Canal Route Dortmund-Datteln-Rhine

Canals/Rivers Dortmund-Datteln-Rhine-Maas

25-29 May 2010

25 May 2010

N 51 39.721 E 07 00.726 Datten - Dorsten lock (4th lock of 6)

Total distance travelled: 15 NM (27.7 km)

Total time travelled: 4 hrs 47 min of which 2 hrs 47 min was total time under way by motor, the rest of the time was waiting for our turn into a lock

26 May 2010

N 51 37.564 E 06 37.891 Dorsten lock - km marker 3.8 (last lock before entrance to Rhine River at Wesel)

Total distance travelled: 16 NM (29.6 Km)

Total time travelled: 7 hrs 30 min, of which 3 hrs 8 mins was actual time under motor

27 May 2010

N 51 50.954 E 05 52.263 Km marker 3.8 - Nijmegen

Total distance travelled: 40 NM (74.6 km)

Total time travelled: 8 hrs 16 min, of which 5 hrs 20 min was actual time under motor

Temperature: Ranged from 24 to 9 C. We have had a day or two of sun but otherwise overcast and rain

Today we are in Amsterdam with Madeleine and Marcus. We rented bikes when we got to the train Station and biked around the city. It was sunny most of the day. Marcus and Madeleine showed us around the city It is such a pretty place, canals everywhere and the narrow buildings that hang out over the streets with hooks up at the top for bringing in or taking out furniture from windows as stairs are so steep and narrow. We had lunch at a place called Café Vertigo (named after Alfred Hitchcock's movie of the same name) which is a former palace turned Dutch Film Museum and restaurant located in Vondel Park. After lunch we went on the main pedestrian shopping street for a bit of shopping and then ended the day with Dinner at their apartment. They made a super birthdaydinner for Dan with candy favors and Chocolate Mousse a la Madeleine. Dan's favorite. Had a blast

sneering and jeering at the Eurovision Song Contest after dinner which we shared with the Gruner-Hegges via sms and phone calls. It's a wonderful family tradition! Next day was pouring with rain. We met Madeleine and Marcus outside the hotel and they treated us to brunch at a cozy Dutch restaurant. Then went to train station and were lucky enough to get a nonstop train back to Nijmegen within 15 minutes. While Marcus guarded the bikes, Madeleine followed us up onto the perrong and waved us off. So nice to have spent such quality time with them both and having seen their cozy apartment we both agreed that Madeleine has moved up a couple notches from NYC.

Our last bit of motoring on the Wesel-Datteln Canal went fine though rather time consuming as there was alot of barge traffic so we had to wait for several hours at half of the locks. We didn't mind as we both had books to read so relaxed, drank tea, read and waited for our turn. The weather most of the week has been overcast and chilly. We had one good day in Datteln so decided to take it easy and see the town. Also had to get fuel which proved rather more difficult than we thought. We had to take our fuel containers and walk into town (2 km) fill up each one with 10 liters of diesel each and then carry them back to the boat. As if that wasn't enough, half way back we walked by a lumber yard and decided that we really need those long planks to put on the sides of the boat outside the fenders so that we will rest more evenly along the sides of the locks. An old man who worked

there looked at us like we were mad. Dan carrying 2 10-liter containers of diesel, and me in a skirt wearing a sun hat asking for 2 4-meter long planks and No, we did not have a truck, we meant to carry them. Meaning, I was going to carry them. He did not believe us at first and thought we were joking with him, but we insisted and he finally let us have the 2 planks for 3.5 Euro each. I threw them over my shoulder, adjusted my sun hat and off we trudged back to the boat. They weren't all that heavier, but became much heavier as we walked.....Once we had the planks on, we were very pleased as they make the boat much more still when lying in the locks against the walls. Through the rest of the canal here were only the most rudimentary marinas, meaning no showers, no bathrooms and no electricity. In hot weather, this poses no problem whatsoever as we have a bathing platform in the back and a big plastic shower bag that lives on deck and gets warmed by the sun during the day so we have a hot shower at night. But in the weather we are living in right now, it is never warm enough to heat the shower bag and the thought of standing on the bathing platform in 10C is just not happening. So we winged it.

