Maastricht to Bocholt, Belgium

HOT!  Not just hot but very hot.  By the end of the afternoon it was 29C in the saloon and every hatch and opening window was open and I was wearing shorts and t-shirt.  How can the weather change so quickly?  I have the answer: while we were in Maasbracht we bought am electric fan heater for the times we are in marinas where electricity is included in the basic price.  Like this one - so we now have a heat wave instead of mid-winter!  Murphy is at it again.

Anyhow, we left Maastricht at 8.30. We had to wait a fair amount of time for the lock between the Maas and the Zuidwillemsvaart Canal to be ready for us and I took this photo of the houseboats just before the lock.

Then just steadily chugged our away along the canal.  It is quite a narrow canal and couple of times we had to move close to the bank as large barges passed by.

We briefly thought of stopping at Eisenden but it was still only 11.30 and it was rather bleak and uninteresting looking.  Ian has an appointment tomorrow to do his ICC test in Bocholt.  He has both South African and Portuguese Yachtmaster Ocean certificates but in France he has to have the ICC (International Certificate of Competence).  So we decided to press on to Bocholt.  It was such a lovely afternoon, not a breath of wind. Aren't these reflection marvelous?

A few more interesting sights:  immaculate gardens, one even with free range chicken

And  a residence with canal frontage and character, in need of some tlc!

We arrived about 2.30.  Lovely little place. Immaculately clean ablution block, only €7.50 per night, including electricity - hence the thoughts about the fan heater!

There are quite a few moorings and a caravan campiong sight behind.

We broke out the bicycles again,  which we didn't use in Maastricht because it is a pedestrian only zone, and went on a hunt for a Belgian SIM card so we can get on line.  Well, it was a bit of a mission because there are major road works underway,  and wherever we got directions they were messed up by deviations.  But I got one, obviously, and lots of bicycling practice into the bargain!

As evening drew on the raucous noise of big black birds nesting in the trees on the other side of the canal got louder and louder. A murder of ravens for sure!

Another day in Maastricht

This morning I escaped from the chores and Lynn and I went on a tourist walk through the city.  I have been amazed at how many churches there are in this town, we can see 6 from our boat.  But that was nothing to discovering that there are two right next to each other on Vrijthof Square: Sint Janskerk and Sint Servaas Basilica. 

Sint Jan's became a Protestant church in the 17th Century whereas the Basilica Saint Servatius (Sint Servaas) is Catholic.  They both date from eons ago.  Sint Janskerk ( named after Sint Jan de Dopper, or John the Baptist as we know him, but I rather prefer Jan the Dopper!) was started in about 1200.  The original tower fell down in a storm in 1366 and was rebuilt in the 15th Century with an additional 8 sided lantern tower.  The tower is red, very striking. 

On Vrijthof Square I was taken by this cheerful fountain

and these fascinating sculptures of Carnival musicians.

Wondering the streets I was struck by the flowers on windowsills

And on Markt Square where there was a big open air market,  there was a huge flower stall (this is not even a quarter of it)

and a big fabric stall, again just a small section of it.

Then we went into a bookshop that used to be a church, what a wonderful building. 

There is a cafe in the bookshop so, just for Tanya, here is a picture of my cafe latte with free nougat.  It certainly was something to have coffee in such august surroundings.

Before going home we went to the Asian supermarket again, and this photo is by request for Tanya.

The afternoon was spent altering one of the curtains which hangs next to the interior steering position.  It was straight all along the bottom but needed to be cut at an angle so as not to encroach on the steering console.

Then I swept the coach roof and deck which were getting rather dusty.  And I vacuumed the carpet inside with the new handheld.  Takes a bit of a while but the carpet is small and it didn't take too long.  Better than having a dirty carpet!

Dinner on Elle tonight - curry, I believe.  Goody!

Maastricht again

The day started off misty and grey but by 9.00 or so the mist had burnt off and the sun appeared.  It turned out to be a lovely warm day.

