Tuesday 16th August 2005 Jentje Meer to KP 18 Turf route N of Tijnje.

Yacht on the Jentjemeer

10º C A lovely sunny morning, high white clouds – very cloudy by lunchtime, but still warm and pleasant without much wind. Set off at 8 a.m. and reversed to the lake before winding and following Rosy across Jentje Meer heading north. The lake was smooth like glass. Took a photo of a yacht reflected in the mirror surface. Next thing the yacht was heading towards us on a collision course – nothing else moving and he had to aim for us! It steered away as it came within a few feet. The young couple on board were grinning.

Windmill on the Buitenringvaart

The first cruiser on the move passed us in the next lake as we headed for Goringarijpster Poelen, only 2 – 2.5m deep. Still following Rosy, we went under Heerenzijld liftbridge as we had enough headroom with our masts off (so there was no need to pay 1,20€ to have the thing lifted) and into Terkaplester Poelen, then the Wijd Geeuw and left into Akkrumerak. Right on Het Deel (pooh! someone had been to the meestbank and was muck spreading, what a pong!) the canal was 3m deep - deeper than the lakes. Turned left at 10.20 a.m. on to the Buitenringvaart, under the narrow fixed span of a railway liftbridge as the traffic on Het Deel was starting to build up with cruisers passing in both directions (but none followed us!). Took photos of the railway bridge to send to Glyn as we started along the wide deep canal. We put our new CD player out on the stern slide and played some CDs as we went along. Turned left into Pompsloot - straight ahead the canal lead into

Railway liftbridge Monnikerak jnc with Het Deel

Herenveen town. We arrived at a DIY press button liftbridge, Hooibrug, as a cruiser arrived at the far side - they pressed the button on their side first and the bridge lifted. The cruiser came through and we got a green light (Bill had pressed the button on our side) and we followed right behind Rosy so that the bridge sensors wouldn’t close it again right behind Bill and we’d have to stop and press the button again. Mike put our big blue sunshade up for the first time in weeks. Took photos as we went past a peat extraction site and a loading place (which looked derelict) at KP 6. There were lots of boats moored in ones and twos or threes along the next long straight section overlooking the peat bog. Bill paid 2€ at Poolsbrug (for us too as

Railway engine at Monnikerak liftbridge

Bill had no change other than 2€ piece). The chatty bridge keeper rattled on to us in Fries as we went through his bridge, we didn’t understand a word!  The canal swung sharp left beyond his bridge. Two cruisers were coming towards us through Warrebrug, a large (free) liftbridge on a busy road operated by a lady keeper. It was eight minutes before midday. She lowered the bridge again to let the road traffic go and then opened it again for us. I made lunch and we ate it as we went along. Paused for ten minutes at the first liftbridge on

DIY liftbridge Hooibrug

the Turf Route near Tijnje for the keeper’s lunchbreak to finish. At 1.25 p.m. we stopped at a rural mooring by KP 18 just before the A7 motorway. The grassy bank had stumps to tie to and a wooden edge just long enough for us two, with a bit left over for a small yacht or cruiser (none turned up to claim it). A barbed wire fence was there to keep cows out - there were none around anyway (but we could see evidence that the fence hadn’t kept them out!) and there was a quiet little road about 50m away. Mike

De Deelen former loading site for peat extraction

decided the car would be OK at

De Deeren former peat extraction site

Jentje Meer and left it there.

Rosy at Warrebrug

Turfroute sign board with opening times and charges in 2005

Monday 15th August 2005 Witmarsum to S. end of Jentjemeer.

Factory bridge Witmarsumervaart

13º C Grey, overcast, cold and breezy. Mike went to the bakery for bread and then we both went to the Spa minimarket, calling via the car to get two rucksacks, and bought groceries for the week. Saw a very tame wren in one of the gardens as we walked by. The prices in Spa were not as bad as I had expected, we spent around 45€. Bill had already been to both places when we got back. Set off just after 9.00 a.m. As we were untying three little lads on bikes arrived again and were still trying to talk to us in Fries. I don’t think they could grasp the idea that we, as adults, couldn’t understand what they were saying. We followed Rosy south on the Witmarsumervaart, round some awesome bends under bridges which were marked on our

Windmill near Bolsward

chart (dated ‘96/’97) as between 45 cms and 1m, all of which had been raised to give ample headroom (for narrowboats!) of around 2.5m. We came to a stop when faced with a liftbridge, overtaking Rosy to investigate. There was a push button, which I pressed. Immediately the road barriers dropped and the bridge deck lifted. Although Rosy was close behind us, the bridge lights turned red and the deck lowered as soon as we’d cleared the three sensors under the deck. Bill had to reverse hard and then press the button for it to open again. A “one boat at a time bridge” – the first we’d come across! We turned left on to the canal into Bolsward and

