Oirschot to Aarle-Rixtel - A Day to Forget

Well, that was an adventure we would rather not have had!

After examining the weather forecasts we knew it would be a bit windy, gusting around 45 km/hr, but we've coped with far worse than that when crossing oceans.  Also today is the last dry day for a while, so it was a toss up: wind today or rain tomorrow.  We chose to put up with the wind because there are no locks in the stretch we planned to do today, just 6 lift bridges.

The first section of canal was really not bad at all.  The wind was not as bad as expected as the canal ran between high banks with tall trees on top.  

We could see the wind in the trees but on the canal we were sheltered and the first couple of lift bridges were uneventful except that we had to call before each bridge (last time we called only at the first bridge and all the rest after that were made ready as we approached) and they only started preparing the bridge when we were very close to it.  

Could this be a doffing of the cap to Operation Market Garden?

A different design of lift bridge - I think I'm becoming a bridge anorak

With the strong wind behind us it was difficult to slow down and the bridges were not protected by high banks and trees.  At one of the bridges we drifted sideways at about 2 knots because it was impossible to keep the boat straight at slow speed and at another bridge  we actually passed the traffic lights before the red light had gone out even though Ian had the engine in reverse (the bridge was already fully up). 

Then we ran out of high banks and protection from the trees, and the wind picked up with extremely vicious gusts which blew the surface water into williwaws and splashed the windows.  One of the bridges was slow to open and while we waited around a huge gust blew Ian's gloves and a mat on the foredeck into the water.

At the very last bridge, just half a km from our intended stop, all was going to plan but instead of the red light going out when the bridge was up, the green light went out and a second red light came on.  After drifting around for a few minutes I called the bridge control and was informed there was a problem, "Wait a moment", after another 5 minutes they called and said we could not pass the bridge until the problem was resolved.  So we had to tie up.  Easier said than done.  Just at that time the gusts were particularly bad and the only place to tie up was designed for big commercial barges with tall poles at maybe 15m or 18m intervals and a wall inside them with big bollards.  Ian started to approach the wall between the pillars when a huge gust caught the boat and slammed the bow into the wall, forward of the fender - a scar which bears witness to our trials and tribulations!  I'm really not sure how Ian managed it but he got us off that wall without any further mishap but then we had to do it all over again.  Second time round there was brief lull and I managed to get ashore and get a rope around a bollard without any further problems.

We felt really bad because with the bridge stuck in the up position there were queues of cars forming, and bicycles - school kids trying to get home in the horrible weather.  The nearest bridge was about 1km behind us.  One young girl asked Ian if we could ferry her across the river!  "I want to go home" she said.  We really felt bad.

Eventually after more than half an hour Bridge Control called us and said we could go through the bridge.  As we went through we saw an electrician's truck and police to control the traffic.  Perhaps we were the first boat to go through that bridge since last summer.

When we approached the place we intended to stop we saw a no entry sign and a row of buoys blocking the canal to the Passantenhaven.  They only open tomorrow!  We tied up against the bank using stakes (many of them).  The wind is still blowing and buffeting the boat but at least we are secure.

We walked to the town centre to buy Ian a new pair of gloves.  It is a lovely little town, very quaint.  It was known for its bell foundry and the church has a huge array of bells in the bell tower.  Just before the hour they chimed up with a rendition of Greensleeves.  Very entertaining. 

Tomorrow we are staying put - apart from moving into the Passantenhaven, just a couple of hundred metres.  It is still going to be windy, and raining, not a good combination, and we have 6 locks to negotiate on the next leg.  We hope to get all the way to Maasbracht but it will be a long day.

Tilburg to Oirschot

The day dawned bright and clear and not much wind so at 9.00 we pulled our lines in and headed away from Tilburg.  The first hour was lovely, positively balmy in the sunshine but we could see huge clouds building behind us.  They looked very ominous and soon blanked out the sun and the temperature dropped dramatically.  Just as we approached a lock it began to hail.  Cold?  Well, just a little bit.

This time I was better prepared and had my rope-over-bollard thingy ready, and the bollards were too big!  So I had to revert to throwing, only took 3 attempts this time.  I'll master it eventually! 

The Wilhelmina Canal is lovely, and in summer when the leaves are out it must be beautiful.  

It is really peaceful, we only saw one other boat, a huge sand barge, and a rowing boat, crewed by young girls who looked even colder that we were.

We passed through 12 movable bridges, 2 different kinds of lift bridge and a swing bridge.  

