Kerr Barging Blogs

Moving on we visited in rapid succession Leiden, Delft and The Hague, finishing with Rotterdam as the grand finale before we start our journey towards Belgium and back to France.

Typical Dutch house, Leiden, 1612

We were keen to visit Leiden as the site of the first University in the Netherlands, founded in 1575. We planned to stay, as we usually prefer, in the Town Harbour but a sign before the two lifting bridges to go into the town announced that the harbour was full. The harbourmaster confirmed it on the radio. Up to then, despite travelling in the main Tourist season in the Netherlands, we had never been unable to find a berth when we needed one.There are many boats on the move but also many places for people to stay. For us it is a bit more limited as we are larger than the average, but until Leiden we had always been successful.

Memorial to Rembrandt- his house stood here.

All was not lost however. We continued on our route past that turn off, and found a very suitable mooring to the South about 2 kilometres out of the main city centre. We enjoyed the straightforward cycle path back into the city and admired the well- preserved city, though the house where Rembrandt was born has been knocked down. At least there is a plaque there and his old school is still in use and is suitably marked. Leiden has many small canals flowing through it, making an attractive backdrop for this bustling town. As usual the bike is king, though on this sunny Sunday the canals too were full of small motor boats, kayaks and even pedal boats, exploring the intricate network. There is an historic harbour full of well- preserved old boats and an excellent Museum which through the archaeological displays traces the history of the Netherlands back to Palaeolithic times. It was definitely the best such display we have seen.

Leiden's canals
The famous Jutphaas sword from c1650BC
We had to wait until after peak hour on Monday to leave through the first opening bridge, 200 metres from our mooring. It was only after passing through it that we became aware how lucky we had been. Looking back we saw a sign to announce that the bridge had not been available for passage for five days until 5am that morning due to bridgework. We had not seen any corresponding sign from our direction so did not know this. Our timing could not have been better had we planned it! That may well be why the Leiden Harbour was full. So thanking our lucky stars we proceeded well through lots of opening bridge which were worked centrally and usually quickly to allow our passage. The only exception was a very new foot/ bike bridge which was not on the chart or in the Almanac, had no button to press, no phone number to ring and no VHF Channel to call. Clearly it was not part of the centralised system. We sat for half an hour with no action until a commercial boat appeared, then a woman came out of an office somewhere and operated the bridge manually. The irony was that no- one had passed over it the whole time we were there. It looked as if it was not yet known to the cyclists either.

We had a very warm welcome into Delft where the Harbour Master came out to beckon us to a spot on the Town Quay. It was marked as unavailable on that day of the week so we would not have taken that spot, but were assured that it was reserved those days for cruise boats but as none were expected we were fine there.

Delft's (very) leaning tower!
Delft has a magnificent town square and an Oude Kerk (old Church, dating from 1040) with a tower with a very worrying tilt. Apparently it was known to lean even when it was built, caused by the ground sinking under one corner. People used to move out of the houses surrounding it when it looked too bad. Now it has been stabilised.

Delft town square

William 1, the Netherlands' first king, was assassinated in the building now the Museum (the bullet holes are preserved) and his grave and those of most subsequent monarchs are in the New Church (actually built in 1351 so not so new). Vermeer is a native of Delft so some of his works are displayed in the Museum and of course there is a great display of Delft ceramics.
From Delft we caught a tram to The Hague which seems to be a very modern city. The streets are wide and green, the modern architecture is very varied and gets away from the boxy look.

The Hague
In the Binnenhof

We visited the Peace Palace, housing the International Court of Justice and identified the stone that represents Australia's participation amongst the many nations who support this Court. The Seat of Government for the Netherlands is also in the Hague, as are the Royal residences, despite the fact that Amsterdam is the Capital. Quite confusing.
There is a very varied range of museums here but we settled on the Mauritshuis Museum with its spectacular collection, originally the Royal Painting Collection, concentrating on Dutch Masters.

