Friday 7th June 2013 Geebrug to Nieuwe Amsterdam. 19.6 kms no locks.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

Thursday 6th June 2013 Ossesluis to Geesbrug. 20.2 kms 2 locks

Nieuwe Brugsluis Hoogeveensche Vaart

Sunny and warmer, gentle breeze. Mike moved the car closer to the lock then we set off at 10.20 am with the generator running. Three cruisers were coming up in Ossesluis and were not long in overtaking us. The Snail stopped at the first mooring along the canal to look at a museum. The boat that had been moored there went off down to Ossesluis. Saw a marsh harrier gliding on huge brown wings over the fields to our left below the canal. 

Krakeel liftbridge Hoogeveensche Vaart

Followed a rowing skiff with two rowers and a cox, they soon decided to stop – in the middle broadside to us - but moved quickly out of the way when they saw the boat. At 11.35 am we came to stop below Nieuwe Brugsluis as the cruisers were going up in it. Nobody else about but us. Mike tried calling the Snails on the handheld radios, unintelligible answer, so they switched to marine VHF channel ten and that worked OK, they weren’t far behind. As the lock gates opened a small cruiser arrived and went in on the left, we followed in and hung on bollards fore and aft. The keeper called us to go further forward as there were three more boats to come in. My fore end side rope ended up wrapped around a vertical cord, fingers crossed it would take the weight! The Snail came in behind us and two more cruisers came in on the left hand wall. 

Brug om der Ooost. Velengde Hoogevensche Vaart

The keeper filled it slowly, we rose about 6m and then he came over the gates and gave us all the new booklets with the maps of the new canal and circular tour of the Drenthe canals. Well timed as the commercial Jetta, now empty after unloading in Hoogeveen, was waiting above to come down the lock. It was 12.20 pm. The keeper said we would have to wait until 1 pm so we could moor above the lock on the right. 

Lock and bridge gear Noordscheschutsluis

Made sandwiches for lunch then, as we had a low quay, we started cleaning the port side gunwale – only got as far as the side doors when the boat in front set off for the liftbridge as it was 1 pm. Nieuwe Brug lifted, operated from the lock, and we went through with the Snail and three cruisers which all overtook us before Vlinderbrug the next liftbridge. The washing had finished so we coasted to the bank and Mike took the plate out and the Snail hovered until we set off again. Not long after we set off a tug from Zwarte Water went past pushing a decked pan carrying baulks of timber. 

Keeper Noordscheschutsluis note
statue of lock keeper closing lock gate in the old way!

Teenage lads that had been swimming by the swingbridge, Krakeel, (a footbridge decorated with twisted steel tubes) were standing by the bridge shouting hello. The wide deep canal continued to our left into Hoogeveen and we turned sharp right, following the Snail on to the Verlengde Hoogeveensche Vaart and immediately under a liftbridge, Brug om der Oost, and a swing foot bridge Schoolvonderbrug – all worked remotely from Nieuwebrug. Two men were strimming the grass by the swingbridge. The canal was now much narrower and shallower with houses on both sides. Followed the Snail round a sharp right hand bend to Noordscheschutsluis and liftbridge, all manually operated by a man and a girl. 

Bridge at Geesbrug

We followed a cruiser into the lock on the right, it stopped halfway up the 40m chamber so we had to ask them to move forward a bit so they could close the gates behind us. Snail was OK on the left. There were strange double hoops to thread ropes through on the top edge of the lock wall. We rose about 2m. A short way further on a string bean of a lad swung the manually operated Noordscheschut footbridge open for us and after about two kilometres another young man pressed the buttons to lift an electrically operated liftbridge called Trambrug. 

Moored near Geesbrug

The banks on either side became higher and steeper with narrow roads along both, they were covered in buttercups and ox-eye daisies. We moored near to KP 34 at the foot of a steep bank not far from Geesbrug at 3.40 pm.