Antoing-Samois sur Seine

And again this year we didn’t make it across the border through the Spiere-Roubaix canal.

After we cruised it in 2012, just after it had been re-opened, there was a different reason each year that prevented it.

It was closed, water-level was too low, lock out-of-order etc. etc.

This time according to the lady in charge we should be able to do it.

Good for us we met a fellow skipper in Antoing who informed us that he had run aground, having a draft of 80 centimetres.

So via Valenciennes it was and for now we’ll stop trying.

We had already decided to take the Canal du Nord to go south, the most commercial and fastest route. Some people dislike the big ships there but they don’t bother us and, once you’re in the flow, you can make good time ‘cause the commercials are in a hurry; it is 19 locks and a 4,5 k tunnel over a total distance of only 95 k. 

The Canal du Nord is okay, but a dry and sunny spell would make it better stil.

In the canal is the Riqueval tunnel, quite a stretch with its 4,5 k, but also spacious and well lit.

Michel wanted to be certain and didn’t want to be bothered by the bimini so he lowered it and – being at it – he set it at its lowest. The two struts at the front then get through their “dead” point, but that causes no problem. We have done that before and if you give them a hand the electric raising thingy gets it all back up again.

The reader will understand our chagrin when we found that the tent could not get up after passing through the tunnel.

The bimini at its lowest position

What and how has happened exactly we still don’t understand but the spindle-arm – that lowers and raises the tent electrically – had come down too low and could not get the tent back up.

The whole of the frame and tarpaulin is so heavy that getting the thing up by hand, up to where the drive could take over, is out of the question.

At first we just were very annoyed but finding a solution is just Michel’s thing …… and yes!

The crane at its highest position, cable run out.

Long line from the cable to the mid-after point of the centre girder

Rebecca on the fore-deck to operate the crane and the camera, Michel on the aft deck and both armed with a walkie talkie.

Slowly winding the cable and raising the tent, to the point where it can be done electrically again

Hooray, everything up and running again, although …… something funny has happened.

We would have understood if the frame had been bent a little, upwards that is, by the force of the crane but to our amazement it was bent downwards, against the pull, how the peep could that happen?

Any takers?

Michel watching the bent frame in upper amazement

On this pic the bent part is clearly visible

 The weather had gotten better so it was a good plan to stay in l’Isle-Adam for a few days, a nice little town on the Oise river, a pleasant stay.

 A bit of work in the garden, lush with all the rain, the violets still blooming, not like other years.

In the winter we received an email from some Frenchman who asked for information on our engine. It led to quite an exchange of mail and Michel has been able to supply information and help him in ordering an engine himself.

Should we ever be near, we had to come and  see him and raft up.

Well, that would be on our route to Paris, on the Seine at Rueil-Malmaison. So we arranged for a stop with Stéphane and his family.

We asked Stéphane if he knew of anyone who might be able to help fixing the frame and he said that maybe he would be that guy.

Michel and Stéphane have bent the frame to its original form.

So now we can use the tent again, but we don’t lower it so far again. We made a provisional stop to prevent it from sagging and the definitive solution is on the winter-to-do-list.

The men working real hard I could try out my latest buy. It’s not really unpleasant to turn a bit and being moved by the wind but I am not really convinced that it is my thing; one of these days I’ll give it another try.

And then to Paris where we stayed for over a week and our son with his girlfriend had the opportunity to discover Paris.

Gotten wise after last years experience with a bike bein’ stolen and noisy nights with people coming on board we came well prepared.

a wooden construction with wheels that roll along the side as the barge moves

During winter Michel had improved on last years solution and together with the ramp it worked wonders. At bedtime we raised the ramp and could get a quiet sleep, great.

 We didn’t mind leaving Paris, it is very crowded and full and after three consecutive years of mooring there we’d gotten a bit blasé J.

We did something new this time, we took the dinghy to cruise on the Ourq, a canal that joins Paris to the Marne, but can only be sailed a short stretch.

Really up Panache’s street as for him the dinghy tops everything.

Back from a cruise on the Ourq

We are now starting that part of the journey that we have really been looking forward to, Burgundy.

Via the Canal St. Martin to the Seine and there, at the Chinese, keep right following the Seine instead of left onto the Marne.

