by Pam Graham
July 2011
Orka was 55ft long and beautifully appointed. This was not the first time we had joined our friends, Jill and Keith, on their boat in these waters. Very pleasant motoring if that is your desire … of course we still prefer to sail, but even in a sailboat the likelihood is that you will end up motoring (no wind etc.) Jill and Keith have a dog called Chika, a Spanish breed, and this was her first trip in a boat. She soon settled down but you could see the puzzled look on her face for the first few days.
Under grey, overcast skies, we motored out of their home marina in Numansdorp on Sunday 26th June. We saw many birds such as gulls, cormorants, shags, geese, ducks, grebes, swans, osprey and a marsh harrier. We stopped in Volkerak for lunch, but stayed for the rest of the day. To access the yacht basin a bridge had to be opened and this one was mounted on rails. Once back in place, hundreds of cyclists passed along the road over the bridge, but then this is Holland where almost everybody rides a bike and cyclists have right of way on all main roads.
On the morning of 27th, we found we were aground, so Len obliged and pushed us off. Funny thing though, I can’t remember how he got back on … must have jumped aboard! We motored out of the creek into a canal that links the Rhine and the Schelde and saw several commercial barges with hydraulic wheelhouses that lower to let them pass under bridges. Quite remarkable as they have no direct view once down behind the cargo! We stopped for lunch in the visitors’ berths at a small yacht haven, then continued on to Antwerp. We spent the next day making phone calls and shopping for essentials.
Temperatures were now in the 30s and we were very happy! Mmm! However, thunder was heard in the distance and after consultation with the harbour master regarding tides, we stayed put for a day. How can weather be so changeable?
The 29th was cold and wet so we ate breakfast down below. Thankfully the rain stopped in time for us to get away with the tide to the River Schelde. The first bridge opened at 10am and the second one a half hour later. In the lock we tied up to a French working barge and both the owner and his wife made a great fuss of Chika as they had recently lost their pet to ill health.
Making our way down river we passed through the city of Antwerp and its dock areas until we gradually saw fewer buildings and more green fields, trees and countryside. We reached Temse for lunch but could not get ashore as there was no-one around to unlock gates; so we pressed on to Baasrode for the night. We moored at a small wharf where trees and flowers were growing out of the woodwork; obviously there was very little maintenance done there! In the morning we tried to find a supermarket and on our second try we observed a woman with a shopping trolley, several bicycles, a large blank building (absolutely no name or advertising or identification on it) and there it was—The Supermarkt.
After lunch we left as the tide turned … in the rain! An uneventful motor on the River Schelde to the lock where we crossed into the canal to the city of Ghent/Gent. We saw some pretty villages en route and the canal followed a very busy road then we turned into the Leie-VVW yacht haven.
Marinas on the rivers and canals in Belgium and Holland are not as we are used to. First, we attempted to get into a berth far too narrow and had to fight our way out; then we were directed to a better place and we settled stern-to for that, tied to two heavy posts at the bow, and stern to the grassy bank. It turned out to be a friendly, very laid back marina.
July 1st saw Len, Keith and I heading back to Numansdorp in Holland to fetch the car. Fantastic friends that they are, Jill and Keith had offered us the use of their car for the duration of our holiday in UK and after that in France, where we would meet them and hand over the car for their journey back to UK.
We traveled by train from St. Pieter’s Station in Gent to Antwerp, then another train to Rosendahl, followed by two buses and a half-hour walk to Numansdorp. Phew! We spent July 3rd doing the tourist bit in Gent, a lovely medieval city, and on July 4th we cleaned the boat and prepared it for leaving (Keith had flown to Egypt on business and Jill had to attend a funeral in Sweden. These two do get about quite a bit!)
On the morning of 5th July, we took Chika to the kennels and dropped Jill at St. Pieter’s Station, then we drove across Belgium to France and Calais to take the ferry to Dover. UK here we come!
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