 The Peace Palace in the Hague

Best Regards,

Penny and DaveThe palace Gardens

Delft pottery lampost, DelftHague, modern buildings

No Smoking- a sign to respect!
When we entered the port of Medemblik from the Ijsselmeer, we were returning to North Holland, last visited much earlier in our trip when we visited Amsterdam. Growing up, We had always thought this whole country was called "Holland". In fact a road map David bought in the mid- 80s when he was last here is called "Holland" but includes the whole of what we now know as the Netherlands. So perhaps somewhere in the last 20 years we have become a bit more precise in our terminology, becasue The Netherlands is far more than "Holland".

The old
and the new

Passing quickly through the pretty town of Medemblik we were pleased to be again, though briefly, on a system with manned locks and chatty lock- keepers. We stopped the first night in a quiet place which still wanted a fairly large amount to stop there because it was on a waterway with few stops. Then we came to a town called "Winkel", in Dutch, "shop"- but never a shop to be found, at least where we were. Next day we stopped in a holiday area full of lakes and opposite a thriving camping complex at de Woude. With the temperature over 30 degrees we decided to explore, so pumped up our inflatable kayak for the first time. It was a great success.

The next step after a very difficult day of slow bridges we ended up in Haarlem, the capital of North Holland (even though Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands also lies in this Province). When we arrived we were feeling a bit negative because of our tough and frustrating journey there through the many lifting bridges and sometimes ridiculous delays because the bridge keeper was not interested in his job, but we were rapidly converted by this most attractive city centred on the Spaarne river.

The waterfront and the area behind it has been preserved. Of particular interest was a restored 18th century windmill where a guided tour explained many of the ins and outs of windmills, including the protocol for the placement of the sails. One position was that of mourning, which had been used by windmills throughout the Netherlands the previous day, a Day of National Mourning for the victims of the recent Malaysian Airlines disaster.

The second remarkable museum was Teyler's Museum, the first in the Netherlands, endowed by a wealthy local man to promote Science and the Arts. It presents items from throughout the time it has been operating, very futuristic when first installed but now museum pieces rather than advanced scientific displays. There is also a great collection of coins and a small collection of art work on display.

 A battery of Leyden Jar cells. David learned of them at school/university but had never seen one

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

Model windmill (Molen) with the sails set for JOY
You can buy all sorts of things in the Netherlands

Yachts travelling through France, for example from the Mediterranean Sea to Britain via the Channel, need to remove or lower their masts so that they can get through bridges along the way. This can mean that the mast needs to be transported across the country which can be difficult and expensive. In the Netherlands there is a nominated route which allows such yachts to sail or motor through the country from the North or from the West. It also means that sailing boats can use the many beautiful lakes or sail to the off- coast Islands like the Frisian Islands off the Northwest Coast.

We first came across such yachts in Groningen and since then have cruised extensively on the nominated waterways. While the overwhelming majority of the yachts are Dutch, there are quite a number of German, a few Scandinavian and one sole British sailor.

We hope that those who embark on this journey are fully aware of the downside of having the mast up, and probably for a brief crossing or to go on a sailing holiday to a beautiful lake trip to a lake, that is so. But if like us the yachts are travelling long distances they must become frustrated. One stretch leading into Haarlem provides an example: in sixteen kilometres, there are thirteen opening bridges. Then in Haarlem itself there are eight opening bridges in 9 kilometres. We were lucky enough to fit under a few of them but a yacht would have to wait for each of them to open to let it through. For each bridge there are different opening regimes which can only be discovered by consulting the Almanac and (for us) translating the fine print. Closure during rush hours is common and understandable, as often major roads are affected. Others have an afternoon break on Sundays and holidays from midday to 4pm, or  a rule that they will not open until ten minutes after the previous opening. The rail bridge openings usually fit with the train timetables. The most difficult bridge was on the A9, high enough for us to pass under but not so the many yachts: it opens at 5.30 am, 12 noon, 1pm and 8pm for only a few minutes each time. In Rotterdam, there is a bridge which only opens for one particular four minute time each day and you must book it at least three hours beforehand!

