Last days in the Netherlands

When we returned from the Hague we found that an unexpected trip boat had arrived in Delft Harbour so several boats had been cleared out. We had been pushed back and someone was rafted up to us so we decided to leave straight away for Rotterdam, our next stop.

We had a very quick trip and uneventful trip, all bridges working well for us today, and tied up in a port area with plenty of bollards and no signs to ban us from stopping. Next day we had a very friendly visit from the Rotterdam Port Authority to tell us that it was not really a place to stop so he indicated a better place to stay with his permission.

Wide Rotterdam street
In Rotterdam we focussed on the Maritime Museum. We had hoped to find out more about Anja from their archives as we had read that the old boat registers are kept in their library. Sadly,  it is only open one day a week (and not the day we were there) so that was not possible, but we enjoyed some excellent displays within and outside the Museum building. The very lively Historic Harbour is full of old boats but also old equipment and support vessels. One barge on display was very like Anja and had worked in the same area. It was manned by a helpful guide from whom we found out extra details about barges of that era on those waterways. The interior was probably very like Anja's original set- up so that too was informative. Indeed the floor planks are the same as our old planks which are under the newer floor and probably 111 years old.

Museum Tjalk, extremely similar to Anja and used for the same purposes originally & 10years older
Amazing old steam-driven barge used to slurp grain from ships and barges

From Rotterdam our route would be on rivers whose tides are strong. It was essential to time our trip to coincide with the best time to travel- otherwise we would stand still or go backwards. Unfortunately our Cruising Guide was directly at variance with the Almanac in its advice about tide times and the direction of flow for our next route. David therefore cycled to the river where the tide could be assessed to use the tried and true "throw a stick into the water" speed indicator to find out what was really going on. The Almanac was correct (pleasing because it gave us a much longer period of good travel, at a better time of day) so we left full of confidence that we would have good tidal assistance.

The sun about to rise on Rotterdam and we speed down the busy waterway

Unfortunately there was a hiccup straight away. There are two locks available to exit from the non- tidal area; one has a lifting bridge that we would have to negotiate before the morning peak-hour ban on opening the bridge, from 7am until 8.30. The other has an official height  too low for us. As the lock is tidal, the clearance at the river end reduces even more as the tide rises.

Dortrecht from the river

We contacted the lock- keeper at 6am and were told to go into the low- clearance lock. Expressions of doubt about whether the height would be adequate and clear information about our clearance were swept aside, so we had no choice: one cannot disobey a lock- keeper. So in we went, and up in the lock. The doors opened onto the river, but our roof was a clear 30 centimetres above the level of the bridge. We could not go out. So the lock- keeper took us back down in the lock then we had to reverse out of this 125 metre lock plus 30 metres to pass the entrance bridge, to enter the other lock and do the whole lot again. By this stage it was getting close to the 7am compulsory closure but we were put through in time to avoid being stranded until 8.30. The lock keeper at no stage acknowledged that he had erred and made no apology for this most ridiculous situation. We had lost an hour of our tidal advantage.

Amazing- Apartments built in the shape of a huge ship!

Fortunately the rest of the trip went well as there were no bridges or locks to impede us. We had been worried about the huge ships, the frequent fast ferries and the buzzing taxis on this busy waterway, but they were of no concern as we kept a good look out and travelled on the edge of the main channel.

We travelled a record 77 kilometres that day to stop at Tholen, a delightful town beyond the tidal area. The town harbour was a friendly place with a very helpful Harbour Mistress. We had dinner out and a fellow- diner acted as translator and told us that he imports equipment for labelling bottles from Port Melbourne. He happily lives in small- town Tholen and rides his bike to his office locally.

Delightful Tholen- it is on a huge island

So we set off from Tholen towards Antwerp; the border was not marked as such, though there were traffic lights on the side of the canal at about that spot. Fortunately they were green: Belgium allowed us entry.  

30km of travelling through 200km of quays and huge ships- Antwerp

Best Regards,

Penny and David