great to watch, and the town of Waspilk only 10 minutes by bike with an Aldi and a second supermarket.
It had been admitted that it was Louise’s birthday (reluctantly!) and when we returned from our shopping trip we discovered that the entire boat had been decorated with bunting and a birthday card posted through our letterbox. How lovely.
John the Havenmeester let us moor for E10 per night with electricity at a cost and water freely available. John not only runs the harbour but also builds 15m luxury cruisers in steel, which looks as perfect as GRP (plastic). He is a perfectionist and the quality of his craftsmanship puts us all to shame. He takes about 18 months to complete each project and it is all bespoke to the customer’s requirements, providing that John agreed with it! He does it all, except the paint finish.
When we first met George and Susannah in July they invited us to dinner, where they gave us a traditional Dutch meal, so this time when we were at Waspik we decided to return the flavour! So we had a starter of Yorkshire pudding with gravy followed by shepherd’s pie with sprouts, and apple crumble and custard for pudding. (We couldn’t do roast beef and Yorkshire puddings because you can’t buy a joint of beef in Holland without ordering days in advance from a proper butcher).
We thought it was a good joke and hoped they did too! The following day they took us to s’Hertogenbosch (yes, s’Hertogenbosch!!! but the Dutch wisely refer to it as Den Boss) in their car and gave us coffee and giant chocolate profiteroles (no less than 3 inches across!) as a birthday present for Louise. We cannot remember the official name for the cakes but they were wonderful – yummy, wow, wow!
G & S went off to the exhibition they wanted to visit and we agreed to meet up after lunch. Louise and Alex went for a boat trip on the canal, which now runs under the city, literally under. When the city ran out of space for more dwellings within the city walls, they had nowhere else to build but over the existing canals. The obligatory visit to one of the most magnificent churches in Holland followed and then lunch in the main square (warm enough to be outside to watch the world go by).
We spent two nights at the moorings at Waspik, then set off for the next stop – Tilburg. We caught up with a 65m container vessel ‘The Willem Alexander’ which was great, because he was expected by the lock and bridge keepers and we went with him through the locks and lift bridges – lots of them.
However, the second lock was a bit of a surprise, because our program said it was 65m long and 8.5m wide – only just big enough for the Willem Alexander alone. However, we were assured by lock control that we could go in too! In a moment we discovered why, as the Willem A shimmied over to the second, hidden half of the lock. The gate was only 7.5m wide but the lock itself was twice as wide with the exit gate in the 2nd (hidden) half.
Tilburg was our first stopping place and George and Susannah had given us a couple of places we might moor. At the first (alongside a new business park) an officious little ‘Hitler’, the security guard, told us to move on before we had even got our ropes on! The long stop was to moor on some friends of G and S’s who would let us do so on their tjalk but they were not at home when we tried to phone them and the other suggestion turned out to be fine.
When we left Tilburg the following morning we asked the friendly Dutch boater who was moored behind us if he knew of any moorings before Eindhoven, our next destination. He suggested that at the Beatrixbrug – in the turning off the main canal towards Eindhoven – moorings might be possible. And then he announced that he had been reading our blog!! How nice, but how on earth did he know about that? (Answers in the comments section please!)
Anyway, as it happened, we found a brand new mooring site a bit before the suggested place at Oirschot and stopped there. There was a machine for buying tickets but Alex couldn’t make head nor tail of it, so that’s OK, and an added bonus – a weak wi-fi signal. Best position for that was right at the front of the boat, so an extension lead and picnic table and chairs were set up at the bow and as the evening cooled, more layers put on as we posted our blog and read our emails!! Autumn has definitely arrived and with it the lovely colouring of the trees.
Oh, and only one commercial and two tiny sport boats seen today.
1 comment:
if you put "riccall, barge" into google, your blog is the first thing that comes up. I guess that's how he found you!
Looks like you've had some pretty variable weather- its been lovely in london these last few days- like a final attempt at summer, or at least autumn...
xx
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