April 2023 – Part 2
On our return from the previous day’s outing, we found a boat rafted up alongside us – that was fine though, but just seemed a little odd as there was plenty of room bankside for them! (We did let them know that we would be leaving at 9.30 the next morning so that they could be ready to detach their ropes from us.). Anyway, having spent a pleasant three nights in Paradijssluis we left on a chilly morning (slightly concerned when the engine didn’t respond immediately, but luckily it quickly sorted itself out) we continued on our way, joining the Meppeldiep and then Zwartewater before finding our mooring at De Ketting in a short arm just off the main canal. This was another very secluded area with plenty of fields and we enjoyed two nights there, although the weather was pretty chilly and windy.
Setting off the next morning, we made a short trip down the Sheepvaartgat into the Ganzediepkanaal and an hour later we moored up along the Goot, at a short stretch of staging by farmland. It turned out that the nearby farm sold homemade dairy produce so (of course) we wandered along the dyke to see what they had on offer, and were pleasantly surprised by the selection. We bought local cheese, juice, eggs, etc. but the real treat was that we were offered a brief tour of the cheese making facilities, which was very interesting.
We ended up staying two nights here because it was such a pleasant spot, and provided some good dog walking opportunities without any issues with cycles or cars anywhere nearby. From here we carried on along the Groot into Ganzediepkanaal, then entering the Gekdersche IJssel at Kampen (we made a quick stop here just to re-stock with a few basics as we would now be off-grid for a further few days), before turning into the Hoge Vaart Flevoland and reaching our nights stop at Ketel Haven, just beyond the Ketelsluis.
Time is running away with us, so this and the next few stops were to be one-nighters to keep to schedule and so we moved on the next morning onto the Lage Vaart, finding a stopover at ‘t Gat Doornspiek along the canal bank and where we had our first al fresco meal of the season (just coffee, toast and jam, but much enjoyed nonetheless). There was a lovely stretch of woodland nearby, and so the dogs could enjoy some nice walking. Off again the next morning after a peaceful nights rest, we continued along the Lage Vaart for the next four plus hours until we arrived in a mooring outside of Almere Buiten – as we progressed the weather cooled down quite a bit, becoming very rainy and windy into the evening, so much so that we decided to stay two nights to avoid the next day’s forecasted bad weather of winds up to 50 knots, bearing in mind that we would be crossing the large expanse of Markermeer.
Next day we set off by 7.30 so as to get ahead of scheduled high winds (but not so high as the previous day), and we were pleased that the weather seemed drier and less windy at this point as it still was entering the Hoge Vaart and from there towards the Markermeer. However, as we continued it began to rain, the wind speed increased and the water became very, very choppy, and just to add to the stress, the volume of large commercial traffic increased too. Oh, and all the rocking of the boat took it’s toll inside of Shensi and almost all of our wine and beer glasses fell out of the cupboard and smashed on the floor, and a few other were damaged. (Lesson learned (hopefully) that we must make sure to secure cupboard doors before cruising in poor conditions.)
After almost three hours of this extremely worrying journey though we were in sight of land, and everything became much more settled and pleasant once again. Now on to the Vecht, we cruised into the pretty town of Muiden, straight into the lock and quickly out the other side to our final destination of Weesp where we were planning to stay for the next couple of weeks. (Nicki was returning to the UK for a wedding, and this was a good location from which to easily travel to/from Schiphol airport, and for me to stay with the dogs since it was near to the town and various amenities.). This time round, we were apparently only 9 meters long accounting to the collection lady! As soon as we arrived at the moorings we topped up the water tanks and tried, but sadly failed, to make a pump-out, before moving along to rope up.
The next day I took the train back to Groningen/Reitdiephaven to collect the car and bring it back to Weesp for a few months, and we decorated the boat with flags and bunting to support Kings Day the next day. We decided to take the train into Amsterdam on Kings Day to join in with the celebrations, and we spent several hours wandering around and enjoying the atmosphere and activities going on everywhere we looked.
The month ended with Nicki catching a flight back to the UK to attend Anthony’s wedding, leaving me to fend for myself. Admittedly she left me with a supply of pre prepared meals, so all was not lost.