Saturday 13th August 2005 Berlikum to Witmarsum

Friesien farmhouse

12.2º C. Sunny spells, lots of clouds, showery after lunch. Set off at 8 a.m. with the boat's alternator playing up again and the alarm sounding. Mike tried disconnecting the Adverc system, tested it, and then reconnected it as it was working OK again. Just north of Berlikum we came to a crossroads where we turned left on the Ried Wijd, which took us through the village of Ried, where there was a small offline marina. Near Ried we came across a strangely positioned diagonal row of streetlights across a field where horses were grazing. We puzzled over why

Kaatsveldertsebrug

they were there, we quizzed Bill. There was no sign of a road for a camping site or a building site for a new house – they don’t put streetlights in first anyway. Bill suggested they flooded the field in winter to make a skating rink, but why have the lights diagonally across the middle for the skaters to bump into? It remained a mystery. The next name change of the navigation was at Dongjum, where the canal became the Dongjumer vaart and took us into the busy town of Franeker. Another little

Timetable at Stationbrug Frankener

town with a navigable moat and earth banks to protect the houses, which were built on slightly higher ground than the rest of the surrounding countryside. Round the Z bends to a liftbridge, sharp left, where a cruiser was moored alongside a café (he followed us shortly after we passed him). There was a slight flow, which took our bows to the right. Mike looked at the bridge deck and decided we could get under it, so he backed off to straighten the boat up as the right hand side of the bridge was lower than the left. He was right, we made it through the bridge before the keeper turned up to lift it. Bill tried it and

Fishing boat at Frankener

found the swirling flow took his bows over to the right under the bridge. Just then the lady keeper appeared and lifted the deck, so he didn’t need to back off and try again. The cruiser came past Rosy minutes after he’d cleared the bridge, overtaking among lots of moored boats. Took photos of an ancient trip boat mouldering away by the junction with the Van Harinxmakanaal. (There was a lovely old yacht out on the bank – just suit a German friend of ours – needed some work on it though). Turned

Barnacle geese, Arumervaart

right on the commercial route. Had a very short wait while the keeper lifted the Stationsbrug, which worked to a strict timetable, opening four times an hour for pleasure boats. It was 10.24 a.m. when we went through. The cruiser had moored in the 3 day mooring just before the bridge. There were three red lights showing by the bridge, which indicated there was a flow - they were letting the excess water out at low tide down at Harlingen. We passed a dead end arm on our right where lots of big masted talks and klippers were moored. A little further on we came

Narrow canal through Arum

across a brand new liftbridge carrying a motorway across the canal. Mike wasn’t sure where the turn off to the left was for the Arumervaart as the motorway bridge wasn’t on our map. He called Bill on VHF as he had a much more recent map than ours. He confirmed that the turn was before the bridge, the old channel was straight on our map, this one had Z bends under an access road for the motorway. The water level was down and there was about a 1 kph flow, which we were going against, which made slow going on a canal

Narrow canal through Arum

which was already shallow. Creeping through a railway bridge brought back memories of the difficult job we used to have with Chirk tunnel on the Llangollen canal. The little canal had some interesting bends as we passed between fields of wheat and corn and pastures, where the ever present Friesian cows, or herds of horses, were grazing. A scruffy looking young Marsh Harrier flew over the fields on our right. We came to a liftbridge, between Hitzum and Arum, indicated on our chart as having a headroom of 2.65m –

Leaning painted tower in Arum

wrong! – it was more like 1m. I had to leap off on to a wobbly plank and climb up to a farm track and wind open the liftbridge after I’d hammered the locking wedges out. Reversing the procedure after the boats had gone through, I got back on board and carried on defrosting the ‘fridge, then made hot sandwiches for lunch, we ate them outside on the stern and then I went back inside to finish defrosting the fridge and replacing all the food. We went into a very narrow channel through the village of Arum, where there was a very interesting looking

Lifted bridge at Witmarsum

painted church tower, which leaned like the tower of Pisa, but I couldn’t get a decent photo of it as it was surrounded by lots of houses and trees. The southern canal route into Harlingen crossed the canal we were running south on. The navigation changed its name to the Witmarsumervaart, which wasn’t in the Deel 2 almanac at all. Saw another Marsh Harrier hunting low over the fields. I finished the chores, made a cuppa and sat out as the rain showers started. Into Witmarsum, under a low bridge which had had the centre section lifted. It wasn’t the lowest on the navigation, we hoped Bill’s new map was right because ours showed the lowes

