Monday 12 June
Tuesday 13 June
Wednesday 14 June
Thursday 15 June
Friday 16 June
Saturday 17 June
Sunday 18 June
Beulaker Wijde to Zwolle
Zwolle to Drontermeer near Elburg via Kampen
Drontermeer to Wolderwijd, near Nijkerk via Elburg
Wolderwijd, near Nijkerk to Naarden
Naarden to Loosdrechtse Plassen via Muiden and the Vecht
Loosdrechtse Plassen to Oudewater
Oudewater to Dordrecht via Gouda, Rotterdam
returns to top of this page
The weather is still getting warmer and it was positively hot when we got up. (It's now 7:00pm as I write this, and the internal temperature of the boat with all windows open is still 30degs).
As we motored across the middle of the Beulaker Wijde we counted just nine boats visible in all directions, compared to the several hundred yesterday. And all day it has been relatively quiet.
Heading down the buoyed fairway to the SE corner of the lake we became baffled by our inability to see the entrance into the short channel to the next lake. It appeared camouflaged by the way the land around it lay. To compound our insecurity, on the map there was a large beach ball symbol covering where the entrance to the channel should be. So we started to doubt the existence of the channel itself and thought that we would have to take another channel out of the lake (not much of a detour in fact). But eventually the channel did come into view; a shame that the map publishers had inadvertently covered it up with their symbol for a leisure park!
Onwards down Meppelerdiep to Zwartsluis, where we added some 100 litres of diesel at the JH De Kraanerweerd. This was a fully self service, card operated, 24/24 filling station. However the instructions were very detailed and incomprehensible, so we used the intercom to summon assistance, which arrived on a bicycle a few minutes later. It wasn't that difficult to do and the machine did accept Maestro, but not Mastercard. We have only been able to pay for our Diesel on a credit card once so far in Holland.
It was then a couple of hours to Zwolle where we arrived about half an hour before bridge opening and had to wait on the staging for that purpose. Finally at 13:30 the bridge opened and we were able to moor up at the municipal harbour. It's not too bad. Haven't tested the showers yet, though. We made a short sortie into town to look round. It is quite pleasant and is a typical Dutch mixture of lots of modern mixed in with the traditional.
Pat and John have left us to continue their tour of the Netherlands and we await the arrival of Gill and Alan later this evening.
Mastenbroekerbrug, Zwolle
Zwolle town fortifications
We met Alan and Gill last night at the station in Zwolle, and spent the rest of the warm sultry evening catching up on news with the odd drink to help things along! We finally retired at around midnight by which time the inside of the boat had just about cooled down sufficiently to make sleep possible.
It was already a hot day when we got up at 07:30 and made ready for the trip round to the Randmeren. This is the stretch of water between the polder of Flevoland, and the original coast of what was called the Zuider Zee: it comprises various meers. Along here are some old fishing and commercial ports dating back to the 16th century, that are now "land locked" but which were recommended to us as being very picturesque.
The first part of the trip was down the Zwarte Water and then the IJssel river. The IJssel is a lovely meandering river where the banks are not much higher than the water level, giving good views over the countryside. We arrived at Kampen at lunch time and decided to stop here and see what was what. We had a good look around the lovely old town and a peek in the huge church with its wonderful old organ; and we also enjoyed a much needed cold beer in the square. By the time we got back to the boat the inside temperature was unbearable, and there was no breeze in the harbour. So we decided to head on and eat on the move, with a breeze from the river passage which would freshen up the interior.
When we got to where the IJssel joins the IJsselmeer, we had to turn 180 degrees to head up the Vossemeer between Flevoland and the mainland. Our cooling breeze disappeared instantly as the speed and direction of the boat matched exactly that of the wind - ugh!!
We soon passed through the Roggebotsluis, and were cruising along the Dr2006 Netherlands Cruise - Zandmeer to Blokzijl via Akkrum, Grou, Sneek, Sneekermeer, Echtenerbrug, Steenwijkontermeer trying to decide which of its lovely rural moorings on the Flevoland bank we should choose for the night. We picked one quite near Elburg and moored on the end of the pontoon where there would be the best chance of a cooling breeze. This whole area is an idyllic lakeland setting and a perfect place to spend the evening.
It's is now clouding over slightly, and has cooled off significantly. There is a forecast for thunderstorms for tonight and another hot day for tomorrow. The mozzy screens are all in place and the insect repellent applied in liberal coats - the only down side to a lake location.
Kampen water front
Nieuwe IJsselbrug (Kampen) stuck part the way up with maintenance crew trying to fix it!
Our mooring on the banks of Flevoland
It did rain a little last night, but the thunderstorms never materialised. We set off at about 10:00, the weather being much cooler than yesterday, and partially cloudy. No sun block needed today, and even the hardy types were back into long trousers!
