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

Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th June 2004 Roelagebrug to the German/Dutch border at Barnflair.

Saturday 26th June 2004 Roelagebrug to the German/Dutch border at Barnflair.

7.8° C. Sunshine, blue skies and a gentle breeze. We set off at 9.05 a.m. following Rosy up to Ter Apelersluis. Bill turned the key to empty the lock and we went up the last lock on the Ruiten Aa kanaal. Mike wound up the lift bridge above the lock and Bill went on to get the next bridge. We arrived just after a cruiser called Elles had landed on the opposite side of the

Roelagebrug - photo from 2005

bridge and a lady from the cruiser got off and worked the bridge. For some reason best known to themselves the skipper brought his cruiser through the bridge first, instead of letting the two narrowboats through first and getting out of his way, because then he had to hover about in the narrow channel while his crew closed the bridge. This meant that Bill was in front to work the last liftbridge, a bridge which carried the busy main road into Ter Apel. He managed OK, but he had great long queues of traffic while he moved Rosy through, tied up and went back to lower the bridge. The lock at Barnflair was full with the top end gates open. We tied to the sloping grassy bank below the lock, next to three old cruisers with for sale notices on them, and Mike got off to investigate. There was no sign of the keeper, but his book in the lock cabin indicated that four cruisers had gone through earlier heading uphill. We waited for his return. I tried ‘phoning the number in the book and got a shrieking recorded announcement

Below Ter Apelersluis - photo from 2005

by a Dutch woman and the call cut off. The lock keeper came back shortly afterwards and emptied the lock and we went up. He spoke no English, but wanted to know all about the origins of our boats, so he enterprisingly enlisted the aid of a gongoozler as interpreter. We signed his book and then he swung the footbridge over the canal for us and raised the vertical liftbridge over the junction with the Haren-Rütenbrock kanal. A small tjalk was moored at the landing stage for Potze’s garage, where we had to return our keys. I collected Bill’s key and we backed off into the old oval stop lock and Mike went across the road to get our deposits back for the keys (20€ each). Another tjalk was moored by the old Dutch customs place, this one was German from Lingen and had full sailing rigging with stepped masts lying across his cabin roof. It was 12.30 p.m. when we got to the lock. Bill pulled the hanging chain, but

Ter Apelersluis - photo from 2005

nothing happened. The swingbridge lights remained on red, as did the lights for the lock whose bottom end gates were open. We thought they must be closed for lunch until 1.00 p.m. so we had our lunch while we were waiting. At 1.00 p.m. we tried again, and this time the lock and the bridge lights went off to our great surprise - nobody had looked at times in the book! Mike went to look and see if there was a timetable on the new lock cabin. There was. The newly reopened, now remotely-operated canal was open from 8.00 until 13.00 on Saturdays, but last entry time was 11.00 a.m. Now we found that the canal in front of us was closed until Monday morning. Somehow, it seemed that something didn’t want us to go to Germany! We reversed towards the landing by the garage. Then I noticed that there was a short section of bank with a few trees sheltering the canal from the busy road which follows it all the way to Haren, so we moored there instead. There was enough room for the two boats side by side at the bottom of a steeply sloping grassy bank. A kind fisherman at some time had cut a few steps into the bank, so we positioned our bows by that and tied ropes around conveniently spaced trees. Mike decided to walk back to Roelagebrug to collect the car as it was only about 6 kms back and easier than trying to unload the moped. On his return he took Bill with him to get some beer and something to BBQ from Edah in Ter Apel. I prepared spuds to bake, potato salad and egg mayo while they were out shopping. We sat outside chatting and had our pork steaks

Ter Apel - photo from 2005

and sausages plus one of Bill’s hamburgers. Fanny collected twigs and sticks for making more charcoal. The weather forecast was right, it clouded over during the evening. We went indoors and Mike watched the end of the football match. The Dutch team beat Sweden. They were 0 - 0 when we went in at 10.30 and into extra time. When I went to bed at 11.30 they were still doing penalty goal kicks. Mike stayed up to watch the end and finish off his beer.

