Monday 24th June 2013 Bramsche to Bad Essen.

Modern crane unloading at KP33 MLK

Grey clouds but no rain until we stopped, then just drizzle. Set off at 10.10 am with

the generator running so I could do a pile of ironing. Nothing much moving on the MLK as it was Monday. Both banks of the canal were lined with trees and where there were gaps on the right we could see glimpses of wide fields leading to the low forested hills of the Wiehengebirge. We were overtaken by a couple of cruisers and a Danish motor-sailer went past in the opposite direction. Just a couple of loaded commercials went past in the opposite direction while I was working indoors. 

Old crane unloading at KP55 MLK

After lunch a succession of loaded boats went past, starting with Inspe IV from Rijswijk 1500 tonnes at KP46.5. At KP47 we were overtaken as we went under bridge 44 by an empty called Morgenstern (80m 1,089 tonnes) who we’d passed earlier, tied up and loading his car back on board with his crane. Just beyond the bridge they’d made moorings in a winding hole, half for commercials and half for sport boats – a cruiser was moored there. At KP47.5 a loaded boat went past called Geertje (63m 800 tonnes) now Polish flagged from Kostrzyn (with a name like Geertje it must have belonged to a Dutchman who had traded up to a bigger boat). Paused for a few minutes to take the plate out in a layby mooring at Laar. At KP54.5 Bondar (67m 800 tonnes) overtook us, Polish from Wroclaw (pronounced Vrotswav). Weser (82m x 9.2m 1,358 tonnes) was unloading at a silo quay at KP55. 

Double overtaking! 

The driver of the ancient crane paused to take photos of us, so we returned the favour and took photos of him and his crane. A kilometre further on loaded Dutch boat Avance (70m 853 tonnes) went past and a further kilometre on loaded tanker Kraichgrau 3 (86m 1,137 tonnes) went past as we went under the railway bridge at Stirpe. Behind us we could see Snail was being overtaken by loaded boat Gratias and an empty called Weserland was getting ready to overtake the loaded boat. Took some photos of the situation behind us as loaded boat Hoop op Zegen (80m x 1,428 tonnes) went past us. 

Moored at Bad Essen

A few minutes later the empty, Weserland from Ibbenbüren (79.4m x 1,086 tonnes), overtook us followed by the loaded Dutch boat Gratias from Katwijk Aan Zee (86m x 9.5m 1,445 tonnes) which went past very gently with hardly a ripple. As we went under bridge 61 Mike moved over left looking for the mooring place on the left hand side while looking at a yacht which was moored on the right bank by an old silo (no notices to say that this was a mooring) as loaded boat BM5251 (used to be Polish BM = Bromberg and registration number, but now had Berlin and a German flag on the stern) went past us on the wrong side followed by a WSA workboat and tug. Tied up further down the quay at KP61.5 in Bad Essen at 3.00 pm in front of a German cruiser called Spats II. We backed up so our stern was next to his bows to leave enough room for the Snail in front of us. We filled the available mooring space for sport boats while behind us was a kilometre of mooring exclusively for commercials.