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.