We are sailing

Attie: One of Rudi’s conditions for leaving Zaandam was that the boat needed to be painted, not completely and finally painted with all the little bells and whistles, but at least the blotchy primer painted parts of the hull and the superstructure had to have at least one coat of new paint to show we are not complete gypsies. Rudi’s efforts have been a marvel to all in the marina, and subsequently along the way on our cruise so far, have complimented her. However the boat has two sides and they both had to be painted. This meant turning Linqui around, actually on two occasions. The first occasion we asked Goos to assist us. This was achieved without much fuss albeit with a small paint stubbing bump, much to Rudi’s disgust.   

When she was finished with the other side we had to turn her around again and as we had been out now at least five or six times with others I said lets do it ourselves. After all we had to start doing this ourselves sometime. Well needless to say I took it very easy and backed out and drifted, I should add without any damage, onto the deck of the houseboat behind us. They were rather concerned, but not I, at that stage. They pushed us off and I proceeded to start my turn when the engine cut out leaving us on course for another neighbour’s tugboat and the bridge at the end of the marina….tugboat or bridge…tugboat or bridge. No engine!!! I immediately realised what was wrong, we had installed a new diesel tank and in order to connect all the pipes I had closed the diesel tap. The engine had starved and now had air in the precious injectors. Quickly threw out a mooring line and hitched safely onto the tugboat and upon the advice of the retired tugboat owner/captain proceeded into the engine room to bleed the engine. That done she started again, but not before every single person in the marina and all the neighbours were out shouting advice on what we should do next. Mostly conflicting advice I should say and after some further hair raising moments with Klaas’s brand new mega yacht dead ahead and us floating toward it, we were successful in proceeding back to our mooring without a scratch, but with definite bruised egos. I should add that we met all the neighbours on the other side of the canal, for the first time, quite a nice bunch too! Sorry we are now leaving, this could have opened new doors for us!  Also, in my defence and as I said earlier, we had to take her out on our solo voyage sometime. I learnt a number of valuable lessons that afternoon, one being to check one’s fuel taps and secondly to follow your own instincts in stressful moments.

View from our mooring in Zaandam

Rudi: Painting finished and ready to go, saying our goodbyes. We have all in all spent 9 months on board. Something I definitely realised once again is that “no man is an island”! You meet people everywhere you go and make friends everywhere you go. We had some tearful goodbyes and became very attached to some people. We have had lots of laughs and discussed each other’s trials and tribulations.  The Dutch and British friends who were more permanent or long term residents of the marina were all very helpful and supportive.  As we have mentioned before, the Kramer brothers were always ready to help and provide contacts and advice.

Farewell visit to Bert & Aukje

Peter & Linda for prawn farewell dinner

Hazel & Mary off on their cruise

Alex driving his new boat

Goos and Jo, larger than life!

friend Zoriah's boat

Susanna and Rene

Susanna, our neighbour, taught me Dutch and that helped enormously. Her hubby Rene was always prepared to help with something. Susanna and I had lots of fun together. My silent friend Ton, maybe around 70, cheered me on with the enormous task of painting by just walking past the boat and showing me the thumbs up. He was delightful!  I was sad leaving our young American friend Zoriah behind and will always remember Arnold, another neighbour and his dog Banje. Others were people coming over from England for shorter or longer intermittent periods and some only for a week or so to buy a boat, have a rest or work on their boats like Alex and Hazel, thanks for your delightful company and instant friendship. We look forward to seeing one another somewhere in the future, possibly along a canal or as visitors on our Linqui. We have made many friends and we count on many of them being long term friendships, Alan and Sharon Clark from Scotland, Martin Haylock, Bert and Aukje, Keith and Hilary, Alex and Hazel, Lisa and Paul, in whose footsteps we are following, Willem de Wit and Edo, Jan and Corrie, Penny and David and last, but definitely not least, Peter and Linda. Thanks guys, you made our stay in Zaandam a pleasure and an experience not to be forgotten.   

On Wednesday the 27^th we “set sail”! We had made a decision to stop the renovation where it was, pack up the tools and go to where we wanted to be and that has always been France.  Our good friend and teacher Peter Coupland joined us and that to me was a huge relief, because I felt that neither Attie nor I had the necessary confidence in getting Liquenda safely through the canals. It was a great pleasure having him with us because Peter is a captain and has been for many a year. He taught Attie the tricks of the trade and showed me how to handle the ropes in the locks and moorings which can be very daunting.

We left Zaandam and travelled through Amsterdam, then the Amstel and then the Amsterdam Rhine Canal and then down the renowned Vecht river. The Dutch live with and on the water and their architecture is quite remarkable. This translates into interesting houseboats.

Amsterdam IJ ferry going to Central Station

Reminds one of home

Traditional dutch barge with free mooring in Amsterdam at the museum.

