Monday 26th April 2004 Den Bosch to Arkel. Crossing the Rhine (Waal)

Below lock 0 Den Bosch (Pictures from 2005)

8.5° C Warm and sunny all day. Up early at 7 a.m. Mike took a walk down to the lock to drop off the rubbish and talk to the lock keeper. He didn’t speak English, but said we could go through the lock at 9.00 a.m. - we could have got up at our normal time! There had been several boats up and down first thing and one was coming up in the chamber. He had to wait - they don’t lift the bridges during peak road traffic time, between 8.30 and 9.00 a.m. We moved down to the lock. An empty called Stella-Duce arrived and moored opposite us. Mike went to chat to Bill.

New flood gates. Heusdens kanaal (Pictures from 2005)

The boat coming up in the lock was the French pusher pair called Rolibert 1 & 2 we’d last seen at Abbécourt in France. They waved. Animo, which had been moored at Den Bosch all weekend, had moved off and was now vying for locking position with Stella-Duce alongside us, as the pusher left the lock. We followed the two of them into the chamber. Stella had pole position and went for the water hose on the left hand side of the chamber, we hung on the wall behind him and Bill brought Rosy alongside us. The lock emptied slowly as always.

Wilhelmina lock (Pictures from 2005)

We followed the two commercials out at 9.35 a.m. down the narrow channel through the town. They had to wait for the liftbridges to be raised, so we had to hover behind them. The keeper dropped the bridges as the big boats cleared and we went under the lowered spans with plenty of headroom with our masts down. A small Dutch cruiser, called Lucky Duck, steered by one woman and her Sheltie dog, was waiting to go uphill at the end of the narrow section. The quays on the river Dieze were busy with boats unloading. Three loaded péniches were on the waiting quay, Sequens from Ampsin B, Secunda NL, Triade NL plus a 50m called Rina. 

Wilhelmina lock (Pictures from 2005)

It was 10.30 a.m. when we arrived at Engelen lock. The two commercials were waiting for the lock and a small cruiser was with them. A sand barge The-An II and Wilhelmina (also loaded) left the lock and the two big boats went in and moored opposite one another in the wide chamber. The cruiser (British and single handed by the looks of it) was entering on the right to go behind the shorter boat Animo, but the keeper on the left hand side called him over to the left which meant he turned right directly in front of our bows causing Mike to do a hard reverse emergency stop,

Cable ferry at Veen Andelse Maas

 

he was not at all happy about it! We moved over to the right and hung on the wall behind Animo with Rosy alongside us to descend the two metre fall. The guy on the British cruiser didn’t acknowledge our presence in the slightest! Mike put the pins in to run the generator as we ran down the last of the Dieze and I put the washer on. Had a digestive biscuit with our cuppa as we turned on to the tidal (but not much) Maas, heading downstream. I photographed the new floodgates across the beginning of the Heusden canal. Did a second load of washing as we continued along the arm linking the Maas to the Waal. The boat had a bubble bath as we passed over an aeration pipe. 

Masted tjalks moored at Workum (Pictures from 2005)

Made lunch as Mike dodged several busy cable ferries. Several cruisers overtook us. Amazing what a bit of warm sunshine brings out! We had a short wait by Wilhelmina lock while a cruiser-styled Dutch barge came down the 5 cms rise in the lock. We went in and threw a rope on a bollard on the huge wooden baulks in the sloping sided lock chamber and we rose 5 cms on to the Afgedamde Maas, the last bit of calm water before the Waal. A cruiser coming towards us ran along the left hand bank and then dropped anchor. A bit further towards the junction and we came across several boats who had also anchored in the Maas while they ate lunch and/or sunbathed. 

A well loaded boat overtaking on the Waal (Pictures from 2005)

One very large speedboat cruiser had exiled their two matching pooches into the inflatable tied at their stern. Another masted yacht arrived and also dropped anchor. The ferry had just arrived at Workum (proper name Woudrichem) and was unloading passengers as we set off across an unusually very calm and quiet branch of the mighty Rhine. I had the video camera connected up to 12v and the stills camera at the ready and was a bit disappointed to find there was very little wash and so few boats moving (we must have just caught a lull - or perhaps Monday is a good day for crossing the Waaal?) that we had an unhindered passage straight across from the Maas right over to the far bank. 

Wash from passing traffic (Pictures from 2005)

Only about half a dozen boats overtook and went past on the other side as we ran down the 3 kms to turn right into the basin before the lock at Gorkum (otherwise known as Gorichem – roughly pronounced Horicum). An excellent, if dull, crossing. 
The Merwedesluis was empty with the gates open, so Mike called on VHF and we went in then rose a couple of inches off the tidal Waal on to the Merwede canal. We got into the lock under the lower end liftbridge, but the keeper had to lift the bridge over the top end gates for us to get out. Passed through lines of moored boats and houseboats on the canal before turning right on to the river Linge, ducking under the vertical lift bridge. 

Bill steering Rosy on the Waal (Pictures from 2005)

There had been a lot of building work going on, factories had been demolished and new houses and flats built since we were last here. More and more little boats were moored along the banks of the little river. We moored at Arkel at 3.50 p.m. with the whole mooring to ourselves. It was very warm and still sunny. Mike got the BBQ out and lit it. I cooked some spuds and wrapped them and marinaded some chicken in a peanut sauce to make satays. Mike wasn’t keen as the chicken was cooked in no time - it took much longer to light the charcoal than to cook the whole meal! It was tasty though. Bill brought his dinner over to eat outside with us and we had a few beers with it. We sat out watching the birds - ducks, coots and grebe plus a pair of Canada geese and Egyptian geese. 

