Deinze to Kortrijk

26 kms, 2 lift bridges, 2 locks

We were up early, beautiful sunshine, no wind, but we had to wait for a printing shop to open.  At the weekend we received, by email, the contract for the marina we want to leave the boat at when we go home in the summer.  We had to print it out, sign it, scan it and email it back.   We found a print shop that could do that but it was closed yesterday and only opened at 9.30 this morning.  It took all of 10 minutes; back on the boat I sent the email off to the marina in Roanne.  Hooray, our marina is all sorted till the end of May next year.

We set off at 9.50, through the lift bridge with a cheery wave from the lady lockie.

Out on the big wide Leie River it was not too warm (11^o) and we were well wrapped up.

It was a pleasure to be back in Big Commercials World, especially now that we have Boat Beacon so we can see them coming before the we can see them, if you know what I mean.  There certainly were a lot of them.

Boat Beacon shows us as purple and lots of green commercial barges

Two barges heading towards us, one overtaking the other, and a third disappearing around the bend.

2 locks today, both biggies. The first one was 136m long. As we approached the lock keeper called us to tell us to enter first and tie up right at the front, a barge would come in behind us.  Boat Beacon told us that the boat immediately behind us was 105m long and behind that was an 80m barge.  We tied up right in the very front, 5m at most from the lock gates, the longer barge stopped before entering the lock and the smaller one joined us.  Whew!

At the second lock we had to wait because it was already busy bringing a load of barges down.  It is 185m long but when the gates opened it might have been the Tardis, the barges just kept coming out of it.  There were 4 big barges (including a 105 footer) and a tug. 

And then there was just our little 9m Njord going upstream, we had the whole 185m all to ourselves.

We tied up in Kortrijk (under a low bridge, we had to drop the bimini and mast) at 14.20.  

There used to be a harbour master here but he died about a year ago.  Apparently there is a new harbour master but he lives on a barge at the opposite end of the town, and the local lady we spoke to said she is not sure if he is there now. Meanwhile the water and electricity was open, so we plugged in and took leisurely showers.  Let’s see if he comes by tomorrow morning to collect his dues.

Another day in Deinze

Nothing interesting to report today.  It was cold, windy and miserable.  Ian went to Aldi and bought some more of the led lights he installed yesterday because I like them so much I want them under my wall mounted kitchen cupboards.  And I did some sewing, adjusting the curtains that I made last year.

Deinze to ..... Deinze

3 km, 2 lift bridges

Sometimes you forget what day of the week it is, and sometimes you forget to check that locks on a particular waterway are open 7 days a week.

This morning we set off bright and early (9 o clock), took down the bimini and windows to pass under the lift bridge at Deinze, because it is Sunday and the bridge keeper does not work on Sundays.  

Lowering the windows

Minimum air draught

Here comes the bridge...

...and coming out the other side

Other side of the bridge we put windows and bimini up again and I decided to do a quick check on PCNavigo to find that we would only arrive at our destination tomorrow!  Why?  Because it is Sunday and the locks on the Leie River are closed on Sunday.  Oh.  About turn, drop the bimini (not the windows, we noticed we could get under the bridge without lowering them), back under the bridge and tied up at our old spot half an hour after we left!

As a matter of fact, we had originally intended to stay here today after the long slog yesterday, but the forecast tells us that tomorrow the weather is going to be awful, cold and very windy, so we decided to move today and stay put tomorrow.  Well, now we will just stay put for two days!

A day off gives us time to do some work.

I spent the day route planning (very arduous!) and Ian installed the lights he bought yesterday.

Taking the ceiling down - not so easy

Job done (in the saloon)

Trial run.....

and second job done!

The main thing about the new lights is that they are LEDs.  The old lights chomped 1 amp and the new ones just 0.1 amp.  And they are brighter, we can make them dimmer (when required on romantic "date nights") and give a warmer, more pleasing light.

Charts and cruising guides everywhere

It was a beautiful day today, warm and sunny with not even a vesper, a good afternoon for a long brisk walk (or cruising from one town to another if the locks were open).

Bruges to Deinze

49.5 kms, 1 lock, 8 mobile bridges

We didn’t intend going far today.  We had a leisurely start which included a trip to Lidl to buy a pair of pyjamas for me and Ian bought some new LED lights for the dinette and saloon (with an automatic dimmer built in – supposed to be for over counter lighting in a kitchen), nice warm white colour.

At 10.30 I called Kruispoort Central to ask when we could start our journey through Bruges and he said “When you are ready” so we left right away.  

The magnificent Scheepsdalebrug.   Closed....

....and open.

We were the only boat moving in the whole of Bruges! As we approached each mobile bridge they were ready for us long before we got there.  At the lock, the lovely lady lock keeper took our lines and stayed to chat as the lock filled.  Turned out we had friends in common in Diksmuide, one of whom worked as a lock keeper with her a few years ago.

Exiting the Dammepoort lock in Bruges

One of the four windmills alongside the canal

And another

Kruispoort, one of the ancient gateways into the city

The warmer than usual weather has got the buds popping into life...

...and the bluebells too

Another bicycle race

Things ran so swiftly that we completed the “tour” of Bruges in less than an hour; it has taken over 2 hours in the past. 

But that all came to a grinding halt at Steenbruge where we were informed that a commercial was coming from the opposite direction and we would have to wait for it to arrive.  So we tied up and waited – it appeared an hour later. 

Tied up securely to the canalside as a very big commercial comes through the bridge.  Please note my new high-viz and extremely warm new jacket!

That was the only delay and before 14.00 we were at the Beernem yacht club where we were intending to stop, but seeing it was still early we decided to keep going to Deinze, 30 kms away. 

