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