On the 27th we cleared our last lock of the Wesel-Dattlen Canal and entered the Rhine River. This river is one of the most heavily trafficked rivers in Europe. With a current of 4-6 knots, things tend to happen very fast and you don't often get time to consider plan A, B or C. The barges have an agreement that where the river is very curvy, they switch sides so that instead of keeping to the right as usual, they can suddenly decide to take the inside or outside track into the left lane instead and you have to comply. Not that we would consider even for a moment to refuse to give way. They weigh at least several thousand tons, we weigh all of 4... To let you know that they are going to use this rule, they display a blue square sign with a blinking light. This is called "Blue-boarding".

You need to keep a sharp look-out to notice the blue board if you want to keep your boat afloat so it's rather tense. We did OK, we only missed one, but were far enough over on the right bank that we didn't come into play. The traffic was so heavy that there was never a moment when we could relax. Barges were either passing us and throwing their wake our way or were going by and also throwing their wake our way. There wasn't a whole lot to see in terms of scenery as no buildings or towns are built along this part of the Rhine, probably due to the risk of flooding. We did see cows grazing and even saw some wild horses running along the shoreline.

Our sojourn on the Rhine lasted for 84 km and by the time we got to Nijmegen, we were pretty exhausted. The best thing about arriving in Holland was that everyone spoke English so we suddenly had lots of people to talk to and Dan could put his German aside for the time-being. The Dutch are a very pleasant and tolerant people. Nothing seems to bother them and they take most things in stride, including tourists on bikes. Dan and I rented 2 bikes on Friday and spent the day getting to know Nijmegen. It's one of the oldest towns in Holland and was of great strategic value during WWII due to its 2 bridges over the Rhine and its proximity to Arnhem. We took our bikes to the Liberation Museum which is located 10 km outside Nijmegen. Given that Holland is

basically flat as a pancake, we figured it was like biking from Falsterbo to Höllviken. We were soon relieved of that fallacy. Nijmeden is built on the only hills in all of Holland and once out of the town center we started a downhill trek that lasted for several kilometers. At first, we though it was lovely. We looked at the scenery as we coasted down the hill. We stopped and took pictures of the lush countryside and even stopped to take a picture of a sign warning for wildroosters. We didn't see any wild roosters, however much we focused on the roadsides. The last 5 km were uphill AND against the wind. But we are die-hard WWII buffs so we pushed on and finally arrived at our destination. Holland's Liberation Museum. It was worth all our efforts to get there. We found it extremely interesting to learn about Holland's resistance movement and the conditions of its people during the German occupation and the subsequent liberation by the allied forces. We bought the book "A Bridge too Far" by Cornelius Ryan, about the allied offensive to liberate Holland. After 2 hours of intense studying of maps and photos, we basically got thrown out, but in a very nice way. It was closing time and the proprietor came round to see how we were coming along. He escorted us slowly towards the exit all the while telling us about the heros, American, Polish, British and Dutchmen. It was a fascinating afternoon. Which we kept telling each other as we slogged up the 2.5 km hill back to Nijmegen. The Dutch seem to be born bicyclers but they have no idea of the concept of "leisurely" biking along. They are all intent on getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

There is a no-nonsense attitude about the way they bike. Dan and I are not slackers, we usually are out there in front when we bike with people from Sweden or the states. But here in Holland, we were mortified to realise that we are probably considered slackers. We were passed by small children, mothers carrying 2 kids on their bikes and sweet little old ladies with no gears on their bikes -all pedaling with the pedal under the balls of their feet mind you. Not under the toes as we do. It was a rude awakening, but we intend to do something about it!

2 June 2010

N 50 51.325 E 05 41.557 Maastricht, Holland

Distance travelled: 25.5 NM (47.3 km)

2 locks

Time travelled: 5 hrs 20 min motor time, 10 hrs actual time including shopping trip

