Monday 27th May 2013 Nederhorst den Berg to Almere Flevoland KP9. 37.4 kms 2 locks

Mooring at Nederhorst

Sunny all day with a light breeze. Set off at 8 am heading down the last of the river Vecht, through Weesp. A large house right on the edge of the river bank looked like it ought to be afloat. Past the two windmills and under the bascule liftbridge, (with the Ensign off and the Snail followed with canopy still up), by the large boat club where quite a few hireboats were moored, Locaboats and Le Boats. There was a boat going through the Smal Weesp (that connects to the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal) and the liftbridge was up. 

A house, not a house boat!

A sign said it was 3€. A Le Boat overtook us just after the railway liftbridge and then a five-woman rowing skiff. We had a short wait behind the hire boat while the swingbridge over the tail end of the Zeesluis at Muiden swung open for boat traffic. We followed the hireboat into the left hand chamber. Two cruisers had also caught up and they went into the right hand chamber. The lock keeper operates both locks from a control panel between the two chambers and he filled both at once. (Amazed, no money was demanded! Nor any for today’s liftbridges!) 

Railway liftbridges at Weesp

The level lifted a matter of a few centimetres and we were off on the last bit of the Vecht between masses of moored boats (including the King’s boat, a green tjalk) and many big powerful speedboats, then a line of moored masted Dutch barges. Soon we were on the channel leading into the Ijmeer. The two cruisers veered off to the right behind the islands heading for the Gooimeer and the start of the Randmeeren, a chain of lakes around the South East of Flevoland that used to be the Zuiderzee coast. 

Moored boats at Muiden

The weather was good, the breeze light and so we carried on across the Ijmeer past Pampus island to run along the North West edge of Flevoland. We crossed the shipping channel that leads to Gooimeer just before commercials went past in both directions. A suction dredger moved off as we were heading towards the end wall of the Pampushaven, he turned to our left so we went straight across to follow the dijk leaving a good margin for the fishing nets along the edge. The wash from passing commercial traffic was making more waves than the wind, which was now directly behind us. An empty 50m commercial came out of the harbour as we were within ten minutes of arriving there, then a yacht came out – we could see his mast above the harbour wall. We turned right together with the Snail and went into the harbour, past the pumping station and then turned left into the Zuidersluis lock approach as a cruiser called “Quality Time” was just leaving the chamber. 

Muiderslot

The lock lights were on double red, lunchtime. We tied to the waiting area timber baulks and had some lunch. Just had time to eat it before the lock reopened at 1 pm. Followed the Snail into the chamber, surprised there were no floaters – the Snails threaded fore and aft lines around vertical ropes hanging from bollards, we put our centre line around the ladder until the lock started emptying and exposed some recessed bollards in the lock wall and we moved forward on to one of those. The lock emptied gently and we were soon 5m lower than sea level on the Hoge Vaart – the High Canal – and set off on the deep, wide tree lined canal into Almere. 

Zuidersluis. Flevoland

The housing in Almere had now spread beyond the canal to the left hand side where there had been fields when we were there last. We passed a loading gantry but there was no sign of a silo – or any boats to be loaded. A small cruiser went past, then we passed a layby filled with houseboats moored bows to the banks. There were a few moored cruisers at the end of the canal leading to the lock at Almere Haven and the Gooimeer. 

Gooier Hard. Mooring on Flevoland

We continued to the mooring at KP9 (now named Gooier Hard, as it had been a navigation marker used by fishermen in the old Zuiderzee) by the golf club and moored at ninety degrees in the corner after Mike had evicted the floating islands of weeds that the wind had blown there. It was 2.45 pm. A comfy mooring and they’d even cut the herbage down.

Friday 24th May 2013 Breukelen to Nederhorst den Berg. 16.5 kms no locks.