Mooring at Witmarsum

t bridge as 0.85m! We tied up in the town next to a newish wooden deck after I’d moved a little red open boat, which had been tied in the middle of a space just long enough for us. Bill brought Rosy alongside. It was 1.25 p.m. and we’d only just finished tying up when a posh new varnished wooden sailing tjalk with lowered masts came past – there was just enough room for it to squeeze past. A young woman was anxiously walking the gunwales with a big black sausage fender ready to deploy it should the need arise. The young man who was steering was concentrating too hard to even smile as they went past. Bill took Fanny for a walk to explore the village. He said there was a butchers and a bakers and a little Spa. Helped Mike get the moped off the roof and he went to get the car from Berlikum. Mike returned with the car just after a heavy shower - he missed the rain both on the moped and in the car. Two men and a little lad came to chat, the lad had been earlier with his friend and wanted to ask questions but didn’t know any English, one chap had been on a narrowboat in England and remarked about how it kept going uphill in steps in locks. We watched the news then Mike and Bill went for a drink in the local café. It was pouring down with rain.

Friday 12th August 2005 Oudekerk to Berlikum.

Tiled bridge at Giekerk on 11 towns race circuit. Ouddeel Murk

10.7º C overnight. Grey, damp and chilly, sunny later in the afternoon. It was drizzling when we set of just after eight. Took photos of a tiled bridge, covered with pictures in blue and white of the ice skaters who have competed in the famous eleven towns race – the Ouddeel Murk forms part of the course – the pictures had been skilfully arranged to form images of ice speed skaters when viewed from a distance. We skirted Leeuwarden, heading southwards, to the east of the city, then the canal swung right to run to the west,

Tiled bridge at Giekerk on 11 towns race circuit. Ouddeel Murk

south of the city on the main commercial route, Van Harinxmakanaal. As this is the route for masted vessels all the bridges are moveable, including two pivoting swinging railway bridges. After seeing nothing but a small cruiser on the little canal we were suddenly back among the cruisers and yachts, most of which were heading south for the lakes. We turned right near Deinum (a town with an intriguing Mediaeval church which has a tower topped with an onion dome) off the Van Harinxmakanaal on to the

Tiled bridge at Giekerk on 11 towns race circuit. Ouddeel Murk

Menaldumervaart, where all the bridges were fixed (except one) and the maximum possible height above the water was 2.4m, which eliminates all the tall cruisers and hireboats and is only 1.25m deep, which gets rid of the keeled yachts, even with their masts stepped. The bends were very interesting, some more than ninety degrees and the little bridges were often arched ones, so care had to be taken to get the right line through the bridge. In Menaldum we went through a narrow section with a roof high quay all along the left hand side and were faced with a

Railway swing bridge on the Van Harixmakanaal

very low arched bridge, which had a notice saying apply at 4, Lyste Dijk for service. Mike got off and went to find the keeper, who appeared and came to lift the bridge – a modern press button affair. Mike asked him about the water levels as we’d noticed that the level looked down by about 20 cms and he confirmed our suspicions that they run water out into the sea at low tide, then the land drains into the canal and fills it up again, etc, etc. Round the next bend we spotted a supermarket right alongside the canal and Bill had been saying earlier that

Dock cranes at Leeuwarden Van Harixmakanaal

he could do with some groceries. We tied to the posts provided and Mike went off to get a few things too, while I made a salad for lunch. It was very useful for Bill as he could get the supermarket trolley very close to his boat and stock up with crates of beer without having to carry them any distance. Set off again eating lunch on the stern as the sun came out. Round the next bend we met a little black hulled botter with its masts lowered. Mike called Bill on VHF to tell him that there was a boat coming towards him and they would meet on the bend, but

Railway swing bridge on the Van Harixmakanaal

the botter slowed right down when its crew saw us. The couple on board looked very sullen and miserable – they didn’t say hello or wave. As we came into Berlikum, where we had decided to stay overnight, two cruisers pulled away from a quay where lots of other small boats were moored in front of a row of houses. That was fortunate, it gave us a place to tie up. Mike unloaded the moped, easily as the quay was almost roof height, and went off to collect the car from Oudekerk. I trimmed off the mossie netting on the new door

Church tower at Deinum. Van Harixmakanaal

curtain and a man passing by stopped to chat. He’d wanted to know how long the boat was and did we have any trouble with the bends! He’d been kayaking in Poland 30 years ago with kayakers from all over the world, around Posnan and Bydgoszcz! Small world. Put the PC on and did the log. When Mike returned, (he came back with a box of Merci chocolates for me from the fisherlady we saw yesterday! Wasn’t that a nice surprise – that’s the first time I’ve ever had a box of chocolates from complete strangers) and we’d stowed the

Tight bend on the Menaldumervaart

moped back on board, we went for a look around the Market Hall located about 50m behind the boats. In a large factory unit someone had set up a shop selling all sorts of odds and ends, from clothes and clogs to food and tools. Bill had bought a pack of two mousetraps – he gave us one, which Mike installed under the bonnet of the car as a rodent (resident?) had continued to chew away at the insulation under the

Moored on the quay in Berlikum

bonnet. 