Temperature: 14C

Yesterday was what has become depressingly normal weather; chilly and overcast. We left Roermond as soon as the fog cleared enough to be able to see if a barge was bearing down on us in the canals, and went the few kilometers to Maasbracht with a mission that we were determined to accomplish; namely, finding a marine store that could supply us with Navicartes charts for Belgium and France, motor filters, impellers and what not for Roam's well-being, camping gas refill and several other odds and ends that we have been missing. We tied up in the visitors harbour just to the east of the Maasbracht lock, took our new trolley with its lovely pink shopping bag and set off. We walked into town and found our first marine store that turned out to be a veritable gold mine. They had everything we needed and then some. I have to be honest, a marine store is not exactly my

sphere of expertise, even if I am an accomplished shopper, but I got as much excitement and pleasure out of this shopping trip as I would normally get buying things for the house:) (Rescue me Girls!) I got to pull the heavily laden trolley set-up, as Dan just couldn't get himself to cart a pink bagged trolley through Maasbracht. I didn't mind; I felt these little trophies showed a new facit to my shopping saviness. We stopped on the way back to the boat and bought wine and groceries. Now we were on a roll. Dan couldn't stop, he dropped me and the trolley off at the boat and went back to the marine store for more stuff. Naturally, extremely important boat stuff.... He even bought me a present; a bollard-catcher. It is a telescope pole with a broken ring at the top where

you feed your rope around. When you come to the lock you just reach over with the bollard-catcher and put the ring over the bollard and then pull it away and the rope stays on the bollard. Presto! Works like a charm. We left the visitors harbour mighty proud of ourselves and tootled off to the bunker station to fill up on diesel. They don't have proper Shell or Statiol Stations on the canals here. They just have a barge that has diesel tanks onboard and you tie up to them and fill up, cash only and then continue on your way. No hotdog, no ladies room visit and definitely no candy. We threw off our lines and went directly into Maasbracht's lock which is a 11.4 meter lift. All went smoothly with no hitches, we are getting good at this lock business. We ate lunch as

we motored upstream passing the occasional barge and seldom-seen pleasure boat like ourselves. A couple locks and several hours later we approached Maastricht and found the tiny entrance to t'Bassin. We went in slowly as it's a very small entrance and we nearly hit bottom. There seems to be a threshold and we got bounced around by some barge wake which is probably why we nearly touched bottom. Dan watched the depthometer in consternation as it dipped to 1.6 m. But it just as suddenly went to 2.4 m and then we were safe. There is a lock to pass through before you are in the harbour and instructions are written on a sign to call the harbourmaster which I duly did. He showed up about 10 minutes later and worked the lock so we could enter. It was a 2m drop in a very small, very old lock. Incredibly charming after all our great big commercial locks. The sun came out as we passed into the harbor and we could pick and choose our spot as it was barely half full. All along the edge of the harbor are restaurants, cafes and bars with tables and parasols outdoors. Not that they were overfull, given the weather. But it looked very attractive. We saw the Danish boat was here so when they came around we invited them onto the boat for a glass of wine and talked about our experiences on the canals so far and where we were headed. Susanne and Per are from Nykoeping and are going to the Med as well, but they are going through Paris and when they get to the Med they plan on going west to Spain and the Atlantic. We spent a very enjoyable evening together. They gave us a bunch of tips on what to see and do while in Maastricht and even gave us their city map with annotations on where to find stores and guide pamphlet which we ratefully received.

Today has been sunny all day and if not totally warm, at least enough to be able to leave our sweaters at home. We waved good-bye to Susanne and Per on Su-Per this morning as they left for Liege. Dan took pictures of them as they "sluissed" which we intend to send to them as there is not a relaxed moment in which you leave your panic station to take a picture of yourself sliuissing.

We took our map and tour guide pamphlet with us and set off for Maastricht. We stayed mainly in the old city which is incredibly beautiful with old buildings, basilicas (Sint Servaas, Sint Jans and Basilica of the Virgin Mary) all extremely impressive and, except for Sint Jans, dating back more than 1000 years. Sint Jans dates back to the 1400s. The Romans built a fortress in Maastricht complete with a long fortified wall whose ruins can still be seen in various places around the old city. The name Maastricht comes from the Roman "Mosae Trajectum" and means "crossing place for the Maas" which is the river that flows through here. Sint Jans basilica has a 70 meter high tower that has been painted red and for 1.50 Euro you can climb to the top and look at the view of the city. Of course we had to do it. The stairway was extremely narrow and built of stone. The steps were very uneven so you couldn't just skip up to the top, it was dark in places too, so dark that I could hardly see my feet. But the view, once we got to the top, was spectacular. We could see all the rooftops of the old city, the Maas winding it's way off to the horizon and the forests and fields outside the city stretching out in all directions as far as we could see. We counted the steps on the way down; 218. After we finished our historical walk, we went to the Town Hall where Wednesday is the day for the big market. We bought more asparagus, and lots of other fruits

and vegetables, all beautifully fresh from the farms in the area. They sold huge amounts of fabrics and sewing notions as well but we didn't need any of that.