A work day today, nonetheless.  Ian had his head inside the engine room most of the of the day.  I must admit I don't really know what he was doing in there, apart from installing a standalone engine battery.  Until now we have been running off two batteries which serviced both the engine and household use, not a good idea.  So now we have a separate battery just for the engine.  But the installation is not quite finished because a piece of wire on the old battery to engine system is now just six inches too short for the new battery - a job that cannot be crossed off the list.

This morning Ian took time off to walk with me, carrying two large bags , in search of a laundry.  We found one that was service only: your stuff will be ready on Friday!  There was another about 70m further down the road that also did service wash only, 50c per load cheaper, and it would be ready in 3 hours.  Guess which one we plumped for!

We passed this wonderful section of old city wall dating from the 13th century.

Ian went back to his engine stuff and I went to the supermarket.  On my list was a female plug so Ian could make an extension lead for when he has work to do on the deck that requires power.  We had all the other bits, just lacked the female plug.  Well, we now have an extension lead with 3 females at the end because all I could find in the local supermarket was a 1.5m extension lead with a triple plug on the end.  Maastricht may be a beautiful town, but where we are is most definitely tourist territory.  The average Joe Soap tourist does not require the kind of stuff that we do!

When I got back Shaun insisted that it was time to go and sample the local beers.  Found a place that did umpteen different kinds of beer, and chips with mayonnaise.  Done deal, except I don't like beer so had fizzy water instead. And don't ask me what beers the other had, not my area of expertise!

On the way we passed this interesting "waterport" apparently a gate in the city wall for barges to unload, dating also from the 13th century.

Tonight Ian and I had a little barbie all on our own: some local sausage, which was really good, and a pork chop each, plus a rice thingamy with stir-fry veg and salad.

Maastricht

Last night we had a barbecue, the first one with our new Weber 120Q.  It was a lovely evening, even though it got a bit chilly later, and it was great to be able to sit on the deck and watch the world go by.

 We broke out the bottle of Port that Jaqui and Clive gave us before we left home and this morning I was moving decidedly slowly!  The day was cold and grey again so Ian slept in.  Being Easter Monday nothing was happening in the world outside, but I was surprised that many shops opened in the afternoon.  Lynn and I went to  Chinese supermarket - wow, how I wish we had one of those in Horta.  What an array of exotic oriental sauces, mixes and spices.

Then Ian and I went to buy a small rechargeable handheld vacuum cleaner.  There was an ordinary house vacuum cleaner on board but I could only use it when we connected to shore power.  Seeing we don't expect that to happen too often I wanted some other means of cleaning the carpets, besides brushing with a small hand broom which is what I have been doing till now.

I took this photo of Elle and Njord from across the river.

And here is a close up of big sister and little sister.

Ian had a productive day today.  First he finished the fridge installation which he started yesterday.  Then he got all the solar panels working and now we are getting some really good amps, even when there was no sun this morning there was trickle coming in.  The panels have not been properly mounted yet because we must paint the deck underneath them first, but at least the wiring installation is done.

Next he fixed the lid of the storage box on the foredeck, and he repaired the catch of the hatch above the dinette and galley.

This afternoon another boat came and moored directly in front of us - and it is also called Njord!

Maasbracht to Maastricht - Sunshine!

This is how cruising should always be!  Sunny, clear, crisp, cold when we started off at 8.20 but it warmed up during the day.

We tied up the bikes on the foredeck,

Don't you love the polka dot covers

paid our bill, €30.85 for 3 nights with showers, water and electricty, not as bad as we expected, then headed out onto the Maas River which was running very strongly, lots of current but this time it was in our favour and we got to the Lock 10 minutes before it opened at 9.00.  With not a breath of wind and cheerful sunshine that wasn't a problem.