Merwedesluis at Gorichem (Pictures from 2005)

A white stork flew over. Fanny went in the water at the bottom of the dyke when Mike threw sticks for her - it was smelly so Bill threw her in the river which she didn’t like as she had trouble getting out over the wooden edging. Later he tried to get her to fetch a stick out of the river but she wouldn’t jump in. Several groups of doggie walkers went past and kids in power boats went stooging up and down until quite late in the evening. Grebes were stealing a coot’s nesting material to build their own nest right next door. A pochard flew down the river and paddled back up again. The mossies came out so I lit a mossie candle - which had no effect, so I searched out some mossie repellent spirals that burned like joss sticks. They had little effect too and there were clouds of them hovering over the boat. The grebes were sleeping, sitting still on the water, beaks buried in their feathers while the coots stole the nesting material back that the grebes had pinched from them earlier. Gave up at 9.30 pm and went in to watch TV. 

Photos from 2005 - the return trip - please note that the boats are facing the wrong direction in these pictures! Sorry not many pix from 2004 pre-digital days.

Sunday 25th April 2004 Den Bosch. Day off for F1 racing on TV

A cooler 5.6° C overnight. A fine sunny day. Mike was up first and I got a cup of tea in bed! He put the Mac on and continued to do the circuits he’d promised for Peter. Lunch. Bill’s engine had chewed up the rubber they’d put underneath the wooden block to make a fifth engine support to reduce the vibration. Mike watched the Formula One Grand Prix from Imola in Italy. Schumacher won again, but Jensen Button came second. At 4.15 p.m. after the racing had finished Mike put the moped in the boot of the car and went to deposit the car at Arkel and came back on the bike. It was 6.30 p.m. when he returned. After dinner he put the computer on again and finished off the circuit diagrams.

Saturday 24th April 2004 Den Bosch. A day off to do some shopping.

7.6° C A mild night. Sunny spells. The Albert Hein was small, but had everything we needed. Bill wanted to look around the shops, so we loaded the shopping in the car and went back upstairs. The shopping centre lead on to the main town square and Bill was going to have a walk around town as he was having trouble with the new T-Mobile ‘phone chip he’d bought. We just went into Blokker where I got Mike a pack of shoe laces for one Euro (he’d paid 2,50 plus for a pack of two in France!) Back to the boat, packed the groceries away and had some lunch. Mike went for nap - he’d said we’d go for a walk around the town later! When he recovered consciousness it was too late to go for a walk, so he started work on drawing some electronic circuits on the computer as he’d promised to do them and send them to Peter. I made a cheesecake - we’d bought some digestive biscuits (can’t get them in France, or Belgium) We had “tree trunks” (a tasty Dutch speciality sausage coated in cheesy crumbs) with chips for dinner.

23rd April 2004 Aarle-Rixel to Den Bosch.

Preserved crane near Beek en Donk (photos from 2005)

A sunny morning. Put the pins in to run the Markon generator and do some washing and the ironing as we were moving. A large cruiser, moored towards the liftbridge, set off just before we did at 9.00 a.m. He turned right at the crossroads and went towards Maasbracht. We waited for a couple of loaded boats (one with sand, the other a container boat) to cross from the Wilhelmina, also heading for Maasbracht, before we went straight across the junction, continuing down the Zuid-Willemsvaart for s’Hertogenbosch (the Duke’s woods) - shortened to Den Bosch (the woods). 

Rosy and an empty on the Zuid Willemsvaart  (photos from 2005)

Mike called the central control at Helmond lock to operate the lift bridge at Beek en Donk, which worked right away. We arrived at lock 5 at 9.30 a.m. It was full and the gates were just opening, so we were in and down in minutes. The washing had been put on pause while we went through the lock, so as soon as we had cleared it I switched it back on and did the ironing. The first load of washing finished as we arrived at lock 4. We had a short wait while a loaded spitz called Adonia came up, then we went down. The keeper went off on his scooter to lift the liftbridge a few hundred metres below his lock. 

Lock 5's square chamber.  (photos from 2005)

We waited for Jolanda to clear the bridge, the keeper dropped it for the road traffic and then lifted it again for us. Traffic on the canal was busy as we approached Veghel. Bill was in front, so Mike suggested to him that he turned and reversed into the arm and we did likewise, mooring alongside Rosy while we both took on water from the hose under the steel plates. (Mike had been pleasantly surprised that there was no padlock on the plates, we think the water point was put there for the commercials, but as no signs said only for commercials we helped ourselves). 

Railway lift bridge at Veghel (photos from 2005)

We just had time to water up before a commercial which had just finished unloading started reversing down the arm towards us - we quickly got out of his way. While we were filling up the washing machine conveniently finished so Mike had taken the pins out and I had handed Bill his clean washing before we set off again. Well timed. We ate lunch on the way down to the next lock. We were overtaken by an empty called Disponibel, then another uphill went past and another empty, called San Fransico, overtook us - a lovely shaped hull - it went by with hardly a ripple. 