The rest of the afternoon I spent trying to get laundry done and Dan trying to fix the leaking Head. The harbour boasts laundry facilities which on closer inspection turned out to be a little closet with one small washing machine and one small dryer. The washing machine takes about half of what my washing machine at home takes and costs 5 Euro for each wash. The dryer costs 1 Euro per 20 minutes. Highway robbery as far as I'm concerned but I really did need to get some laundry done so bit the bullet and went over with one load and my soap nuts and lavender oil. We try to be environmental where we can and I have discovered the soap nuts through my good friend AnnaKarin Nilsson in Höllviken. They are completely natural, have no scent (which is why I use a couple drops of lavender oil on the pouch in which I put 4 soap nuts, close it and put it in the machine with the

clothes) and clothes come out perfectly clean and smelling of lavender. Someone was ahead of me and really hogging the dryer for over 2 hours so gave up and brought the laundry back to the boat and hung it up on the guard rail. We looked like such a gypsy camp. But I fulfilled my objective for the day. Meanwhile Dan disconected some leaking hose and made a makeshift sleeve of a cut up fire hose (thanks Steph) and lavishly coated the sleeve with grease and affixed it on the leaking outlet tube. It seems to work!

In the early evening Dan went for a run and came upon the spot where the Allied had crossed the river in September 1944 to liberate Maastricht, the first town in Holland to be so. The allied crossing is close the the JF Kennedy bridge.

3 June 2010

N50°31,437' E05°13,463'Huy, Belgium

Distance travelled: 33.9 NM (62.7 km)

Time travelled: 6 hrs 29 minutes. Actual travel time 11 hrs

Temperature: 22C

Left t'Bassin this morning at 09.00 along with 2 other boats. Have to go through the lock to enter Maas River. When we tried to leave the dock, Roam's engine would not respond, neither in reverse or forward. We realised it must be due to the seaweed that abounds at t'bassin caught around our prop. Some forward/reverse several times did the trick and we finally coasted into the lock. Up 2 meters and then we were spit out into the Maas and on our way south. Our first lock was just a few km down the road. Communication wasn't very good, we spoke English on the radio and he answered in Dutch... the boats in front of us all went into the lock along with 2 barges. we couldn't for our life see how they were all going to fit and the lockkeeper came over the loudspeakers

positively screaming at the "sportboots" in the back but they pushed on and managed to wedge themselves in somehow. We decided not to go that route and turned around and waited our turn for the next sluss. We went in with 2 barges and one other sportboot, a Dutchman who may I say, was behind us, but butted ahead and took our place. We ended up having to squeeze in and when we were tied up, I looked back to see how our mast was managing (from previous experience) and saw that we were not clearing the lock at the top so told Dan we had to move forward. This caused much consternation as no one seemed to understand that we needed to move farther forward. But we pushed and inched our way forward till our mast in back was clear of all obstacles. Lucky

too because had we not done it the back of our mast would have knocked into the bridge across the top of the lock that they always seem to have. The sluicing went fine after that and when we were lifted up the 5 meters, we came out and the scenery was beautiful. Lush forests with lots of rock cliffs. This lasted for about 5 km then the industrial area of Liege started and the barge traffic picked up. It became extremely hectic with barges coming and going and factories all along the river/canal. We went under autobahns and railroads and the factories were spitting out smoke and belching and whistling and sceaming. The noise was ghastly. The canal through Liege is constructed as a straight up and down canal with straight sides so when a barge goes by, its

wash goes across the canal on both sides and then bounces back into the middle again. The turbulence becomes rather substantial and you can bounce and rock for several minutes after just one barge goes by. We had barges passing us and meeting us non-stop so the you can imagine that we were a-bouncing all over the place. Dan asked me if I wanted to stop in Liege. I said, absolutely not, get me out of here! So we by-passed Liege . I realise that one day I may regret it, but not today. Now we had entered the Meuse River and once we got a few km past Liege the traffic calmed down and we could enjoy a little of the countryside until the cement factories

