Tuesday 19th July 2005 Ibbenburen to Lingen.

Tug Rudolph pushing an empty pan going to pick up more dredgings

14.2º C Heavy rain overnight. Hot and sunny morning, giving way to heavy showers when the wind picked up mid-afternoon. I had another really rough night, waking each time I tried to turn over. Mike set off at 8.15 a.m. Arrived at the first lock down, Bevergern, on the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal (DEK) at 9.30 a.m. An 80m barge and two French péniches (one from St Mammés!) went into the lock and we weren’t allowed in, as the lock keepers in Germany don’t allow pleasure boats to use the space on the wall

Bill on Rosy in Bevergem lock

opposite commercials. After an hour’s wait two commercials came up, Thoedor and Diena, then we went down, just the two of us. Mike had to do the ropes and fenders himself. At the next lock, Rodde, a loaded tanker was coming uphill. We went down as soon as he’d cleared the lock. We left the bottom ten minutes later at 11.15 a.m. Dropped down the third lock, Altenrheine, at midday and I made some lunch. We had to increase speed to keep up with an empty tanker called Schildhorn to get in with him at the fourth lock, Venhaus. We left the bottom at 1.45 p.m. I made a cuppa as we ran down to Hesselte. The lock was empty as the commercial had gone much faster than us. Another loaded tanker came up and we went in after just a half hour wait, during which time Mike had nipped in the cabin and made himself a sandwich.  We dropped down the lock and left at 3.45 p.m. The last lock of the day, Gleesen, had an empty Czech boat and a loaded Dutchman coming up in it, so we had to wait again. The wind had picked up and had blown Bill’s planters full of geraniums

A very odd-looking  workboat with a split hull

over on Rosy’s roof. We went into the lock chamber and had to wait again for three cruisers to arrive and share the lock with us. It was 4.30 p.m. by the time the lock started to empty. One cruiser turned left and headed up the Obere Ems, the other two went past us to moor in the harbour at Lingen. It was 6 p.m. when we arrived at Lingen. Plenty of room left for us to tie up, even enough space so we didn’t need to tie side by side. Forty minutes later Mike went off on the moped to get the car and was back at 8.30

Liquid gas carrier Eiltank 4 at Hesselte

p.m. 

Rosy passing the scrap berth in Lingen

Monday 18th July 2005 Bramsche to Ibbenburen.

Boy on bank at KP6 MLK looking for his friend who is swimming
 with mask, snorkel and flippers somewhere in the stern wash

12.1º C. Sunny spells with dark clouds. Humid. Set off just after 8 a.m. I’d had a really rough night, kept waking up. I was horizontal all day. I managed to make some tea, slowly, and salad for lunch. When we stopped in the old canal arm at Ibbenburen, Mike went off to get the car and called in the local supermarket for beer, sausages and bread. He lit our BBQ and Bill lit his and they sat out,

of this passing commercial! Idiot child!

Mike cooked sausages and he’d bought some ribs from the supermarket for Bill to cook for him and Fanny. I spent most of the day sprawling flat out on the bed. It was very hot and sticky.

Sunday 17th July 2005 Bad Essen to Bramsche.

Just shows you - big boys get it wrong sometimes

11.2º C overnight. Chilly. Sunny spells cloudy later. Mike installed some capacitors in the wiring for the big new powerful extraction fan in the engine room. He started off well by melting a test lead by attaching it to a live connection first and accidentally earthing it! Not a good start. Set off at 8.20 a.m. following Rosy. Then it was my turn for a disaster. I stepped back into the cabin, after tidying up the ropes and fenders on the front deck, and had a huge stabbing pain in my back. I took two pain killers and lay on the bed. I managed to make some tea 10.30

Sand unloading crane at hafen Engter

a.m. then crawled back on to the bed. I took some more pain killers at midday and made some salad, just in time for Mike to have his lunch after tying up at KP 34 Bramsche. Bill had no map for this end of the MLK and had forgotten where we’d moored on the way over. Mike said he’d remarked first thing that we’d got a shorter day today - so he knew what kilometer post to look out for - but then he went past it! I helped tie up by throwing a rope around a bollard. A camper van was parked by the slipway and a tent had been pitched there too. Some people

The writing on the silo says "Eyes open when buying eggs
 - only German eggs have DE written on them!"

had slipped a small speedboat and were zooming up and down in it. After lunch Mike unloaded the moped and went off to get the car. It was 2 p.m.

Saturday 16th July 2005 Minden to Bad Essen.

