July 2026 – part 2 (16th to 31st)
Because of lock closures further along the Dortmund-Ems canal, we had to wait four weeks for them to re-open for onward passage. The first two weeks we waited in Meppen until lack of water forced us to move on to Altenlingen on 6th July where we were able to replenish our tank. Shortly after our arrival, the waterways authority challenged our stop but agreed that it was ok due to circumstances beyond our control and we could remain in place until the locks opened again on 18th July.
Apparently the waterways authorities came round to check on us again on the 16th but we were out, so the following day (17th) the police turned up! They checked our documents were in order and confirmed with us that we would move on the next day (18th) when the locks reopened – after four weeks, I explained that we were more than happy to comply.
And finally, it was Release Day – we could actually move on with our cruising and headed off towards a new mooring! With the recent lock closures in mind, we thought there might be some periods of waiting at each lock, but we hadn’t truly expected what we encountered at our first lock. Naturally the commercials got first dibs to enter the locks, and sport boats had to wait to see if there was room to follow them in … with the lock chambers at 163 metres long that shouldn’t have been an issue as most of the commercial ships were encountered were around 85/86 metres. Mooring up, there were already four other smaller cruisers waiting as well as a couple of the large ships, and three sports could fit in with it, so we had to wait with the remaining cruiser (who’d already been waiting an hour and a half!) for our turn.
Eventually, probably an hour later, we and a couple of other cruisers were allowed to follow a large commercial vehicle into the lock, and prepare ourselves for an almost 7 metre rise in the chamber.
The following two locks followed a similar pattern of waiting our turn to enter behind commercial ships, but eventually we made it through and out of the Scheuse Alten-Rheine, making a 180 turn down a side arm to stay for the night.
As it turned out, we stayed a couple of nights, and took the opportunity of catching a bus into the nearby town of Rheine to look around. The town is situated on the Ems river, the shortest river in Germany, and we wandered around the quiet streets until we came across the water, and a small schleuse at a weir.
In 1841 a ship canal was constructed to by-pass the Ems weir, with a manually operated lock at either end of its 900 metre length. It was in use until 1914, but now the ship canal mainly serves recreational boaters.
Back on board again, we moved on the next morning, travelling for three hours along the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal until we found our nights mooring on a long stretch of waterway between two bridges – not a bad spot but very bumpy when the large commercials hurried past.
The plan for the next day took us further along the canal heading towards Münster, but on making a ‘brief’ wee break for the dogs we realised that that particular area seemed good for a proper stop-over and we re-positioned towards the end of the quay close to a ‘winding hole’ with some decent walking along the canalside.
22nd July … hard to believe, but it’s now three years since Isabella entered out lives. So today began with a family call to Isabella to sing in her 3rd year. Happy birthday to our gorgeous Isabella.
We ‘celebrated’ her birthday ourselves with a six hour cruise to our next destination, which involved a ‘one way system’ across a constricted length of waterway, with a long wait to take our turn (we chose to let three commercials go ahead of us, so the whole process took some extra time); a little further on we then had at least an hour’s hanging around waiting for permission to enter a rather large lock (around 190 metres x 12 metres) with a 7 metre rise.
Finally though we made it into the town of Münster, whose harbour was developed from a cargo handling area into a creative quay. There are still some relics of the town’s old industrial goods handling industry lining the waterfronts, and a mixture of converted warehouses and modern architecture. We took up a position next to a disused crane and moored between a couple of cruisers, and quickly got the dogs off for a short walk before heading off to re-stock our depleted cupboards.
Despite forecast rain, the night was dry, although a little windy, and we all had a good night, and we were ready to leave soon after 10am the next day. A few hours travelling and we decided to stop for a doggy wee break at a long stretch by Inkmannbrücke – this happened to be slightly ahead of a moored police cruiser, and we’d only walked a few metres before we noticed one of the officers walking down to us. Oh no, not another inspection! As it turned out, he seemed to be popping along more for a very pleasant chat, with just the odd mention of registration and certification. All very friendly and he seemed to be really happy with our capabilities, although, I’m not sure what he made of the centerline coming undone and the rear end of Shensi beginning to drift off. My bad! Luckily the bowline was tied on ‘properly’ (which Nicki made much of) so we didn’t lose complete face with our German police friend. Ah well, onwards and upwards.