Maritime museum

Through Amsterdam canals

Various interesting houseboats

 

Well, along the Vecht I had all my gardening friends in my heart, you know who you are, the most beautiful gardens that I have ever seen, one upon the other and gorgeous houses. Small ones, bigger ones and mansions with pristine lawns and flower filled beds. Picturesque! That was when I got really excited and thought wow, all the way toFranceon canals like this! Short lived hope! Once we hit the Amsterdam-Rhine canal again and the big Maas River with huge transport barges and every Dutch boat leaving Amsterdamfor their summer holidays my excitement and hopes were shattered and in crept the stress factor.

Then of course there are the sluise (locks). Now let me explain the concept of locks in layman terms: A lock is in the middle of a river or canal.  The lock master sits in his glass cabin next to the lock and he opens and closes the lock gates.  Ok, now the gates open, these can be either normal gates opening from the middle or it can be a sliding gate. Now there you are waiting outside the gates, gates open and slowly you enter the lock. You can tie the boat either on port side (left) or starboard side (right). Ok slowly you enter, move towards the side of your choice or where there is available space, because you are not the only one entering. There can be a barge of between 80 and 135 meters long carrying between 300 and 3000 tons! Get my drift? Ok, now there are more often than not other pleasure craft wanting their space as well.

I stand on the bow with my rope in hand to tie to the bollard on the side (see photos). Ok Attie moves the boat in gingerly and calmly (I start to perspire and my heart goes giddy-up) and the moment the bow touches the side of the lock I have to throw the rope over the bollard, pull it in and attach it to the bollard or cleat on the boat. Hold on for dear life while Attie secures the stern of the boat to the lock wall with another rope. Depending on which direction one is cruising the lock either lifts your boat or drops it to the level of the next stretch of canal. This is to adjust to the general topography around one. Thus once in the lock and after closing the gates one has entered, the water is let out or pumped in by the lock master pushes various buttons. He may be present at the lock or often it is done remotely via cameras. You are now slowly going upwards, but you have to detach your rope loop from the first level bollard to the next, up or down depending on the direction of travel, and then move it to another one, because the water is lifting you. All happens very slowly, no rush (but I always rush!!!!) or if the water is let from the lock you are moving downwards and the same thing happens, you have to move your rope to the lower bollard. This can take between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on how high or low the lock is. Now once the water has settled, the lock master opens the gates, you get a green light, you untie your rope, give Linqui a gentle nudge from the wall in the right direction with a wooden pole I have handy and Attie takes her into the canal or river and there we go on our merry way.

In a nutshell the process is really quite simple: After proceeding through a lock I take a headache pill, wash my face and my hands, smoke 12 cigarettes, have a glass of water or something to eat, go to the bathroom a few times, sit on deck with Attie and anxiously await the appearance of the next lock! Not yet in any way my favourite form of relaxation!!!

Desolate first night mooring

The first night we moored in an industrial area, because Peter was keen to get going again as early and    as far as possible. He only had 4 days to spend with us and wanted to give us as much practice as possible in various aspects of barging. He was not on a sight seeing trip but the teacher and got us into gear smartly to get moving! After 10 hours of cruising we spent the second evening on a beautiful lake at anchor. Now that was something else. Lee boards lowered, anchor down and we slept like babies. Beautiful peaceful area surrounded by farms, sheep, horses, cattle and not a sound. Had a braai and did some fly fishing. During the night the tide lowered and according to Peter we were completely on sand! Thank heavens for lee boards!

First time captain even went fishing that evening!

Go, go, go early next morning and cruised again for 10 hours non stop until we found a mooring in Maasbracht in an old shipyard where Peter had to leave and got a train back to Amsterdam. We were now on our own!  Attie, Rudi and Linquenda. I would have loved to have him with us for another week or two, but c’est la vie!

Farewell to our mentor Peter

The following morning Attie checked the oil, water and replaced the fan belt and off we went, direction Maastricht. The first lock was where I almost had my first heart attack……..11,8 meters high! This huge lock actually had an escalator, called a steward. Thank heavens. You enter the lock very very slowly, tie up to the steward and sit tight. The steward is a device with a bollard that floats up with the level of the water and avoids one having to move the ropes. The lock gates close behind you and there you are sitting in this very big black hole with walls reaching up towards the sky. The walls are black from all the algae and muck. Ever so slowly the water starts filling the lock and you rise and rise and rise until you are at the top and level with the traffic, roads and life in general. Wow, what a relief! Lock’s gates open again and there you go! This is quite remarkable and often have reminded us on this trip how much infrastructure has been installed over decades and centuries to keep the trade flowing on the waterways of Europe.

We didn’t go far before there was another 11m steward lock. Ok now I am getting the hang of it. We went through without a hitch. The next lock also with a steward and for some reason I didn’t see it maybe because it was a bit low and I tied up to a normal bollard, had to untie again and drifted too far to attach it again to the steward. Attie then had difficulty controlling the boat (because of me) and her bow drifted all over the lock with an audience of concerned or amused multimillionaire skippers, depending on how close their boats were to Linqui. That was the moment that I started losing my cool and became very nervous and agitated, very unpleasant! This state of mind I carried on all day long in all the locks and poor Attie had to cope with his side of the boat as well as my nerves. He is very capable and relaxed about this whole thing. I just do not have the stress button that I can switch off. That afternoon we found a comfortable mooring at a little harbour in Maastricht, Treech 42 Haven. We decided to spend two nights there to visit Maastricht and to somehow recover a bit from all the long hours of cruising.