From the mooring at Minden

14.9º C overnight. Much cooler. Cloudy and breezy, with sunny spells. Set off at 8 a.m. backing out from under the stern of m.v. Schulau. It was very quiet first thing, not many cruisers or commercials about, but it made up for it later. A Dutch pusher pair went past, an 80m boat pushing a 67m, both loaded, being overtaken by an empty German 67m. The wind was getting chilly so we both put fleeces on. We

To a mooring at Bad Essen

noticed that the Polish boats seemed to be going further west (and some Czech ones too) as we were overtaken by a Transbode-9 from Wrocław at KP66. An empty Dettmeer tanker, N^o87, went past heading uphill. The Wiehengebirge hills came into view directly in front as the range of low hills got closer to the canal at Bad Essen. At 2.30 p.m. we moored at KP 61, Bad Essen, on a 50m long piling (on the sloping end again), behind a German cruiser, whose occupants sat on their top deck looking down us while we tied up and never said a word. Rosy came alongside. Unloaded the moped and Mike went to get the car.

Friday 15th July 2005 Haste to Minden.

Mooring at Haste KP138 MLK

13.6º C Hot and sunny with a nice cooling breeze. Thunderstorm at midday then hot, sunny and windy. Commercial traffic was busy from 6 a.m. We set off at 8 a.m. and were treated to glorious views of the Bückeberg hills to the south and the Wesergebirge behind them. At 10.20 a.m. we passed KP 130, Sachsenhagen, where there were two boats on the quay, Heikew of Tangermunde 67m x 8.2m 902 tonnes, was waiting to load and Lena, 85m x 8.2m 1200 tonnes, was loading with grain. The hotel ship Rembrandt went past at KP 124 as a group of three

Hotel ship Rembrandt. KP123 MLK

cruisers from MYCT Berlin overtook us. The water was a bit bouncy for a while. Into a cutting at KP120 as a Dutch yacht overtook us. The skipper wanted to know where we’d been. Mike told him Poland, Elblag and the lakes. He said he’d been on the Baltic. Must have been doing the round trip, round Friesland, through the Keilkanal into the Baltic and into Poland up the Oder to Hohensaaten then followed the same route we’d come, then across the Mittellandkanal back to Holland. The wind was picking up, so the sunshade had to come down before it ripped apart. I made us a cup of soup, some new stuff I hadn’t tried

Well loaded mv Altmark from Magdeburg. KP105 MLK

before, made by Maggi, little packets of dried noodles and a flavouring (we had duck and shrimp) called a taste of Asia, which were quite good if a little spicy for Mike. At KP 117.5 we were overtaken by Sequana (wasn’t she the goddess of the Seine?) 85m x 8.2m 1169 tonnes from Maasbracht.  Minutes later Deo Duce from Rotterdam went past, heading uphill followed by two cruisers, as we rounded the bend at KP 116. Two kilometres further on, a big cruiser overtook us, followed by Delphin,  a loaded German barge 85m x 8.2m 1281 tonnes from Twist, with two cars on the top - one of which was Polish. At the same time Lünen was going in the opposite

Support towers on the old Aqueduct at Minden. KP102 MLK
Far distance is Kaiser Bill memorial on the hill in Westphalian Gap

direction, 67m x 8.2m 900 tonnes loaded with sand, followed by another yacht. At midday heavy spots of rain heralded a thunderstorm. Out came the brolly and maps and GPS, etc, went into plastic bags. I made sandwiches for lunch. Mike got bitten on the leg by a cleg and one bit me on the rear through my skirt! More repellent needed! A woman on a passing Dutch barge, called Heber, leaned out of the wheelhouse and shouted something like “listen on 10” or “you can listen on ten” – which Mike did and heard nothing! He asked Bill if she’d said anything to him. No. That will

River Weser from the new aqueduct at Minden

forever remain a mystery! We paused on the aqueduct as there was nothing but a couple of cruisers going the opposite way across the old aqueduct, and Mike hopped off to take a few photos of the Weser. A man on a bike asked where we were from, he said he was a tourist too - from the Black Forest! Saw police boat WSP22 as we went into the town, we’d just passed his mooring place. We moored alongside Rosy at 2.15 p.m. on the first mooring in Minden, along the sloping edge between two signs about 15m apart, behind an empty called Schulau. Bill gave us a hand to get the moped across the roofs and round the armco. Bill went off on his bike to get supplies from a local shop and Mike went to collect the car. I put the PC on and looked in the log to find out where we went shopping last time we were here. It was on the 5^th July 2004 (wet