It was a short hop up the Drontermeer to the little canal leading into the old town of Elburg. There were lots of shipyards and moorings along the canal, but we were aiming for the inner harbour as close to the old town as possible. And so was everyone else. When we got there all the moorings were taken, and the boat behind us turned round and left. We took a little longer to manoeuvre round, and while we were doing this the boat in the corner of the harbour cast off and left. It was a very tricky location and they struggled to get out. We could see from the model number written on the side of their boat that they were a metre longer than us, but without a dinghy on the back. So we thought we should fit in - which we did just; we would worry about getting out when the time came!
First stop was to the smoked eel shop on the quay front - Elburg's specialty. We then wandered about the town and had a beer at one of the pavement cafes. Crucial liquid stores were also procured, and it was back to the boat and smoked eels for lunch. And they were very good too! A bit like mackerel but more dense and oily, and less flaky, but we can't agree how to describe them!
After lunch we extricated ourselves from our spot in the corner by some rope trickery and a small application of rudder and power. Then it was back onto the Drontermeer and immediately onto the Veluwmeer, past Haardewijk. By this time it was raining and we retired below. The buoyed channel was nice and wide and in long straight sections, so we ran on autopilot a lot of the time. In places the lakes are two miles wide, and the wind was whipping up a nice chop.
By 16:00 we were looking for somewhere to stop for the night and noticed a small haven with good breakwaters for shelter. There were a few other boats moored alongside behind the posts of the box moorings. As we approached, a Dutch couple leaped out of their boat and gestured to us to do the same (moor alongside, not leap out!). We nosed between the posts and with their help turned alongside and got moored up without too much difficulty. Still not sure how we will get out tomorrow, particularly if it is windy. Alan thinks we should chop one of the posts down, but our tool kit doesn't run to a petrol powered chain saw!
The wind has died down somewhat but the skies are still threatening. We are about to try to griddle our dinner. Hopefully the wind won't blow the gas out.
Elburg - 14th century town gate
Lunch time refreshments!
The best way of getting out of our mooring between the piles that comprised the "boxes" had been the subject of some discussion. Reversing out was not really an option as the dinghy would be rather vulnerable. So we decided to motor out bow first, with one person each side walking towards the stern alongside each post checking the clearance. The dinghy could overhang the shore. We turned the boat between the piles and the shore using the bow thruster and then went for it. It wasn't so difficult after all. There was a good six inches clearance each side and we didn't touch at all. It was probably easier to get out than in. Obviously you can only moor up like this in a box when it is off season. We would not have contemplated it if we hadn't been encouraged by the other boats and their skippers to do the same.
It took 45 minutes to get to the Nijkerkersluis, which appeared to have a level change of a few millimetres if anything at all. It took all of five minutes to get through! Then we were into the Eemmeer, and heading past Spakenburg (recommended to us as an interesting place to visit, but time did not permit). At its widest the Eemmeer is three miles wide, but it was glassy calm. At the West end is Dode Hond Island (as told to us by our neighbour yesterday, dead dog island!) where there seemed to be some very pleasant alongside moorings. Next to this stretch of water were eighteen windmills (of the modern variety). The tower of each windmill was painted in a different colour, starting with a shade of pink. The colour changes were very subtle, and progressed through pale blue, pale green, then yellow, and finally back to the first shade of pink. The other interesting thing was that the rotors were all going round at different speeds, as well as speeding up and slowing down noticeably. Sometimes they stopped completely for a while, but at lake level we could not sense any variation in the wind strength. Most odd!
We then entered the Gooimeer where we were treated to the spectacle of thousands of cormorants taking off from the far side of the lake. They were all heading across our path in the distance, more or less one behind the other, and between a couple of feet and twenty feet off the water surface. As we got nearer, the line of cormorants progressively deviated round the boat until one cormorant a bit brighter than the rest decided to take a short cut round the back of our boat, and the rest of them followed him (or her?). They were still crossing the lake fifteen minutes later.
We have now arrived at the marina just outside Naarden. It is quite an up market establishment.
Later this afternoon we will inspect the ancient fortified town with its double moats and ramparts.
Cormorants - a few of the thousands
Naarden's medieval fortifications
Stadhuis, Naarden
At 08:05 we managed to pick up the Netherlands Coastguard forecast which includes the area "Marken" where we were situated. It was looking much better with less wind and only a low risk of rain. Looking out of the window we could see the odd patch of blue here and there.
Before we left the marina in Naarden we filled up with diesel, taking on 135 litres at €1.249 a litre - the most expensive so far. This marina had just started to take credit cards for diesel the previous week which suited us perfectly. Also, it looked as if diesel would be tricky to get hold of on the Vecht, our next cruising destination. We also managed a pump out here but the wretched machine took over twenty minutes of continuous pumping to empty the tank!! By the time we had done all this it was 10:30.