This is the first trip we have done in tandem with another boat, which just happens to be Ian's sister Lynn and her husband Shaun on their 12m de Ruiter cruiser, Elle.

The signs posts at the junction between the Maas and the Juliana Canal.

The lock at Maasbracht is another monster with an 11.8m rise/fall depending which way you are going.  You do not want to get too close to the gates!

But it has floating bollards - another wonderful piece of lock technology.

 How easy was that!  Also in this lock we did not have to tie up fore and aft so we just had one line mid-ships and didn't have to move it till we let go at the top.  Easy as pie!

It was a long stretch of canal, 42 km from van der Laan marina to the Passantenhaven (or Porte de Plaisance as they are called in France, in English I think it something like Municipal marina.  Whatever, they are free).  We had a second lock, another biggie at 11.3m rise for us, but it was open and we were out the other side in about 20 minutes.

It is not a very exciting canal, high above the surrounding countryside with tall dykes so you cannot see much, but we did see lots of water fowl.

On the top of the dykes were big trees, just beginning to come into leaf, with great big round things growing in them.  At first, from far off, I thought they might be nests, but no, it turned out to be mistletoe.

Ian wanted to do some grinding on the deck, not allowed in marinas because of metal filings falling on other boats, so he did that while I steered.  Then he covered the ground areas in epoxy filler ready to be sanded and painted tomorrow.  It felt a bit strange to have that kind of industrious work going on while we were underway.

Elle was ahead of us on the canal and as the Juliana canal joined up with the Maas River we could see her being caught in the current and swept sideways.  That current must have been running at about 4 knots.

Just 2km down the Maas we tied up in the free marina in Maastricht. 

We had been surprised that there was very little traffic on the canal but put it down to being Easter Sunday.  The tourist trip boats here certainly don't observe that rule, their base is directly opposite us and they are going nonstop.  Fortunately, the river is very wide here so it doesn't worry us.

We tried a new mooring manoeuvre today.  With the strong current and the marina located in the main stream of the river, Ian knew that tying up was going to be tricky so I measured off a length of rope with a loop at the end that would go to a bollard on shore, and it off at the mid-ships cleat, which would become the spring, but I stood on the bow with loop in my rope to bollard thingy and got that on first.  I also had a forward mooring line ready, placed it in the rope to bollard thingy and got that on the same bollard just seconds later.  We were now secured at two points and it was just simple for Ian to get the stern line around a bollard.  All done and dusted, no fuss.  Then Ian jumped ashore and helped Lynn and Shaun with their lines.  They don't have a rope to bollard thingy.  I have no idea what it is called and will take a photo tomorrow.  It is such a wonderful tool I would hate to lose it and would like to get a spare.

Chores, chores and more chores

Chores, chores and more chores. 

When we woke this morning it was raining and bitterly cold again.  That's because we had decided that this morning we were going to move to a free mooring about an hour away.  At about 8.30, as I was having my second cup of coffee, I got a text from Shaun saying "We're not moving today", I replied "Ian hasn't moved at all yet".  It was definitely a day to stay curled up in bed in your jim-jams, but I was already up and fully dressed at 7.00! 

Nothing of great interest to write about - for me anyway.  I'm sure Ian would have a great deal to say.  Today he started installing the 2 solar panels that were waiting for us when we arrived.  Quite a big job, took most of the day. 

At about 10.30 I ventured out to the showers, a 5 minute walk in wind and rain, to find the lady's showered occupied by a man and women, married I presume!, so I trudged all the way back again, just as dirty as I was when I left.  I didn't feel like waiting around outside in the cold and rain.  About an hour later the sun came out and put a smile on our faces.  And my second attempt at a shower was much more successful.

This afternoon we put up the bimini for the first time.

Then Ian and I went by bicycle into town to buy some new gumptious great big round ball fenders for the four "corners" (one on each side foreward and one on each side aft) for when we go into locks.  We also went to the supermarket and bought some chicken portions, pork chops and salad because we are planning to have a barbecue tomorrow evening when we get to Maastricht.  Yes, we are leaving tomorrow, it is supposed to be cold and clear in the morning and sunny and warm later.