Sunday 27th June 2004 Barnflair.

An enforced day off as the canal was shut on Sundays. A mild 13.1° C overnight but the weather was no good for cruising, as rain poured down all morning with short sunny spells just before lunch. The afternoon was drier and cloudy. Mike cleared up the BBQ stuff he’d left at the top of the bank under the trees from the night before. We had some lunch, then we went out in the car to check that the mooring in the basin at Lingen was still OK and hadn’t been turned into a fancy new marina. An empty 80m boat had taken up most of the one side of the mooring opposite the builder’s yard and a few cruisers were moored in front of its bows. We picked up some German bio-diesel at 79.9c/litre and went back to the boat on the scenic route via Meppen and Haren on the 70. 

Sunday 30th - Monday 31st May 2004 Veelerveen to Nieuweschans.

Sunday 30th May 2004 Veelerveen.

10.5° C overnight - getting warmer! Sunny again. After lunch Mike watched the F1 Grand Prix racing from Nurburgring in Germany. Schumacher won, Button third. Bill had been having problems with his Sterling inverter overheating, so Mike went next door to have a look at it. They took it apart, all seemed to be OK. They checked the fans, it had been getting hot and cut out. I did some more crochet and started reading a book (loaned by Bill) called “the Pursuit of Oblivion” a social history of drugs. First time for years that I’ve needed a dictionary to read a book written in English. Adumbrage? Solipsist? Uh?

Monday 31st May 2004 Veelerveen to Nieuweschans.

12.9° C and raining when we got up. Refilled the water tank and set off in the drizzle at 9.30 a.m. I walked down to Veendijksbrug and lifted it. Bill went on to get the lock ready at Vreischeloostersluis. He tied up on the left and couldn’t find the key slot. It was almost at the end of the wooden fendering between the lock and the weir, almost inaccessible from the bank! We pulled alongside and I stood on our bow and turned the key in the slot to set the lock. Down the lock, a modern concrete one, round a bend and past a windmill on to a long straight. The rain stopped. We went under a fixed bridge, past the turning on to the

Veendiep. picture by Gouwenar

Veendiep (the route we came down) and continued along the reopened section of the B.L. Tijdenskanaal. Bill stopped to operate Leidijksburg lift bridge and was having trouble with it. Mike brought our boat alongside Rosy and I went to assist. A bunch of local fishermen were offering assistance and managed to get the bridge to lift, I didn’t see how as there were people everywhere, laughing and joking and offering a clog to Bill as he took Rosy through. I said I’d lower the bridge. In the meantime a cruiser had caught us up and went through the bridge too. Mike picked me up (then I’d got both keys! ours and Bill’s) and we went through to the next bridge. The people off the cruiser had lifted Lethebrug and we all went through. Bill went on and tied up by Wymeersterbrug, a busy road bridge, but he had no key to work it. Mike dropped me off at a wooden staging and I went up to the bridge with both keys. We’d got loads of helpers again. Two guys in a car (at least they spoke English - the fishermen at the other bridge didn’t) had come to see the boats. I quickly read the instructions (in Dutch only) on the board, then I tried the button marked “doorvart”, which did nothing (the previous ones had just switched the lights on for the boats) and then “sluitend” which also did nothing. Then the bloke from the car said he’d seen someone come through earlier and he pressed the two buttons together and the barriers went down and the bridge lifted! I gave Bill his key back as he went through the bridge. The cruiser went past and off into the distance (what 6 kph speed limit?). We could see behind us there was another cruiser coming through the previous liftbridge. I lowered the bridge and got back on the boat. The navigation went through a section with no roads on the banks, not even tracks, just grazing sheep. A car had arrived at the next bridge, Booneschanskerbrug, and the driver had got out and lifted the bridge for Bill, who was some distance in front of us, then shut it again after he’d gone through. The young man lifted the bridge again for us. We thanked him, but he spoke no English, and he asked if we had a key. He stayed there and operated the bridge for the two cruisers who were following us. We turned right at the junction with the Westerwoldse Aa and the two cruisers, which had now caught us up, also followed us towards Nieuweschans. The cruiser, which had opened a