Lock 0 at Den Bosch  (photos from 2005)

The two which had overtaken us were waiting above lock 3, as they’d caught up with others that were now dropping down in the big lock. We hung on the wall above the lock in the area designated for “Sport” boats. When the lock refilled we went down with the two big boats, sitting opposite San Fransico with Rosy behind us. The wind picked up and it went chilly as we ran down into Den Bosch. We passed Aruba, a 60m empty, heading uphill as the canal narrowed. Another boat was fast catching us up as we waited for the next liftbridge to raise, then we passed three loaded boats in a row coming towards us. As we were approaching the city, a Campina milk tanker boat overtook us and then blocked our path as he winded to reverse to the other dairy mooring (the other big Campina dairy is in the arm at Veghel). It was 3 p.m. when we slotted in between a tug and an empty pan and an empty called Animo. After dinner we went out in the car to locate a supermarket to get groceries next day. After several unsuccessful circuits of the city, Mike parked and asked someone. The nearest to the basin was located left at the third set of traffic lights in a new shopping complex called Arena, where there was also an underground car park. Very useful.

Photos from 2005 again. Please don't forget you can look at where the boat was moored by clicking on "location" and clicking "satellite" view.

Thursday 22nd April 2004 Nederweert to Aarle-Rixel.

Lock 13, rebuilt as a standard lock chamber,
remotely operated from Helmond lock
(picture from 2005)

Heavy rain at dawn. Mike went to find the Post Office at 8.10 a.m. It didn’t open until 9.00 a.m. and they were late! It cost 2,44€ to post our survey, etc, off to Mike Stimpson for our boat insurance. Mike stood on the bridge to watch for traffic while Bill backed Rosy out of the passantenhaven, then Bill went to the bend to keep watch for traffic while we untied and backed out. Bill followed us through the summit cutting to lock 13 on the Zuid Willemsvaart. Mike called the lock control at Helmond on VHF channel 18. Locks 13 and 11 had been rebuilt and were remotely operated by the keepers at Helmond lock on the new ringvaart. 

Above lock 12 (picture from 2005)

The keeper answered in Dutch, Mike repeated that we were above lock 13, he understood and he set the lock for us, we went in and the lock gently emptied. The new lock was parallel-sided, standard style of modern lock chamber (the old brick-built/metal pile chambers were double width for 65m boats with offset gates, ie first boat in moves over to face the exit gates preserving the order of “first in, first out”) with concrete walls and an excessive (in our opinion) fourteen bollards each side and it had cameras on tall poles at each end of the chamber. 

The square chamber and offset gates of lock 12 (picture from 2005)

The lock keepers’ cottages had been demolished. Lock 12 was as it had always been, except they’d added a row of large dolphins down the left hand side for the 65m boats to tie to. We changed plan and went on the right hand wall at the downhill end and Bill brought Rosy in behind us, nudging the fenders and getting more of our creosote on his name panel. The keeper wasn’t amused at Bill letting Fanny off on his lockside for a peepee and told him we must take our masts down and go under the liftbridge. An uphill empty called Labor went past, its skipper waving like a loony (I think we’d seen him somewhere before!). 

Mike and Bill chatting to the keeper (picture from 2005)

Lock 11 was full with red lights on. The gates started to close, so Mike called on VHF and the gates reopened and we went in and down. At that lock they’d made a new chamber but kept the two keepers’ houses on the lockside. It was 12.05 as we left the lock. Corma was at the sand quay below the lock. I went indoors to make lunch, it was ready just as we arrived at lock 10 (still as it it was, not rebuilt yet). An empty had just come up, so we reversed places this time in the square chamber, tucking into the uphill corner and letting Rosy have the downhill end of the wall. The keeper never left his cabin and raised the liftbridge even though we’d taken our masts down. (Perhaps he doesn’t like road traffic?) 

Lock 12 bottom end gates and dolphins (picture from 2005)

We ate our lunch as the canal widened out before the start of the ringvaart (ring canal) around Helmond. An uphill Dutch cruiser went past, videoing us as it went by. Mike could see notices on the moorings at Helmond above lock 9 at the southern end of the old canal, but they were too far away to read - he said he’d take a look when he goes back to get the car. (It was just the number to ‘phone to get lock 9 worked to access the town wharves or the canal to Eindhoven). A large container-carrying boat was unloading at the container port mooring. Two boats were coming uphill in Helmond lock, an empty called Marian and a loaded boat. They left and we went down. A loaded sand boat, Niman, was moored at the end of the lock waiting quay. 
The wind picked up as we went along the wide canal. 
It was chilly and caused us to put our jackets on. The skipper of a small Dutch yacht, called Blue One, coming towards us was wearing a tee-shirt, no coat - I think we must have been getting acclimatised to warmer southern climes! Round a left hand bend, then we turned left at the crossroads with the Wilhelminakanal and moored next to a new section of wooden bank fendering with posts, which was so new that there was still wood shavings and sawdust everywhere, in the northern end of the old canal through Helmond. It was 3 p.m. 