One kind of lift bridge

Another kind of lift bridge

I had to call the first bridge to ask them to let us through and after that the next few bridges were all being prepared for us as we approached them. You can tell this is happening because the bridges have 2 traffic lights one above the other.  They are both red when the bridge is closed and when they start to prepare the bridge for opening the top one turns green.  When the bottom red one goes out you may proceed through the bridge. Clever stuff this canal technology.  I find the locks fascinating.

Now we are tied up to the canal side in a town called Oirshot.   Half an hour after tying up a huge floating crane thing moved in just a couple of metres from our bow to work on the side of the canal where they are doing a great deal of work to turn a muddy bank into a lovely promenade with grass slope behind it.  

Ian offered to move but the driver assured him we are not in his way. 

The weather is not looking good for tomorrow so we might just be here for two days.  We took a walk into town and it looks rather nice, quite a good spot to shelter from the elements.

Comedy Half Hour in the Lock

Yesterday we took on our first lock.  Well, anyone would think I had never been on a boat before.  It seems I have forgotten everything I ever learnt in 20 years of sailing during the 20 years we have lived in the Azores!  For a start, our little Njord is too short for the spacing of the bollards in the lock.  Do you think I could throw the darn rope around the bollard?  Not a chance!  So Ian and I swapped places, he having already got his rope around the bollard near the stern.  But I then had to manoeuvre the boat to get the bow as close to the next bollard as possible and in the process let go of the tail of the rope around the stern bollard and it drifted over the side!  Ian got the forward rope on, and I had to pull the whole stern rope back aboard and start all over again with the stern bollard.  Finally got that sorted.  As the lock filled and the water rose we had to move the ropes to higher bollards, which again was a nightmare for me at only 1.5m tall.  By the time the rope slipped off the lower bollard I still could not reach the higher bollard!  But we got there in the end. 

We have a fancy piece of equipment on board for putting ropes around bollards but could not find it in the cavernous locker where we had stowed it!  We found it once we safely tied up at the mooring, all the way at the bottom of the locker!  It is obviously going to be an essential item for me and from now on it will be ready on deck. 

I am just pleased we were the only the boat in the lock so I didn't have an audience to my incompetence - but Ian assured me the lock operators were watching on cctv and having a good laugh!

Today is a rest day, closed in between two movable bridges only 1.00m high which are not operating today.  However, we needed a rest day and it is raining even harder today than it did yesterday.  It is a lot warmer though.

Chicken stew for dinner last night, and the leftovers became soup for lunch today.  More chicken for dinner (bought a big economy pack yesterday) but in the form of Thai green curry.

Cruising in the rain

The pea soup was a success, very hearty, comfort food.  Just what you need on a cold winter night and there was enough left over for lunch today.

We left Oosterhout marina later than intended at 9.15, and as it turned out we should have left much earlier.  We were hoping to get to Oirschot, almost 40km away with 4 locks and 12  lift bridges that had to be negotiated and these all take time. 

The very first lock was at Oosterhout and when Ian called them to ask for passage through, the very helpful lady who spoke good English, informed him that there was a problem with the locks and bridges: being Saturday they were only operational till 14.00 and closed tomorrow (even though in the official Almanak it says they are open 24 hours a day all year round).  Now we knew there was no hope of making it to Oirschot.

The day had dawned bright and clear, I saw the sun rise at about 6.30, but by the time we left it was completely overcast and started to drizzle within minutes of our departure.  As the day wore on the drizzle became more persistent, and a breeze picked up.  Ian's foul weather jacket fitted over his normal jacket but the zip of the trousers had seized up from use at sea on his fishing boat (yes, we should have checked them before we left!).  My rain jacket does not fit over my thick Musto jacket and I never got around to putting the rain trousers on because I was up and down the companion way so many times and long johns plus jeans were already rather bulky.

After the first lock there was a long stretch with no locks or bridges.  Ian was steering from the outside steering position on the aft deck but as it got wetter and colder he decided it would be more sensible to steer from inside.  Just as he got the steering changed over the next lock arrived and then the locks and lift bridges came in quick succession and he could not operate the lines, etc, while steering from inside. 

By the time we got to Tilburg it was raining properly and as we passed one of the possible stopping places we had marked on the chart, we both decided we had had enough and it was time to stop. We were numb with cold.  It was 1.00pm.  And that left over soup was ever so welcome!

This is a free mooring just on the side of the canal, not in a marina.  No facilities such as water, electricity or wifi.  There is a big supermarket just 700m away.  It feels rather exposed to the public eye, but it is very quiet.

