Bruges to Oudenburg

22nd June

Today was all about cruising with hire boats.  What a shambles! But let’s start at the very beginning – a very good place to start (sorry!)

20 kms, 2 locks, 7 mobile bridges

At 8.50 I called Kruispoort Central , which co-ordinates the movements  of all waterborne  craft through Bruges, and was told to be at the lift bridge at 9.00.  So we pulled in our lines and beetled off at great haste – to find a red light and nothing happening.  We tied up to the “waiting” pontoon around the corner and I called again, to let them know we had arrived,  to be told “Yes, you will get service”.  35 minutes later another pleasure cruiser arrived and the bridge opened. 

The "waiting" quay

Kruispoort towers

There are 4 windmills alongside the canal, one of them is still working 

We passed the next bridge uneventfully then had to wait a while atDamspoortsluis, the only lock in Bruges, while a big commercial going in the opposite direction entered and then exited.  

We entered and tied up with a bit of difficulty because the prop of the commercial had left a residual turbulence in the lock.  The boat behind us was a hire boat and they had great difficulty dealing with the turbulence, they got one line on a bollard but couldn’t hold it, then did a 180 to end up facing the wrong way and took an awfully long time to complete the 360 turn to face the right way.  But they were now in the middle of this big lock (it is an unusual shape, much like a D, about 50m wide) and by the time they got back to the side they were at 90 degrees to the quay!  They got a line around a bollard, pulled it in tight and fastened it off.  The driver tried to get the stern around by using the bow thruster….!  That was never going to work so they got a man ashore with a sternline and tried to pull the stern around but the bowline was so tight that was never going to work either.  Finally the penny dropped and they eased the bowline.  Hooray, they were tied up, can we get going now?  No. 

About 10 minutes later the convoy from Flandria marina arrived (this used to start off at 9.00, now it seems it must be 10.00 because they arrived at the lock at about 10.30) including another 2 hire boats. 

One put their bowline around a railing beside the lock and tied it off in a great big knot on the railing.  We were going downstream with a fall of 1.8m! Fortunately someone on board realised this and they untied the knot.  But they had chosen a spot where there is a buttress protruding from the lock wall with a metal plate on top. As the water level dropped the boat got hung up on this buttress and tilted at an alarming angle before it slid off with a mighty crash, and a big dent in the side! 

In the 15km stretch from Bruges to Passendale lock there are 2 lift bridges so  all the boats stay together in convoy, and the accepted convention is that you keep station in the line but one of the hire boats obviously got bored and tried to go faster than everyone else. He came racing past us just as the canal narrowed before one of the lift bridges.  He suddenly realised he was running out of water fast and there was a great flurry of reverse gear and bow thruster so he could duck back in line behind us.  He behaved himself in the short stretch to the next left bridge but after that he rushed off again to arrive at the lock way ahead of the rest of the convoy, where the lock keeper informed us that the lock does not open till 14.00 and it was now only 12.45.

We were fully aware of the lock operating times and I’m sure the hire boats are informed seeing their base is on this canal!

In the middle of the convoy waiting for a bridge

Mr Impatient

Waiting in Passendale lock as the convoy from the opposite direction passes through

We have stopped at the free pontoon at Oudenburg, which also has free water and electricity.  A man from the boat behind came to take our lines and said “Are you going back to Diksmuide?”  He is a member of the club there and recognised us.  Is that nice?

We spent some time cleaning the hull and the fenders, and intended to do the deck too, but, well, never got round to it!