Blaton to Boom

May 10

We had decided to do a figure 8 route through east Belgium having done a lot of the west in 2009.  The Canal Blaton-Ath and River Dender (Dendre) was our selected scenic route north. As the route is very shallow in parts it is seriously underused, so the Sluis team on Day 1 were pleased to see us and got us through the first 10 locks in record time.

One of the few straight stretches

We took a day off to see the chateau at Beloeil.

Chateau Beloeil

At Ladeuze we found a  Bar (run by a little old lady with a border collie) that was the nearest to an English country pub that we have found in Belgium, add in free electricity at the mooring and heaven was in sight.  A major bout of washing and cleaning but no shops so two days later we pushed on towards Ath - supplying the sluis team with beer to make sure we got through before closing time. There was some dredging underway but it hadn't been finished so we were pushing through mud at the summit (with a .8m draught).  It was quite hot and fleeces were temporarily a thing of the past.

Helmswoman

Ath was a shopping, eating and drinking week out before entering the River Dender (crossing back into Flanders at the same time).

We found a nice little mooring at Tenbre with a Cave in the old Mill building - just in time for a major replenishment of stocks.  At which point the combi inverter expired - luckily the nearest Mastervolt dealer was at Boom en route.

Tenbre

The Dender was very scenic but was also shallow in parts - the navigator became quite concerned at times.

Port a bit

We re-entered civilisation through the Dendermonde sluis to the River Scheldt. The Sea Scheldt is highly tidal so we planned to sprint down with the outgoing current and then turn up the River Rupel at Rupelmonde to Boom.  All went to plan,  other than a loss of steering soon after our 7am start.  The hydraulic piston had come off the rudder post, with lots of current and no moorings  Peter found himself in the rear cabin using the emergency steering with his knees (port a bit, starboard a bit commands from the wheelhouse management) whilst reconnecting the piston with his hands - funny in hindsight but slightly buttock clenching at the time.  As a result we had to fight up the Rupel against a strong current and the squeeze into the Boom mooring at near low tide was a bit of an effort -not a lot of water.

Boom at low water - note the mud

 At high water the pontoon is up to the white ring on the piling!  The Mastervolt agent (Vennekens) decided the combi inverter was kaput and at 10 years old a new one was called for - so now seriously poor. Some time while waiting for a new unit to sightsee/socialise/admire other boats both in Vennekens and en route to sunnier climes.

Watching the boats trying to turn into the Boom sluis at right angles to the Rupel current :)

A week later we pushed onwards towards the Albert Canal - hooray!

Kortrijk- Blaton

Apr 2010

The first part of the Bossuit-Kortrijk Canal has three small old sluis manually operated by a small team which was a nice intro to the 2010 cruising season - how much to tip - the perennial question?

Kortrijk Sluis 9

After completing the next few sluis we tied up at Bossuit for two nights. At which point the generator cooling impeller failed - Peter's fault for not replacing it overwinter (new rule No 1)

The Bossuit sluis onto the Haut Escaut was our deepest drop to date 9.5m and we were back into the commercial world.

Bossuit 1

Entering Wallonia on the High Escaut meant getting a new 'vignette' - no charge but every move is logged y to z (keeps civil servants in business) Peter managed to do it all using sign language and waving arms as we were back amongst the French speakers.

Tournai Bridge

After passing through Tournai, the little basin at Antoing sheltered us for the weekend which allowed a visit to the Neptunia chandlery and a bit of sightseeing.  We noted that the Chandlery fuel barges have big engines and/or cheap fuel..

Then it was on to Peronnes where we found a nice little boat yard (Roelens-Maes) to get a welding job done. Marjorie who ran it was very helpful, but like most boatyards it was always 'tomorrow' probably because confusion reigned and ad hoc solutions seemed the order of the day - it was though cheap and cheerful which helped. Four days later we got away along the Canal Nimy-Blaton-Peronnes to join the Blaton- Ath Canal at Blaton

Marjorie in action

Winter 09

Nov 09 to Mar 10

Kortrijk is a nice town, with quiet moorings on the old River Leie arm very near the centre - all the expected mod cons like an Irish pub, reasonable restaurants and a frites stall. The Library had english papers and wi fi for when we exceeded our internet download allowance (again).

Broeltorens at night

A fellow Sagar barge (Linda) joined us for the Winter to provide some social life - Kes the pup was the main attraction for Linda, while Colin provided answers to some of the newbie questions which helped a lot. We also did a day visit to Antwerp to purchase new mooring ropes and fenders at a fraction of the UK prices.

