Thursday 4th August 2005 Hoogezand to Ten Boer.

Ship and tug at Hoogezand

11.9º C overnight. Sunny start, cloudy and showery drizzle later. Bill knocked to tell us he couldn’t find the Dutch couple. They weren’t answering at the factory or their house. Mike suggested he gave them another half hour and, if there was still no sign of them, we’d go. When he tried again they were at the house, they’d been working in their garden (I said perhaps they work in the garden when it’s fine and do their glass making when it’s rainy!) They had a look round Bill’s back cabin, but he was disappointed that he didn’t get an invite to

Bridge section of a ship. Hoogezand

have a look around inside the old church. Set off at 10.45 a.m. We winded and headed back to the Winschoterdiep. One bridge had to catch us at lunchtime, so we had an enforced stop from 12 until 1.00 p.m. at Waterhuizerbrug. I made a salad for lunch. We left again at 1.00 p.m. A tug and dredging pan had stopped too, the pan dropped one leg onto the bed of the canal and sat in the middle until the bridge opened. Into Groningen and turned right at the crossroads on the Eemskanaal. I went to get a key for the Damsterdiep, paying

A collection of tug boats

20€ deposit for it, from the keeper at Slochtersluis on the right hand side of the Eemskanaal. He took photos of the boat as we winded and headed over to the left side of the canal to the J.B. Bronssluis, which was DIY semi-automatic. Bill had pressed the button. The lock was filling with a new little sailing botter in it. The gates opened and the uphill boat left, but the red light stayed on for ages. There was a much needed dustbin on the lockside, we each deposited two full bags! I pulled the string at the back of

Waiting for JB Bronssluis to fill.

a ladder and we dropped down 1.9m. Now we were NAP –1.3m, below sea level. Two more boats were waiting below the lock to go up, a small tjalk and little cruiser. It was 3.00 p.m. when we set off along the 6kms dead straight first section of the Damsterdiep. I hopped off and worked the key operated electric push button swingbridge with manual barriers, by the café Jägmeister (which doesn’t give out keys anymore although the sign in the window gave four places in the village of Garmerwolde where they could be obtained). The next bridge, Boltbrug, was operated for us – much to our

Windmills at Boltbrug on the Damsterdiep

surprise – we still aren’t sure whether he was the keeper or just someone with a key! We stopped at 4.30 p.m. just beyond Ten Boer village, next to a busy road. The wind was blowing quite strongly and the canal was shallow at the edges, so I held the centre line while Mike knocked pegs in, then did the same while Bill moored Rosy. The junction with the Westwijtwerdermaar was a couple of hundred metres further on. The road was noisy with teatime traffic, it became much quieter later.

Click here for a map of today's journey

Wednesday 3rd August 2005 Hoogezand.

9.4º C overnight. Colder. Sunny morning, showery cloudy afternoon. We had a day off to do some shopping. Bill wanted to have a look round the Northern Shipping Musuem in Groningen, so we all went into the city in the car. We dropped Bill off at the end of the Damsterdiep and we went to have a look round the big DIY store, Praxis, on the crossroads with the Eemskanaal. Bought two mossie netting door strip kits, Mike replaced a 10mm socket he lost in Jean-Max’s peniche bilges ages ago and I bought a purple orchid for 5,99€ (and some special fertilizer for it). Bill ‘phoned and we collected him and went back to the boat for lunch. After lunch we went shopping 

View down the old canal towards Hoogezand

at the big shopping centre in Sappemeer, next town to Hoogezand – so close you wouldn’t know you’d moved into another town. Found the Albert Hein supermarket (very much like Sainsburys) and got the groceries, went ouch! at the price of meat and fish (22€/kg for cod and 25€ for plaice) bought a big pack of skinless chicken breasts at 7€/kg – that was almost as cheap as Real at EHS (Germany). Dumped the groceries in the car and went back into the shopping centre for a look around, plus Mike wanted to get a new CD storage box. We went in Blokker (like Wilkinsons in the UK) and bought a small metal box with a suspended filing system which will hold 120 CDs for 9.99€. On the way back to the boat Mike went on a search for motorbike shops to get a spoke for the moped. No luck. Back to the boats. After dinner Bill came round to discuss where we were going. Decided on the Boterdiep, but starting out mid morning after Bill had shown the Dutch people (who own the glass factory) round Rosy’s trad back cabin and Bill wanted to take a tour of their glass factory in an old church.

