Flandria to Moerbruggebrug

Laundry day today, one load of whites (mostly sheets) in the club washing machine and a few black/navy items that I did by hand.  When that was all done we filled up with water and then I intended to go for a walk into town.  I love Bruges, one of my favourite cities.  I started off with a bit of a dickie hip and after about 100m I knew I could go no further and hobbled back to the boat.  Gee, but it's tough getting old and decrepit!

Instead a took a few photos:

Njord in a line of boats

One of our neighbours must be into Zen or Buddhism

Ian found a friend

She got even more friendly

We have a visitor on the boat

Exploring

Exploring even further

We watched the Grand Prix and set off at 3.30 for somewhere down the canal with a free mooring, not quite sure where.  At Steenbruggeburg I phoned to ask for passage through and got a torrent of very fast Flaams that I did not understand apart from the word "niet!", meaning we couldn't do something.  Maybe the bridge was no operated on Sundays.  We tied up to the bank and went to chat to a boat moored just behind us.  They said the bridge was operating but they had already been waiting for over an hour.  While we were talking a huge commercial barge appeared on the other side of the bridge - aha, this is what we had been waiting for.  As the huge barge passed us poor little Njord was sucked into the propeller wash but we stayed on the bank, held tight to the lines, and came to no harm.  There was a pleasure cruiser following the barge through the bridge which was thrown around all over the place.

Once through the bridge, about a km further on, we passed this flotilla of some 20 boats from Flandira Yacht Club return after a weekend in Ghent.

Just before Moerbruggebrug we stopped at a free mooring which we remembered from previous trips up and down this canal. 

So peaceful

A B&B should you not want to stay on board.

Ian chilling