Liftbridge over arm on to the
Amsterdam-Rijn kanaal by
Nieuwerbrug

Sunny morning, chilly wind and heavy showers mid-afternoon. Planned to set off at ten but the guy with DB Lucretia came alongside and Mike and Oll had info off him about the new canal, Kanaal Koning Willem Alexander, that had been made between Emmen and the Haren-Rütenbrock kanaal. We set off at 11.10 am and the tjalk had our spot on the quay. Mike had put the pins in to connect the Markon so I could do some washing and ironing as we went along. As we passed through a police radar speed trap Mike said we were doing 7 kph when the speed limit is 6 kph. The police RIB went past and never said a thing, just waved. Nieuwerbrug, surrounded by cameras, remained with red lights as we approached. Oll put his bows by the press button and Anne pressed it. Nothing happened, so Oll rang the number on the board. The guy said he had been waiting until we got closer to the bridge! Off to our left was another liftbridge, hemmed in by houses, over the little Wettering navigation, that linked with the Amsterdam-Rijn kanaal. About a kilometre further on we waited, with the wind sending us sideways, for the bascule bridge Cronenbrug in

Windmill in Leonen

Loenen and a cruiser came through from the opposite direction first before we went through. It was after midday so the lights on the bridge behind us went to double reds. Round the corner to the next bridge and we slung ropes around the posts by the bridge to wait for the bridge-keeper’s lunch break to finish at 1 pm. A tjalk was attempting to sail along the river by the next windmill and having trouble getting past a dredger and pan. Two more bridges in Vreeland, the second was another bascule bridge. More dredging was in progress and we passed an empty 750 tonner heading upriver in reverse. The little Hilversum kanaal went off to our right, then we went through the bends at Overmeer past the camping site, a long wooden edge with stumps which was empty except for two cruisers. 

Vreeland Van Leerbrug bascule bridge

An empty 750 tonner called Deo-Juviante went past as we wound round the bends to Nigtevecht, passing a stop lock that lead on to the Amsterdam-Rijn kanaal. The tjalk, called Vrouwe Cordelia, that had been sailing was now motoring and overtook us just before where we were going to moor. Rain started pouring down. Tied up on a concrete topped quay with bollards by a restaurant and a chandlery in Nederhorst den Berg. 

Sailing tjalk Vrouwe Codrdelia

Amazed that no one came for money for the mooring then we noticed the boatyard was up for hire.

Wednesday 22nd May 2013 Oud-Zuilen to Breukelen 9.3 kms no locks

Maarssen

Grey skies, sunny spells later. Dry! Set off at 9.25 a.m. Waited for the Hoekbrug bridge at Oud-Zuilen and Mike hooted – then I spotted the cameras, it was remotely operated! The barriers dropped, lights changed and the bridge lifted. The next bridge was a new bascule bridge with two lifting sections (like Tower bridge) and we could get under it with the mast down and the Ensign staff off. Oll waited, and then, as he started to take his mast down, the bridge opened! 

Bascule bridge at Breukelen

The bridge was in a brand new housing development between Oud-Zuilen and Maarssen, just before the next access on to the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal. All through Maarssen there were lots of moorings with wooden stumps to tie to and there were either signs that said mooring charges apply or no mooring allowed. Mum looked through the windows at all the lovely houses. Had a short wait for Termeerbrug to lift, then the keeper came out from Vechtbrug to say hello, as he did all the other bridges from his comfy cabin. The low brick quay went all through the town with houses a mere fifteen feet from the river and cars parked all along the edge, signs said it was all private, no mooring allowed. 

Mooring at Breukelen

Beyond the town they were in process of dredging and we passed a tug and pan moving, then two diggers on pontoons with pans alongside, neither were actually dredging. Took photos of Nijenrode castle on the left before Breukelen. Past another route on to the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal and through a lift bridge where they used to charge 2,50 Florins according to what we’d written on our old chart but it was free today. Dropped into a slot between cruisers on the quay and tied up at 11.15 am. The skipper of the cruiser in front of told us that the mooring was free.

Tuesday 21st May 2013 Jutphaas to Oud-Zuilen. 11.7 kms 3 locks.

Mooring at Jutphaas

Pouring with rain all of the day. Intended just to go into Utrecht, so we had a late start at ten. The cruiser moored behind us winded and headed back towards Nieuwegein, another untied and followed us. We waited for the remotely-operated Nieuwe Rijnhuizerbrug to lift and the red and green lights to change to green. The cruiser behind us started hooting at us because we didn’t start moving when the lights were on red and green. He got a few words back from Oll. 