Tuesday 2nd August 2005 Stadskanaal to Hoogezand.

Lock 1 Stadskanaal. Note keeper poling far gate open.

A chilly 9.7º C overnight. Blue skies first thing, cloudy by 9.00 a.m. and drizzly in the afternoon. We set off at 8.00 a.m. The German boat Nixe was away first leading our convoy of three boats. Through four bridges to lock 2. Two men worked the lock. The cruiser took the straight right hand wall so we wriggled into the bay offset on the left and Bill brought Rosy alongside. Set off down to the next lock following the cruiser. We met the first uphill convoy at the first swingbridge. Five cruisers lead the way, followed by two little open boats and two little 

In convoy on the Oosterdiep

Luxemotors, one of which had the smokiest engine we’d seen for a long time. Both converted boats looked like hotel boats. I don’t think the skipper of the boat with the smoky engine liked us coughing and making rude comments about him needing his engine mending (he wouldn’t let his car engine get into that state!) They all trooped through the bridge while we waited. We went through the bridge, past the junction with the Pekkelerhoofddiep, and on to new waters for us as well as Rosy. Followed Rosy into the oval chamber of lock 1. The lock had slightly sloping brick walls and dropped only 0.7m. The keeper, a burly, bearded, long-haired young man (looked like a biker) poled the bottom end gates open (no balance beams or capstans on these old locks) and lifted the little footpath liftbridge and we followed the cruiser through the keeper’s last swingbridge on the last bit of the Stadskanaal and did a sharp right turn into the Oosterdiep and immediately under a liftbridge, the first of

Participanten lock oosterdiep

thirty moveable bridges operated for us by a team of two young keepers, one on a bike and one on a scooter, who leapfrogged one another down the canal doing the bridges turn and turn about. I made a cuppa just as we arrived at the first of three locks on the Oosterdiep. The lock, Batjeverlaat, had a newly refurbished concrete chamber and was electrically powered with controls in a box which our dayglo-orange jacketed lads worked for us. As I pulled on the centre rope to get the boat close to the wall I heard a splashing sound from down below my feet. I glanced down

Modern liftbridges in Veendam. Oosterdiep

and thought I saw a cormorant - but couldn’t believe a bird would be underwater in the lock chamber. It surfaced again five minutes later, I still wasn’t sure if it was bird or a fish! It came to the surface again in the middle of the lock – it was definitely a cormorant! Stupid bird. It looked filthy, a dirty grey colour like the canal water. More bridges followed. We passed a Stilesteven with masts, heading uphill, as we went by a fish and chip shop! New bridge workers were at the next bridge, we thought we’d swapped workers but they were

Waiting for Geert Veenhuizerbrug. A.G. Wildervanckkanaal

reinforcements, they all worked the bridges as they became closer together as we neared Veendam town centre. One keeper, an older guy, waved his arm indicating we should hurry up as we went through a swingbridge. We were already doing 6 kph – the speed limit! Next bridge was an electrically powered liftbridge, which we had to wait for, but not long. On down to the middle lock, Participantenverlaat, which had a longer chamber, we had enough room to go on the same side as the cruiser with room to spare. Through the town centre of Veendam and into the last

Twin flood locks on Winschoterdiep near Zuidbroek

lock, Wilhelminaschutsluis, which was narrower with parallel sides. Several cruisers were waiting below to go uphill. Did a sharp left turn on to another canal, the A.G. Wildervranckkanaal, and came to a stop at a modern, keeper-operated liftbridge. The German cruiser tied to the posts by the bridge and we found a stump on the bank to sling a centre line round. It was 11.45 a.m. Mike called on VHF channel 22 but got no reply. There was a man in the cabin, (we thought the bridge was remotely operated) he surfaced

Slochterbrug. Winschoterdiep

when a small cruiser arrived at the far side and he lifted the bridge for all four of us to go through. It started raining. The navigation was a more modern, wider, deeper canal with reeds along the banks and factories beyond that instead of houses. More cruisers went past heading uphill. Black clouds were gathering. We came to another stop for lunchtime at Meedenerbrug. When the keeper opened the bridge at 1.00 p.m. other boats came through and we set off - but Bill shouted to say Rosy’s engine had stopped before we got to the bridge. We reversed and