Boatmen's Association garden in Minden

and horrible weather) and we found the Real supermarket in a shopping centre in the middle of town and parked in an underground car park by the bus station. Mike was back at 5.45 p.m. and we reloaded the bike on the roof, just as two people with an outrigger canoe arrived to use the launching area, which we’d blocked access to as our stern rope was tied across it. They said there were some kids coming to do a training session in a dragon boat. Mike moved the rope, which wasn’t easy as it was all that was stopping both boats going forward and we were at forty five degrees to the passing traffic. The kids arrived with the huge long paddle boat on a trolley. It was 6.15 p.m. by the time we set off in the car to go to Real. Bill came with us to do some stocking up. I got most of my groceries, but not much off my long term list of non-food items as Mike was complaining that I’d got an overflowing trolley. I bought two insulated mugs as they were only 5€ each, half the price of ones we’d seen before. Mike bought himself a new pair of trainers 7.95€ (the first he’s ever had) and I picked up two light cotton shirts for him, a long sleeved one for 5,99€ and a short sleeved one for 2,99€ (he said he would wear it, but he didn’t, he doesn’t really like short sleeved shirts). The supermarket was unusually quiet, probably as it’s holiday time. When we got back to the boat I made a cheese sandwich with an onion baguette – first onion bread since the UK, it was delicious.

Thursday 14th July 2005 Above Anderten locks to Haste.

15.6º C overnight. Hazy clouds first thing, but the sun soon burned them away. Clouds

46 foot ladder in Hindenburg lock at Anderten. MLK

developed in the afternoon and the breeze got stronger. Hot again. Ready for off at 8 a.m. but we’d missed a downhill locking by about ten minutes. Mike called the keeper on the intercom, which was alongside our stern, to ask if we could use the lock and also asked if it was OK to leave our car there for five or six hours. The keeper replied in English to say yes OK. I asked Bill if he was better after yesterday’s bad spell. He said the answer was salt. Lack of it, which was easily remedied, although he still didn’t feel 100%. The cruiser behind us, called Jersey, was going down the lock too. Bill had donated the baseball cap cycling helmet (he said it made him look a pillock) to one of the guys off the crusier. Two commercials came up and we followed the next two down to the lock, leaving our boats tied together. In front was the 100m Tiffany and behind him was Greif, an 80m boat, both were loaded German barges. The cruiser went for the biggest gap on the right hand wall leaving us what space there was behind the

Camera and loudspeakers on gantry
above Hindenburg lock

commercial. Mike moved us over to the left hand wall and I hastily went over on to Rosy’s front deck and used Bill’s bow rope to lasso one of the small iron recessed bollards in the chamber wall and held it over on Rosy’s side cleat. Bill put his stern rope around a similar bollard. We descended 14m in stages, moving ropes down to lower bollards, dropping sharply as the economiser paddles opened, slowing down as the water levels equalised before the next set of paddles opened.  It was 9.40 a.m. by the time we left the lock chamber, heading into Hannover. Two converted little tugs went past, flying German flags,  that’s three we’ve seen in west Germany. The canal threaded its way through the suburbs of Hannover, where there were some new modern bridges and a lot of redevelopment around the canal, but much of it had been defaced by graffiti and lots of it was vulgar. Some very ornate stonework looked in a sorry and dilapidated state as it had strips of stuff hanging off it, which could have been thin plastic sheeting or maybe varnish. A loaded boat called Nellie, a Dutchman from Heel, went past us heading

Getting ready to leave the lock

uphill, followed a little later by another big Dettmeer tanker, a pusher pair over 165m long. We paused for water at Hannover yacht haven. We couldn’t fit inside the moorings, which were in a small basin, so we lay against the short piles on the outside with our bows next to a wooden landing stage where there was a diesel pump and two water taps. Rosy came alongside. A man on a cruiser helped us with the hose and I got our own hose out to connect up to the other tap. There was no one around, I was told by the skipper of the cruiser, when

The last two out of the lock.