Thursday 11th August 2005 Ee nr Dokkum to Oudekerk.

Cranes and factory Dokkumer Grootdiep

13.1º C overnight. Grey clouds, windy and cold when we set off just after 8 a.m. (Sunny spells in the afternoon). The first liftbridge, D.F.Woudabrug, was only about a kilometre away and we had to tie up again when we got there as it didn’t open (for pleasure boats) until 9.00 a.m. Two sail boats turned up as the bridge opened, they followed us through and overtook. The bridge was operated by the keeper who was at the bridge just outside Dokkum, using surveillance cameras to watch the boats. A medium sized tripboat out of Dokkum was coming towards us by where a few boats were moored, Rosy stopped instead of keeping going - there

Windmill in Dokkum

was plenty of room. A sailboat overtook us going round the tight bends just before the keeper-operated bridge. Another masted yacht was coming towards us, so the one who’d just overtaken us slotted in between us and Rosy. We could both get under the deck of the bridge without it being lifted, so we went to go past the yacht but the bridge opened so he continued to follow Rosy until we’d cleared the bridge. Like a

Putting the money in the clog on a string

motorway for a while! Into Dokkum, a very touristy little town. The chandlery was selling diesel at 1,07€ a litre. We took the left hand route through the liftbridges, rather than the route through the centre of the town under low fixed bridges and went through Woudspoortbrug with a queue of boats as we went around the town’s moat with two tall windmills on the right bank. The keeper at Altenabrug relieved us of

Waiting for the bridges in Birdaard

4,20€ each for the bridges, swinging the clog on a string to collect it. All the boats stooged about between the rows of moored boats on both banks while the keeper closed his bridge and went on his bike to open Eebrug at the west end of town. A big hireboat from Sneek (pronounced Snake) pulled out from the moorings directly in front of us. The keeper added to the mayhem by letting the boats through from the far side of his bridge first. Swarms of y

Rosy emerging  from the Oudkerkstrevaart on to Oudeel Murk

achts and botters and tjalks went past, all of them travelling much, much faster than us. The hordes overtook as we left the town of Dokkum behind, the canal emerging into windswept meadows where coots were pecking for insects in the grass and geese were competing with the sheep for the best grass. A little house was advertising smoked herring for sale at 11€ per “Pond” – who said we had to use kilos, they’re still using pounds! Ten minutes later a convoy of boats came past which had just cleared the next liftbridge, Klaarkampsterbrug, which lifted as we approached it

DIY liftbridge at Oudekerk

. Two sail boats were approaching the far side as we went through the free bridge. Mike told Bill we should get a move on as the two bridges at Birdaard would be closed for lunch at 12.00. We didn’t make it. The last sailboat to overtake us made it through the bridge at 11.55 a.m. and then the keeper left the cabin. We could see there was a great tangle of boats on the far side of the liftbridge. We tied to the posts by the bridge, Rosy came alongside and a sailboat alongside Rosy. Lunch. Several more yachts and botters arrived and moored behind us. At one o’clock the keeper started from the

Narrow canal through Oudekerk

other end of town first, bringing a gaggle of boats through his two bridges. He lowered the bridge again to let the road traffic queue disperse before letting us through into the 500m length between the two bridges, where more boats were moored along the quay on the right with houses on both sides. The clog swung again for 2€ for the two bridges. The yachts behind us took advantage of the melee between the bridges to zoom past to the head of the queue. Several large cruisers had joined in the convoy behind us and their bow thrusters were zut-zutting as the wind blew them sideways. They all zipped past as we cleared Birdaard. More windswept wide open fields with the wind blasting from our right. Into Bartleheim, where there were some very smart houses and gardens along both banks and we turned left into the little canal, called the Oudkerksvaart, where there was nothing else moving but us and ducked under a couple of low fixed bridges. Round a sharp right hand bend into the village of Ouekerk, where we had a DIY liftbridge to play with. 2€ in the slot to operate the press button bridge (once we’d lowered both road barriers and set the traffic lights to

Little lake Oudekerkstermeer

red). Between the tree lined banks, past a café with pedaloes (which seemed to be closed) and crossed a little shallow lake called Oudkerkstermeer. The name of the navigation had changed to Ouddeel Murk. More meadows, with a kestrel hovering, hunting, and a marsh harrier swooping low, also looking for dinner. A little further on was our destination, a wooden landing sheltered from the wind by a stand of trees not

Mooring at Oudekerk

far from the village of Oudekerk. A family were fishing from it! I said sorry as we cruised past them and they all lifted their rods so we could get to the end of the staging, leaving them half of it to fish from. Bill brought Rosy alongside. Helped Mike unload the moped and he went off to get the car. I set up the new mossie net in the front door as there were masses of small black houseflies. When the fishers went home Bill moved Rosy to moor behind us on the staging. Mike returned at 6 p.m. I helped get the moped back on the roof and sheeted up (the roof was covered in white things, empty shells of thousands of tiny insects).

