Mid May 2015 – Middelberg, Veere and Willemstad

14th May – Thursday – To Middelberg

The trip from Vlissingen to Middelberg is only 5 miles, however, there are 5 bridges to negotiate.  The journey took almost 3 hours (10.45 to 13.30).

The bridges tend of be lifting bridges or swing bridges.

The lifting bridge ‘Scroubrug’, where you can see a number of boats rafted up at waiting posts, which seem to be designed to take anything from a dingy to a tanker, used to wait prior to going under as the bridge rises.  The post will sometimes have cleats and other times you have to hook your rope around the large wooden post.

The swing bridge ‘Brug Souburg’.  Here you can see boats passing in both directions on either side of the swing bridge.

The bridges are controlled by a traffic light system.  Red for Stop, Green for Go and Red and Green for ‘on you marks, get set, go’.  They don’t take any prisoners and if you are not quick enough the bridge goes down.  Some of the bridges and locks have intercom systems, which when pressed get an ‘OK’ from the controller, but no indication as to when they may open.

We saw people the previous day trying to go under the bridge at Vlissingen at Rush Hour and they waited quite a while.  There are opening times in the Part 1 & 2 handbooks, but they are written in fudge and bear little resemblance to reality.

As there was quite a large group of boats passing I thought that once we went under the first bridge then the next one would open a short while afterwards. But no, sometimes you can hang around, going in circles, back and forth, hoping the bridge will open, at other times it is worth rafting up as it may be a half hour wait, but there is absolutely no indication which scenario applies.  So plan in enough time for this passage, there is no point trying to do it in a hurry.

When we arrived in Middelberg we were asked to moor in a particular numbered berth on the side of the canal under some trees.  Thankfully there was an english boat there to help as it was the first time we had moored against piles in boxes.  (Two wooden posts in the water with the boat in between, facing the shore).  We went into the berth bow first and you have to hook a line over/around the pile to help stop the boat, then hook another line on the opposite post.  You then have to somehow get off the front of your boat and tether the bow to the shore to prevent the boat from moving in its berth.  Philip on ‘Delphine’ took the bow rope and secured us to the shore.  I am not quite ready from jumping off the bow of the boat.  (We did this better in Willemstad).

Mick was then looking at the engine, carrying out maintenance and I went for a wander.  As luck would have it, it was Ascension Day, and therefore a bank holiday, so there was a substantial market in the main square.

Veggies and strawberries were really cheap so I stocked up a bit.  The strawberry man sold only strawberries which became cheaper each time I passed to the point of no-refusal.

Info: Middelberg 21 euros per night including electricity, showers and water.  Recently updated excellent shower facilities are located across an ornate bridge from the harbour master’s office.  The moorings are a short 5 minute walk from the town centre.  There is a baker’s shop down Dwakstaai, directly behind the harbour office.  The largest super market ‘Albert Heinz’ is at the end of this street, approx 15 minutes walk.  They only take Dutch debit cards so take cash.  The regular market is held on a Thursday in the main square.

Two more days and two more markets, again due to the bank holidays.  On Friday there was a smaller flea market, but on Saturday there was an enormous flea market covering the whole square.

Mick was happy to find ‘Jos Boone’ a famous floating chandlery next to the marina.  Where he bought the ‘Staande Mastroute’ or Standing Mastroute book, which charts the Mast-Up routes through Holland which allow sailing boats to pass.

Mick also bought a bucket in town for the anchor chain, which is stored in the Anchor locker.  He then had to drill holes in the bottom to stop it filling with water, which flows through the locker from the decks in high seas or rain.

On Saturday we took the trolley for a good stock up at Albert Heinz and Mick bought oil from the next oil change, which was a bargain, at the shop called ‘Action’ inside the Albert Heinz shop.  I have to mention the sterling service giving by a young male till assistant in Albert Heinz who helped Mick set up the Dutch pay as you go Sim card we purchased in store, as the verbal instructions from the phone company were all in Dutch.

Philip from ‘Delphine’ came for a drink at 6.00pm.   He helped us again to move the boat, as the previous moorings owners were returning.  He gave us some good information as he has been here for several years.

There are some beautiful buildings in Middelberg and it is well worth a visit.  The building above is a Cinema!