Railway at Nieuweschans - photo by Geohack

bridge for us earlier, was coming towards us - they must have been into Nieuwschans and turned round. They went off along Westerwoldsee Aa in the direction of Winschoten. Under the busy A7 motorway (which takes traffic into Germany). The motorway lifting span had an air draught of over 4m, so the cruisers followed us through, but the next bridge was a wooden, Llangollen-style lifting bridge, carrying a foot- and cycle-path, with 2.5m headroom – so they turned round and also went off towards Winschoten. We moored next to a roof-high wooden staging with two old rusty steel boats moored at one end. We had lunch, then Mike started revamping the switching device that he had made ages ago. It turned off the inverter that powered the video and satellite receiver, so that after recording things at night or when we were away from the boat it conserved the 12v power. He had decided to leave the car where it was at Veelerveen. According to our new Deel 2 almanak, the railway bridge in Nieuweschans was supposed to be closed, as it was a Bank Holiday, but during the afternoon several cruisers appeared from that direction (while it was pouring down with rain and we were both in the middle of jobs) stooged around for a while and then the crews tied on the ends of the wooden staging and left their boats there. We must have been tied up in their preferred mooring places! I made chop suey with rice noodles for dinner.

Thursday 27th - Saturday 29th May 2004 Sellingen to Veelerveen.

Thursday 27th May 2004 Sellingen to Veelerveen.

6.5 ° C overnight. Sunny spells and grey clouds, chilly north wind. We set off first at 9.10 a.m, Rosy following. Arrived at Jipsinghuizersluis at 9.45 a.m. turned the key and the bottom gates closed, the paddle lifted and the lock filled. Mike and I worked the liftbridge (a wind up and down one) Bill brought Rosy into the lock and Mike followed him. I shut the bridge and the lock worked like clockwork - except I left the key in the switch on the side of the bridge. Luckily, the man at the house opposite the bridge spotted that the red traffic light was still on and came to tell us. He asked if we’d been to Poland already! Mike told him the situation and that Poland was on hold until next year. Only one of the bottom end gates opened, but we could get out of the lock so we didn’t have to call the staff out. Down the short pound to Wollinghuizensluis. The lock worked the same as the previous one, except the liftbridge was automatic  - press the button and it did it all by itself. Left the bottom at 11 a.m. and headed down to Bourtange. Made a cup of soup as it was decidedly chilly. Bill was first at the lock. Our two bridge painters were busy painting the liftbridge’s counterbalance from a scaffolding. They were very cheerful and moved it for us to go into the lock. Bourtange’s liftbridge was automatic too but linked in with the lock working, and, as it was only a shallow lock, the bridge stayed up until we’d left the chamber. That was quick! 11.35 a.m and we were away again. The next pound was a longer one and we ran down to the modern concrete lock at Vlagtweddersluis. Turned the key and set the lock, went in and Bill brought “Rosy” in alongside. Masts off to get under the fixed road bridge (3m high) below the lock. I made a sandwich as we dropped down in the lock and we ate lunch as we ran down to Veelerveen. Bill was in front so he worked the automatic bridge, Veelerveensebrug, and we went on to moor at the wooden landing at 1.00 p.m. Immediately after tying up we refilled our water tank, set the Markon running and did two loads of washing. Mike went off to collect the car. I did the chores, vacuumed the carpet and did the ironing while I’d got the Markon running and 240v electricity available, I turned the engine off after the washing finished. Bill carried on fitting his new engine room floor. Another Friesland hireboat went past. Mike took Bill to get his gas bottle refilled. Cooked some red roast pork for dinner with Thai broccoli in oyster sauce and noodles.