Lift bridge at lock 12 (picture from 2005)

There were two large cruisers and a couple of yachts moored nearer the disused liftbridge. Mike got the moped off the roof with Bill lending a hand. He went off to collect the car and transfer it to Den Bosch. I made some dinner while he was away. There had been heavy showers and Mike was wet when he returned on the moped. I put my waterproofs on and went to help him get the bike back on the roof using a plank. Peter sent a text to ask us to try out his new L shaped antenna which he’d made up from a diagram in Practical Wireless. He didn’t hold out much hope - he said the bands sounded dead. Mike loaded up on 40m and they had a two hour contact - the longest yet! And the signals didn’t fade away, Peter had to sign off as he was it was getting late and he was being nagged!

Photos are from the return journey in 2005 - hence boats facing the wrong way - going uphill instead of downhill!

Wednesday 21st April 2004 Panheel to Nederweert.

7.7° C overnight. Sunny spells with great grey clouds. Mike took Bill with him to collect our post from Heel. Bill’s post had arrived, so had Bill’s books from Peter, but ours from Glyn hadn’t arrived. Mike picked up some bread from the C1000 in Heel and came back to the boat to collect the moped, put it in the back of the car and went to check out the mooring in the passantenhaven in Nederweert. Meanwhile I got on with my chores and polished the parquet. He left the car at Nederweert, came back on the moped and we stowed it back on the roof. 

Passantenhaven Nederweert in 2013

Mike had tried ringing Glyn from a call box, but his ‘phone was engaged - on the ‘net? (he used dial-up way back then) Tried ringing him using our new ‘phone, this time he answered, so we gave him our new ‘phone number and asked when he’d posted our parcel - yesterday! Waah! He said he’d got Mike’s message so he had waited for the insurance to arrive (last Friday) and then, as there had been no call from us, he waited. He didn’t get Mike’s call when he cursed Glyn’s answerphone for taking all the money off his ‘phonecard. It would take a week to get here if Peter’s post was anything to go by. 

Passantenhaven Nederweert in 2013

Mike ‘phoned the lady at the post office in Heel and asked her to divert the parcel to Viannen for us. She was OK, understood what we wanted and wrote down where we wanted it to be sent to. She had told Bill earlier that she keeps poste restante mail for one month, as per the European norm (Mike said except for France! They send it back if it’s not collected within after seven days!) It was midday when we set off. I made a cuppa and tried sending a text to Peter to say thanks for sending the books for Bill. It failed and I lost the message four times, but succeeded on the fifth try! Had lunch on the move. Clouds of tiny black mossies were an irritating nuisance, but didn’t bite. Muck spreading on the adjacent fields was giving off some really bad smells in places, welcome to Holland! One empty commercial overtook us and we passed several boats going in the opposite direction on the summit pound. Where the canal widened just before the junction with the Zuid-Willemsvaart there were several tufted ducks. We turned into the passantenhaven at Nederweert, 

Duck and ducklings 2013

Bill followed us in and we’d got most of our ropes in place before the first empty went past like a train, with a small speed boat cruiser bouncing like a cork in its wash. It was 2.30 p.m. Mike went to get some petrol for the moped and paid 1,21€ (85p) a litre - that’s the most expensive yet. Not long ago (in France) it was less than a Euro. When he came back we went for a walk into Nederweert to use the ‘phonebox. Called Yvonne to give her the new number and then I called Mike Stimpson to see if the insurance quote he did for us in January was still good. Yes, and he said he would call us back later once he’d found our file. We spotted a camera shop which was selling birthday cards - five for 2 Euros, so we got ten. We’d been paying 2,50€ each! Checked the price of photocopying - the supermarkets charged 5c, so when we got back to the boat I gave Mike the sheet to copy for our proof of no claims bonus to send to Mike Stimpson. He came back with some tomatoes, a packet of oxtail soup and a tin of green pea and ham soup. Mike Stimpson ‘phoned back to say that all was OK; we could send him the paperwork, he’d ring us back next week with the price and we could pay by card over the ‘phone. Great! Told him our surveyor was a friend of David Blagrove’s. 

Tuesday 20th April 2004 Eijsden to Panheel.

Limmel flood gates at the start of the Julianakanaal
(picture from 2005)

We were up at 7 a.m. ready to leave at 8 a.m. It was sunny after 4.1° C overnight. The lake at Eijsden was very calm with lots of birds on it and around it. An uphill boat went past as we turned right heading downstream on the Maas back towards Maastricht, back through the arched bridge to look at the moored boats on the town quay. We thought from the direction he was steering that a loaded boat was heading for the tanker station, but he veered off back towards the navigation channel as we went toward him. Another empty went past hardly raising a ripple. 

Crane above Born locks

At Itteren bridge a loaded boat called Trinitas hooted as we passed him, then waved. At KP 8 a large square tug Mover 2 had just overtaken a loaded boat called Temptation, 90m x 11.5m capacity 1,598 tonnes, both were heading upstream. The first swallows of the year were skimming the water. The next big tug which went past, Barasca, was making a big hole in the water with his wash on the left hand bank. On the bends at Elsloo we passed Fandango a loaded 65m 800 tonner. Contrans 1 was catching us up and overtook us at the end of the bends as we were passing a moored boat and there were two boats, a loaded and an empty tanker, coming past us heading uphill. Our first Dutch windmill showed the tips of its sails as we went through Urmond. We arrived above Born locks at midday. Mike called the keeper on VHF and he told us to take the middle chamber. A big empty tanker called Isis, 110m x 11m, 2,311 tonnes, was coming up, so we sat and watched what looked like a steam crane with two little tugs unloading a bridge section from a pan above the lock. I took a photo of it surrounded by clouds of steam. All the old wooden baulk fendering above the lock and below had been replaced by new stuff all faced with rubber and painted bright yellow. 