Blauwebrug Jutphaas

The next bridge, Blauwebrug (a new one and not on our old ANWB chart, also remotely operated) lifted and the cruiser roared past, then had to wait while Zuidersluis refilled as another boat had just gone down. When the lock was ready we followed him into the chamber and I held the rope while Mike went on our fore end and had a few words with the skipper. He maintained that in the Netherlands they always go on red/green so as not to hinder the road traffic any longer than necessary. Mike pointed out that some of the bridges don’t safely “latch” in the upright position until the deck is vertical and THEN the green light comes on; so should there be an hydraulic failure and the bridge comes down on your boat your insurance wouldn’t pay out if you “jumped” the lights.

Amsterdam-Rijn kanaal

(If the lights are “jumped” in France the automatics will sometimes fail to work correctly, in Belgium and Germany the skipper could be liable to a fine.) The lady lock keeper left the top end controls and as she passed us Mike asked her the rules and she said you must wait for a green light. Then she had words with the skipper off the cruiser, but in Dutch so Mike didn’t understand it all. When the lock emptied, the cruiser shot off and turned left heading up the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal; we went carefully to the junction to make sure nothing was coming and nipped across to the Nordersluizen where the smaller chamber on the left was empty, ready for us. 

Lock keeper's shelter. Noordersluizen

The keeper was very pleasant, even though the rain continued to bucket down and after swilling about a bit from the wash of passing traffic on the big canal behind us everything calmed down once he’d closed the bottom end gates behind us. We were soon leaving the lock and on our way again. Down the arm to the left of the two locks there were now moored houseboats. A short wait for the new remotely operated vertical liftbridge to operate and then we were on our way into Utrecht. A 5 kms stretch of the Merwede Kanal went off to our left, past industrial quays on its way to rejoin the Amesterdam-Rijn Kanaal as we headed into the city. 

Vertical liftbridge above Noorder sluis

There was a keeper to operate Zuiderbrug, as usual (we thought the three liftbridges into the town may have been automated) and I told him we would stay on the left beyond his bridge – he said we couldn’t stay there, it wasn’t allowed and we must carry on into the town. Mike decided to stop and go back to have a word with him. Before our ropes were round the bollards the keeper arrived on a motor scooter to insist we moved on into the (pay) Passantenhaven, as we hadn’t got a mooring permit so we couldn’t stay even though there was plenty of space. 

Tangling with hired canoes in Utrecht's tiny canal

Mike offered him beer to let us stay overnight, but he said he wasn’t allowed to drink and refused. He reached for his mobile phone and we suspect he would have called the police. Nothing for it, we continued. Followed the Snail into the city under two more liftbridges, Oranjebrug and Vondelbrug then through the narrow winding canal between the shops and cafés in the city centre, passing the cathedral and getting tangled up with hired canoes and plastic motor boats, then two trip boats and hire boats before we arrived at the Weerdsluis. Closed for lunch as it had just gone midday, until 1 pm. I made some lunch. 

Leaving Weerdsluis. Utrecht

We had to wait after one o’clock for about another half an hour while the keeper and his assistants worked the big, manually-operated lock and brought three cruisers up, one of which was a Le Boat hireboat. I asked the keeper if the lock was originally two chambers side by side - he said no and he would tell me more about it later (he didn’t so the odd shape still remains a mystery). Two more keepers went off on motor scooters to work the electrically operated liftbridges. The last one wished us a good trip on the beautiful river Vecht. I said we’d been before but had trouble finding moorings. He said three miles and there was a good mooring for us. 

Utrecht's red light district. R. Vecht

We pushed on in the pouring rain, past the floating wooden sheds that were Utrect’s red light district (twice the number that we saw the previous time), then more houseboats and moored boats. We spotted a three-day mooring on some steigers (wooden posts) with a gap to the bank that would need a very long plank. The Snail had a look at that and we went to have a look at some posts we could see in the distance before the next liftbridge in Oud-Zuilen. The latter was a better mooring but we were on the bottom and not close to the bank. The Snail came to join us and was also on the bottom, we kept our fingers crossed that no one would come to collect money (they didn’t and we were still amazed that the Werdsluis was now free). We were soaked.