We got away punctually, anticipating quite a long day with lots of locks (for Holland – not by French standards). Our destination in a few days is Antwerp. We were armed with good advice from our neighbour, who knows the city and has written a guide to cruising in Belgium and France for the Cruising Association. The Belgian bureaucracy sounds quite complicated, but I expect we'll manage.
We passed down a tranquil canal cut through the centre of Den Bosch, under a couple of bridges that were high enough for us, and then came to a halt at the first lock, with double red lights.
It was 8.50 so we assumed the lock would get going at 9.00. But still nothing by 9.15, and no response to calls on the VHF. A notice on the side of the lock said it should operate from 6.00 to 22.00, but no-one answered the phone number given. Eventually the internet yielded a number for the national waterways agency, Rijkswaterstaat, where we learned that the lock was operated not by them but by the Den Bosch municipality, and would only open once a day at 3 p.m.!
That required a bit of a rethink. There were two alternative choices available: to chug up the river Maas against the current, which was not appealing, or try the more commercial, but shorter outer route to the west. So it was yet another 180-degree turn, and off we set. The lock through to the Maas was quicker than sometimes, and on the way we admired these active seniors on the river:
It was easy going down the river, with quite a lot of traffic. There were big commercial barges, cruisers, sailboats, fishermen, speedboats, water skiers – in fact, the Dutch indulging their love affair with the water. These geese seemed to have pink feet, but that doesn't really show in the photo:
Naturally, being Holland, there were plenty of cows, but the wind seemed to be in a good direction today:
We found a pontoon in a commercial harbour to stop for lunch, and fortunately had just finished when we were chased away to make room for a much larger, and obviously more important, arrival. There was a little inlet beside this rather striking house, but it warned of being too shallow:
Eventually we spotted Jackthaven de Kil, a harbour just off the waterway where a big commercial canal from Dordrecht comes in. It is comfortable and friendly, even though we have to moor between pilings, which we do not enjoy. You have to dock bow or stern first, attaching yourself to the pilings as you go in. Since Saskia is a nightmare going astern, we go in forwards, but that does not make getting ashore very easy. Of course the Dutch are used to it and enjoy laughing at those of us we who are less adept.
Not sure how far we'll get tomorrow, or whether we'll still be in Holland.
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