Boats abv Born locks

Mike told Bill to take a floater marked “L” as there were two sorts in the chamber, “L” for low (for loaded boats) and “H” for high (for empties) which all looked the same until the water dropped then the “H” ones stayed two metres above the boat roof! Just the two of us to drop down, with one coming up in the chamber on our right - the left chamber was out of commission. Three more loaded boats were waiting below to go up. 

In Born lock (picture from 2005)

At Illikhaven bridge we passed a tug shoving a platform crane called Albatross. We had lunch whilst travelling. Several boats went past heading uphill. At KP 31 Antisana loaded with stone overtook us, 3 kms before Maasbracht locks. We had a short wait while the container boat Elegance, 110 x 11, 2,200 tonnes, came up, then we went down. Below the lock a tanker called Prinsenland and an empty square fronted barge called Draet-Labora were waiting to go up. The first pair of oystercatchers we’d seen this year went yodelling past us as we crossed the big basin below Maasbracht locks. The basin was busy (as usual) with all sorts of moored craft, bunker ships and retired craft. 

Maasbracht lock (picture from 2005)

We went under the motorway bridge, keeping a careful eye on traffic moving on the river alongside the lock cut, before turning left to cross the Maas and take the Nederweert canal. Slowed off while a Luxe (305 tonnes) craneboat came through the bridge by the gravel loading berth, where two tugs were manoeuvring pans under the loading staithes. A little Luxe with no wheelhouse, called Rival, came out of the little lake below Panheel lock. The skipper asked if we’d come from France - he was going there on five weeks vacation. We wished him the best of luck. The right hand chamber at Panheel was full, so we waited while it emptied and then the two of us went up the deep lock, lifting the rope from bollard to bollard up the wall as the lock filled. It was 4.15 p.m. when we tied up at the end of the high quay wall on the beginning of the piled section next to a grassy bank. The waves from passing traffic weren’t too bad once we’d got all four ropes well secured. We unloaded the moped and Mike went off at 5 p.m. to collect the car from Visé. 

Monday 19th April 2004 Visé to Eijsden.

Below Vise lock (pictures taken in Sep 2005)

6.6° C overnight. Overcast, dull and chilly. We set off at 9.15 a.m. winded and followed Rosy to Visé lock. The waterways workboat had left the moorings earlier so the lock was full, we waited while the keeper emptied it and then we went up. When the lock was full Mike gave Bill the quittances so he could have a look at the ancient lock cabin and all the huge levers, etc for operating the lock. Mike took the rubbish and then helped the two waterways men to get four old tyres out of the lock before we headed out on to the choppy waters of the Albert canal. Bill told us that someone he converses with by E-mail was adamant that we shouldn’t navigate the Albert canal except when it’s quiet on a Sunday! 

Cutting on theAlbert canal abv Lanaye locks. (pictures taken in Sep 2005)

What drivel, obviously someone who knows nothing of narrowboats or the Albert canal. It was 10.15 a.m. A bunkership went past, motoring hard towards Lanaye, and an empty 80m called Jennifer II overtook us as we swung right, also heading for Lanaye. We passed a couple of other commercials heading for Liège as we went along the short length of canal before the deep lock back on to the Meuse. The boat which left Visé before us was sitting in the middle of the canal, holding station for a few minutes, then turning round and going back to the middle - training day? 

Abv Lanaye locks (pictures taken in Sep 2005)

Mike called the keeper at Lanaye on VHF to ask if we should head for the small lock. Yes, OK. It was full and ready for us when we got there. I took the papers to the young man in the lockside cabin, he stamped them and took his copies before handing them back to me for souvenirs. We descended 14m. A deluge of water cascading off the guillotine gate caused Mike to put the brolly up as we left the chamber. One empty was heading for the big lock to go uphill. Very few boats were moored along the lock cut, an empty pan called Champagne and seven tugs (one was a houseboat and one was for sale) were moored by the former customs buildings, plus a couple of old yachts and a few retired commercials. 

Below Lanaye (pictures taken in Sep 2005)

Mike changed the Belgian courtesy flags for the Dutch one as we left the end of the lock cut and joined the river, now we were in the Netherlands the name of the river had changed to the Maas. We passed one pan of sand being pushed by a tug as we went into Maastricht. Plenty of space on the wall to moor between a couple of cruisers. We went through the arched bridge, winded and moored up at 11.40 a.m. Had some lunch then Mike and Bill went into town to get some bread and a new ‘phone chip from the Car Phone House. Mike got a NL Vodaphone and Bill went for a T-Mobile. Ours cost 14,99€ with 5,00€ in credit and a 10€ refund voucher. 

Maastricht museum. (pictures taken in Sep 2005) 

He left Bill in an Internet café and went to the ANWB shop, on the other side of the river, to get a new handbook 16,50€ (£11.55) (Deel 2, which gives details and costs of all the moorings, locks and bridges, etc) plus a new version of Map A, 16,95€ (£11.87) Friesland, which now includes all the Turf Routes. Bill had asked him to get all the maps he needed, but Mike said it would come to over 80€ so he waited until Bill returned and went over to the ANWB shop with him and he bought the first four maps - saying he would buy the rest later. 