A packed mooring at Veelerveen (on the way back in 2005)

Friday 28th May 2004 Veelerveen. More waiting

6° C overnight, grey morning, brighte-ning up later. We all went shopping (by car) to the Albert Heijn in Stadskanaal, got our groceries then we went in a VVV office and asked where the local cybercafé was - in the library. Found the library next to the theatre, it was closed, only open afternoons. Called in the library at Vlagtwedde on the way back to the boat. They had four computer terminals, so Mike said he’d go back after lunch and have a session on the ‘net. I packed the groceries away and made lunch. Mike got some Comastic hull blacking paint out and touched up the damaged patches where we’d got scratches down the port side from backing out of the mooring at Almere and where the starboard gunwale had caught under one of the wooden landings for bridge working. A large cruiser went past heading uphill. Mike took Bill with him and they went back to the library in Vlagtwedde. Mike tried to register for e-mail on Yahoo (the Aussie guy we met at Condé, Leigh, suggested he did that ages ago - winter before last). Everything seemed very slow, maybe because there’s a holiday looming, and he wasn’t sure if he succeeded. Bill tried sending him an e-mail but he didn’t get it. When they returned Mike lit the BBQ and we had steak and slavinken (Dutch sausages wrapped with bacon), plus I made potato salad (got the right type of spuds - Hooray!) and egg salad with spicy saté sauce. Fanny fetched sticks to make more charcoal. It started getting chilly, so I went in at 9.30 p.m. to do the washing up, leaving the men sitting out drinking beer. They packed up at 11 p.m.

Saturday 29th May 2004 Veelerveen.  Waiting....

4.9° C Clear blue skies, sunny and warm - weatherwise the best day for ages. Beginning of Whit week! I stripped the covers off the cushions, while Mike and Bill went off to the library to have another try at e-mailing on the Internet. They were back shortly after. The library was closed on Saturdays! Put the pins in and ran the Markon and I did two more loads of washing - thick winter door curtains to be put away and the cushion covers. Mike had a sort out in the engine room to try and lighten the contents and lift the stern end up in the water a bit. He transferred some lengths of steel (for repairs, etc) to the storage under the seat on the front deck and put the spare chimney pipe on the staging (to be disposed of later). In the afternoon Bill was carrying on with his woodwork and so we went out in the car to look at mooring places along the B.L.Tijdenskanaal and Westerwoldse Aa. We went as far as the Dollard at Nieuwe Statenzijl, where there were lots of people out on their bikes for a ride on the dijk path. Back at 5.30 p.m.

Monday 24th to Wednesday 26th May 2004 Roelagebrug to Sellingen.

Monday 24th May 2004 Roelagebrug to Sellingen.