Ducklings!  This early in the year?

Into the Leie River and lots of commercial traffic

But now we have a new app that shows us where we and they are.  We are in purple at the top, the commercials are in green and red (a tanker).

As the afternoon wore on the wind turned to the NE, freshened, and it got a whole lot colder.  We were more than ready to tie up for the night when we arrived a little before 18.00. 

A couple of drinks later, and with the Eberspacher diesel  raising the temperature from glacial to tropical, we are happy as pigs in …blankets!

Ian’s latest project: installing new batteries.  

Forgive me if this does not make sense, mostly when he starts talking batteries my eyes glaze over and I retreat into a zombie-like state.  But I gather these are LiFe P0 somethings and all 8 of them have to be charged to exactly the same amount before they can be installed.  They are tiny, weigh next to nothing and will replace our two enormous old batteries, making space for an extra water tank.

Nieuwpoort to Scheepsdalebrug, Brugge

35km, 1 lock, 7 lift bridges

This morning when we left the marina in Nieuwpoort, it was heavily overcast, seeming to be not yet fully light although it was 8.30 and the sun rises before 7.00.  It was also misty, but not so cold (9^o, the warmest morning we have had so far).

Early morning mist

The Nieuwpoort-Plassendale Canal has 5 lift bridges, and in an attempt to lessen the disruption to road traffic and bunch pleasure craft into convoys, the first bridge at each end only opens once every two hours.  There was a commercial barge travelling just ahead of us and as it approached the bridge, way before 9.00, we noticed that the bridge had been activated.  We rushed to catch up to it and I called the lock keeper, but he told us we had to wait 15 minutes until 9.00.  Oh well, you can’t win them all.  Unfortunately, he then seemed to forget about us so I had to call again!

30 minutes later....

Lovely Leffinger village

They even have their flower baskets out early, pity the pic was into the "sun", the flowers are johnny-jump-ups.

A salt mountain. The company's slogan in "Your salt solution"!

Do you need a pallet. There are quite a few here.

Urrm, a little TLC required

Just a tiny section of the "art works" outside a house.

Around 11 o’clock the mist started to lift and the sun struggled into view.  By mid-day we were basking beneath a clear sky and the temperature had shot up to 17^o!

As we approached the free pontoon at Oudenburg, which we have stopped at many times before, we noticed a lot of police and officials at every road junction, then police motorbikes with flashing lights came by, but in no particular hurry, then a car flying huge red flags - and the penny dropped: there must be a bicycle race coming our way.  Indeed there was, and there must have been upward of 100 riders all going hell for leather in a big peloton.  They shot by so fast that by the time I got my camera out I had missed all the action! Apparently it is an annual international event called the Handzame Classic.

As we trundled along the Gent-Oostende Canal towards Bruges we passed a British pleasure cruiser heading the opposite direction – so we are not the only ones who like to start cruising early in the season.

The Plassendale Lock dates from the 16th century.  Note the clear blue skies!

The amazing and entertaining Stalhille bridge.

At 14.15 we stopped at the pontoon at Scheepsdalebrug on the outskirts of Bruges.  The main reason to stop here is because there is a huge pet shop and we need a new cat flap.  Yes, really!

The pontoon at Scheepdalebrug - only one cleat! 

Proof: the new cat flap (even though it has a small dog on the box!)

Diksmuide: arrival and departure

On Saturday 16^th March, at 7.45 on a cold, rainy and windy morning, as our train pulled into the station at Diksmuide we were dreading the slog from the station to the boatyard with two heavy aluminium boxes and who should we see but Thijs from Buitenbeentje waiting to transport us to our boat. 

And there she was, Njord, looking a trifle sad and dirty after a winter on dry land, but it was not long before we had the covers off, bicycles etc, out and the gas turned on so we could get some warmth going.

Fortunately, that is the only rainy day we have had so far.  The wind and clouds disappeared, the sun shone and it was a pleasure to be able to ride around by bike without layers of jackets, scarves, hats and gloves. However, the thermometer plunged at night to very low single figures, how lucky we are to have such a warm comfortable boat.

Tuesday was launch day and Njord was back in the water before 9 a.m. and we spent a couple of nights at the Ijzervaarders club while waiting for a delivery of new batteries.

The first boats were launched soon after 7.00

On the move

Going up.....

...and down, safely.

Killing time is good for spending money and not much else!  We have acquired two new jackets (one each) and managed to overload the boat with food and booze – the waterline has all but disappeared!

March 21^st

Not such great weather today: dry and calm but heavily overcast and a bit nippy. Expecting the batteries would arrive today I dashed to the laundry this morning (probably the last opportunity I’ll get for the next two weeks or so!).  We moved Njord to the services dock and filled up with water (cost the grand total of 90 cents) and then we tied up at Buitenbeentje’s dock awaiting the delivery of the batteries (which was promised before 18.00).  They arrived at 14.30, still early enough for us to get to Nieuwpoort  today so by 15.00 we were on our way. 

18 kms, 1 lift bridge, 1 lock

Goodbye Diksmuide

How sad we are to say goodbye to the Ijzervaarders and Buitenbeentje  -  they have been our family in Belgium since 2015.  But we are moving further afield now in our exploration of the French canals and decided over the winter that it is time to find a marina further south.  We have secured a berth in Roanne so that is where we are heading; we have about 12 weeks to get there.

It was barely 12 degrees when we set off, but thankfully flat calm and dry.

We arrived at Westhoek Marina at 17.45, (10 degrees C)and were stoked with the new jackets which proved to be gratifyingly warm.