Not many photos today because of the rain.

Our first lock, or comedy half hour!

Our mooring in Tilburg

We're on our way

It is a week since we arrived on board Njord and finally today we slipped the moorings at WSV Ijsselmonde, which was so good to us, and set off on our journey - I am tempted to say into the unknown but this is not quite Star Wars.

As soon as he got up and looked out the window Ian noticed that the tide was extremely high.  He went for a walk to the river side of the marina and saw that it was still rising and running strongly.  We had to leave asap, because when the tide turned we would be battling against it instead of running with it.

At 8.45 we passed out of the entrance to the marina and into the River Maas.  

The tide was extremely high and pushing us at a good rate of knots in the right direction.  We whizzed up to our first turn off into the Noord Maas, passing some very impressive houses on the way.

  

How about that, having your own boat hoist in your garden!

We were amazed by the amount of river traffic.  Huge container ships and barges, some of the barges were even doubled up like articulated truck trains. At one time we were four abreast with little Njord hugging the bank as tight as possible!

We passed Dordrecht, resplendent in silhouette against a moody sky.

Next stretch of water was the Dordste Kil, what a nightmare.  Just at that stage there must have been wind against tide/current or whatever because it was very turbulent, even with whirlpools and standing waves.  It reminded me of our days out on the ocean in rough conditions!  But we passed this fascinating tower at s'Gravendeel. Anyone for chess?

It also got a lot colder. Ian, who normally wears just a t-shirt on the coldest days, was dressed up like a Michelin tyre man.

And we shared the waterway with some seriously large ships.

  

But the sun started to appear in fits and starts, and it was glorious when it did.

From there we turned into the Hollandse Diep, the part that I had been the most anxious about because it is a very wide expanse of water, susceptible to the influence of wind and current.  For the first few kms we had the tide against us, at 2000 revs we were doing 9kph whereas on leaving Rotterdam were doing 13.6 kph on 1600 rpm. 

Clive called us, just as they were waking up in the Azores, as we were passing under a set of huge bridges for road and rail.  He was amazed to get us on phone and it was great to chat.  About half an hour later the tide changed in our favour yet again.  Suddenly we were whizzing along again.

After 4 hours on the river systems we turned off into the Amertak Canal.  

What a difference - suddenly it was all calm and peaceful, but still a lot of huge container barges.  We passed an enormous container terminal with massive cranes stretching over the canal.  Impressive.  And no wonder we were seeing so many container barges.

4 hours 45 mins after leaving the marina in Rotterdam we tied up at a lovely marina in Oosterhout.  We had made much better time than we expected. The Hawenmaster was really friendly, gave us the benefit on the doubt on length of boat for the overnight charge, free electricity and water, and wonderful showers for 50c.

There is a supermarket roughly 10-15 mins walk across the bridge/lock.

What's not to like?

And for dinner tonight I am attempting to make snert, the traditional Dutch pea soup. It sure smells good.

Total Disarray

Waiting

A bit of a frustrating day today.  We had decided not to leave today, but the early morning till midday was lovely.  So here we stayed at the marina feeling increasingly frustrated at our decision.  But about lunch time the wind picked up, the rain set in and the temperature plummeted. 

We spent the morning

a) learning to use our new Robship Hook and Moor device, needs a bit of getting used to but what a wonderful invention,

b) cleaning out a few more lockers (Ian),

c) (me) just general cleaning of places I have not been able to access till now,

d) fighting with Ian's new smart phone to install the Lebara SIM card.  This has gone on for a few days but eventually today I phoned a help line and finally got it sorted.  It was not Lebara's problem - it was finger trouble on an unfamiliar device!

We have discovered that we have some lockers on this boat that are big enough to hide a family of refugee stowaways.  And they contained a myriad of bits and pieces, some useful, others not so much!  For instance, 4 boat hooks, 4 hammers, 8 paint scrapers, a beach umbrella, 12 funnels of various sizes, and way too much more to go into details.  Another load of stuff for the skip! (We're keeping the umbrella, might be useful in summer).

Meanwhile we both had problems with our laptops.  Ian has a GPS dongle which he has used before but when he connected it today it sent his computer haywire, the curser was racing all over the desktop, opening and closing pages and rearranging the icons.  Seems to be a virus so the dongle has been binned and the computer reset.  Still not quite right though and a bit of a worry

My laptop has broken a hinge between the keyboard and monitor.  Not good either, and I spent the afternoon transferring all my data to Ian's laptop in case the wires between the two break completely  I think I might have to revert to pen and paper to keep track of important stuff!