Maastricht. (pictures taken in Sep 2005)

Mike went back to the ‘phone shop to make sure we could claim the 10€ credit as we haven’t got a Dutch address - the chap said they credit the money direct to the ‘phone so he put his address on both our cards and posted them. We set off again at 4.30 p.m. heading back upriver to the lake below Lanaye lock near Eijsden. When we tied up at the southern end of the lake there were lots of people out walking. A large notice forbade dogs to wander on the land during the night because of the herds of cattle and horses which graze there. We spotted only a couple of small black woolly cows. The temperature was dropping again so Mike lit the coal fire. 

Pictures taken on return journey in Sep 2005

Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th April 2004 Visé.

Saturday 17th April 2004 Visé.

Rosy moored at Vise (picture taken in 2005)

3.6° C overnight. A sunny day after mist over the river burned away. Mike took a walk into Visé to try the cash machines. The only card which worked was Lloyds! He didn’t get money out with it though. I got on with my chores. When Mike returned from Visé, he and Bill went in the car to get Bill’s gas cylinder refilled. He went in a Fortis bank and, from their inside cash machine, he obtained the first cash from a Belgian bank! Hooray for that! It was a cash machine like no other he’d ever used, it had got a keyboard like a computer and he’d had to ask if it was a cash machine before he used it! Bill bought two containers of cheaper Belgian white diesel to store on Rosy. When they got back we sat outside on the front deck and enjoyed the sunshine for half an hour. 

Egyptian geese at Vise (picture taken in 2005)

I made us all a cup of coffee and we sat chatting with Bill. The local boaters asked all the usual questions as they passed by en route to their boats. They told us that the port is due to be refurbished, with electricity and water posts to be installed next year. Mike went next door to help Bill sort out the problem he was having with his Morse control box, which kept dropping off in power on its own. He added a washer to cause extra friction and that appeared to cure it. He also tried jacking up the engine to see if that would make the vibration less - it did - so now they will have to sort out a permanent solution to the problem before it shakes all the pipes and connections to bits. Mike lit the BBQ for the first time this year. I scrubbed some spuds and we had pork chops and sausages. When we were ready to eat Bill brought his dinner over (he’d cooked enough curry for two meals the day before and said it would go off if he cooked something else on the barbie and left his curry until the next day) and sat outside with us to eat. 

Vise. (picture taken in 2005)

We had a few beers and Bill drank the last of his French red wine. We chatted and got Fanny to collect twigs to make more charcoal. The weather turned as a front advanced, bringing rolling grey clouds, wind and spits of rain. We packed up and retired indoors to watch TV.

Sunday 18th April 2004 Visé.

Glad we decided to stay put over the weekend. First because the weather was rough, grey and very windy, then because Mike discovered a problem with Bill’s exhaust system. I decided to use the excess of eggs we’d got (couldn’t get them all in the ‘fridge door) and made a chocolate chiffon torte. After lunch Mike went to make an extra engine bearer to support Bill’s engine and discovered a break in his exhaust. Out came the welder and Bill set to work making a new flange. Mike said if they hadn’t spotted the break in the exhaust it could have blown apart while Bill was steering and (very probably) flames would have been coming out of the open end! Peter sent an SMS to say he’d made a new antenna for HF but the band appeared to be dead, the weather was dull and wet so he was going out, we’d have a go at trying out the new antenna next day. Mike lit the coal fire as the temperature dropped.

Friday 16th April 2004 Ampsin to Visé.

Cement works at Engis. R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

Sunny and warmer. We were up bright and early at 7.00 a.m. to set off at 8.00 a.m. We went down Ampsin lock on our own, just the two of us in the small lock chamber after Mike had called a harassed sounding keeper on VHF. There must have been some sort of accident in the big lock as he was talking about claim forms and sounded a bit peevish. A German cruiser from Minden heading uphill as we left the lock was the fifth pleasure boat of the year. Mike had put the pins in to run the generator to do some washing as we ran down to Yvoz. We’d been doing an experiment to find out how long the toilet tank took to fill. We’d noticed a pong in the bedroom the day before when the toilet was being pumped, but couldn’t trace any leaks. The tank was full. 

Cockerill-Sambre coking plant at Seraing. R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

Mike lifted the mattress and found there was a leak on the breather pipe on top of the tank and a tiny, smelly puddle. Yuk. He went inside to pump out the tank, while I steered, and noticed black water coming up the drainpipes from the shower and the sink. He switched the washing machine off and unblocked the pipe, which must have been stopped up with gunge from the water where we moored the previous night. This sometimes happens in mucky conditions when the wind is blowing in the right direction (as it was the previous night). Good thing he was inside and spotted it, we could have had a much worse mess! River traffic was getting busier. It always does when I steer through the industrial grotty bits down through Liège. 

Fountain at the junction with R. Ourthe.  R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

We’d got two big boats overtaking us, Feron and Fatima, as we passed three uphill boats, one of which was overtaking the other two, blue boarding on the wrong side of the river, so I went down the middle! Bill followed. It was a bit bouncy for a few minutes. We followed the two loaded boats which had just overtaken us into Yvoz-Ramet lock. They went in on opposite sides of the chamber, so we went opposite Fatima behind Feron and Rosy went behind us. I went up to the cabin to take the quittances to be stamped, passing two armed policemen on the way. I later learned that they’d told the crews of the two commercials to moor with fore and aft lines and to stop turning their props, then they’d gone to chat to Mike and Bill. 