That Chinese is a frightfully big restaurant, right at the corner of the junction, a landmark for everyone who cruised there.

At the Chinese, turn right, look at the map.

When you are leaving Paris towards the east you spot along the banks, just like when you are entering via Canal Saint Denis, how people try to build their “home” with tarps, broken caravans and car wrecks, amidst indescribable rubbish.

And then all of a sudden a spot where the inhabitants really have made the effort to make the most of it.

I find it hard to sail past each time, it emphasises the differences in a clear way. And also I wonder if it is all down to bad luck or if it is free will. 

In this region, there being a lot of commercial boating, maintenance on locks and waterways is kept up.

Complete lock systems are renovated like here on the Seine were even the footbridge over the lock is new and a huge mirror is added so you can spot your own ship entering. Art or functional???

After a stop over in Melun, from where we biked to the very impressive Château Vaux le Viconte and adjoining gardens, we are now in Samois-sur-Seine. Just a few weeks early for the annual Django Reinhard festival.

Castle and gardens are seen to be an example for Versailles

Tomorrow we will continue and turn off the river onto the canals. There will be more mooring opportunities there as we are no longer dependent on quays and bollards but can drop our spud legs whenever we spot a nice spot.

More about that in the next blog.

Meerkerk-Antoing

 

Due to the persistent gale, which caused cruising to be out of the question, we stayed in Meerkerk for a week.

One day the winds were so strong that the bridges weren’t operated, queuing commercials not withstanding.

 The light is strange, which brings out a beautiful rainbow

 Crested waves in the Merwede canal at Meerkerk

 Our neighbour, a windmill that drives a water wheel, was doing overtime these days

On leaving Amersfoort we had planned to go back to Holland for a few days, starting April 24^th.

In order to do that we have to leave our ship in a save place and we knew just the spot; Antoing in the south of Belgium near Tournai.

Our planning said we would have a 13 day margin, provided we would cruise from 9 to 3 on the other days;  a quiet pace with enough margin to spend a few days moored once in a while.

Now, we’re used to a planning being just that and in real life things are different. This time was no exception.

Before leaving Meerkerk we had gained two days by doing the trip in one day, but we were set back by two days because of the batteries and six because of the bad weather. So, we still had a nice margin but less than we wanted for trips in Belgium.

Last year, on our way back, we sailed right through Den Bosch, which is a nice route for us. It’s not for commercials, too narrow and thus time-consuming and a strain on the town.

March, 2015 saw the opening of the Máxima canal that bypasses Den Bosch for the bigger ships.

We hadn’t realised that that meant no more Den Bosch for us too.

The new canal is not as nice, quite boring in fact; it’s 9 kilometres and counts 8 bridges, must have cost a fortune.

 Máxima canal

We left Den Bosch on Easter day, to find our way to Belgium via the Zuid Willems canal; it would normally take two days because of all the locks but this day we could carry on and all locks were readied for us. The lock keepers were glad for something to do and all day we didn’t view a cruising ship; all moored because of Easter.

The one day gain was lost again next day because, something we had not foreseen, in Belgium everything is closed, and that not only on first but second Easter day as well. So the locks were closed and we had to wait in front of the first Belgium lock.

Just before that we had crossed the border, really not conspicuous if it weren’t for the noticeable difference in maintenance of the water ways and its sides.

 Where Holland becomes Belgium is quite noticeable

After the Bocholt-Herenthals canal we had to cross Antwerp harbour and go by the Royer lock to cross to the tidal Scheldt river in order to get to the Dender river.

Each time we go on the Scheldt  river it takes quite a bit of figuring to decide when is a good time to do so. You have to take the tide into account, as cruising into the current is a waste of time and gasoil, but the duration of the trip is important as well as the tide changes during the ride. Also we have to take into account the moment that the tide changes and so at what time we can leave; 4 o’clock in the morning or at night in the dark are no options for us.

Each day the change of tide shifts by about half an hour. For us this meant – this time – that we had to do the Scheldt before the weekend instead, like we would have preferred, after the weekend because that would have meant cruising in the dark.

 Floating jetty on the Scheldt, meant to go up and down with the tides; doesn’t work all the time apparently

The Northern part of the Dender, a North-South waterway in Belgium, down as far as Aalst is well used by commercials and we could see preparations going on to enlarge the locks and the canalised stretches to facilitate bigger ships.