5.8° C overnight. Sunny spells, cloudy. Two men were painting the swingbridge. Mike took Bill into Ter Apel by car to see if his post had turned up. The Post Office was closed, as were most of the rest of the shops. Then they went to get some wood from the DIY shop in Musselkanaal for Bill to repair his engine room floor. I planted some seeds, chives and parsley in a plastic tray and some more basil in pots. Mike and Bill were back at 11.30 a.m. They’d also called in the yacht haven to find out how much it would cost to stay for a month. 94 € plus 1,50€ per day for electricity = 139€ Euros or £93 (almost £26 per week). Forget it, it only cost us 46€ per month in France with water and electricity thrown in! Lunch. Then we winded the boat again so we were pointing downhill as we’d decided to take our time moving down the Ruiten-Aa, stooging around until the Ruitenbrock reopens (little did we realise at this point that it would take us over a month to get there) and getting on with odd jobs. Mike and Bill went again to see if Bill’s post had arrived. Nothing. We set off on their return at 2.30 p.m. I walked up to the bridge and asked the workmen, who were still painting the bridge, if we could go through and the younger one kindly worked the bridge for us. When Mike pulled the mooring pins he managed to pinch his finger and bring up a huge blood blister. We followed Rosy through the bridge. Bill worked Terwalslagerbrug, an all-electric push button bridge - no need to heave on the bridge deck - and we went straight through to the next. I worked bridge 4 (with no name). This time I had no assistance and it worked perfectly. Bill took Rosy straight through and on to Zuidveld. Only one red van was kept waiting at bridge 4 and the driver gave me a cheery “Yo!” (Typical Dutch greeting) and let me cross back to the boat before he drove across the bridge. Mike picked me up from the other side of the bridge and we followed on after Bill down to Zuidveld. Bill had filled the lock, but he waited until we were close before lifting the bridge above the top end of the lock and we went into the chamber. Mike helped Bill close the bridge, then Bill pressed the button to empty the lock. The bell sounded, but the top end gate refused to shut. Mike tried turning the key in the box below the lock (for boats going uphill) but that didn’t frighten the lock into action. He gave up and rang the repair call out. A younger bloke in a van arrived twenty minutes later. We hadn’t noticed before but there were great piles of black rotting leaves which had been scooped up out of the canal and left on the bank by both ends of the chamber. (Now we know why they carried kebs on the roof of the van) The gate had tried to open, but the motor had cut out. It took several tries of the push buttons in the control box before it would move. Mike went to chat to the keeper as this one spoke English. I made a cup of tea while the gate closed. It took ages to close the gate and, going downhill, the paddle took an age to empty the lock – so very different to filling! Bill was out of the lock first and off down to Sellingen where he tied Rosy to the wooden posts and went to fill the lock. We arrived and moored alongside Rosy and the keeper arrived to check that the lock worked OK. It did, slowly, but everything worked perfectly with him there to watch it! We moored below the lock on the quay. The wind picked up as we tied up. At least there was no sand and no house at back of the quay, just an uninterrupted view across the fields. It was 5.35 p.m. Mike went off on the moped to collect the car from Roelagebrug. 

   

Tuesday 25th May 2004 Sellingen. More waiting

5.6° C overnight. Chilly. We should have lit the heating, brrr! Sunny morning, breezy. Grey clouds and showers in the afternoon. Mike made the engine room slide fit - it kept jamming - and then painted the filler. Bill started working on making his new floor for the engine room. Lunch. Mike went by car to get some bread from Sellingen, then went to give Bill a hand with his woodwork. After dinner Mike changed the time-expired valves in the hand pump in the loo. 

Wednesday 26th May 2004 Sellingen. Waiting

5.7° C overnight sunny spells, grey clouds, moderate northwest wind, showers. Had a lazy morning. Mike dipped the water tank - only 4” - not enough to do some washing and last for another couple of days before filling up again. I defrosted the ‘fridge. There was a knock on the cabin, it was Bill, a couple had asked him to move his boat as they wanted to launch their boat, which was sat on a trailer on the quay, bit it turned out they wanted the end where we were moored. I stopped preparing lunch, Mike moved the car, then Bill gave us a hand to bowhaul our boat alongside Rosy.  A little later a crane arrived and launched the little cruiser (after lifting it in slings and the skipper painting the bits of the hull that hadn’t been painted while it had been on the trailer). The couple moored it at the end of the quay nearest the lock and went home. As it had Sellingen on its stern, we presumed that we’d been moored in its usual mooring place. 

Tuesday 18th to Sunday 23rd May 2004 Roelagebrug, Waiting

Tuesday 18th May 2004 Roelagebrug. Waiting.

Warm and sunny all day. Two cruisers went downhill during the morning. Bill had a chat with them as they passed. Made some lunch  then later Mike loaded Bill’s bike in the boot of the car and the two of them went off to the library in Ter Apel to look on the internet for callback phone services - like Bill’s - but in the UK. They went to the Post Office and three out of five packets had arrived for Bill. The other two will arrive later, the Post Office clerk said. Mike bought two twenty Euro top ups for Vodafone. He tried calling the D2Callya service operator and, again like before, had trouble finding one who could speak English. Eventually one said they would ‘phone back. It cost us 6 Euros to make the call and no one ‘phoned back. Peter sent an SMS to say that he was driving a 1960’s London double-decker bus in London and it had broken down. I sent one back to ask if he was playing the role of Riff Pilchard in a new version of “Summer Holiday”! Later he sent another SMS to say that he’d signed on at a new agency and they’d sent him to collect the bus to deliver it to be painted in Birmingham to start its new life as a mobile disco. He said that the new owners weren’t very pleased that he’d abandoned it, but what else could he do, he was employed to drive it - not fix it! I got on with the chores. After dinner Mike dug the sewing machine out to make his new map case. Had lots of problems with the cotton bunching up underneath due to the extra thick and slippy material. He adjusted the tension and changed the needle for a nice new sharp one and all went well. I took over and finished it off except for the Velcro fasteners for hanging it on the moped’s handlebars. He needed to buy some sew-on Velcro as we’d only got self-adhesive stuff.