We had a lovely sunset tonight.  Here is a photo with Elle, Lynn and Shaun's boat, in the foreground and Njord just behind it.  Both with bicycles already on deck.

And here is my bike. 

Love it.  It is a Pro-Rider E-Wayfarer.  They fold up really small and are very light to get on and off the deck.  After reading a lot of good reviews about it we bought one on Ebay and had it delivered to our home in the Azores to try it out before buying a second one.  We were so impressed we did indeed buy a second one and recommended them to Lynn and Shaun who had spent almost as much on normal bikes but Lynn, with crook knees, was having a hard time.  So on Ian's say so, they also bought two and love them just as much as we do.  They are not cheap but well worth the price.   Feeling that they should have a waterproof cover of some kind we have bought two plastic table cloths to cover them when on deck.   I was very proud of myself going all the way to the shops and back, about 6 km or so, even though I did need Ian there for moral support! Now I know I can do it I won't need a guiding hand next time.

This evening it got really cold again because it's clear and we turned on the Eberspacher heater.  What a wonderful piece of kit!  But the charger wouldn't kick in.  Ian sat and scratched his head.  The power was still coming out of the batteries and not from the charger.   He waited a while, turned it on and off, disconnected it from shore power, still nothing.  So he gave it a thump with his fist and, Eureka, it worked!  The bigger the problem, the bigger the hammer?

We fired up our National Luna Fridge for the first time (made in South Africa, designed to be used as medical fridges in outback areas and were adopted by the 4x4 community to use in the bush.  Rugged. Good insulation).  Another wonderful piece of kit, it draws almost no power.   The temperatures are supposed to rise to 18C next week so we can no longer keep our meat, cheese and salad veg in the cupboard.

At van der Laan marina - Chores

We went out for dinner last night with Lynn and Shaun - like proper people!  Fabulous Greek restaurant.  They are staying in a B&B for a couple of nights and took two bags of our laundry and got it washed and dried there as if it were theirs.  Good thing I forgot to put the tea towels and bedding in the bags!  We went to an open air market in the town square in the afternoon and we asked  a few people where we could find a laundry and, well, there isn't one in this town!  The sheets, etc, can wait a few days till we get to Maastricht but we were running out of clean clothes.

Today: chores.  But, as fast as Ian crossed one off the list another was added to the bottom - so what's new?

However, one was pretty serious.  He opened up the foreward bilge to store something and it was full of water.  It had been dust dry in Rotterdam - so where was the leak?  In our sailing days we would taste the water to see if it was salty or fresh water to start the elimination process but that doesn't work in fresh water canals.

We removed about 50 litres, a sizeable amount of water!  Once the water was out Ian took a look at the water tank and fittings and noticed that the pump was very wet, turned on a tap and it sprayed water in every direction.  I was down in the dumps, where could we get a new water pump?  "Here"said Ian and reached for one that arrived in the box yesterday!  And he tells me he has a spare for the spare.

But we discovered that this boat has no bilge pump!  How can anyone build a boat without a bilge pump!  Fortunately, a couple of those arrived in the box yesterday too, and we found out that today, Good Friday, all commercial shops are open at least half day.  How strange, but lucky for us.  We went shopping for skin fittings, pipe, etc, so that Ian can fit a bilge pump during the next week.  Yet another chore added to the list.

I took this picture of the seriously impressive travel hoist here, which is operated remotely by a little hand-held black box!

Now that our electric bikes have arrived it is time for me to learn how to ride a bike again - after more years than I care to remember.  Well, actually I am so old now that I can't remember!  Urrrm, I was very wobbly to start with but I went for a 10 minute ride on public roads, didn't fall off and didn't hit anything.  Hoorrrray!