We headed out into the Markermeer and took the buoyed channel to the South of the islands of Hooft, Warenar and De Drost, and then the mouth of the Vecht at Muiden. Muiden is a very boaty town - it hasn't lost any of its charm, and though we didn't stop here we thought that what we could see of it was certainly very picturesque. We arrived at the double locks just as the lock keeper was knocking off for the first half of his lunch - he has two breaks of half an hour each, with a half hour of locking in between. As soon as he returned he opened both locks' gates and there was a mad scramble for access in the usual fashion. We held up the British end with flying colours! The lock keeper was intent on collecting the sluisgeld to the exclusion of assisting the crews who were struggling with getting tied on. He also made no attempt to move one or two boats up the lock so that others could get in behind. We have noticed this behaviour before. The Thames lock keepers seem much more helpful by comparison.
The Vecht itself is very pretty. It takes a very meandering route trending South to Utrecht. So far today we have had headings of NNE through to NW to give you an idea of the meander factor. There are lots of very small villages along the way, but no access to any of them except Weesp where there were only box moorings, but the gaps between the piles were too narrow for us. However, there are plenty of moorings out in the country, and these are on stagings set in the river close to the bank but with no access to land. The countryside is very pretty with plenty of windmills and other typical Dutch scenery.
At Loenen we arrived at the first bridge just after the beginning of the evening rush hour closure, not that we noticed any rushing taking place in this little village. We moored up on a pair of available posts and waited out the hour with several other boats. At 18:30 the bridge keeper turned up and set about opening the bridge. The sign displaying the bridge operation hours clearly said "Geen Bruggeld" (no bridge toll), but the bridge keeper nevertheless dangled his clog on the end of a line, and everyone put something in. After Loenen we turned East into the Mijndense Sluis to get access to the Loosdrechtse Plassen lakes and islands. The lock toll was quite pricey at €4.50 but we did get a goody bag. Opening it we discovered various brokerage magazines, some boat polish, and the magazine with "extra dikke edite", which particularly excited some of the crew members.
We are now moored on an island in the Loosdrechtse Plassen, with blue skies and a gentle breeze. We have great hopes for tomorrow's weather.
Muiden's Keetpoortsluis
Weesp
Gill putting bruggeld in the clog
Back through the Mijdense Sluis and another €4:50, and we were on the Vecht again heading South. This part of the river seemed to be home to lots of country mansions on a very grand scale, but again, there was hardly anywhere to moor in the villages/towns we passed through. The town of Breukelen looked very interesting but all the town moorings were taken up and although we could see an interesting Saturday market we couldn't stop. At Maarssen we left the Vecht and joined the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal which was busy with large commercial barges and also quite choppy as a result.
A Nieuwegein we turned onto the Merwede Kanaal and then onto the Hollandse IJssel . The speed limit on this route is 4.5 kph in built up areas and 9 kph otherwise: 4.5 kph is awfully slow! And to start with there were a lot of built up areas. Once out of IJsselstein, we were in open country. Lots of sheep as well as fields of maize in all directions. Places to moor were few and far between. At Montfoort there were lots of moorings in what looked like a very pleasant town, but we pressed on to Oudewater.
We were not disappointed, as we easily found somewhere to stop for the night, and Oudewater is a lovely town with lots of charm and character. Oudewater was made famous in the 16th century as a centre where women could be weighed "honestly" to "prove" that they were not witches.
Now it's back to the Scrabble tournament!
Alan, pressing the crucial button to open the bridge
Nijenrode Business University
Oudewater
When we arrived at the Waaierschutsluis we found a sizable queue for the lock. The lock itself is quite small and the burst of traffic on Sunday morning was taxing its capacity. It could not take more than two medium sized boats like ours at one time. Everyone was waiting their turn meticulously, which was a bit of a novelty! Eventually our turn came and just as we pulled into the lock we could see that the lock keeper was opening the top gates while the lower ones were open; he was going into free flow mode. The other side of the lock was tidal and so the river level must have just come up to the required level.
Once on the other side we cruised past Gouda, and were joined by the Gouwekanaal where most boats turned North, leaving us to head South to Rotterdam on our own. The river is much larger here and the speed limit correspondingly much higher. We made quick progress and within an hour were on the Lek.
On the Lek we headed East to the Noord where we turned South. We soon realised that Sunday is an ideal time to do this stretch as there were very few large commercial barges compared to the weekday when we had made the trip up. There were still enough of them to make a good lookout essential, particularly to the rear, but the water was no where near so choppy with less traffic.
Dordrecht was soon with us and we found the entrance to Nieuwe Haven without much difficulty, though the key marker (Bunkerstation) on the Wateralmanak map was in the wrong place and not right next to the entrance. The bridge into the harbour was already being lifted for other boats, and we motored straight in and moored up on the waiting pontoon. The harbour master, who speaks excellent English (don't they all?), put us in a good location not too far from the showers as we will be here for more than one day. The harbour is right in the centre of Dordrecht and surrounded by lovely old buildings so typically Dutch.
We are looking forward to exploring the city this evening and tomorrow.
Maureen wrestling with an outsized clog
Tranquil canalside scene just before.......
..........mayhem at Waaierschutsluis!
Copyright © 2006-2009 Mike Hawkridge