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| Bar-headed goose - image by dracobotanicus |
8.8° C Grey and overcast with a
very chilly wind. Mike went to the local bakery for a loaf before we set off at
9.25 a.m. Coats on again once we were out of the shelter of the houses at
Opeinde. I made tea as we crossed the small round lake called De Leijen. We
paid 1 Euro toll for the liftbridge at Eastermar. The tractors were out in
force in the meadows along the De Lits channel, turning great piles of hay
before transporting it to the pellet making plant. The Bergumermeer was choppy
in the strong north wind. We carefully cut the corner and turned right and ran
on to the Prinses Margriet Kanaal once more. A large loaded commercial called
Tyro caught us up as we waited for the swing bridge at Skûlen Boarch (that’s
its Friesian name, in Dutch it’s called Schuilenburg). I made us a cup of soup
to warm us up. The Tille shipyard, where they were building big ships last time
we were here, was devoid of boats or workmen - we wondered if they were closing
down. A tug was backing out of the empty arm into the yard. At KP 34 we met
Janja a loaded 67m boat, Madame was steering. She waved. A little further on a
bar headed goose was sitting among a group of ducks on the lawn of a canalside
house. Between KP32 to KP31, a group of three large cruisers overtook us as we
passed two crane boats busily dredging the middle of the canal with two tugs
and pans in attendance.
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| Zuidhorn church image by achterzijde |
At a small boatbuilding yard they were just about to
crane a beautifully crafted wooden replica sailing botter into the canal. It
was a shame to get it wet it was so smart. Shalimar, another loaded boat, went
by as we went through Blauverlaat bridge. Barkmeijer Stroboos shipyard were
building a big ship on the bank. We waited for Prinsengracht, an empty tanker
ship, to clear the bridge at Stroboos before we went through. The canal changed
its name to the Van Starkenborgh. Lunch on the move. I went inside and lit the
central heating. The outside temperature had not risen much above 10 ° C and
the cabin was down to a chilly 16° C. A new
boat, a loaded 3,000 tonner called Deo Gratias (110m long) went past
very slowly, having just come up Gaarkeuken lock. An empty 73m boat called
Tamara was moored above the lock.
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| Oude gemeentehuis at Zuidhorn image by achterzijde |
The lights were green, so we went in and ran
almost to the front end of the chamber. Two commercials followed us in,
Cosmopoliet, a loaded 67m 850 tonner and Patrona an empty 80m. We dropped down
a paltry 30cm and left the chamber. Below there were three cruisers waiting to
go uphill. Just before the town of Zuidhorn we turned left into the
Niezijlsterdiep, under a road bridge, sweeping sharp left then right under a
railway bridge. These were the sharpest turns we’d done in a long, long time.
The channel wound between fields into the village of Niezijl, where lots of new
houses had sprung up since we were there last and a brand new quay. We motored
on up the Kommerzijlsterdiep, equally bendy, past the site of construction of a
new footbridge by a large orchard and moored next to more new houses next to
new wooden landings.
The previous time we’d moored next to the town quay and
I’d noted in the log that there was another nice mooring next to a big grassy
meadow, which was where the new houses were located. The distant gas fields had
tall chimneys with flames. It was 3.30 p.m. The edge was shallow, the boat was
on the bottom but it was soft mud and, as the only passing traffic - a large
cruiser hireboat - went past, the boat settled in the mud and got closer to the
bank. A lady passing by on her bike recognised the boat from our last visit and
even remembered it had been five years earlier. Mike went off to get the car at
4.15 pm and I started on the chores. Mike and I reassembled the back plate on
the Markon, which was a four handed job. He had come to the conclusion that the
big capacitor was at fault causing the low voltage. He reinstalled the Markon
and Rediline in the engine room. No heating on overnight as the temperature had
climbed a little.
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| Kommerzijl Oudenbosch image by achterzijde |
Note: We took no photos of this area in 2004, so these are downloaded free picutures - credits as above.
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