For us, on the one hand a pity, for it will become less rural and busier, but on the other hand it is good to find, for us too, that navigation increases on these waterways so they will stay open and be well maintained.

Past Aalst it get difficult for bigger ships and we too had to crawl to manage all the bends and the lack of sufficient water under the keel.

Here the Dender and surroundings are lush and green. The locks from Aalst to Blaton – the most Southern point – are hand operated. Both in Belgium and in France this is being done less and less and most locks are (partly) automated.

 Lockkeepers at work

Not just the locks are operated manually but bridges as well, sometimes the bridge keeper acts as a counter weight

We were the first boat to cross past Aalst, and boy, did we find out we were.

All after-winter teething problems were presented to us. Lock doors that didn’t open or close completely and enormous amounts of rubbish collecting at each lock.

At Ninove we had to wait for a day and a half before they managed to open the bridge

After our mishap last year with the broken down bow thruster  we’ve become careful. So, slowly in or out of the lock and trying to shift the bigger detritus aside.

 The rubbish in and around the locks is plentiful

Starting last year we carry a scooter on board, which we like as it enlarges our range compared to cycling.

But, alas, it can just happen that something breaks down just as you’re quite a distance away from the ship, having just been buying things.

Here is Michel pushing the scooter, the accelerator cable snapped, carrying a crate full of groceries at the back looking for a garage or such. I am walking behind carrying two big sacks of toilet paper (which you do need from time to time).

Luckily we found someone who could help us out, temporarily, by cutting the cable so Michel could manually operate it. That is how we got home and by now it has been fixed; so lucky this time.

 Michel doing the heavy work

One striking phenomenon – that has been striking as long as we are cruising – is that lock keepers are on the phone when opening or closing doors.

It makes no difference where or in which country, whether they are young students or older pro’s, they are on the phone all the time at each lock.

Sometimes you are accompanied by a two men crew that comes with you all day, which is necessary if you’re doing ten locks on one day, and at each lock they telephone.

Would it be standing orders?

Lock keepers on the phone

As we came off the Dender we had just a few hours to cruise to Antoing, our destination. We by now had a one day margin left on our original planning, so all right.

At the end of the day we reached the point where we had to do two more locks and half an hours cruising but, as we could spend the night there comfortably, we decided to postpone it till next day.

The lock keeper had switched the lights to green for us, but we informed her, thanking her, on the VHF that we would not go in and would pass the lock next day.

She thanked us for notifying her, whishing us a pleasant day and ‘till next time.

We were really flabbergasted when next day no lights showed on the lock and there was no response on the VHF.

We looked on the net if perhaps we missed another public holiday or some extra information, nothing.

There was one boat moored near us and the skipper told us that all public transport in Belgium was on strike, so the locks were too. They had just picked it up on the radio, not having a clue as to why and for how long.

 All lights at the lock are out

Luckily the strike was over next day and so we arrived in Antoing, having no margin left.

But, as said, it has happened before.

Meanwhile we have returned from Holland, the car has been returned to the hire company and tomorrow we carry on, crossing the border to France about which more in the next blog

Closure and starting again

the  whole trip as we made it last year

Although I sincerely intended to close last years cruising season by publishing a final blog, I didn’t.

So here is catching up.

 A few figures on our 2014 itinerary:

2147 Kilometers

345 engine running hours

448 times that an artefact had to be serviced, of which 297 locks, the rest were bridges.

After leaving Antwerp harbour, where we had the bow thruster repaired, we went back to Amersfoort by way of the Belgian Kempen, Zuid-Willemsvaart and the Merwede Canal, the ever beautiful Koninginnenlock and the river Vecht.

The Koninginnenlock at Vreeswijk

We lived, for years, near the Vecht and made many a bicycle ride along its banks, but experiencing it from the water is different. Especially with a big barge like ours it’s quite an experience, as the Vecht is better suited to smaller boats, but it can be done and is quite fun.

The Vecht, nice boat, nice house

Cruising the Eem we suddenly realised that sanding is not allowed in Amersfoort harbour and there were a few patches to be treated before winter. So, whilst cruising, I quickly did all sanding and, once moored, we could treat the patches.

quick, quick, the last sanding

And then we were back in Amersfoort and of course we met up again with friends and family, always one of winters treats.