Kes 8 weeks

We had retained the car for the Winter and it proved invaluable when the Kabola central heating packed up just before Xmas - a rapid trip to Kabola in Holland on 23 Dec sorted that just in time for Xmas Dinner on the 24th. Both children and their respective partners descended for Xmas and we decided sleeping/feeding 6 adults is our max limit on 17m - any more and it will have to be a bigger barge.

Winter had set in by now, though surprisingly the River never froze over.

Angela's sister and family came for the New Year to confirm that all was well.  After that we got back into a winter routine of hibernation interrupted by lots of dog walking - the light relief consisting of reading the instruction manual for the air con (not needed so far). Angela found a dog training school, so Kes is now better trained than Peter (any comparative comments on Border Collie's intelligence/trainability will be treated with contempt - by Peter).

Gent Cloth Hall

In Feb we visited Gent sightseeing, it was a bit of a building site so we wandered down to the moorings for a shufti - Dick Monk was moored adjacent to a wide beam boat 'Renaissance' which was our first meeting with Terry and Teresa Barrett. Then in early Spring, 'Renaissance' and a couple of narrow boats ('Wandering Snail' and 'Etoile du Nord') joined us in Kortrijk for a few nights which emptied the cellars.  

Angie took the car back to UK for disposal in Mar and returned at speed in the son's BMW carrying essentials like Yorkshire tea and Branston pickle. We also got an inflatable (RIB) in case of need (note 'teach Angie to row'). 

Kes was growing fast.

Time to move so we refilled the rear cabin with Belgian beer and cast off on 1 Apr 10 down the Bossuit-Kortrijk Canal  to the East.

Shake Down

Sept 09

After taking over Kotare in Belgium the first few weeks were spent kitting out, then it was off for a months familiarisation cruise.  First up the River Leie from Kortrijk to the Ringvaart near Gent, then west across to Plassendale (near Ostend).  Beautiful weather but we had the canals to ourselves other than commercials - perhaps someone was preceeding us with a red flag and bell.

We had blown the bowthruster fuse on Day 1 backing out of the Kortrijk mooring in windy conditions (panicking under pressure) so we learnt to cope without for the month!  The large locks (sluis) were a shock after our UK narrowboat experiences.

A few minor mishaps like a mooring line parting after a commercial passed us at speed - must get new ropes in Antwerp (I can recommend Francois Chandlers) - the odd spot of embarrassment when caught by wind when mooring (of course I meant to turn around).

Some of the barges were not to be argued with.

Brugge Ring

Then it was around the Oudenbourg-Fintele-Veurne - Nieuwpoort ring in West Flanders before heading east again.  Several lots of relatives caught up with us for a few days so too much food and drink.

Oudenbourg

Veurne Rail Bridge

We were learning that there were lots of free moorings - often with electricity and water on tap

Dixmuide

Then we cruised up through Gent Haven and along the scenic Moervaart where saw a good barge extension.

Lower Moervaart

Gent Haven and no seagoing quals

On the return trip down the Moervaart we hit heavy fog at the Gent junction so moored up for the day.

Moervaart before the fog

Then we headed back down the River Leie through Deinze to Kortrijk.

Deinze

Upper Leie - Autumn is imminent

We moored up for the Winter on 31 Oct 09 within 200m of the Broeltorens. The car still had all its wheels and other appendages and we had already found the supermarkets and a bricolage so all was well.

Broeltorens Kortrijk

Our final act before hibernation was a quick car trip back to UK to select our final crewmember

Kes at 4 weeks

Start Up

September 09

Peter and Angela

After selling the New Zealand farm we wandered around Australia, then the Pacific (Vanuatu and Fiji) for 6 months.  Unfortunately - Angela decided that small Pacific islands were not as romantic as in the brochures - all those mosquitoes attracted to the Chanel 19!

Caqalai (Fiji)

so we ended up at Bristol (England) and started searching for the next home.

We were looking for a <24m dutch barge which led us initially to the mudflats of Woodbridge, then Friesland and Dijon and a lot of points in between.  As newcomers to the barge world we decided we needed a 'safe' option while we learnt the ropes, so we bought a 17.4m Sagar replica barge now named Kotare (Maori for Kingfisher). As Kotare is relatively new she will stand the inevitable bumps of our steep learning curve

Layout below.

While waiting for possession we both got our ICC/CEVNI certificates (helmsman licences) - Angela got a radio op licence and Peter did an RYA diesel engine course - keeping cows was easier.