We hope to leave tomorrow, even though the weather forecast is not that good.

Last chores

25/3

I spoke too soon!  Remember, yesterday I said the weather had been quite nice?  Well, today it was quite awful.  Not as cold as it has been in the early mornings but that is because it was heavily overcast and raining.  Didn't let up all day and the max outdoor temp was 7C.  Funny that I found it essential to do 2 loads of laundry which meant spending a couple of hours in the warm "wasserette"!  I got an email from Chrissie reminding me that this time last year they were in Amsterdam and it was 20C!

But, before I forget, here are the pics from last night's sing-along.

The bar at Watersportvereniging Ijsselmonde

The choir

In full voice - giving it stick!

One of the soloists

The star of the show.  85 years old and full of life!

Percussion clogs

So what else did we do today?  First of all we had to get rid of the 2 huge (50kg each) batteries that we have replaced.  We drove to a Kwik Fit place we saw yesterday and asked them if they would like to take them off our hands.  Fortunately they said yes, so that was one item ticked off the list.

Next was to exchange our empty gas cylinder for a new one (I have been lighting the burners on the stove when I get up in the morning to heat the cabin and use up the last dregs in the gas bottle before getting a new one - and it ran out this morning.  How's that for meticulous planning!).  However, we ran into more road works, and decided to take a detour to another shop we knew on the way, just to confuse Mrs. GPS.  You know, I am amazed at how patient she is.  She never gets frustrated  or shouts "You, stupid b******, I told you to turn right!" 

Then back to the boat with the gas, a quick cup of coffee, and it was time to return the rental car.

This afternoon, while I was doing the laundry ;o), Ian cleaned the deck in the freezing breeze and pouring rain.  And he doesn't even have sailing boots - we haven't been able to find any for his size 49 (UK 14) feet.  My hero, that was supposed to be my job today.

I took my laptop to the laundry to while away the time  and discovered two important things.  Firstly, that my nephew Steven and his wife Lynn became first time parents this morning to a daughter called Ava.  Wonderful.

Secondly, that tomorrow the weather is going to be even colder, rainier and windier than it was today.  And there we were, all ready to break our ties with Rotterdam and start the cruising life!  So Ian and I had some serious discussions and have decided to postpone our departure till Friday, when it will be cold and windy but not raining.

I wonder what we'll do tomorrow.  I'm sure there is already a long list being written in Ian's brain!

Getting there

I'm smiling!  Apart from very chilly early mornings, the weather has actually been quite nice.  No wind, and only  a few hours of rain a couple of days ago. 

Ian is getting very frustrated with electrical/battery boaty type problems. We spent the whole morning driving from shop to shop from one end of Rotterdam to the other in search of bits and pieces.  Since then he has had his head down in the engine room. 

I spent the afternoon - warm and sunny, only 2 layers of clothing! - cleaning the outside of the boat.  On the North facing side (the boat has not moved for 3 years) there is lots of green mildew/mossy stuff in the nooks and crannies.  Cleans out quite easily seeing it is damp.  Have only just scratched the surface.

This evening is social night at the club, so we went socialising.  What a wonderful evening.  This club has a choir of 22 male voices accompanied by 3 piano accordions, a guitar and a  percussionist, which, on a charity basis, goes to sing at Old Age Homes, etc.  They sing mainly traditional sea chantey type stuff plus a few modern golden oldies (Mull of Kintyre, Sloop John B) and one opera piece, The Hebrew Slaves Chorus from Nabucco by Verdi.  So enjoyable.  I joined in whole heartedly and at the end of the evening they told me I must join them next week.  Pity we won't be here. 

Took lots of photos, but I will have to go through them and add them tomorrow.

Shopping for groceries

It was cold this morning, only 5C inside the boat at 8.00 but there was almost no wind.  We got all togged up in winter woollies and headed off the supermarkets.  Started at Lidl where we found the bulk of store cupboard necessities, and what we didn't find there we got at Dirks, right next door.  Ian left me to do the shopping while he went off to find a spare fan belt and oil filter for the engine.  Back home I set about working out what to put where, and changing my mind a couple of times, and Ian got stuck into changing the oil in the engine.

In the afternoon I replaced the curtains in the galley and dinette.  After that I decided it was time to get some laundry done so I came up to the office, paid €5.00, got the key to the laundry room in exchange and loaded 4 days worth of clothing plus some boat stuff into the washing machine.  Right now I am sitting in the laundry room, where it is lovely and warm, watching it all go round and round in the dryer.

