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Simoon IV reaches Antwerp
Update sent by e-mail on Sunday, 30th May 2010
Greetings from Antwerp, where it has been wet and windy for the past 24 hours. Not surprising, really, as it's a Bank Holiday weekend in England, when it always rains! Last Whit Monday was a holiday here and it was lovely sunshine. Evidently it's expected to be fantastic weather whenever it's a holiday in Belgium.
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Antwerp Marina |
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We are having a very enjoyable, leisurely cruise on the inland waterways of Belgium and have realised that we can acquire the habit of "liming" (doing nothing, slowly) just as well in the colder climes as in the Caribbean. We may not have the scorching sun, but instead we have the bonus of visiting a variety of museums, art galleries, cathedrals, bell towers, historic buildings, interesting architecture and delicious multigrain bread, fruit and vegetable markets and helpful people, who have at least a smattering of English. We have quite a lot of exercise as we walk to the town each day and have to sort out the fenders and ropes each time we go into locks and marinas. The 10 fenders have to be at different heights depending on whether the pontoon is low or not, so there are a lot of adjustments to be made.
When we left Chatham in early March it was during the coldest week and even lots of layers of clothing did not entirely keep out the bitter wind. We kept hoping that the weather would improve and it has, but not as soon as we'd have liked. At the end of April when the work was finished on Simoon IV in the Hamble (fitting a generator, mastervolt system, AIS, etc) we motored to Dover, via Brighton, and set off on the first Bank Holiday weekend in May to cross the channel to Calais in pouring rain, which didn't stop for 3 days. It was fun discovering the free local minibus which went down the main street past the station and theatre to a small Carrefour.
Then we went on in mist and heavy rain to Dunkirk, where we saw the end of a 4 day cycle race which was a great spectacle, with loads of cars throwing out pens, hats, sweets and even some T shirts just before the finish. Next Ostend was interesting as we met fellow CA yachties and found a tranquil park and also a huge expanse of promenade which was full of people on Ascension Day which is a public holiday.
Arriving in Zeebrugge, we were still having to motor because the wind was always on the nose but, thankfully, usually light. We caught a bus to Blankenburg where there was a boat festival and a big parade, as well as a huge market, like a giant boot fair.
We discovered that you can get a ticket, rather like an Oyster card, which can be used on all Lijn buses and trams throughout Belgium. Each zone costs 0.80 euros and so for 8 euros you can jump on and off buses a number of times: not quite like our freedom passes, but close. We have used the ticket in Zeebrugge, Knokke, Bruges and Gent.
It seems that it is better for a yacht to travel on the canals at the weekend as then there are fewer barges going through the busy locks and the waiting time is shorter. In fact on our way to Gent last Sunday we were directed to use the Middelsluis not the Oustsluis. This caused us a bit of difficulty as we knew that the announcement from the tower was for us, but didn't know what they were saying! We stopped at Langebrugge, a delightful small marina where the cost for 3 nights stay was the same as 1 night at Hamble Point. It was a 15 minute bus ride into the centre where we bought a combined museum and bus pass for 3 days, visiting 7 places of interest, with lots of coffee stops in between. It somehow felt more real than the 'chocolate box' effect of Bruges and the guide on the walking tour of Gent was extremely informative and gave us a good background to the place. What we enjoyed most in Bruges was the lecture and demonstration at the diamond museum.
We made our way up river to Antwerp yesterday, where the last lock was a slight problem. We had been waiting, tied up just outside on the starboard side, but as we entered the lock we were told to go forward on the port side and it is often hard to find where to tie up. There was a ladder very close to the lock gates and we needed very long lines if we wanted to tie to the bollards on the top. (We have 2 long lines - which were on the starboard side - and 4 shorter ones, which came with the boat. Then there are 5 fenders on each side.) We were worrying close to the lock gates. Anyway we made it and once through the next 2 bridges - in the rain - we were greeted by a very friendly harbour master who came out in a rib to show us to our berth and give us maps and information about the town. We will probably stay here until next Saturday before going on to Brussels for a few days.
Things we like about this trip - the interesting places we've visited, the wide canals, the on board washing machine and friendly, reasonably priced marinas. Not such good points - the toilets in restaurants, where to get to the 'ladies' often involves walking past the urinals (very unEnglish!), the busy commercial traffic on the canals and Radio 4 on Long Wave via the SSB has been given up to monotonously long cricket commentaries instead of the Archers, the News Quiz, etc.
Next month we will be exploring the canals in Holland,
Enjoy the summer,
Simon and Janet
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