Containership Hardi passing at Zwedenbrug

dropped two ropes on Rosy then tied both boats to the posts by the bridge. The keeper went off in his car (he oscillates between the two bridges) when Mike indicated to him that we had a problem. Bill had turned off his automatic refilling system, and the low fuel alarm, for a test he said. He then forgot about doing it, the daytank had emptied, running the engine out of fuel. He had to refill the daytank and then completely bleed the engine fuel system through. He finished and restarted the engine just as the keeper returned. I made us a cup of soup as the drizzle had brought a very chilly wind with it. We joined the Winschoterdiep, turning left heading for Groningen, passing through the open gates of an immense double flood lock. More cruisers went past through the other long open chamber. We caught up with another cruiser to go through the first of a string of keeper operated large modern liftbridges. A brown sailed klipper was waiting on the other side of the first bridge. Mike rigged up our new CD player and we

Containership Hardi passing at Zwedenbrug

tested it. Had new brolly up as it was raining. On through the last few liftbridges and turned left into the old canal to Hoogezand, past the ship builders yards and were faced with wall to wall Dutch barges! Couldn’t get near the area designated as the passantenhaven or mooring place for passing boats. There was a space between a smart new cruiser and an old yacht by the church, so we slotted in and Bill brought Rosy alongside once we’d thrown ropes around the posts on top of the sloping grassy bank. Mike reached a plank out to unload the moped and left it out so Bill and Fanny could get on and off and he went to get the car from

Ship building yard at Hoogezand

Terwalslagerbrug, calling via the Post Office in Hoogezand (our post had arrived on the 29th) and the shop in Stadskanaal where he bought the CD player. The man in the shop had got the book for the 500 series of Sony camcorders which the engineer had said had a similar power supply layout. The book consisted of lots of fold out circuit diagrams. Mike sorted out the two for the power supply section and the chap photocopied them for him. It was 7.30 p.m. before Mike returned with the car. Bill had been chatting to the guy off the cruiser behind us, named

Adjustable pitch prop on a new ship at Hoogezand

George, who had told him that we were in his parents’ boat’s mooring, but it was OK for a few days as the boat wouldn't be back for a while. They owned the old church which was now a glass factory and they lived in the house next door to it. He said it was OK to plug into their electricity supply too and Mike retrieved the car from the car park at the end of the canal arm to park it next to the church, which was very kind of them. 

1st August 2005 Terlwaslagerbrug to Stadskanaal.

Ter Apelersluis on the Ruiten-Aa kanaal

12.6º C overnight, grey overcast, chilly day. Set off at 8 a.m. following Rosy up the Ruiten Aa kanaal. Overtook Rosy before we got to the first swingbridge and I stepped off to work Roelagebrug. Followed Rosy up to Ter Apelersluis. Two cruisers were coming down so we went into the lock after they’d cleared. Mike went back to turn the key in the slot to activate the lock to go uphill and Bill hit the green button. The gates closed, the single paddle lifted and the turbulence forced our boat off the wall, keeping it away from the rough rocks in the chamber wall. Mike

Bridge fendering and bollards. Stadskanaal

wound the liftbridge up and I wound it back down again after the boats had left the chamber. The canal as it neared Ter Apel went through a wooded area which (unusual for the Netherlands) was left natural, without the undergrowth cleared or the grass and flowers cropped short. I worked the next swingbridge (no name) and then the last bridge before the Ter Apel kanaal, which was a main road bridge. A cruiser had just come through - we were a couple of minutes out with the timing! I lifted it and

A lovely old Wartburg car in Stadskanaal

kept it open for a small converted Dutch barge to come through too, which had just arrived on the far side. We turned right on the Ter Apelerkanaal at 9.55 a.m. Bill announced on the VHF that it was new water for him – a few more kilometres and it will be for us – we’ve not been on the Oosterdiep through Veendam before. We had a short wait for the keeper to arrive. He worked the next five bridges for us, a mix of modern electric liftbridges and old style swing footbridges which were manually operated. The first lock was No 6. It had sliding