This time it comprised also seeing our grandchild, who had to be immersed in the art of steering, never to young to start.

Prospective helmsman

In November we went on a holiday to Spain, where we enjoyed the weather, the scenery, more family and of course al the wonderful food.

We especially frequented the tapas bars.

This is how you get the bill, chalked on the counter

Winter in Amersfoort was a bit unsettling as the river had to be dredged and several ships had to move several times to different locations.

it fitted only just

 But this winter we also enjoyed Nathans weekly stay over’s and our new roles as grandparents. 

All clichés are true, like you have all benefits and no disadvantages, you can spend more time and have more patience etc. and, oh boy, how nice it is to have a manikin in your house every week and he does grow fast!
 

we have a visitor!

so cosy, just like with his mum when she was little

One morning in January I sleepily went into the kitchen and was surprised to find that drawers and doors kept opening. I took me some time to realise that something funny went on and then I was wide awake instantly. The ship was askew, and quite a bit too.

I alarmed Michel who came out of bed and immediately went out to look. I opened hatches to check for water.

Michel then entered smiling, stating that we had gotten stuck on a bollard.

stuck on a bollard

The water levels of the Eem rise and fall quickly, we know that and take it into account when mooring. It never happened in previous years and we don’t know why it happened now.

Never the less, we were tilted and moving 70 tons sideways by hand, no way.

We, for a moment, considered asking the guys who repaired the street to use their shovel but decided against it for fear of damage.

And then Michel thought (it was still early morning for us) that the simplest solution would be to start our engine, rev it up – the lines would keep us in place – which would push us up and side ways. Worked just fine.

And then it was March, more nice days with rising temperatures.

That causes the itch and so it’s time to remove the curtains that keep us warm in the pilot house, to put the stools back, to buy new plants for the deck and to start making plans.

away with the curtains and in come the stools

We planned a trip that will bring us, via Belgium and Paris, along (not on) the Loire river to mid France. Then, more easterly, we go North and then go back to Holland by way of the Meuse river.

We feel like going.

our intended itinarary for 2015

So we started off and immediately started with bad luck. Let’s hope this will be all for this year.

According to plan we left Amersfoort on Wednesday, 25^th in the afternoon planning a two hour trip as far as the Randmeren. Then an early start next morning in order to reach Muiden before ten, then on to Weesp and then onwards.

Because of the weather predictions – hard winds – only Thursday morning was right to cross the Randmeren; when the wind is too strong all our furniture and such is at risk because of  the waves.

Things went different.

After mooring on day one it appeared that we couldn’t start the engine. A bit of research led to the conclusion that the batteries had died. If only it had happened earlier that day on the try runs or even earlier that winter when we had moved, but no, it had to be on a spot far removed from everyone and everything.

To make matters worse, the battery that starts the genny had died on us too.

So we were facing loneliness, no heating and no light, awful.

All batteries were 7 years old, with a life expectancy of 5, so small wonder; but what timing!!

Fortunately, we had, through our neighbours in Amersfoort, met a ships mechanic and we called him right away. The man is a life saver.

Thursday morning his wife came along with a battery to start the genny and in the afternoon the new batteries for the main engine were installed.

We did have to tow the boat about 100 meters, the good old fashioned way, so the batteries could be put on board.

Michel at the back, Rebecca upfront and we made it

 It was quite a challenge, pulling 70 tons, in the rain, wind in your face (thankfully in the right direction) the way they used to in times past.

Then we were up and running, and was the waiting for the wind to lessen to continue our trip.

Weather predictions showed that Saturday morning, 28^th  would be the only period when the wind would be less than 5 Bft, so it was either then or wait for another week.

Although we’re not early risers by choice we had quickly made the decision and at 6:30 we set sail.

By then it was weekend when lots of bridges are not operated and because of that and of an out of order lock we had to reschedule our route.

115 km

Eventually we cruised until 16:30 and then found ourselves in Meerkerk.

Now and the days ahead there will be strong winds, crests on the waves in the Merwedecanal and heavy rains, so we stay put. We still have lots of chores.

More about that in my next blog.