Yachts waiting for a bridge

For most bridges, if you are first there, it is necessary to get very close to press a button; a few advertise a VHF radio Channel. Some have a waiting area but usually only big enough for two or three boats, so everyone else has to circle or raft up. One German sailor was clearly very frustrated after negotiating this stretch and cut in straight in front of us as we entered an open bridge. Without David's urgent action he would have been very squashed, as it was clearly only just wide enough for one boat to pass through and we were almost in the opening already. Our 36tonnes does not stop like a car!

On one particular day we experienced the uncertainties of having to wait for bridges. There were two lifting bridges then a rail bridge which opened every half hour. The almanac named this as 10 past and 40 past the hour. We approached with twenty minutes to spare, and passed quickly through bridge 1; There we sat with the minutes ticking by- and lo and behold the rail bridge opened then closed, five minutes before the due time, with us still stuck behind Bridge 2. We hunted in our almanac for a phone number as there was no VHF channel or push button, and rang to be told that the rail bridge now opens at five past and thirty five past, so would next open in approximately half an hour- no explanation for why we had been left one bridge short when the operator had to know we were there because he had let us through Bridge 1. Worse, no promise that we would be let through before the next bridge opening. After three more attempts on the phone (and two hang ups, clearly sick of us) we were at last promised passage in time for the next bridge. So fifty minutes after we reached the spot we finally passed the barrier.

Plenty of masts still up here

It is no wonder that we have achieved our worst ever kilometres per hour and worst ever fuel economy on the mast- up route and other stretches with lifting  bridges. So we do pity the yachts who have to stop and wait every time, wondering if the system will work for them and if they have read their almanac correctly. Still, they can often experience that sense of relief in seeing the lights turn red and green (the signal that the bridge is about to work) or the bells ringing to stop the traffic, then the green light when it is time to go through- moderated by the fear that the huge slab of road held up vertically as you pass might fall just as you are underneath.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

The Ijsselmeer is an inland sea, separated from the sea by a 33 kilometre long dike. It is approximately 70 kilometres long, and 33 kilometres wide in most parts. It is very shallow, being only a few metres deep which can give rise to nasty waves. We chose to cross it at its narrowest spot from Stavoren to Medemblik, a distance of 21 kilometres. At that point in a Northerly wind, the route has very little protection: only an island 50 kilometres away and the dike provide any protection from the North Sea. It was therefore necessary to take account of the wind strength and direction before we ventured out from Stavoren. The day we chose had a forecast of a Northeasterly wind of less than 15 knots in the morning. the wind was correctly forecast to get stronger in the afternoon and throughout the following days.

The Ijsselmeer sea (it gets rougher away from land!)

We left at 7AM to leave with the first lock opening of the day and headed out to sea for the first time. We were quite nervous: we have sailed extensively on the open sea in our yacht Pastime but then we had sails and a keel as well as an engine. In fact we have even managed with a broken mast and jury rigged sails. Now he had no alternative to our engine if something went wrong. At least the Ijsselmeer, unlike the Coral Sea, is shallow enough to allow us to anchor if we had an emergency.

Farewell from FrieslandWe had realised it would be quite choppy but were not fully mentally prepared for the rolling motion of a flat- bottomed boat without a keel or lee boards. For the first time we needed to secure glasses, crockery, pictures and our wine collection. We soon became used to the rolling movement and were very pleased we had chosen a day with moderate winds from a direction protected by a good land mass. We did lose one vase which rolled off its high stand. But we had never liked it much so that is okay. A number of wine bottles also came loose and rolled along the floor, but none broke.

Our journey across was uneventful on this bright day. For most of our trip we were in sight of land though not able to clearly identify our intended landfall. We relied on the GPS to keep us on our exact bearing. Our ship's compass is a beautiful antique but is useless for its intended purpose because it has been installed where it is affected by the metal around it.