17th May – Sunday – To Veere

So many people have told us how pretty Veere is that we could not pass by.

‘Sluis Veere’ is the lock outside Veere.

A short 8 mile trip, 10.30 to 12.00.

We moored up this time waiting for the lock to open.  As the lock opens everyone surges forward.  It is the small lock to the left, and there is a much larger lock on the right for larger vessels.

In small locks there tend to be ropes running horizontally along the lock wall to hook your lines through.  The lines are then held whilst the water level drops or rises so that you can adjust your lines accordingly.  Fenders need to be high so that the boat is not damaged on the side of the lock.  The lines are then easy to release on a short slip.  (Slip the rope to the end so that it can be quickly released).

Veere inner harbour.

Veerse Meer seen from the ramparts.

Veere inner harbour bridge.

Walking around on the second day we found this tunnel, dating from the Napoleonic period.

Tunnel Entrance

Inside the tunnel.

The tunnel from the outside, which we would never have guessed was a tunnel.  This lead via the ramparts to a hand operated ferry across the moat.  Yacht-master Bond managed to navigate the vessel to the other side by pulling the rope. 

Info:  The marina is located on the canal side and is a short walk to town.  Make sure you have provisions before coming to Veere.  There are no food shops except a cheese shop and an excellent bakery in the town square (which was oval).  The harbour master advised us that ‘This is a tourist town and if you need to eat, go to a restaurant’.  The night rate ranged from 18 to 22 euros, a deposit of 20 euros was required for a keyfob which activated the water supply, electric supply and shower supply all of which cost 75cents a time.  We used 6 euros worth in 3 days.  The toilets are located in metal porta-cabins on the shore, which are clean but basic.

Our love of Kebbelin has grown, it consists of small pieces of deep fried fish with a herby mayo sauce.  We intend to take a picture, but it never lasts long enough.  Will try harder.

The next two days were very windy so we had to stay put.  Veere is very lovely but a long lunch stop would be sufficient to see the sights.  Therefore walking, sewing, and maintenance.

20th May – Wednesday – To Willemstad

Marathon day to complete the 40 miles to Willemstad.  We had thought to stop at St Annaland, but arrived early so chose to continue.  09.30 – 18.30 could not start earlier as needed to retrieve deposit for keyfob from the Harbour master.

3 big locks to negotiate.  We almost had a mishap in the small boat channel of Veerse Meer and the depth sounder had a good testing.  The first lock was the Zankreeksluis from Veerse Meer to the Zandkreek.

Mick adjusting the lines in the first lock.  See the road bridge in the background.  The green slimey sides appear as the water goes down.

At the risk of stating the obvious this place is REALLY flat, only feet above the water in some places.  As someone who has only been to Amsterdam previously it is amazing how the water levels are managed and engineered to maintain this. 

Mick in the second lock ‘Krammersluizen’ from Oosterschelde to the Volkerak.  The lock had digital displays indicating the height of the bridge and the depth of the water.  The height of Fleur’s mast from the water to the top is 16.4 metres including the aerials.  The max height is 18.5 metres.

The 2 metre height difference seems small when viewed from the deck.

The other new experience for the day was the huge variation in types of shipping to the ones we are used to in the UK and France.  The inland waterways are littered with large fast moving, very low lying super barges, carrying everything from new cars to scrap, iron-ically.

Large barge with additional barge tethered to the front.  The control cabins at the back look like air traffic control towers.  They frequently have accommodation beneath and small cars and boats carried on deck for the crew.

Empty Car Transporter

Full Car Transporter, appropriately named ‘Titan’.

Needless to say in our rule book we keep well out of their way.

The last lock of the day was the Volkeraksluizen, from Volkerak to Hollandsch Deip, taking us to Willemstad.  The channels between the locks are well buoyed with large and small boat channels.  The depth of the water ranges from 3 to 15 metres and some of the channels are narrow considering the traffic.

The 2nd the 3rd locks both had small craft locks to one side (left in this case) and the large boat locks easily accommodated 4 of the huge barges.  Massive feats of engineering, giving surprisingly quick passage to these extraordinary vessels.

Willemstad is another recommended stop, which shows great promise.