Blauwpoortsbrug Bolsward

admired the enterprise of the DIY store on the outskirts of the town for putting a nice wooden edge to the bank and a horizontal bar for boats to tie to alongside their car park to enable them to visit their premises. Round a sharp left hand bend and we came to another lift bridge, Knetermansbrug. There was no one around except a man fishing from the bridge deck. He told us the keeper was at the next bridge, so Mike climbed the bridge deck (there was no bank access from the posts and planks by the bridge) and went to find him. He was back in a few minutes and I picked him up off the bridge. Round a ninety degree right hand bend, the junction with the circular route through the little town, and we waited for the keeper to

Open railway swingbridge at Ijlst

come and open the next bridge, Blauwpoortsbrug. Both were free of charge. Suddenly there were boats everywhere, sailboats with masts up and cruisers, most of which were big hireboats from Sneek and Ijlst. Turned right and followed two cruisers and a masted tjalk through the double road liftbridges, whose decks descended as we went through (2.6m clearance was plenty for us with no mast up). Just beyond the bridge we turned left on the Bolswardervaart with two cruisers approaching from our left. I got the blame for us cutting across in front of them as I hadn’t gone up to the bows to check to see what was coming. I had forgotten that

Railway tracks from the swingbridge at Ijlst

the navigation we were joining was twice the width and depth of the one we’d just left. Rosy was right behind us and kept coming too as he said he hadn’t heard Mike call on VHF as the bridge was making a loud noise. As it happens the two cruisers were turning into the canal we’d just left anyway. Mike put our mast back up as all the bridges were moveable ones all the way into the little town of Ijlst. There were lapwings, crows and starlings in the meadow alongside the canal, swallows all along the wire fence, sandpipers dashing off in front skimming over the water and coots, grebe and ducks paddling around in the canal. Lots of birds for such a busy boaty

Railway swingbridge at Ijlst

spot. We got through Wolsumerkettingbrug and Abbegeasterkettingbrug (1,20€ each) the keeper at the latter bridge was an old lady who beamed at us and said our boats were beautiful, before getting stuck for lunch at the swingbridge at Oosthem. Two cruisers were following a masted tjalk (with leeboard just lowered a few cms in the water to compensate for the strong side wind) going towards the last liftbridge, it was ten to twelve and we wondered if the old lady would let them through - she did. Made some lunch. Set off again when a man came out to swing the manually operated swingbridge. He stood next to the bridge with a clog on a

Nijezijlbrug. Wijde Wijmerts

fishing pole at the ready, but couldn’t reach us as both boats steered through on the far side of the bridge hole (I’d got a note on the chart that he swings a clog out for a tip) and didn’t make a contribution for him working the free bridge. Bill had paid for the two boats at the previous bridge due to lack of change, so Mike paid for two at the next bridge, Nijezijlbrug liftbridge. The rail swing bridge was open so I took photos for Glyn, including one from the roof of the lines, and a whole ruck of boats were coming through Nijezijlbrug liftbridge towards us. A large hireboat hadn’t got the idea that he could go through the other side of the open railway swingbridge (it was on a bend) and swung hard across behind Rosy to take the side we’d just come through. We skirted round the western edge of the little town of Ijlst, heading south on the

Armchair boating Wijde Wijmerts

Wijde Wijmerts. There were lots of kids in sailing boats coming towards us, some of them being towed by motor boats and a couple of them had settees! What next? One tacked right in front of our bows and Mike shouted “Missed!” not realising until a few minutes later what he’s said – mest (pronounced “mist”) is Dutch for shit! After a short distance further down the navigation we turned left, heading back towards the town, east on the Winsloot, then north on the Het Zouw before turning right on to the Jutrijpervaart, heading south again, round some more very impressive bends. Two open speed boats passed us, one in either direction, the one coming towards us tried to take the wrong side on a left hand bend until Mike left him no

Farmhouse Het Zouw

room (we needed it all to get round the sharp bend) then the one overtaking us nipped round our bows and opened up the big outboard engine as he went round a blind right hand bend. We could see over the reeds that there was nothing else coming round the bend, but the two boys on board the speedboat couldn’t! Turned left, heading east again, on the Zoolsloot, then right - running southeast, down the Ooster Wijmerts. Crossed the Prinses Margriet Kanaal (no commercials about only sailboats by the dozen) where the channel crossed a small lake with a house on an island, then southeast again on the Langeweerdervaart, then left again - eastwards - on the De Brekken and Fammensraken, under three low bridges turning north to the moorings south of Jentje Meer. The first landing stages were almost full with

Safety poster "Travel courteously on the waterways"

moored cruisers, but the second had only two moored boats. We winded at the southern end of the little lake and went back to the landing. The mud under the stagings always shoves the boat back out again as it comes alongside, so I got off sharpish with the bow ropes and we tied behind the cruiser and yacht at the north end of the staging. It was 3.45 p.m. Mike and I unloaded the moped and Mike went to collect the car from Witmarsum. Bill called round to say that Veronica had called him to say his missing parcel had just turned up – marked “wrongly addressed” and returned to her (it had been addressed exactly the same as was the one he’d received). Glyn phoned with the address for our next postal drop at Wolvega (now nicknamed by Mike and

Sunset over Jentjemeer

Glyn “Swarfega” (brand name of a famous hand cleaner) - deaf pair of idiots) which he’d found via the internet for us again.