Palais de Congres. Liege.  R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

The commercials hadn’t stopped their props, so one of the cops went back to tell them again. I heard him tell the Dutch crew on Feron who feigned ignorance of French - but they had complied with the first part of his order and attached a stern rope as well as a bow rope as the rules demand. I went inside to sort out the washing and missed the rest of the events. First, the bloke on the bows of Feron got his bow line jammed and the keeper had to come and loose it off for him - but then the keeper dropped it and made no attempt to get it back on the boat - so it fell in the water. Then the woman only just about freed her line before it got jammed as she’d crossed it and got the wrong line on top (it runs freely if you do it the other way round). Then they powered off out of the lock and Fatima followed. Mike had dropped our rope on to a lower bollard as he guessed they were going to go out with full throttle as they’d been told off for not being considerate to others (meaning US!) Bill had taken his rope off the higher bollard, but then couldn’t get it on the lower recessed bollard as it was a cross with each end fixed into the concrete (usually the top is left free so the rope just loops around) and he hadn’t got time to feed his rope through before Fatima sucked Rosy’s stern end against theirs. 

Passerelle Saucy & Pont-des-Arches. Liege.  R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

Bill dashed back to the steering position and powered away from the commercial, but hadn’t got anywhere to go - so he ran into our stern fenders. What a performance! All the fault of the men with guns! Practically ALL commercials sit in the locks on one rope with their props turning to keep them against the walls - we’ve had to learn to live with it. The two Dutch boat crews were not happy about being told they were law-breakers and inconsiderate to other waterway users, as far as they’re concerned at best we’re invisible, at worst we’re a nuisance if we get in their way! Bill’s nerves must have been a-jangling after that experience. 

Pont-des-Arches. Liege.  R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

A Dutch cruiser (N° 6) was heading uphill for the lock as we left it. Shortly after we almost had another disaster when we ran over the rope that Feron had lost. Luckily Mike spotted it in time and took the engine out of gear. He shouted to Bill on VHF, who was following, and he moved over to miss it. The sun was very pleasant as we went through Liège, spotting more and more new buildings, more houseboats on the wall and the lack of a water tap where we used to refill our tanks. At the beginning of the Albert Canal we tied up against one of the small bunker boats and waited while a boat, which had just overtaken us, Aquarius loaded with steel coil, filled up with fuel at the main Neptunia barge. 

Waterside mansion Liege.  R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

When he left we went alongside just as another of their small bunker boats returned to refill his tanks. The guy off the bunker boat came and helped serve us with diesel and water. I thought it was funny when the chap from the chandlery shop spoke to Mike in Flemish and he answered him in French! I paid by card - but wires had got crossed, we’d said beforehand that I’d pay for both by card and the Flemish guy had done individual bills. The price had gone gone up a lot since Antoing. This time we’d only had 140 litres and Bill had had 264 litres. They’d charged us 43c (30p) a litre, while at Antoing (albeit we’d had a discount for having a joint amount of over a tonne) it had cost us only 32.2c (22.5p) a litre. 

Vise.  R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

We had spotted that the price of road fuel had gone up considerably too, with Belgian prices virtually the same now as what we’d been paying in France just before we left. Mike and Bill went for a wander round the chandlery. Bill wanted some chain, but they’d got none. Mike wanted some hand cleaner - they’d got a 3 litre tub with a dispenser on top for 19 Eu, but Mike said he hadn’t got room in the engine room for that, it was too big. Just before we untied, I tried calling Monsin lock and got no reply. Mike called and got a reply, but it was unintelligible, the audio was very bad - as if the keeper was at the bottom of a well. The lock was ready so we went in. Mike tried asking if he wanted to see our quittance. Again the answer was undecipherable, he had to ask him “oui ou non?” He said “s’il vous plaît!” I went up to the new cabin across the tail of the lock. There were two of them, one sprawled in an arm chair - the other one did the paperwork. I told him his radio audio was bad, he said ours was too. I resisted telling him he needed a new radio. Then he asked if we knew that Visé lock was shut. “No, is it permanent?” I asked. He said that we had to notify the keeper before 12 o’clock on a Friday if we wanted to go through the lock on a Saturday or Sunday. I thought that only applied to Sundays. I told him we weren’t in a great hurry, we’d have a weekend’s peace and calm in Visé. 