Wednesday 19th May 2004 Roelagebrug. Waiting.

Sunny, wind cooler, cloudy by midday. 5.7° C overnight. Mike used the spare 20 Euro Vodafone top up on our British Vodafone. Then he took Bill to the Post Office in Ter Apel. No post had arrived so they went to find the bridge controller at Roswinkelerbrug in Ter Apel to ask for news of the stoppage on the Haren-Rütenbrock kanal. They came back with a couple of telephone numbers. The wind had picked up a lot and while we were talking to Bill a sandstorm threw loads of fine white sand from the horse paddock alongside the quay all over the boats. Chores, Lunch. We cut and pasted a new sunscreen on the inside of the ZX’s windscreen, it wasn’t easy because it curves in three directions at the same time! I decided it was about time we both had haircuts, so I did Mike’s first and trimmed his beard (I accidentally slipped with the clippers and gave him a bald spot on his chin which he swears I did on purpose to try and get him to shave it all off!) then he cut my hair. (I accidentally slipped with the clippers on the back of June’s head, but I haven’t told her about it. Ed.) After dinner Mike took the camcorder to pieces, cleaned it and put it back together (it was a gift from a friend who’d bought a new one who’d said you can have it if you can fix it – Mike fixed it). We went out in the car at 9.30 p.m. to have a look at the liftbridge on the Haren-Rütenbrock kanal and came back over Sustrumer Moor to Sellingen and back to the boat in the darkening twilight via narrow roads with beuatiful avenues of tall trees.

Thursday 20th May 2004 Roelagebrug. Waiting. Ascension Day - Hol.

Milder night 11.3° C. Sunny morning until grey clouds rolled over at 9.30 a.m. Showers but no wind, sun out again at teatime. Mike phoned Glyn to ask him to send the post to Middelstum and asked him to look on the ‘net for details of a callback service called PangIT based in Nottingham. Later he took Bill by car to Ter Apel to find not only was the Post Office shut but everything else was too as it was Ascension Day and a National Holiday. Light rain was falling when they returned. Lunch. Mike copied info from our old map A-Groningen/North Friesland, to the new one and plotted a GPS course for a trip up the Stadtskanaal. Ran the gennie and I put the Mac on to catch up with the log entries - nearly a week behind again. Glyn phoned to say that SangIT wasn’t on the net as a Callback service. Mike had misspelled it, it was PangIT! Six horse drawn carriages went past us, driving along the track into Ter Apel. At 7 p.m. a narrowboat-look-a-like called Var came through the swingbridge heading uphill into Ter Apel. (A hireboat from Friesland Cruising). Half an hour later a cruiser went past also heading for Ter Apel. This DIY canal is open until 9 p.m. We went out in the car to have a look at a strange looking railway line shown on our German road map. It was on the far side of the river Ems near the town of Dörpen and turned out to be a Maglev test track with trains reaching speeds of 400kms/hour. On Tuesdays through to Fridays during the summer they offered rides to the public on the 31.5 kms long track at a cost of 18 Eu per ticket.

Friday 21st May 2004 Roelagebrug. Waiting.