Dinner tonight?  Well, I'm not sure.  With fully stocked food lockers I am spoil for choice, but I think perhaps nasi goreng.

Some photos from yesterday:

Chaos!  Trying to find place to put everything

Preparing our first meal on board - bean and bacon soup.

Ian flummoxed by the elecrrics!  Trying to get the fresh water pump to work.

Cleaning fenders

Sunday in the Netherlands

Very cold this morning with a stiff breeze blowing right into our main entrance .  So I kept it shut and had to keep sopping up the condensation from the windows before it streamed down and wet anything lying below.

Sunday: chore number one today was doing the big shopping expedition to provision the boat for a long trip.  But, no that didn't happen.  This is the Netherlands, and everything is closed on Sunday.  Oh dear, move that one day later and get on with the other chores on the list, one of which was to get a 3g data SIM card which we will need to connect to the internet when we leave this club where we have free wifi. Fortunately we discovered that these are available at the shops at petrol stations which are open on Sundays (thank goodness) so we were able to cross that off the list.

With all the shops being closed, we just had to get on with the chores on board.  For Ian that was seeing to the rudder which was giving trouble and involved emptying everything out of the lockers in the stern of the boat and under the double bunk - and that created a whole new list just on its own because he discovered that there is a leak in the engine exhaust system which passes through the locker under our bunk.   It is a huge locker and chock a block full of "stuff", all very black and sooty!

So that meant Ian spent many hours scrunched up in the locker, first of all cleaning out the sooty mess then sorting out the rudder and exhaust problems.  And I spent a few hours out on the dock side with various cleaning products, yellow gloves and copious amounts of water trying to get everything clean.  Even though the sun was shining, and lovely, with the cold breeze I was togged up in long johns under my jeans, 4 layers of long sleeved T-shirts and a weather-proof jacket, which is now very dirty and requires a hour or so in the washing machine!

But come nightfall we had a clean locker, clean fenders, life jackets and various other bits and pieces, and  a rudder system that was a whole lot better than it was before.

Another job was to install the new batteries, which has made a huge difference to the charging systems.

And he installed new LED bulbs in the lights which are much brighter.

I am still putting up the new curtains when I get a chance, at last the saloon is now neutral beige instead of drowning-under-water blue.

Apparently, after a clear sunny day the temp tonight is going down to zero, less the wind chill factor.  And we have lots to do tomorrow, so an early start!

First night on board

After what seemed like an interminable 4 months we finally arrived in Rotterdam yesterday and spent our first night aboard Njord.  Wonderful!

Well, to be truthful anything would be wonderful after the journey here.  We had so much stuff to bring to the boat to make it "home", such as bedding, curtains and  tools, that our hold baggage allowance (of only 20kg each seeing we had to fly on a small inter-island plane from our home in Faial via one of the other islands in the Azores Archipelago) was completely swallowed up and we had to bring all our clothes, books and goodness knows what more, in our cabin baggage/computer bags/handbag/ jacket pockets and wearing umpteen layers of clothes.  In total we were carrying about 15 kg each.  Each change of plane, wait in 2 airports, walk to the train station at Schipol airport, walk to the rental car office in Rotterdam, was a nightmare and by the time we got into the rental car I felt like a bag lady carrying all my worldly possessions on my back!  Not helped by the fact that the wheels on one of the big cases stopped turning!

The previous owners of Njord met us at the Watersportvereniging Ijsselmonde, where she is moored, with big hugs and some lovely gifts.  They had ordered 2 brand new batteries and taken delivery of them for us so now they are sitting on the deck waiting to be installed.

We rushed off to a supermarket to buy some basic supplies for dinner and breakfast and then got stuck in to stowing away the contents of all our bags and de-winterising all the systems on the boat, meanwhile enjoying the good old South African standby brandy and coke to celebrate our new home from home.

And relax....

We were expecting the weather to be bitterly cold but it was lovely and sunny during the day.  However, the temperature plummeted as the sun set.

By the way, we were able to watch the solar eclipse while flying at 33,000 feet.  Really impressive!

When the temperature reached 10.9C inside the boat Ian set about one of the most important jobs on the boat - firing up the diesel heater.  Fortunately there were no hiccoughs and in no time at all we were toasty and warm and it was well after midnight when we went to bed, which was supremely comfortable and really warm.