During our crossing I reflected on how reassuring it is for me to travel with David with his  knowledge and skill. He steered us in exactly the right direction directly to our chosen port; the engine coughed, just once, but I was confident that, even if it stopped completely, he would probably be able to get it going again or at least could diagnose the problem. Thankfully there was no repeat. Without David to keep our 111 year old boat in good working order, inside and out, our European cruising would not be possible.

Best Regards,

Penny

Quite choppy and we only saw 1 yacht, 1 fishing trawler and a boat like us

Approaching Medemblik

Well, we are catching up on the blogs. Only a few behind now. We are still sponging water out but hope to have it all gone within another week. It is a slow and tedious job.

Friesland forms the North West of the Netherlands, to the West of Groningen. The land is very low and very flat, with a great deal of agriculture including large numbers of Frisian cattle. The land has a mixed history of being above and below sea level, of being built up then washed away, and of large lakes being formed by digging out peat. As a result there have been many floods and there is a constant battle to keep the water behind the levees and in the canals and lakes. The soil keeps sinking and the water level rising. Windmills, wind turbines and straightforward pumps have a great role to play.

There is a remarkable flag and a separate language, Frisian, still in use and greatly treasured and studied. Many towns are shown on maps with both the Dutch and the Frisian spelling. For example the town whose name we love best, Sneek in Dutch is Snits in Frisian.

A HOUSE travelling down this major canal (with Frisian flag)

We visited two major towns, Leeuwarden (Ljouwert) and Stavoren and we enjoyed sailing through the canals and especially the lakes. We snuck through the huge fleet of boats on the lake at at Sneek, and at Grou it was like dodgem cars and going to become even more crowded as a convoy of old tjalks passed us heading that way for two weeks of wooden sailing boat festival.

Canals in Leeuwarden

Most of the canals by- pass the towns as they are historically built on higher ground. At one stage we responded to an invitation (on a large sign) to divert from the main route to go through a little town, a route that seemed shorter and avoided a long wait at a lifting bridge and promised a width of 5.5 metres- we need 4.2 metres so 5.5 seemed generous enough. It was a very pretty detour but the canal was only just wide enough to accommodate us on some of the twists and turns. No wonder there were people leaning out of their windows watching us pass.

Quaint old town- off the normal routes

The first city we visited was Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland. We found a good shady spot to stop outside town and after an hour's walk to the city centre on a very hot day (the temperature hit 33 degrees) we found that the museum had moved to a new spot. In fact, a Frisian architect Abe Bonnema had bequeathed 18 million Euros to construct a new modern building, opened in 2013, so everything was very new and beautifully laid out and fortunately only another ten minutes walk away. There were two main exhibitions that interested us: the story of Friesland, which displayed photos and artefacts of a wide spectrum of Frisian life going back to the earliest times; and the story of the Resistance in Friesland which allowed us a glimpse of the every day experiences of the people of this area during World War 11 as well as the stories of those who provided resistance to the German occupation. Every display had an excellent English translation.

Resistance kit for false documents

Stavoren was a complete contrast to Leeuwarden as it is quite small with few houses but hundreds of visiting boats. It is full of cafés and antique stores. Times have changed since the 13th century when it was the first Frisian city, very wealthy because of its excellent trading position on the coast of the Zuider Zee. However its Harbour silted up in the 14th century so the trade went elsewhere and the city lost its wealth and its prestige. While in Stavoren we climbed the dike which separates Friesland from the Ijsselmeer, part of what was the Zuider Zee. As children we had heard stories of the little Dutch boy who valiantly saved his country from the sea using his hand to plug a hole in the dike- and here we were, walking on just such a structure. And looking at the large body of water which we would be crossing tomorrow.

Stavoren, more boats than houses and us squeezed in on the left

 The Dike along the Ijsselmeer

A convoy of sailing tjalks

Traditional Tjalks sailing on a lake

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave