Dordrecht to Gouda

Tuesday 29th July, a comfortable distance of 19 Nm to cover but some restrictive bridge times.

The route takes us along De Noord (0 - 9) and the Nieuwe Maas (9 - 13), both busy commercial waterways, then onto the quieter Hollandse Ijssel (13 - 36), with the day's routine set by the timings of two bridges and to a lesser extent the tidal currents. The tour guide recommends a departure from Dordrecht at 13:00 in order to catch the 14:15 opening of the Alblasserdam Bridge (6) on De Noord (which only opens every two hours) and to be at the Stormloedkering/Algera bridge (17) on the Nieuwe Maas before 16:00 as it closes from then until 19:00 for the land based peak traffic.

A guided tour of Dordrecht has been arranged for the morning, alternatively there is free time for shopping and acting the tourist. Come 12:30 and the first of the boats start making their way out of the harbour. The weather is fine but with a fresh breeze (from the wrong direction) and we progress on schedule toward Gouda, with Hyrst of Eremue and other boats with short masts able to take advantage of the 12m bridge clearance at Alblasserdam and get ahead of the fleet.  Whilst travelling in this group of smaller boats I notice that Barbara is occasionally operating the manual bilge pump on Moon River but does not appear unduly concerned and going about her usual practice of photographing the route. Maybe a bit of additional maintenance needed on arrival.

Ahead of the fleet: Hyrst of Eremue and East Breeze from Moon River

The sting in the tail for today is the entry into Gouda which requires us to leave the tidal Hollandse Ijssel via the Juliana lock, then into the Gouwekanaal and Nieuwe Gouwe to access our mooring at Turfsingel in the historic area of the city (36 - 45). A further three bridges and a lock to negotiate after the Juliana lock. A passenger vessel (having priority) takes up most of the lock in the Nieuwe Gouwe and subsequently a fair few of the gaffer fleet, including East Breeze and Moon River,  get through while I hold for a later opening.

ANWB chart of the Gouda entrance as shown on route plan (waypoints 36 - 45) above.
Our moorings in the area H by the windmill.

On reaching the berthing area I make to go alongside Moon River but get directed alongside East Breeze as Moon River is having problems, emphasised by the number of people taking an interest. Once moored I join the group at Moon River to discover that the boat has had significant water ingress, to the extent that the water level is well up the seats in the saloon! Buckets are being used to clear the saloon water into the cockpit with another team bailing the cockpit water overboard. There is considerable concern as the water cannot be bailed fast enough to reduce the level. A further conflab ensues, then a moment of realization and some mirth as it is noted that the cockpit drains are open and well below water level due to the number of bods on the stern, so maintaining the cockpit water level! Everyone out of the cockpit and magically the cockpit empties. The saloon crew keep bailing and eventually the boat is dry enough to close the sea cocks and start investigating the source of the leak. After ensuring no further significant water ingress was happening and the boat was not going to sink overnight Barbara was accomodated on another boat, with further investigation postponed till the next morning. The problem was eventually diagnosed as a severly leaking exhaust system at the water injection elbow join caused by a combination of a) the hose not fully fitted during installation and b) the hose hardening during the previous days overheat episode and losing the elasticity holding it in place. Repairs were effected and the boat back in commission that morning thanks to the capability of our Dutch hosts and other gaffers mucking in.

Barbara was a great example of remaining cool under duresss, what with the pumping out and helming/photographing as normal whilst underway then dealing with the aftermath of the incident. She did admit to having a little bit more to drink that night than usual though.

Moon River with correct water level restored!

Gouda R&R time

Wemeldinge to Dordrecht, a stamina and skills test?

Monday 28th July, the tour handbook has today as "a good daytrip!" of 37Nm.

Plenty to consider, the initial waterways we are using are tidal (3m range and significant flows), we have two major locks to negotiate and some time critical bridges - a whole new gammut of passage planning considerations for me. Plus our overnight venue has a town centre along-side mooring, another novelty, oh! and sailing boats are not permitted to tack on certain waterways. The newly acquired ANWB Staande Mastroute (mast up) atlas has had some serious attention and routes have been entered on the Garmin chartplotter, Nexus 7 ANWB charts and Xperia Z2 Navionics chart. The zoom v. detail jumps on the chart plotter render it less suitable than the tablets for pilotage of this nature, but it is weatherproof!

The ANWB Staande Mastroute chart booklet

Staande Mastroute chart detail

Radio communications raises another set of considerations in terms of VHF channel use, CH16 is still the emergency channel, however, there is a "listening channel" VHF68 for waterway control, a calling  and bridge-to-bridge channel VHF10 and local channels for each bridge/lock. My combination of three VHF sets and two ears seems mismatched.

Route plan for the day

The route from Wemeldinge takes us via the tidal Oosterschelde, Brabants Vaarwater, Keeten and Mastgat for a distance of 12 mile to the Krammer Lock (7). Exiting the lock we are into the Volkerak as far as the Volkerak Sluis (18) then Hollandsdiep until the branch North onto the Dordtsche Kil and finally the Oude Maas for the entry into Dordrecht.

As we cast off at 08:30 the weather forecast comes true and a torrential rainstorm sets in, reducing visibility to less than 100m, maintaining visual contact with the fleet is impossible and it becomes a case of concentrating on the nav and keeping an eye on the boats immediately ahead and astern. The rain ceases after about an hour and the improved vis allows a check on the fleet which is now fairly dispersed along the route. No sign of fellow single-hander Barbara on Moon River but she was still preparing her boat when I cast off and there are a few other boats who miss the commercial vessel Krammer Lock opening that has been planned for the fleet.

Arriving at the Volkerak Sluis it is necessary to hold at the waiting moorings for entry and fellow Solent single-hander Marion rafts alongside with East Breeze (a Tamarisk 22). Come the green light for lock entry and the engine on East Breeze refuses to start, so we quickly set up an alongside starboard tow with Hyrst of  Eremue, agree some basic handling plans and set off at the tail end of the charge for the lock. The lock looks crammed as we approach and at the critical moment the lights go to red against us! Fortunately (knowing Sodd) we had anticipated this and kept well to port on the approach as I could only manage a tight turn to starboard under this configuration, and with both helms over and using max prop wash we clear the lock entry and set off for the waiting mooring again - only to look back and see a lock-keeper frantically waving us in against the red! Another starboard about u-turn and a run for the lock, but where to go in the lock, it is packed! Tied two-abreast and with a fair amount of momentum we have a tense few moments getting the attention of crew on the rearmost boats in the lock but manage and achieve an impact free "merging" with the other boats. It is obvious that Hyrst will not be able to tow East Breeze any distance and whilst in the lock we manage  to contact the Hamble based Cornish Trader "Beagle", a sturdy 30ft ketch, who agrees to take on the tow once we are clear of the lock. While waiting for the lock opening Marion and I manage to encourage the reluctant engine into life, but agree that I will maintain the tow until clear of the lock and into more open water, Beagle agrees to standby as a back-up. East Breeze manages to remain under own engine power for the rest of the day (no switching off at locks/bridges) with Beagle and Hyrst staying nearby just in case.

It can be seen that confidence and capability is starting to build amongst us first-timers at this inland waterways lark, although the entrance to Dordrecht causes a fair amount of tension as a large gaffer fleet arrives at the tight bridge-restricted entrance to the inner harbour. The local water plod (aka Rotterdam Harbour Police) are soon on scene with two patrol boats to manage the situation as we are at the junction of two busy and controlled commercial waterways. After much position holding/jostling the bridge opens and we experience the challenge of getting the fleet in and berthed in a space that few of us thought large enough. I moored Hyrst bows in between two boats in box moorings who were bows out, well fendered there was hardly a need for warps!

Moon River had fallen behind but, accompanied by East Coast gaffer "Bonify" rejoined the fleet. It appears that Moonriver suffered an engine overheat soon after leaving Wemeldinge and during the rain storm failed to raise any of the fleet on VHF (I suspect the combination of VHF channel options and battened down boats in the rain exacerbated the comms problem.)  Barbara then resorted to sending text messages to skippers in the fleet, which was responded to by Howard, the skipper of Bonify, who then took Moon River in tow whilst he set about clearing a water blockage on Moon River's engine.

The entrance to Dordrecht, with some of the fleet on approach.

 The day's sail had been challenging but interesting, with a first insight into the commercial aspects of  the waterways, the significant industry and infrastructure associated with it, and then the total contrast of the old city of Dordrecht.


The gaffer fleet in the harbour at Dordrecht. (photo. Barbara Runnels)

The "Wemeldinge Weekend" - racing, games and social events!

CATCH-UP TIME with the blog!

Saturday/Sunday 26th -27th July.

The weekend has an active program of events enabling us to meet fellow attendees, cast an eye over the gathered array of boats and catch up with the necessary jobs. Further boats and crew are also due to arrive over the weekend. The weather is forecast to remain warm and dry to suit the activities.
 
 Hyrst of Eremue manouvering to a berth in the inner basin.


It got progressivly tighter on space and provided skippers on the larger boats with a challenge!
Didn't hear any bow thrusters in use either.


 

Saturday 26th July, racing in the morning with prize giving in the evening and a mussel supper.

Being single-handed I opted out of the morning race and set about some more sorting and stowage of items on the boat plus some minor maintenance. The afternoon was spent exploring locally on foot  and a shopping trip to town in the afternoon, which turned out to be a bit of a hike back laden with goods (wish I had got that folding bike). That just left time to take advantage of the laundry facilities prior to the evening social activities. Unfortunately I am not one for shell fish so it was a case of  a meal onboard then up to the marquee to join the activities. The Solent boats acquited themselves well in the race with two winning prizes.

View towards the town beyond the second marina basin. Good chandlery and restaurant at the marina.


I was given the figure of 55 boats present on the rally by Saturday afternoon.




Sunday 27th July, quayside and on-the-water events and an evening BBQ

With the fine weather holding the water-based activities drew plenty of attention, with the dinghy jousting providing great entertainment and the youngsters almost defeating the adults in the final. Once again the evening activities went off well, although minds had started focusing on the demanding day ahead and the less than favourable weather forecast. For many of us it would be the first time of dealing with the serious commercial traffic of the inland waterways.

Middelburg to Wemeldinge - and party time!

Friday 25th July, booking in day for the Cross Country Tour.

In the guides and pilot books it mentions that Middelburg is a port of entry and Schengen forms can be submitted there rather than stop at Vlissingen, so I duly take my form to the HM where I am advised that he is not interested, nobody is interested, haven't been for ages and to just keep the form with my boat documents in case a jobsworth does a check. Seems an efficient method of dealing with bureaucracy. Middelburg is an attractive town and worthy of more time but not on this trip, one to keep for the future.

Today is registration day for the OGA (NL) Cross Country Tour 2014 and the reception party starts at 17:00.  With 19Nm of inland waterway to cover plus a sluis (lock) or two to negotiate Hyrst and Alice set off in company at 9 a.m., a time dictated by the fact that Alice is moored on an inner "harbour" in the town and has to await a bridge opening to escape. This stretch of the canal is free of bridges so it is possible to settle down and take in the new experience of motoring along (still head to wind) on a wide canal, with yachts sailing downwind towards us, sheep and cattle on the banks and folk cycling merrily along the tracks alongside the canal. My CEVNI knowledge is getting a rapid check out, and I have to admit to needing a reference handy.

Kanaal door Walchereen heading for Veere

The trip to Veere at the northern end of the canal is soon covered and we negotiate the lock and exit into the Veerse Meer, a tideless salt water lake. At this point I am trying to get my head around what waterways are salt or fresh water, if they are tidal or subject to river flows (or both) and if so what direction when! However this soon becomes a secondary activity when faced with an array of buoyage liberally sprinkled with preferred channel marks, stripey port and starboard marks, standard cardinal and channel marks and no certainty of flow direction. There also seems to be a complete absence of identifiable landmarks. The chart plotter is not overly helpful and the ANWB charts on my Nexus 7 Tablet come to the rescue. Once I have adjusted to the proliferation of buoys and channels all is well. The Veerse Meer is a popular cruising water and I note there are plenty of informal landing points and overnight stops, some with pontoons and on shore water supplies and toilet facilities (think Thunderbox).

The Zandkreek Sluis is reached at midday and we pass through into the Oosterschelde for the final leg of the day to Wemeldinge. The tour opening event is hosted in Wemeldinge Marina which turns out to be a large, modern, well equipped marina and waiting on the arrivals pontoon is a Dutch OGA welcoming team ready with berthing information. For the final twist to the days sailing we have to negotiate a tight channel to an inner marina accessed via an opening pedestrian bridge - great for some more boat handling practice.

The lock into the Oosterschelde was a tad busy.

I moor Hyrst rafted out with the smaller gaffers in the fleet and acquaint myself with the reception committee in the marquee, where to my delight a Belgian lady produces my goody bag marked with boat name and perfectly pronounces Hyrst of Eremue as it should be done with a hard "H" and the "y" in Hyrst emphasised. Quite natural to her and great to hear.

The evening starts with a formal welcome then moves onto the social activities with a great international atmosphere developing amongst the Dutch, Belgian and British crews present. The comperes, all OGA members, hop between languages quite naturally and carry the sense of humour across well. A great band makes for the icing on the cake - a very good welcome event and party.

Gaffers making their own music in band down time.

Blankenberge to Vlissingen ... and on

Thursday 24th July, we should be in Dutch waters by the end of the day.

With a passage distance of 23 Nm to Vlissingen Dutch waters should be a relatively easy days sail, however, I have been warned to make plenty of allowance for the strength of tide in the Westerschelde estuary and time arrival accordingly, otherwise it will be sailing with negative progress. Once again the wind is on the nose, yet another NE F5 forecast and wind against tide to get into the estuary.

Still in company with Alice Pellow we depart Blankenberge at 08:45 local making sure to clear the drying shallows on the route out for the first leg to a point safely offshore of Zeebrugge entrance. The sea already has a nasty chop to it and in the shallow water of the area is kicking up a lot of sand from the sea bottom, and true to the pilot book warnings the sea off Zeebrugge became decidedly worse, yet another motor-sailing beat with two reefs in the main. Progress seems painfully slow in the conditions but the tide means we are managing the required SOG to beat the 15:00 tide turn. I reach the Zeebrugge channel at 10:55 and take 30 minutes to cross it, having to divert astern of an incoming container ship in the process - why did he have to time his approach to inconvenience me in these conditions! The flog to windward continued, staying south of the buoyed large ship route to Vlissingen Roads where we have to run in on the south side of the estuary towards Breskens before turning due North on the small boat crossing to Vlissingen. By now the wind has increased to F6 and the sea state is foul, Dave and I note that a lot of locally flagged yachts are ignoring the small boat crossing and making a beeline direct to Vlissingen, after a quick radio chat we alter course to join them.

By 13:45 we are outside of the lock at Vlissingen, in Dutch waters and about to enter their inland waterways. I remember to turn the VHF ATIS facility on whilst waiting for the lock and hold position waiting on the lock signal lights. On the green light there is a bit of a surge by waiting boats for the lock space but I had been warned to expect it as we Brits are the only ones who queue. All is going well until the lights turn red on us whereupon the boats not within the gates try to recover to a waiting position again (within the confines of the lock approach walls). Unfortunately for me the Dutch boat ahead promptly went full astern without looking behind until the children on board started frantically pointing to Hyrst with a bowsprit about to engage his rear. I decided there was no alternative but to go hard astern with Hyrst to at least stop my forward momentum, however, Hyrst does not go astern predictably and we do a dramatic sideways astern arc to starboard, towards another Dutch boat still going ahead. No options left but to go full ahead to port to clear both of them which we achieve but with the embarrassment of Hyrst head butting the lock wall with the bowsprit before we lose way. Not how I wanted my entry to the inland waterways to start but on analysis not a lot of choice without crew to fend off. No serious damage done other than a bowsprit mount that needs tightening and our mark on the lock wall. During the activity I did rename the skipper of the reversing Dutch boat. One other failure rounded off the farce when I used my boathook to pull the boat alongside the lock wall, only to end up with the boathook coming apart leaving me posing with the handle end and the hook end dangling uselessly from the wall. I should have gone round with a hat.

Subsequent progress through the lock goes without incident and we push on along the Kanaal door Walcheren for an overnight stop at Middelburg. Four bridge openings later we are at the HM's pontoon at Middelburg and I am allocated my first box mooring to contend with, which I achieve well enough other than my stern lines are not long enough for the length of box so a bit of quick action with a spare line was necessary. The sun is out and the evening is fine, time for some R&R. I join Dave and Kay, who have already cycled around the town and selected a bar cum eatery where we sample the local food and then move on to the Yacht Club for a further drink or two or ..., can't recall exactly.

Hyrst of Eremue (centre) on the box mooring at Middelburg.

And the crew of Alice Pellow sampling the Yacht Club hospitality.

The trip to the start of the Dutch OGA Cross Country Tour has turned out to be the hardest and longest I have ever worked a boat and there is still the tour and return trip to complete.

Nieuwpoort to Blankenberge

Wednesday 23rd July, an 18Nm passage

Another relatively short trip today as the weather doesn't look set to stop our progress and we have time to reach Wemeldinge for the start of the tour proper.

The wind as ever is on the nose, a F3/4 NE with a NNE swell of a metre plus but not as unpleasant as the last couple of passages. At least it is dry and bright although with some haze.