Wednesday 10th August 2005 Schaphalsterzijl to Ee nr Dokkum.

Flood lock on the Reitdiep at Electra

11.8º C Still cold grey and windy after lots of rain in the night. Set off with the pins in, ready to do some washing, at 8.15 a.m. We winded and went back through the new flood lock and out on to the Reitdiep, turning right, heading downstream. Only the briefest of pauses in midriver while the Roodehaan liftbridge opened for us. There were hundreds of mallard ducks along the next stretch of river, most of them in one bunch, they took off and landed again behind us. The cruisers started waking up and moving off after nine o’clock. The first washer load finished just before we reached the flood lock at Lammersburen and I had time to unload and reload

Moored fishing boats and smokeries Zoutkamp

before we had to stop to work through the lock. There was a lift today of about 5cms. We went on the left, Bill came in on the right and the wind blew Rosy across the lock and across our bows before he had time to sling a rope around the wooden baulks. A British yawl, a very nice sailboat, was waiting on the other side of the lock. We did some mutual admiration and took photos. On down the river, the wind was picking up and, as the river got wider, the waves increased in size. Through Zoutkamp, taking photos of the fishing boats moored by the brightly painted fish smokeries. A sailboat got in the way, it was waiting for the Fries sluis liftbridge bridge to open at 10.36 a.m. and was stooging right in the middle. We could get under the bridge deck, 

Small coaster at Zoutkamp

but ended up having to slow down to stay behind the yacht, so I had to pause the washing briefly. I got the ironing done. Glad to get that out of the way as the laundry pile had been growing. On into the former tidal estuary, called the Slenk (snake) and I stood in the side hatch and took photos of the waves hitting our bows and Rosy’s. The northwest wind was in our faces as we got to the widest bit, which wasn’t very deep - 3m deepening to about 4.5m as we reached the Dokkumerdiep, where we turned left to head south. The waves slapped loudly under the

Boats in the hafen at Zoutkamp

counter as we turned and we were still moving with the swell. There were lots of sailboats out, although most had no canvas showing and were moving under motor. A large charter klipper overtook us, he was sailing with just one big square sail deployed. I made us a cup of soup as it was really chilly with the biting wind still in our faces. Another British yacht went past, doubling the number we’d seen so far this year. The wind on the estuary had been blowing around force five to six, but moderated as we went further away from the North Sea and the channel grew narrower. As we were going upstream there was a flow to contend with, 

Starboard channel marker on the Reitdiep

only about 1.5 kph but that’s a fair flow for Dutch waters. Lots of sailboats overtook us, all in a big bunch, just before we arrived at the lock, Willem Loréslûs. The big charter sailboat was heading for the lock, which still had red lights showing and a cruiser was trying to get in first. There was a long queue of mainly masted sailboats tied to the wooden stagings waiting for the lock. Two blasts on the ship’s hooter were needed before the cruiser gave way and the ship went into the chamber first. The lock lights changed to green and the lock keeper called us two narrowboats in behind the sailboat alongside the cruiser, leaving lots of smaller boats still

Rosy battling through the waves

milling about. The problem with the lock is that there is a liftbridge which reduces the amount of headroom in about half the length of the 65m long chamber, so sailboats get in first and motorboats (with less height above the water) can sit under the deck of the lowered liftbridge. The road which crosses the bridge is a busy north-south route, the N358. We rose about 20 cms and followed the sailboat and cruiser out of the lock on to the Dokkumer Grootdiep. A queue was forming on the other side of the lock too. At the head of it was the first hireboat we’d seen this year, a big white cruiser belonging to Blue Line. I took a photo of it heading into the

A klipper under sail

lock. Hardly had to slow down before the liftbridge at Engwierum opened for us. It was operated from afar by a keeper watching us on CCTV. The wind was still in our faces as we ran west heading towards Dokkum. We moored at 2.10 p.m. at the first Marrekrite mooring just after the junction with the Oud Dokkumerdiep. We needed a hot meal so I heated some pea soup for Mike’s lunch. After lunch we fetched a plank off the roof to get the moped off (the bank was a good step down off our gunwales, only about 20cms above water). It was 3.30 p.m. when Mike left to get the car. Bill took Fanny for a walk into Ee to post a letter. Mike was

First hire boat of the year

back at 6.15 p.m. with a handful of plums from the house by where he’d left the car yesterday. The couple at the house had been picking the fruit off their tree and had given some to him when he arrived to collect our car. He’d moved the car to a car park by the lock, Willem Loréslûs, and ridden back along the canal bank on the moped.