Lock 6 Musselkanaal. Hand wound top end sliding gate. 

gates offset at either end of a square chamber and little liftbridges for access from one side of the lock to the other by each gate. The keeper was an elderly bloke, pleasant and chatty. He gave Bill his book to write our names and boat names, where we’d come from etc, while he went off to lift the paddles – in the corner in front of our bows two racks lifted big boards over two holes in the lockwall. When the lock was empty he wound the sliding gate open and lifted the little bridge for us to leave the

Liftbridge. Lock 6 Musselkanaal

chamber. We had an enforced pause for lunch, which started at 11.50 a.m. as the bridges and locks are closed from midday until 1.00 p.m. The keeper turned up early at 12.40 p.m. and we were on our way again. Off into the town of Musselkanaal, where there were moored houseboats (some of them in a disused state) and the church clock played a carillon at 1.00 p.m. Down lock 5, with an older narrower lock alongside. Some people arrived by car at the houses by the lock and came to chat, none of them spoke English. We understood the questions in Dutch and they

Emptying sluices lock 6 Musselkanaal

seemed to understand the answers in English! We left the empty lock chamber at 1.25 p.m. and carried on down the canal to lock 4, where a German cruiser was coming up. A young lad was playing about in a speedboat. He went right across our bows, then his engine stopped when he was about 10m away – he found a paddle and moved it quick. We went into the lock after the cruiser left. The keeper was talking on a mobile phone. He said there was another boat coming down the last lock and we would wait for him. Mike told me he’d

Eurobrug. Stadskanaal

looked behind us before we got to the lock and there was no sign of anyone else. He picked up his binoculars and crossed over to the old lock chamber to get a better view back up the canal – still no sign of a boat. He was not amused. Half an hour later at 3.05 p.m. another German cruiser arrived and we went down the lock. The keeper did the next two bridges, beyond which there were three tjalks and two klippers moored, all were houseboats. There was a short section free of bridges and then we came to a stop by the first liftbridge, 500m above lock 3. A lockful of seven boats

Eurobrug statue of spitting man.

came uphill, six Germans and one solitary Dutchman. We’d tied to some railings by the bridge and the boats going the opposite way were milling about, so of course the bridge keeper gave us the green light first. Some of the boats gave up once they’d got through the liftbridge and moored by where we’d been waiting, next to a Lidl supermarket. The keeper spoke bad English loudly and kept stopping what he was doing to answer his mobile – only able to cope with doing one thing at a time. He told us we could moor in the town,

Statue of spitting man by the Eurobrug Stadskanaal

Stadskanaal, overnight and continue next morning at 8.00 a.m. when the next convoy sets off. It was 4.30 p.m. when we tied up on the right hand side by the shopping centre and Bill tied on the opposite side (a bit better for Fanny as the road that side was a little quieter by the houses). It was 8.5 hours since we set off and we’d actually been moving only 4 hours. Mike went off with the camera to take some better pictures of the disgusting statue of a spitting man by the Eurobrug liftbridge.

Moored by the shops in Stadskanaal town

Map for today's route to Stadskanaal

Friday 29th July 2005 Veelerveen to Terwalslagerbrug.

Lift bridge at Zuidveld lock

16.7º C. Cloudy, muggy and breezy. Set off at 8.15 a.m. after Mike had topped up our water tank. We winded and followed Rosy to the liftbridge. I stepped off and operated it. Only two cars had to wait. At Vlagtweddesluis there were two fishermen on the lock island below the lock, with half a dozen rods where I needed to get off to turn my key in the slot to operate the lock, which was full. They didn't want to move and had to be encouraged (by the boat!) to pull their rods in. Up the lock, with ropes fore and aft, as the incoming water from the single paddle causes the boat to pull forward very forcibly. On up to Bourtange. Again the lock was full – we expected the locks to be empty as no one went past after we’d tied up the day before. (The liftbridge

Bridge locking bars at Zuidveld lock

worked normally) When we arrived at Wollinghuizen and found the lock empty, we came to the conclusion that a boat which had been moored in the marina at Veelerveen had gone up the arm into Bourtange. A young couple with two small girls came from the house alongside the lock to chat to Bill as we came up in Wollinghuizen lock. We spied a cruiser coming up behind us as we were leaving the lock. Through Jipsinghuisen without a hitch. At Sellingen an elderly couple had stopped their car and came over to chat, unfortunately they spoke no

