Wednesday 15th June 2005 Lock 17 Mikołajewo to KP181 Str. Bielice.

Church at Gulcz

12.8º C overnight. Hazy cloud, sunny and warmer. Set off out of the lock chamber at 8 a.m. said bye to the keeper and his missus, who then refilled the lock for a Polish yacht to descend at nine o’clock. Followed Rosy downriver, passing the little town of Gulcz whose only building visible from the river was the church. The sun was shining on it, so I took a photo of it peaking over the flood dyke. Bill told us on the radio that there were two stork’s nests in the trees, so Mike took pictures of them. Down to lock 18, Rosko, where

Storks nr lock 18 Rosko

a young man worked the lock after taking all the details for the paperwork from Bill. Bill paid, although it was our turn, we would have to pay for the next two. Another young man came to help with the lock and two older men came to watch. Back into the flow of the Notec at 9 a.m. Mike took photos of another stork’s nest. Where we had moored to a fallen tree on the way upriver at KP 157 had completely changed. Bank protection work was under way with the bank cleared of trees and vegetation, wire gabions

Bank protection works at KP157 R Notec

placed and rocks laid up the banks. We saw the crew walking up the bank at 9.30 a.m. back to their motley collection of cranes and tractors and a small tug to push the pans of rocks about. One young man, nonchalantly bringing up the rear, was swinging two spades, one in each hand, as he walked. Bill was already in lock 19, Wrzeszczyna, when we arrived and had paid. We went alongside him and gave him the cash. The keeper said something we didn’t understand and went in the

Yacht Mamuśka

house after closing the gate. Minutes later the yacht arrived and the keeper came out to reopen the gate (the one behind us) and the old Polish man, with a resplendent set of white whiskers and a small yappy poodle, steered his yacht “Mamuśka” around our stern ends and motored all the way down the left hand side of the chamber, almost to the tail gates, bouncing along the wall while he searched for a rope. He’d told us the day before that he was going to Lübeck. Back into the flow at 10.05 a.m. The yacht was speeding off into the distance powered by a noisy

Bizon tug heading upriver 

little outboard motor. A few minutes later we had a great surprise to meet a Bizon pusher tug coming upriver. We said we were glad we weren’t tied to the bank when that came past, the waves from his wash were huge, although we were sure he would have slowed down if we’d been tied up. We had to wait above lock 20, Wieleń, as the yacht was still descending in the chamber. Across the fields to our right we could see the gatehouse to what, many years ago, must have once been an impressive German estate. Once in the lock, Mike spotted

New houses at Wielen

a hose laid out along the bank attached to a standpipe. He asked (in Polish) if it was drinking water and got the answer back in German that, yes, it was drinking water. We filled up and Bill, who had headed for the left hand wall, came back to the right to moor alongside us and fill up too. I stayed on the lockside to turn the (fast filling) tap on and off and move the pipe as the boats descended in the chamber. We said thank you to the keeper before we moved off again at 11.15 a.m. We followed Rosy downstream on the Notec,

Old houses at Wielen

through wide meadows with a gentle flow of 1.5 kph as the river had widened and deepened to around 3m. Under Drawsko rail bridge and then we waited above lock 21, Drawsko, while the lady keeper refilled the lock chamber for us. Bill paid and we dropped down the lock. It was 12.45 p.m. as we left, so I went in to finish making a salad for lunch as we went downriver on the short stretch to the last lock 22, Krzyż. There were crowds of people on the bank at the lock, including an old guy with an amazing motor tricycle. Mike missed the lockside as he was busy taking pictures of the bike! He had to back up and get the

Lady keeper at lock 21 Drawsko

boat next to the edges so I could put a rope around the recessed bollard in the wall. The motorbike looked like it had been a home conversion to a tricycle. It had a square metal top with windows and doors and something inside the back that looked like a large exhaust (for winter warmth Mike thought) and a strange handlebar linkage system of steering, which was attached to one side of the front forks. Mike paid for the last lock in Poland and we left. Around one hundred and seventy

Motor tricycle on the lockside at lock 22 Krzyz

kilometres to Germany, no more locks - all downhill on sloping rivers. We ate our tuna salad as we sped along the narrow, wild, un-canalised Notec. Not long afterwards we winded in the flow and came back against it to moor next to the same old dead tree that we tied to on the way upstream at KP 181. Bill fought the current and brought Rosy alongside and we threw a plank off the back deck into the nettles next to a reed bed covered in brilliant blue banded agrion damselflies. It was 2.20 p.m. I tried the new camera out on

Banded agrion damselfly

close-up, taking pictures of the damselflies, which came out exceptionally well. 

Banded agrion damselfly