Alice in close company.

Blankenberge is another port with warnings of uncomfortable to dangerous approaches in strong onshore winds together with a shallow entrance that should be avoided at low water springs. With a departure from Nieuwpoort at 08:40 we are off Oostende by 10:40 and moored up in the VVW marina at Blankenberge for 12:40. But that F4 wind and swell were enough to make yet another rock n' roll session for getting sails down and running in between the entrance piers/wave breaks.

The harbour was absolutely rammed with boats given the fine weather and local holidays, but the HM fitted Hyrst in bows first on his reception pontoon - very handy.





Note the first use of the cockpit cover made up at short notice by Gerry at Solent Covers the day before I left. Needed as a sunshade rather than rain cover. An upside (for a discerning gent like me) to the sun and heat was the prevalence of some very nice deck candy around the marina, brought to my attention by the fact that swimming in the marina seems common practice.

Time available for some shopping in Blankenberge and a view out to sea from the promenade and beach. A bit touristy but another decent stopover.

Dunkerque to Nieuwpoort

Monday 21st July, a possible rest day now a sailing day.

Following a chat with Dave and Kay, the crew of Alice Pellow, I opt to join them on a short passage to Nieuwpoort, like myself they have been pushing hard to get to the event in time and Kay suggested that an early arrival at a port allowing some afternoon leisure was needed. In their case especially so, their mast broke two weeks previously whilst sailing in the Solent and they had worked all the hours imaginable to get a new timber mast built prepared and rigged, resulting in a late departure but not having to cancel the trip.

The passage to Nieuwpoort is only 14Nm but requires some careful attention to navigation due to the extensive sandbanks, the route being via the Rade de Dunkerque, Passe de Zuydcoote and then a buoyed channel into the port. Once again the wind is NE F5 and with wind against tide a bumpy trip is expected.

My departure from the mooring was a bit tricky with Hyrst being rafted one boat out but with a raft of three beamy boats ahead of me and the wind pushing me on to the mooring (no astern option). The crew of the french boat inside of me, 4 blokes, arrived and started preparing their boat (seemed like a race school boat) but not one offered to assist with my departure, even after I asked if one of them would go on the outside boat ahead to fend off if necessary. I did get away with out any drama and with a condescending casting off by one of the crew of my aft line used to spring out. Obviously not cruising types. Alice Pellow was waiting for me in the harbour and we set off in company.

The passage turned out to be a rough one with short steep seas due to the shallow water, tide and what turned out to be a F5 rising to F6 head wind. Motor sailing with two reefs in the main it proved to be slow progress especially through the Passe de Zuydcoote. Alice Pellow pulled away from me and was about a mile ahead by the time we were offshore of Nieuwpoort as I watched them turn into wind and drop their main. The next time I looked at them they were running down wind under foresails, a quick call to them on the VHF in case of problems and the response was engine failure. My response to get to them asap and standby was not a lot of use under the conditions but the best I could offer. Not good, difficult conditions, unknown harbour with narrow entrance and no ready assistance. Dave opted to sail the boat in and to their credit they sailed the boat into and down the long entrance onto a hammerhead pontoon on a marina berth. Cool work by the pair of them.

 I followed in and rafted alongside them, the marina dockmaster having picked up on the situation and taken the lines from Alice Pellow on arrival, then giving us berthing there overnight. So much for Kay's afternoon of sightseeing, Dave was into investigating the engine failure. The rough passage was a clue and checking the fuel filters revealed a severe dose of the dreaded diesel bug. No engineering support was available that afternoon but a local company agreed to fetch the boat the next day and see what could be done.

Hyrst of Eremue had another good rock n' roll session getting the main down and into the harbour but once inside all was (relatively) calm.

Pictures thanks to a local Belgian sailing couple out walking who saw us entering the harbour, took the snaps and happened to be moored on an adjacent marina berth.


Tuesday 22nd July was Alice Pellow fixing day as first priority, with the boat yard proving up to their promise (after a lot of chasing by Dave and Kay)



The fuel and tank were duly cleaned and filters replaced, with Dave relieved of a substantial amount of money for the work. The charge obviously took into account the "no option" situation.

During the day whilst Alice was at the doctors I joined Dave and Kay for a tour of Nieuwpoort, using the free cycle loan provided by the marina. A pleasant harbour town and one I would enjoy visiting again.

The day was not a lost sailing day either as the morning was poor visibility and strong winds all day so would have been an enforced rest day.