Terwalslagerbrug

English but followed Mike’s few words of Dutch. A cruiser arrived and Mike asked them if they would lift the bridge to save us having to use our key and lower the bridge again. They didn't speak any English and Mike had to explain several times what he wanted them to do before it sank in. I made lunch on the way to Zuidveld lock. Another cruiser arrived, a younger couple this time who spoke excellent English, so Mike could ask them to use their key to do the bridge. The

Terwalslagerbrug

man on call out was patrolling, driving past us in his car, he waved. Two more cruisers were at the next swingbridge, so we went through without having to stop. I stepped off and operated Terwalslagerbrug – the one we had problems with on the way down. No problems today, it worked like (noisy) clockwork! Bill suggested we stop on the quay by the bridge as a change of scene from Roelagebrug, so we did. The quay was much wider and free of farm junk, so there would be plenty of space for a BBQ. Our maintenance

Terwalslagerbrug control buttons 

man came past again in his car. He stopped for a short chat – the canal was busy today he said, more cruisers were coming. We had to tell the next three boats that the bridge was electric and they didn’t need to push it to open it – just press the button! Mike went off on foot to get the car as it was only a couple of kilometres to Roelagebrug and Bill went with him as he was going to call in Edah in Ter Apel. They came back with stuff for the BBQ and beer. Mike lit the BBQ. Bill had eaten his dinner before we’d got ours cooking! Sat out and ate

View of distant German wind farm from Terwalslagerbrug

sausages and pork steaks with baked spuds and leftover curry, washed down with a few bottles of Grolsch, Mike’s favourite Dutch beer. We made more charcoal by burning branches of a tree that had been cut down and left in the ditch beyond the quay. A lady on a horse went by on the far bank, she crossed the bridge and carried on down the canal. On her return she paused for a chat, she told us that she was from the fourth farm up by the bend, heading back up the canal. Sat out until it was started to get chilly as the sun was setting, then went indoors to watch TV.

(PS: Cheated with photos as I had none from 2005 - these are from 2014)

Thursday 28th July 2005 Roelagebrug to Veelerveen.

Terwalslagerbrug, stuck.

10.7º C Chilly foggy start. Sunny and hot by midday. Set off at 8.15 a.m. The guy off a small cruiser that had moored beyond the bridge overnight came and opened the swingbridge for us – which was very nice of him. I got off to work the next bridge, Terwalslagerbrug, a semi-automatic swingbridge. I closed the barriers then pressed the button, but it wouldn’t open. Mike got off to help. We had to open the barriers and start again. Meanwhile the little cruiser had set off and caught up with us, so we let him through and Rosy. I pressed the button to shut the bridge, but the deck went beyond the sensors and stuck. I couldn’t get it back by shoving on it and neither could Mike. I ‘phoned the man with the van. Still the same pleasant middle-aged bearded chap who was the maintenance man when we came through here first, back in 1999. He pushed and shoved it too, but it wouldn’t move. They tried

Wollinghuizersluis with semi-automatic liftbridge

overriding the control in the main box, but still it wouldn’t budge, and finally he put his overalls on and crawled underneath the deck to disconnect the hydraulics before he could shove it manually back into the right place. By the time he’d finished and let us have our key back (you can't get your key back to continue until the box releases it!)  it was just gone 9.30 a.m. The next bridge (which has no name) worked OK, it had to be pushed manually, but electrically operated hydraulics jacked the bridge up and down. As on all the bridges there were barriers to be lowered to stop traffic crossing, these had to be moved manually, but had locking devices with electric relays (at the bigger liftbridges the

Totems by the junction with the arm to Bourtange

barriers raise and lower automatically). There were clouds of clegs (type of biting horsefly) flying around; out came the swatters and repellent. Zuidveld lock was empty as the little cruiser had gone down it. The liftbridge above the top end of the chamber was wound manually. I noticed an old chap hanging around watching. When I wound the bridge back down he came over and wound it right down before applying the locking mechanism (it must make a noise when traffic goes over it if it’s not wound fully down and he lives in the house 100m away). Next lock was Sellingen, again with a liftbridge above the lock chamber, but this was a modern one as the road was fairly busy. Just two buttons to press, one for up and