Haccourt-Vise canal. R Meuse.
(Photo from return journey in Sept 2005)

The wind picked up as we went downstream on the old river Meuse. A mini-tornado whipped up a circle of water as it spun across the surface of the river. On the motorway alongside the river we heard the unmistakable sound of a passing car, towing a caravan and a trailer, having a tyre blow out. Boom, flap, flap, flap. A passing group of nine motorcyclists formed the first “en masse” biker outing we’d seen this year. We turned into the Haccourt-Visé canal, passing more swans, geese, ducks and coots than ever. It’s always been a popular spot for water birds as people (who don’t live there!) come especially to feed them. The only space available (there were more moored boats than ever too, most being small sail or day boats) was in the corner. Someone had left their mooring lines behind. We tied up with Rosy alongside us and Mike went to see if anyone was due back. He spoke to a group of moorers who were sitting outside on the bank enjoying the sunshine and having a drink. The mooring was free, the boat which moored there had left they said - we could have the mooring for a bottle of Scotch! - Mike said if they could find one on our boat he’d share it with them. They were in a very jovial mood. It was 4.25 p.m. As we finished off securing the boat and stowing the gear away, a cyclist came to have a chat. He politely asked if we minded having a conversation with a local. He spoke good English and we dived in with French when he got stuck. He told us he lived in Liège and used to have a sailing boat, a 32 foot yacht, in France, which he sailed on the Med in the eighties doing over 16,000 kms. He asked us all the usual questions (we have a list now, it starts with No1 How did you get that here? No 2 Did you sail it across the Channel? To which we usually reply, no, the North Sea – before adding - on a lorry on a big ferry boat. Etc, etc) It was 5.45 p.m. when Mike went off to get the car and I started to get dinner ready.

Thursday 15th April 2004 Namur to Ampsin.

Sculpture - the four sons of Aymon on the horse Bayard
(legend of the river Meuse - picture taken on return journey in 2005)

Sunny after a chilly 3.3° C overnight. With no heating on overnight the cabin it was a bit chilly when we got up. Mike showed Kevin and Barbara the copy of their 2003 newsletter which had been published in the club magazine. We said au ‘voir and wished them a good trip back to GB via Charleroi, where they were planning on filling up with red diesel. Mike had told them there was a one day stoppage on the Sambre and they said they would assess it when they got there. Took a couple of photos of Merchant as they set off. We left Namur quay at 9.30 a.m. heading back downriver to the lock at Grandes Malades, following Jolles (a loaded boat from Nijmegen) which had just come down the Sambre. We went into the big lock after an uphill boat, which had come up in the tail end half chamber, had cleared the lock. 

Namur (picture taken on return journey in 2005)

I went straight up to the cabin with our quittances and asked where I had to show them again - Yvos-Ramet – so not until the next day. A loaded boat carrying steel coils, called Wilani from Antwerp, came into the lock behind us and the keeper lifted the top end gate (it lowers flat into the bed of the river at the lock mouth) and emptied the whole chamber, slowly. Below the lock, the chantier Meuse et Sambre were building another big hotel boat, the Botticelli. They are famous for building large luxury passenger vessels. Shortly afterwards we passed a tug with a pan called Minerva loading roadstone from tipper lorries. Its capacity was 2,322 tonnes, so we calculated that it would take one hundred lorry loads to fill it! An empty 80m boat, Feron, was motoring hard upriver near Beez, making a good few waves with his wash. We looked back to see how Rosy was weathering it - OK, the bows were dipping almost to the button fender - and Bill seemed to be having no problems with it. He’s not mixed in with the big boys like this before. 

Painted house in Namur
(picture taken on return journey in 2005)

We were just passing the crags of the Rocher du Roi Albert, where the keen rock-climbing King of the Belgians fell to his death in 1934. A bunch of youths were climbing the rocks, having lessons from the instructors at the commando training school. By contrast to the previous boat, the 51m empty Satanas from Visé went past us near Namêche with virtually no wash. What a difference a well-shaped hull makes and theirs was beautiful. A pair of Egyptian geese flew up to roost on top of the light on a lamp post next to a cliff face just south of Namêche. We were glad to see there were still boats moored at Spoetnick’s old place (where we used to buy diesel) but quietly pleased that practically all the boats and all the buildings had disappeared from where the boatyard was on the other bank that had sold us short measure when we bought diesel from them. We just managed to eat lunch before we arrived at the lock at Seilles. Theion a Dutch tanker from Druten, now loaded - we’d seen him going uphill on the Sambre - had just overtaken us, so we followed him into the lock. Although we all packed into the half lock, the keeper emptied the whole chamber. 

Below Grandes Malades lock
(picture taken on return journey in 2005)

The boat we shared locks with on the Sambre, Annico (steered by a woman) which had loaded with stone below Pont de Loup, overtook us as we went under the Ben-Ahin suspension bridge at Wanze by the sugar works. The yacht club moorings in the old basin had now been rechristened Port de Statte and was full of large cruisers. Five teenagers in a rigid hulled inflatable went past several times as they cruised up and down the river as we went through Huy. A picturesque town with a cable car which takes tourists to the top of the citadel. Noted the Carrefour supermarket for a possible shopping expedition as we continued down to the old quay above the lock at Ampsin. We found a slot between the retired péniches and a little Luxe. It wasn’t quite long enough for us to moor singly, so Bill brought Rosy alongside and we tied up at 3.15 p.m. An old chap from the first boat in the line, called Roco, came to have a chat. I helped Mike unload the moped off the roof. Although the quay was lower than all the quays we’d tied to in Belgium so far, it was still above our gunwale height, so he was able to get the bike off without using the plank. He went back to Namur to collect the car and when he returned we all went to get some groceries from the Carrefour we’d spotted just a short distance back upriver at Huy. Two loaded boats came charging down the river just before ten o’clock - they’d missed the lock - it shuts at 9.30 p.m. - but we bobbed about like corks for the next hour. Then the wind picked up and rocked the boat all night.

Legends of the Meuse - The Four Sons of Aymon:-