In the corner of Friesland where we toured around the last 10 days was extremely limited range for internet on the phone, so no possibility to work on the blog. Hence now that we are back in Grou and update. As was clear from the previous blog we went from Grou to Sneek, through Akkrum.
We went over the aqueduct that we passed so often during the last two years, driving from Amsterdam to the ship, a small moment of victory!
The next day was May 5th, a holiday here, sunny weather and very busy on the water and in Sneek itself. We had to cross through Sneek, that meant three bridges, the last one very complicated. From the bridge a sharp turn to the right into a bowl where 't Majeur fits just so little maneuvering space left. Add to this an open bridge, on both sides waiting viewers and as a bonus in the bowl a fleet of little tugs that had a meeting and all the crew were on deck watching. There, in my opinion, Michel passed the exam 'steerage and stay cool' with flying colors.
Without any hesitation we glided smoothly through the bridge, the ship in front of us made a picture.
From there we went a bit further than IJlst, a wonderful trip and very similar to France by boat. Narrow canals, nice villages and very quiet. Although we do fit in the canals fine with 't Majeur it is clear that a vessel of this size is not common, if there are large ships they are
sailing charter.
Unfortunately, the weather was nice for only one day and since we had no rush we stayed close to Vijfhuizen for a few days.
A good opportunity to continue to renovate the wheelhouse, furnishing pillows, and a lick of paint do a lot.
We were on the poles and could only get ashore with the dinghy. We heard a woman calling us and signalling something . It turned out that her son and his sailing boat, we had seen him all day to crossing back and forth, was stranded and at lee across the water could we please tug him home. Just the thing for Michel who immediately introduced 'towing Edje', brought the man home safe and made friends for life with the mother.
From there we continued to Makkum, we asked the harbour master before and he told us that for a ship our seize coming to Makkum was no problem. Although a very small canal coming to Makkum, it was indeed no problem, we had a lovely spot, right in the village. Our idea was to use the lock to go out, reverse and back in, it was no weather to go to Workum by the IJselmeer, but that was a problem. When we called they had forgotten to say that maybe we could fit in the lock going out but probably could not return because the position of the doors had changed, it was not mentioned in the almanac or PC Navigo. We did not really feel like trying. In the end we managed to turn in Makkum, very tightly, and just because it was so quiet that no other boats lay along the quays. After a night in Makkum we left, it was fun but we are not going to come back.
From Makkum to Workum, de Flakke Brekken, a beautiful area, where we stayed a couple of days and took care of household and ship in order to be ready for receiving our first guests.
The laundry had to be done and heavy things moved, but that we do with the little crane.
For a week we had family and friends,they were our guests to test the B&B, we got a 'go ahead' from all.
After that we went back to Grou, tough we were planning to stay near Sneek another night, we continued and are now back on the Pikmeer (feels a bit like coming home).
Even if you're on the water the trash has to be picked up and except that here it's done by a boat instead of a car it's basically the same system as in Amsterdam near the flat, normal life goes on even if you live on a ship.