Totems by the junction with the arm to Bourtange

one for down, barriers worked automatically. A crowd of cyclists stopped to watch us go through the lock. A family came to chat with Mike, they’d been along the canal by boat too. The lock emptied and then the gates didn’t open. Mike called the man out again. Meanwhile the child with the couple he was talking to pressed the button and (to our great surprise) the gates opened. Mike handed the key over to Bill, who went on to get the next lock ready and we waited for the man to arrive to explain what had happened. It was 12.10 p.m. when we set off again. Lunch on the way to

Close up of one of the wooden carved heads

Jipsinghuizen. Bill did the bridge and lock. Off down to Wollinghuizen, where there was another new electric liftbridge. Mike timed how long the locks were taking, it took twelve minutes to fill or empty the chamber, including the gates. We left the bottom at 1.50 p.m. Bourtange next. Mike took photos of the totem poles by the junction with the arm leading to the little town of Bourtange. A cruiser had just gone into the lock, the liftbridge (which is fully automatic and works with the lock) was still up and the gate open. I went to tell them that we wouldn’t fit in the lock with them. They didn’t speak any English. A crowd of cyclists were waiting for the bridge. It didn’t lower. Several of them wheeled their bikes across the bottom end gates. We refilled the lock and went through – still the bridge remained in the vertical position, much to the disgust of the cyclists. The cruiser had moored on the quay below the lock. Mike had been to investigate the bridge and he said that there was a button for the cyclists to press to lower

Packed moorings at Veelerveen

the bridge (obviously none of them had seen it). On down to Vlagtwedde. The lock was a new concrete one and the road bridge was a fixed one below the lock. We sat in the lock while Bill nipped across to the farmers’ shop and bought himself a new pair of clogs. On his return he pressed the button and the lock emptied. Below the lock there were reeds growing along both bank edges, which made the canal look even narrower and jungly. Beyond the reeds the banks were still closely mowed along the cycle paths. Veelerveensterbrug was another new push button liftbridge, thankfully it was easy to work. Bill continued first to the moorings in Veelerveen. He called Mike on VHF to ask if he had got a plan B as the moorings were full, or nearly full. The cruiser from first thing this morning was occupying lots of room as his kids were playing behind the boat in a blow up doughnut. We could have moored with just the bows on the end of the staging and a pole out at the stern, but as we arrived the cruiser set off! Then there was plenty of space for us and Bill brought Rosy alongside. Refilled the water tanks, then Mike rigged up the Markon to create our own 240V electricity and ran the engine to power it then I got on with the washing and ironing. Mike vacuumed the carpets while I was ironing. I did three loads of washing to catch up with the backlog and we were glad to switch the engine off at 8 p.m. On the News it was announced that the IRA had declared an end to armed conflict in Northern Ireland and a tornado had struck Birmingham, Small Heath, demolishing an Iceland store and flying debris injured a total of nineteen people, three of whom had severe injuries. What a word we live in!

Click here to see the Google Earth view of today's journey along the Ruiten-Aa-Kanaal.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1VUS_iCSzy0.kJFCztqXQCEc&usp=sharing

Saturday 23rd – Wednesday 27th July 2005 Roelagebrug time off for shopping and post

Saturday 12º C Grey and overcast most of the day, still cold, drizzly on and off. We all went into Ter Apel in the car to do some shopping and collect our post. We went into

Moored on the old quay by Roelagerbrug

an electrical shop to sort out our Dutch phone SIM. We thought it had expired, but the guy in the shop ‘phoned our 'phone and it rang! It didn't do that when Mike tried it! He did the top-up for us (we’d already got a 20€ card) and it worked OK. That saved us buying a new SIM and having to ring everyone to give them a new 'phone number. Had an hour’s session on the Internet in the library, timing it just right as they closed at 12.30 p.m. Crossed over the road to the Edah supermarket and got some groceries. Started off well, the trollies took 50c pieces not 1€ pieces like everywhere else! We, of course, hadn't got a 50c piece between us. Didn't need much so we used a basket. Back to the boat for a late lunch. Bill came over to discuss where we were going. All pretty vague

Statue of bow-haulers at Oude Pekkla

at this stage, decided to go into Groningen via the Stadkanaal. He told us he had a Dutch family who had contacted him via e-mail who wanted to come and visit him for a boat trip – he said there were four of them and he could only manage two and asked if we could cope with the other two. OK by us.

