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| Queue for the bridge. Verlengde Hoogeveenschevaart. |
Sunny and hot, sheltered from the wind between high banks
to start with, breezy where it wasn’t sheltered. Three armadas of cruisers went
past, two in the same direction as us (a pushy Belgian from the day before
went past fast and broke the wooden piling we had our stern rope chained to,
Mike temporarily attached the rope to one of Oll’s bow pins) Set off at 10.10
am. At the first liftbridge in Geesbrug Mike went to look for the keeper and
asked the crew of the boat moored on the far side of the bridge, they said he was
at his other bridge and would be back shortly. He operated Geesbrug and
Zwinderschebrug for us. A large DB called Sincfal from Delft came past heading
in the opposite direction just before we came to Driftbrug, the first of a
series of manually operated swingbridges. We’d collected three cruisers and
managed to make it through Dalerbrug and Oosterhesselerbrug before the keeper
said the bridges were closed for lunch until 1 pm and told us to moor just
after the bridge we’d just come through.
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| Alpacas. Verlengde Hoogeveenschevaart. |
The first cruiser ignored that and
went on to the next bridge. A large cruiser went past quickly then stopped
right in front of our bows as we were still moving forward to the end of the
bollards for mooring. A few words were exchanged with him by Mike and Anne
about us not being able to stop as quickly as him, but he professed to know little
English, (they didn’t believe him), but he managed to tell them that although the speed
limit was 6kph he wanted to travel at 10 kph and wanted to away first. Not all
Dutch people have this type of attitude. At 10 to one the cruiser in front
set off so we untied and followed it and the two big cruisers through
Hesselerbrug. There was a longer stretch before the next bridge, Klenckerbrug,
and the young blonde lady bridge keeper (obviously complicit with the cruisers who were speeding)
had already let them through before we got there, but had kept the bridge open
for us and the cruiser which was still behind us.
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| Windmill at Veenbrug. Verlengde Hoogeveenschevaart. |
A kilometre and a half before the next
and the cruiser behind overtook on one of the longer straight sections.
Wide open flat fields on either side were being grazed by sheep. When we
arrived at Haarbrug the lady keeper had let the two big cruisers through and
gone on with them to the next bridge, an electrically operated liftbridge, so
we had to wait for her return. Mike had just jumped off with the centre rope on
a sloping bank when she came back and pushed the manual swingbridge open for
us. She said it was getting warm, then closed the bridge behind us and drove
off in her bright yellow van. We waited under the new N34 road bridge before
the electric bridge, Holslootbrug, as she had gone on to the next to let the
two cruisers through. Mike hopped off with the centre rope and wrapped it round
a pillar under the road bridge while we waited. Through the liftbridge, then a
short distance to Hoolbrug, another manual swingbridge where a small DB and a
large cruiser were waiting under another road bridge on the far side. We
followed the Snail into Veenoord and had a short wait for the vertical lift
railway bridge. Two trains went across then the bridge lifted. It was remotely
operated. A very short distance beyond it was an electric liftbridge, Veenbrug,
and a man on a bike came to press the buttons for us.
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| Railway liftbridge. Verlengde Hoogeveenschevaart. |
Another very short
distance to a press button liftbridge with no counterbalance (we thought it was
a swingbridge) Nieuwe Amsterdam footbridge. The keeper asked if we were
stopping. Beyond his bridge was a wooden landing with steps and the first two
cruisers that had been just ahead of us were tied there so we didn’t stop. The
next mooring by the shops was full, no spaces long enough for us, so we pressed
on through Kerkbrug, an electric liftbridge, and moored just before the
junction with the Stieltjekanaal that leads to Coevoorden. It was 3.30 pm. The
bank had a gentle slope up to a minor paved road and had trees along the top providing
shade but not allowing satellite access so Mike put the extension cable out and
planted the dish by a tree. While we were getting the bike off the roof we were
surprised to see an empty commercial called Veridis Quo from Haarlem, which
went past and turned down the canal to Coevorden.
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