I asked where I could find the harbour master. He said he was waiting for diesel and told me we didn’t need to pay as there was no one there. So we didn’t! Set off again at 11.50 a.m. There was no sign of the sport boat mooring for the town, which used to be next to the police boat moorings, looked like it no longer existed. We passed the police boat WSP11 by the VW (van factory) nutzfahrzeugefabrik, the crew leaning out of the cabin to smile and wave. By the VW works there was a very interesting track laying vehicle making a new railway track, which had sets of road wheels which it had lifted itself off to do the digging and track laying. Mike took

Rail track laying vehicle

photos of the railway wagons at VW (for Glyn’s collection) and cranes at Continental tyres. A cruiser went past called Uranus, Bill joked on radio that it had a boat hanging on the back called tender Uranus – it had actually got “Ten Ura der nus” written across its stern. We passed the second British boat this year, a cruiser called Darius from London, heading uphill. (The first was just outside Berlin, spotted by Mike and Bill – I didn’t see it) Crossed the new aqueduct across the river Leine at KP 152. The old aqueduct was still

Coal-fired power station at Stocken KP157

there, the new one had been built alongside, but now there were signs to forbid access to the old one. At 2 p.m we passed the junction with the branch leading to Linden, a suburb of Hannover. There were lots of cruisers on the move, but there was a lull in the commercial traffic until we met a Dutch 50m empty, called Spes, from Dordrecht, just beyond the A2 autobahn bridge at KP 146, about an hour later. We were on a slight embankment, with the land on our left much lower than the canal, where fields were being harvested and we could see distant hills between

Continental tyre factory at Hannover KP157

the trees along the canal and a long line of eleven wind generators wound off towards the hills. Just after the next bend we were overtaken by a lady steering St Antonius, a loaded Dutch barge from Nijmegen. She wound it up to pass us, making a big hole in the water by her bows. There was another boat coming, but it was still nearly a kilometre away once she’d passed us. It was another Dutchman, Irbis, an 84m long 1000 tonner from Lemmer, coming towards us. Yet another Dutch boat, Mia Amore, was at the loading quay at KP 143 next to a huge pile of

Unusual crane Hannover docks

broken glass (cullet). I went on the front deck to take photos of the wall to wall water when two Dutch tugs (Mike said he thought they were private boats) were overtaking the next boat coming towards us. After they’d gone a police car drove down the towpath, heading in the same direction as us. At bridge 209, Kölenfeld, two youths jumped off the road bridge as we went underneath. They timed it well, one on either side, drenching the pair of us. Swines! They hopped out and ran round the bridge to do it again when Rosy went under the bridge. I didn’t get the camera turned on fast enough to get them dropping in. Bill didn’t get wet. Three more commercials were coming toward us as we reached the railway bridge before the mooring we

Dutch boat St Antonius overtaking

were aiming for at Haste, KP 138. A WSA craneboat was moored on the right hand side just before the bridge. It was tied to trees with “men at work” notices (with red lights on top) where the cables crossed the towpath. An empty called Havelland went past us. Then another big empty Dutch boat was overtaking a little loaded Bromberger as they came towards us through the two bridges. More photos. It was 4.15 p.m. as we tied to the sport boat mooring area. Helped Mike get the fizzer off the roof and he went off into Haste to see if the post from Glyn had

Swimmers either side of Rosy, just jumped off road bridge

arrived yet on his way back to Anderten to collect the car. Traffic on the canal was getting busy again and some of them were flying past as if they were going to miss last locking at Anderten (that’s not until ten o’clock tonight). Noisy kids were swimming in the cut between passing boats and two damp bikini clad nymphettes kept wandering up and down past our boats. Bill got accosted by a drunk on a bike who insisted on telling him about some booze smuggling. At midnight tonight, he said, a Polish boat will arrive with a load of vodka. There is a house

Dutch tugs overtaking oncoming traffic

at the other end of the quay (about a mile away) where the woman sells vodka at 5€ a bottle. He wobbled from side to side on the wide path along the moorings and Bill said he wondered if he would make it to the far end. What’s worse I said – will he make it back and will he care? I cooked pork steaks and veg for dinner and left it simmering until Mike returned at 7 p.m. He’d got the post from Glyn. We ate dinner at 8 p.m. There was no TV as we couldn’t get the satellite through the trees as we were moored at the wrong end of the mooring. Mike said that when he was going to fetch the car on the moped he saw a woman next to a camper van in a layby lifting her short skirt, doing a little dance while flashing her bright red knickers at the passing motorists! Whatever

next?

Wednesday 13th July 2005 jnc. Saltzgitter branch to above Anderten locks.