Sunday 10.9º C. Cloudy, sunny spells warmer. After lunch Mike set up the generator and TV to watch F1 motor racing from Hockenheim, Germany. Alonso won again. Muggy evening, too many flies about (moored next to a stable) to have the windows open until I get some new mossie netting installed in the 

Statue of bow-haulers at Oude Pekkla

hopper windows.

Monday 15.7º C overnight. Sunny start, cloudy and showery later. On the way to the car I nearly walked through some bees nests! Mike had remarked that there was a colony of dozens of miner bees (tawny bees) that had excavated quite a large area of the sandy bank on the quay by the boat. Each one has its little nest and they keep flying in an out through holes in the sand. Took Bill to get his post from Ter Apel. None of the shops, except the supermarkets, were open including the Post Office. Ter Apel is closed from Saturday lunchtime until Monday afternoon! Two ATM machines refused to give me any cash. Mike was then worried in case the Internet banking had stopped his cards too (He’d made an error with his code three times and had to get a new one posted). Got some groceries from Edah and went back to the boats. Mike rang Nationwide and the lady he spoke to said that there was no reason for the Internet to stop the cards, in fact there was nothing wrong with them, so it’s most likely to be a fault with the ATMs. Try again later. After lunch he took Bill back to Ter Apel to see if the rest of his post had arrived. Mike came back with a new brolly, our old one had turned inside out once too many times and broken the connecting ribs. He’d had to test it when he came out of the shop – and a lady passing 

Statue of bow-haulers at Oude Pekkla

by ducked under it too to get to the supermarket without getting wet in the sudden deluge! He’d used his card in an ATM and got money out without any problems – the reason I couldn't get any cash this morning must have been because the town was closed until after lunch, ATMs don't work either! The library was closed all day. Part two of Bill’s post had still not arrived. A sad day for us as Yvonne and Ray, our UK boating companions of many years, phoned to tell us they were selling their narrowboat. End of an era for them as, after a bad stroke, Ray is too incapacitated now to continue boating

Tuesday 15.7º C overnight. Grey and overcast, cooler. Mike stripped our little Honda gennie down to try and stop it vibrating and making a noise. After lunch he went into Ter Apel in the car, taking Bill to see if his post had arrived and Bill wanted an hour on the internet. Part two of Bill’s post has still not arrived.

Wednesday 12º C Overcast, muggy. Mike and I went for a ride in the car to Oude Pekkela to photograph the statue on the towpath of a couple bowhauling a working boat. We went the scenic route following the Ruiten Aa canal, via Sellingen and Vlagtwedde, but returned on the fast route past Stadskanal into Ter Apel and back to the boat. 

22nd July 2005 Dutch border nr Ter Apel to Roelagebrug.

Bridge working instructions

12.6º C overnight. Lousy weather – it was STILL raining. Mike went to Potze’s garage and hired a key for the little Ruiten-Aa canal before we set off following Rosy at 8 o’clock. There was no keeper at the liftbridge so Mike went off on foot down to the lock to inform him we were waiting and got a lift back to the boat with him in his car. The boats set off again at 8.50 a.m. turning right on the Stadkanaal, with a couple of idiots in cruisers getting in the way on the turn. The keeper let us through the other swing and lift-bridges. A white yacht that had moored by us overnight, had set off before us and was in the lock chamber, waiting to go down. We left the lock at 9.20 a.m. following Rosy. A cruiser had just tied on the landing stage by the bridge which carries the main road over the entrance to the Ruiten-Aa, a young lad had gone to work the bridge. We went through the lifted bridge first, the white yacht carried on down the Stadskanaal, and Mike told the crew of the waiting cruiser that we would do the next bridge. When we got there the crew of a black steel-hulled yacht had just untied and they

Box for the key //

were working the next swingbridge. We went through and said we’d do the next. The next was the first lock and a liftbridge. I got off and opened the liftbridge, the lock was full with the gate open and so Mike called the cruiser and black hulled yacht in first. Not enough room for all four of us in the 27m x 6m chamber. Helped them through the lock, then turned the lock round for us. The rain was still pouring down. Mike pressed the