and nuclear power plants started lining up the river sides. One cement factory was more than 800 meters long. It was amazing, I've never seen so much metal piping and silos and ramps in one place. Sort of reminded me of Matrix. Both Dan and I got to thinking about the luck of the draw when and where a person is born. The housing for the employees that must work at these places was incredibly depressing and I can't imagine having to work in a place like these factories. unless of course, you are a man and get to work a crane or bulldozer moving sand and rock and rubble. Boys' paradise. We came to our next lock which was our first lock in Belgium, called Ivoz Ramet. We got into position and I called the lockkeeper on the radio in English "Lock Ivoz Ramet,this is small craft Roam, please come in". No answer I tried again, no answer. I waited, looked at Dan "why aren't they answering?" "Try in French" he said. So I tried in French and can you believe they answered me within 2 seconds?! We could enter the lock and in we went. Amazing I thought. Well, now we knew, always speak French. We had no problem in the lock, all went smoothly. When we came through the river meandered through small towns and small industries, forests were behind and uphill. We travelled in a valley with high sides of forests. It was very pretty. We came to our next and last lock for the day, Impsin Neuville. There were several barges lined up for this one but normally we can get in behind a barge so I called them on the radio in French. No answer.

Called again, no answer. Hmmm. We tied up on the side which was no easy feat because there was a strong current and the wind was blowing us from behind. We sat there as the next barge went in. Our canal book for this area doesn't include the length of the locks so we had no way of knowing if we would fit behind a barge. In Holland and Germany the books always tell how long the lock is and all the barges have their length, width and tonnage posted on the side so you can figure out whether or not you'll fit in behind a barge in a lock. But not here. So I climbed up the ladder to go to the lockkeeper and talk to them. I had to take a leap from the bow of the boat to get to the ladder in the wall and after I'd done so, I idly wondered how the H...l I would get back on the boat. But never mind. The lock had a fence around it so I couldn¨t go in and talk to them but talked to the barge driver ahead of us and he said we could go in behind him but we had to stick close to him as we went

in so the lockkeeper would understand that we were together. I said OK, thanked him and went back to the boat. Now I had to negotiate getting back on. The boat was about 3 meters below me so jumping would not do. Dan loosened the back and I climbed down the ladder and grabbed the bowline and pulled the boat forward but because of the current and waves bouncing around could not get it close enough to safely climb onboard. Dan was extremely anxious and telling me to be very careful. He couldn't come forward as he had to hold on to the stern line. I had to make a decision to jump and grab the guard rail and throw one leg over. There was no other choice. So I did it, and wouldn't you know when I made my leap over the guard rail, my head whacked

into the mast lying over the boat and it knocked me back over the railing. I grabbed whatever I could get my hands on which was the guard rail and the bowline and held on for dear life. Once I had my senses back from being nearly knocked unconscious, I was able to wrap my outer leg around the guard rail and clamber on to the boat safely. Dan watched this whole process in absolute horror thinking I would fall into the water and be crushed between the boat the stone wall. But, with the luck of the Irish, and I'm certain, a helping boost from my guardian angel I managed to keep myself in one piece. In due time we entered the lock behind the "Romania" but because we couldn't get any response via radio from the lockkeeper we were nervous that he would close the gate before we got in so we stuck closer to the barge than we normally do and we paid for it. Just as we reached our side and were preparing to approach a bollard, he gunned his engine and sent tons of water

flowing towards us. It hit our bow and sent us crashing into the wall. Dan acted quickly and threw the boat into reverse and I grabbed a fender and held it between the pulpit and the wall. As a result Roam bounced off the wall unharmed and Dan had to re-approach quickly before we riccocheted into the barge on the other side. Whew. Talk about stress! We got attached and the rest of the lock procedure went off without a hitch. From the lock it was only a short distance to our stop for the night in the small town of Huy. A huge citadel watches over the city from atop a spur high up on the rock face. A good place for sightseeing tomorrow. After we docked we went in to the bar/harbor office and had a Belgian Maes beer and chatted with the harbor master. It’s a very nice harbor, quiet and clean. Have to admit that I downed a couple stiff bourbons as well to get my stress level

down to an acceptable level. Works like a charm:)