Attie: The following morning and after another lock escapade, the dreaded Lanaye lock of 13,8 metres which I  said we managed with aplomb, we found ourselves in Belgium. We had made a decision not to travel for so many hours per day as we had been averaging well more than seven hours a day, every day. The Maas now turned into the Meuse river/ Albert Canal. The river is not navigable for some stretches and the Albert Canal began very straight and was very boring and industrial. Here and there is something interesting to see, but it is mainly fields or industries along the banks, mainly steel factories.

At some point the canal  became more and more windy with hills alongside and more interest. On one such turn we looked back and saw a huge 135m fully laden barge bearing down on us in a turn. I slacked off to let him pass and kept as far to port as was possible, his stern slipped in a wide arc and sucked us into his wake pulling us right onto his rear flank with nothing we could do to steer away. He was going much faster than we and after surfing his wake wave for a short few hair raising moments we broke free and slipped off his stern. We had learnt vividly and frighteningly in practice what we had been taught in the Kleinvaarbewijs course and repeated by Peter on our travels, “when overtaking a ship will have the tendency to pull you closer, when passing it will tend to repel”.

Ilona after us being sideswiped by her

Rudi: We arrived in Liège early in the afternoon and moored against the canal wall. Belgium, thus far, is exceedingly well equipped for boats to moor almost anywhere, with bollards and stanchions all along the canal. This is very nice but one must consider the fact that you still are on a busy trade river with huge transport barges going to and fro and you are in for quite a bumpy ride all night long. We felt safe though after securing various ropes to various stanchions and bollards and were tired and went off to bed early.

Wednesday was not a good day. I floundered with the ropes and made a right royal mess of everything. Not all my fault I must add. Some fellow travellers are very selfish and rude. These locks are big inside. The big transport barges move in first and then the smaller boats like sport yachts and the likes of us follow, depending on the arrival order at the lock. In this lock we were the last to arrive and one of the smaller boats tied up on port side behind the big barge and he tied up right in the middle of the lock leaving no proper space for anyone to tie up behind him. So we had to wangle in on starboard side behind another boat. A tight squeeze, but just enough space for Linqui. I think that was where I finally decided that this is just not a situation that I can cope with. I stressed, faltered, floundered, sweated, cried and ropes flying all over the show. Rudi the drama queen! I invite everyone to come and do the same in front of a tourist boat full of people finding this all very amusing and interesting! Crazy woman shouting and waving her arms and being a typical 62 year old South African, not used to doing anything slightly dangerous!

Various odds along the way

Movable weir entering the Maas

moored in s'Hertogenbosch

Angler?

That evening we moored on the banks of the river in Huy with a sense of needing time off from boating to really recover our humanity and calm. We decided right there to stay for a few days. We tied up just before the main bridge, brushed our teeth, locked the boat and walked into the beautiful little town, found the Grande Place and had a well earned drink. I found a chemist and bought myself some calming herbal medicine! Today is Friday and we are still here. Yesterday we went grocery shopping. What a treat to shop in Belgium compared to supermarkets in Holland, all the breads, cheeses, meat and whatever to choose from. I think we spent more than was necessary, but we are now well stocked!

Huy, Belgium

Approaching mooring right at town entrance

Magnificent collegiate church of Notre Dame in Huy

Old town street dating from 13th century

We spent the rest of the day by having a lovely lunch on deck, Attie had a nap and afterwards we visited the beautiful old Catholic Church and spent a peaceful hour there just sitting. Came back to the boat and last night we went across the road for a “superbe moules et frites” meal and I went to bed early. Attie got an internet card and he sorted out his business on the laptop.

Out for the count!

I would like to mention that I have a problem sleeping, because the moment I shut my eyes I start handling ropes! Ropes are the beginning, middle and end of all my dreams like the ropes burn my hands or the ropes twist around my feet and ankles or I see ropes drifting on the water or I hear ropes banging on the sides of the boat or I even see ropes in trees and everywhere else. So, there you have it…………. I pull the ropes on this here Linquenda!!  I will learn and be the best rope lady in the world or I will resign and call it a day!  Watch this space…. I might ask someone to pick me up from O.R.Tambo.
Before we left Zaandam the welder Willem asked us that if we had known how hard we were going to work on the boat if we still would have done it and our answer in unison was: No! If I had known that the ropes were going to be such a stressful thing in my life I would not have considered cruising either. There are two lessons for me here: 1. If one knew everything beforehand you would not take any risk or try something different. 2. Do your homework properly, do not chase after the romantic ideas but go after the facts. Am I still enjoying this new life? Notwithstanding the ropes “Yes!!” because I love experiencing Europe with my hubby and there is nothing of “same old, same old”! Believe me, nothing!