Ruiten-Aa kanaal and landing for operating the liftbridge 

green button to empty the lock and we waited and waited and nothing happened. By chance, a maintenance man in a white van arrived and told Mike he’d forgotten to turn the key in the box on the landing stage above the lock. Waah! We motored on down to the quay by the next swingbridge at Roelagebrug and tied up. It was 11.30 a.m. I made some potato salad ready for lunch. Mike put the satellite dish up and we had a quick look at the

Mooring on the old quay by Roelagerbrug

weather forecast. A great depression centred on Scandinavia was throwing rain across the whole of northern Europe, from the Netherlands all the way across to Poland. Mike put the TV on again ten minutes later, as I’d said that there was a breaking news headline about a suspect suicide bomber being shot in Stockwell. The TV came on with a horrible green screen. He turned it off and then back on and it still wouldn’t come on again. Took the case off when he noticed it was damp. Rain had leaked through the top edge of the window and dripped on to the TV. Dried it out and left it to dry thoroughly before we dared try it again (luckily, it worked OK later). Ate lunch, then Mike got ready to go and get the car, dressed in waders! When he left at 1.15 p.m it was still raining.

Here's a link to my map of today's route.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1VUS_iCSzy0.kMTmExb-XnBs&usp=sharing

Thursday 21st July 2005 Lingen to the Dutch border nr Ter Apel.

Rainbow at Lingen

12.2º C overnight. Sunny and windy first thing, clouding over to overcast later. After a day off to get our mail and Mike to do some shopping (I was still not 100%), we set off at 8.10 a.m. with the pins in and the washing machine going. I started catching up with the chores. Cleaned the floor, then sat down for a rest, my back was nowhere near right yet. Made some tea and toast before we got to the first lock of the day at Varloh. A cruiser overtook us and was waiting in the lock when we got there. Mike held

Leaving the harbour at Lingen

the string again. It was spitting with rain when we set off again at 10.15 a.m. The cruiser was waiting for us again in Meppen. The washing finished at midday as we were running through the twisty section through Meppen, where we met two blue boarding uphill commercials and a cruiser. It started raining as Mike paused to take the pins out. Lunch on the move then down Hüntel lock with another cruiser, leaving the empty lock just after 1

Contra-rotating propellers at the museum in Haren

p.m. Forty minutes later we tied on the landing below the bottom lock, Haren, on the Haren-Rütenbrock-kanal. Mike went into the office and paid 2€ for each boat for the trip up the canal into the Netherlands. We went uphill in the lock by less than a metre and tied on the landing stage on the left above the lock where the keeper had agreed to let us stay for an hour while Mike and Bill went for a look round the ship museum. A very strong wind was

Working boat cabin at the museum Haren

blowing the rain horizontal straight down the canal as we tied up. They came back with a fine collection of photos. We set off again at 3.30 p.m. Mike gave the keeper a hoot as we set off and he lifted the road bridge for us. Rosy lead the way. A lockful of three German cruisers passed us heading downhill at 4 p.m. Helen phoned to find out where we were. They had loaded their peniche Floan with a cargo of talc in Gent for

Bill admiring pistons from an old boat engine

Douai but had the day off as it was Belgian National Day. Told her where we were and she asked what the trip had been like. I said the MLK was getting busier with more and more Polish and Czech boats coming further west than they used to. She said that the Belgians weren’t happy with the big influx of migrant Polish workers, same in Britain. She said it had just been on the news that more bombs were going off on the London underground, but they were smoke bombs – still causing as much of a scare though. I wished her a good trip as I rushed out to hold a rope as we rose in lock 2, remotely operated by the keeper at the first lock with the aid of cctv (as are all the bridges and locks on the canal – he used to ride up the canal on a moped to work all the locks and bridges!) Up the third lock and through the next liftbridge at 5.30 p.m. Across the short summit, down the last shallow lock and through the last

Moored at the boat museum in Haren

swingbridge at a few minutes before six. Timed to perfection as the canal closes at 6 p.m. Still pouring with rain as we tied up on the old Dutch custom’s quay. Mike decided to leave the car where it was, safe on the car park in Lingen.