Colder 5.9° C. Grey clouds, sunny spells, showery, but very little wind. We took Bill with us by car into Ter Apel. First stop the Post Office. No post, so, at Mike’s suggestion, Bill had their ‘phone number. Next we went into a camera shop and Bill got a lens hood for his 35mm camera. Then we went in the library and Bill spent half an hour on the internet looking for info from PangIT (there wasn’t much available and Mike had asked Glyn if he would have a go at getting info from them) then printed out the application forms for the USA callback telephone firm that he uses for us to look at (10c for photocopies from the library). Then we called in Edah for some fresh veg, etc. We were back at the boat for lunchtime. Mike cleaned the car as it was plastered in glued-on sand. Glyn ‘phoned to say he was having trouble with his service provider, Clara, and had ‘phoned PangIT who said they would e-mail him the info. I said if they sent it to him by Saturday to send us a copy with the post, but send our post off whether the e-mail arrived or not. Mike and I went out for a ride in the car to look at moorings on the A.G. Wildervanckkanaal in Veendam. The moorings were not very good, large commercial boats come up to the quays to load and unload in the town. We called at a DIY shop as Mike wanted some distilled water and I went in the pet shop and garden centre next door to get some parsley seeds and a bag of compost - potgrond. The junction of the Oosterdiep at Bareveld was better for moorings, with more open surroundings, the rest of the Stadskanaal was backed by roads and hemmed in by houses or shops on both banks. We drove back along the canal through Stadskanaal town and Musselkanaal town. There was a diversion through back streets in the latter as a street fair along the canal bank had blocked the road. This was where Mike had spotted, (a few days previously, when he was out on the moped), a long line of moored boats on both sides of the canal. They were still there, now with the bunting out and so was the hire boat from Friesland Cruising we’d seen the day before. We called at various garages on the way back to the boat, as Mike wanted some upper cylinder lubricant (used to be called RedX in Britain) as he’d opened the last bottle he’d bought in France and needed to replace his stocks. He didn’t find any (but he did get a brass fitting to replace the broken plastic one on the loo tank under the bed). We even tried a DIY shop. Bill was running Rosy’s engine when we returned at 4.30 p.m. A cruiser went through the swingbridge ten minutes later. Later, as the temperature dropped, Mike lit the central heating. Bill uses the “flowerpot” method of cabin heating - an upturned ceramic flowerpot over a gas jet and light the gas - sounded dangerous to me!

Saturday 22nd May 2004 Roelagebrug. Waiting.

4.2° C overnight. Grey clouds, sunny spells with showers later. One storm threw down hailstones as big as peas in the late afternoon. Mike went to see Bill. He’d tried the ‘phone number given to him by the Post Office, which had been a Dutch answering machine. He asked Mike if he would try our Honda generator on his system to see if it would cope with his Victron, it didn’t – it couldn’t supply enough current to turn it on, but would run it once it was started. Then they went to see if Bill’s post had arrived in Ter Apel. Nothing. Around midday the hireboat Var from Friesland Cruising went past heading downhill. Lunch. Later, around 12.45, the small cruiser which had come up last week went back downhill. It was from Bellingwolde, on the Veendiep - where we had tried in the circular off line basin to get some water. Mike watched the F1 qualifying session from Monaco. I did some crochet. Put the central heating on again as the temperature dropped. 

Sunday 23rd May 2004 Roelagebrug. Still waiting...

Breezy with sunny spells 4.3° C We turned the boat around, winding with the cold north wind which was blowing straight up the canal. Yvonne called to wish me a happy birthday early because they would be going on the Commodore’s cruise (Wolverhampton Boat Club) next week, up on to the BCN to Walsall then Merry Hill and down Stourbridge to cruise the newly reopened Fens branch before they fill it with residential boats. She said she’d read Bill’s article in the Residential Boat Owners Club magazine all about shipping boats over to the Continent and how much it costs. Mike put the pins in to run the Markon and do some washing. After lunch he watched the F1 Grand Prix from Monaco. Trulli got pole position and won. Schumacher crashed in the tunnel. Another Friesland Cruising narrowboat hireboat went uphill, this one was called Ee. Mike lit the central heating again.