Right way up railway bridge at Dungelbeck KP206 MLK

13.3º C overnight. Sunny with a light breeze, getting more cloudy and hotter as the day went on. There were three commercials coming across the wide as we prepared to untie at 8.00 a.m. We waited until they’d passed and set off behind them at 8.15 a.m. following Rosy. A yacht set off between us from the restaurant at Sophiental KP 211, but soon overtook Rosy. There were lots of wagtails landing on the boat roof again. Bill called on VHF to say that there was a fancy looking baseball cap floating in the canal. I fished it out – it was more than a fancy baseball cap - it was a cycling safety helmet. I knocked all the shrimps out of it back into the canal and

A German cruiser overtaking a Czech pushtow that was overtaking us

took it inside to wash it and get the silt out of it. Gave it to the cyclist (Bill) later! The canal was very busy again, as always, with commercial traffic. Mike started doing his own mini-survey, as he thought that the Polish boats were starting to outnumber the German ones. The list was looking good – about equal numbers of German, Polish, Czech and Dutchmen. At 9.40 a.m. on the outskirts of Peine, we were overtaken by a Czech pusher pair, called Bohemia 1 &2, as two empty 80m boats were coming the other way. A large cruiser following the pusher

Old guy in an open speedboat overtaking us KP200 MLK

overtook it as soon as it had overtaken us. A little later we were overtaken by an old man driving a small open speed boat. He didn’t look, just lifted one hand as he went by. The scenery opened up as we came out of the cutting after crossing the little river Fuhse on an aqueduct. The old man with the speedboat stopped at the little boat club on the right and was putting his canopy up as we went past him. Everything went quiet for about an hour, just the WSA with their little launch moored under Berkum road bridge while they were grass cutting with strimmers. At KP

Silo loading chutes at Sehnde KP184 MLK

199 we could see Rosy in front and the speedboat starting to catch us up again, way in the distance behind us. A cruiser overtook us as we went into the next cutting at Sehwicheldt, the old chap in the speedboat went past again too. Bill called on the radio. He said he was coming to a place he could moor and was going to stop for a while as he was feeling a bit queasy. He’d tied to bollards in a winding hole at KP 195, so we went and hovered alongside while he went inside and took a pill. I noticed the edge of the piling, which was about cabin height, was covered in coal (whoopee freebies, coal gleaning!). Mike and I picked up the biggest lumps and dropped them on the

Polish pans being loaded with sand at Sehnde

roof as we sloshed back and forth. I gathered the coal up into two carrier bags as we set off again, following Rosy when Bill said he felt much better. Two boats, which had just unloaded at the coal wharf for the power station at Mehrum, were backing up to the winding hole and made it quite clear that they wanted us out of their way. Fine, we were leaving anyway.  There was a disgusting stink as we went past the power station, but I didn’t think it was coming from there. A little further on more boats were loading at a silo quay. It’s that time of year again. A cleg bit my

Polish pans being loaded with sand at Sehnde

leg! She died, I flattened her (always the females that bite, they need blood for producing their eggs). I went inside to apply more repellent and made a cuppa. It was midday. A loaded 1000 tonner, called Bella-Vista from Gorichem in the Netherlands, overtook us at KP 190, then a cruiser and a German thousand tonner went the other way. Salad for lunch. Polish tugs and pans were loading soil by the bridge at Sehnde, just before the junction with the Hildesheim branch. Three empty 60m boats went by, two Dutchmen and a German. A lovely converted launch overtook us, called Lousche 3 from Nekarrems, it was followed by a young couple

Bolzum lock at the start of the Hildesheim branch KP183 MLK

with a cruiser called Balu at KP 179. A crowd of youths aged from about twelve to eighteen, were swimming or playing about on the banks either side of bridge 309, near Höver. We met one empty 80m before the bend at Höver and a loaded Dutchman called Licentia, a thousand four hundred tonner from Delfzijl, followed by 67m Waterman – another Dutchman. Harvesting was under way in the field before the locks on the right bank. A whole crowd of cruisers was waiting for the lock. The waiting area was full so we motored past them and moored to the bollards on the quay beyond, right in front of the old man in his speedboat who was at

Rosy going under bridge 309 at Hover
where there were lads swimming in the canal

the head of the queue. Rosy came alongside. As we went past one of the big cruisers, a lady said “lovely boat” in English! That came as a surprise. Once we’d tied up, Mike and I unloaded the moped and he went off to get the car. Sometime later the lock gates opened, two commercials came out, followed by a dozen or more cruisers, then the cruisers moored behind us set off - except two. One of which moved right up behind us! I was going to move us back down the mooring to the other end! I called the keeper on the intercom and asked (in German – he didn’t speak English) if it was OK if we stayed overnight. Yes. Then he said “night!” I noticed that the crews of the other cruisers didn’t ask on the intercom if they could stay. One which had just come up the lock dived in to the gap behind them and joined their friends. I put extra ropes out. Bill took Fanny out for a walk for some exercise. Mike returned with the car around 5pm. I nearly dissolved cooking dinner. During the evening one of the passing boats strained my side rope on to Rosy that last little bit and the rope parted, I shortened it.