Deinze to Kortrijk

26 kms, I mobile bridge, 2 locks, 4.25 hours.

We were not intending to stop in Kortijk but yesterday we received a message on our mobile phone saying that we needed to register our Sim card in order to stay live, for security reasons. No problem with that, don’t want anyone thinking we are terrorists! So we decided to stop in Kortrijk today instead of going all the way through to Menen (just another 12 kms away) because our mobile service provider has a shop here. 

It was a warm start to the day, about 13 degrees when we left at 9.15, with some high clouds.  The Leie River in Belgium is not the most interesting waterway.  It is wide, quite pretty in places

and very industrial in others

With nothing else to photograph, I took some pics from the bow.  The white lumps that appear in some photos are the bikes on the bow

Here is a different view of the boat showing the solar panels and the iBoost router strapped to the Hook and Moor gadget and tied to the mast.

There is quite a lot of commercial traffic (we saw 18 commercial barges in 4 hours)

We have started taking note of the fancy cars the barge owners have, mostly BMWs and Audis, latest models

How can they see over the top of their cargo?

Oh,the whole bridge goes up and down!

And two huge locks.

140m long,16m wide

At the first lock, St Baafsvijver, we arrived just as a barge was exiting the lock and we were told to go straight, no waiting at all.

The second lock, Harelbeke, is undergoing major “renovations”.  Two years ago when we first passed this way we used the lock on the left (going upstream) which is now hidden behind miles of sheet metal pilings which form a coffer so they can work in the dry. 

At that time the lock we used today was under construction and what a pleasure it is with its smooth walls and metal lined rim so no chafe on lines and fenders.

We were held up here for half an hour, waiting for a commercial who was coming up behind us. 

As we came to the outskirts of Kortrijk splats of rain started to dance around us.  We had to lower the mast and take down the bimini in order to pass under the bridge at the entrance to the “passantehaven” (public marina), getting a thorough soaking, and as soon as we tied up the rain stopped.  Who do we blame – Murphy, or the half hour wait in the lock?