From start to finish on this day (23rd) we cruised for five hours until we reached the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal bridge (this one at/near Ludinghausen, although there did appear to be several bridges bearing this name, each at slightly different locations).
We were easily able to stay at the end of this long commercial shipping quay, and there was a nice stretch of dog walking available nearby, always a bonus. As we looked around the area, we noticed within walking distance a large bakery and cafe, so the next morning we walked over there to treat ourselves to a breakfast of coffee and cake before heading off. A very nice start to the day.
The day’s cruise was for a mere two and a half hours – we were aiming for the YCC Henrichenburg (a place that we had stayed in 2024) which was right next to an old ship lift, apparently 56.5 m above sea level and located in the lower reaches of the oldest ship lift in the locale.
Interestingly, this is the world’s largest canal junction; three waterways meet here – the Rhine-Herne Canal from Duisburg, the Datteln-Hamm Canal from Hamm and the Dortmund-Ems Canal from Meppen and Dortmund. A 15-kilometer-long canal section turns off to the port of Dortmund (almost 15 meters higher than the other three channels). A few kilometers to the north a further canal, the Wesel-Datteln-Kanal, also branches off in the direction of Wesel.
A bit of history here … there are two locks and two boat lifts, all now contained within ‘Waltrop Lock Park’. Since 1899 these had enabled ships to navigate the Dortmund-Ems Canal although only one large lock remains in operation these days, alongside the remains of the old, imposing industrial structures. The Henrichenburg ship lift (itself opened in 1899) was necessary to bridge the difference in altitude between the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal and the town of Dortmund. Ships were transported between the plains as in an elevator, which was a technical innovation of its time.
Next day we were awake (bright and) early thanks to Pip and Casper, and ready to depart by 9.30. From YCC Henrichenburg we turned into the Rhein-Herne Kanal, arriving at our first lock of the day just half an hour on. Sadly, that was where things went a little out of shape – as we arrived at Schleuse Herne-Ost we knew (from our navigation information etc) that there would be room to enter behind a large commercial and a small cruiser, so Nicki did her usual polite request to be allowed in. We both heard the operator say ‘Ja’ (yes) with extra words following, so duly followed the cruiser in. Scarily, at the VERY last minute I spotted that the entry lights had suddenly turned from green to red and, more importantly, that the gate was raising from the water as we approached!! Presumably code for “you’re not getting in this time, maties”. Not quite panic stations, but we very speedily did a 180 to avoid crashing into the barrier and headed back onto the nearby sportboat waiting area. From then on for the next two and a half hours we had to just sit around like naughty school children and wait until we were told to head in again. Once locked in, the process took a mere 25 minutes before we were on our way again.
Knowing we had a longish day (25 July) ahead of us, we kept an eye open for a potential mooring to break up the journey, and noticed a sign for a pleasure craft marina a little further on, and despite the website stating they only took craft up to 15 metres, we decided to phone and see if they would allow us in. Happily there were no issues despite our length, and we were soon moored up in the rather attractive Stolting Marina, all clean and tidy and looking very new (although the harbour master told us it was in fact constructed in 2018).
With yet another bakery/cafe just around the corner, as usual we felt it would have been rude not to partake of a pastry breakfast, and we made the ultimate sacrifice of doing so before setting off in the morning. As we poked our nose out into the main channel, a 110 metre commercial craft passed by and we managed to easily follow it to take advantage of it having locks prepped and ready for access, with no conflict from other vessels.
Three locks and three and a half hours later, we found a free mooring along the Rhein-Herne Kanal at PK 2.93, somewhere that we had stayed in 2024 when Alec was with us. Despite some rain forecast, I decided to do a little bit of painting on the stern, and then Nicki and I settled in for the rainstorm. Although this was a handy little spot for the night, it was completely fenced in so very little dog walking available, and as it was situated between two rail lines it was quite noisy, not to mention the large commercials that were passing which put a tremendous amount of stress on the ropes!
With just one night spent on the quay, and because over the past several days we had seen and heard a lot of talk about low water levels generally in the area, an early start the next day was what we needed, and we were up at 6.30am in preparation for a worst case scenario and on our way at 7am reaching the last lock of the Rhein-Herne Kanal (Schleuse Oberhausen) at 7.30am. On arrival we immediately announced ourselves to the lock operator and after only a 30 minute wait to clear an upstream barge, we had the whole 190m/7 metre drop lock to ourselves.
Passing out of the lock gates we entered the lock-waiting area and we were soon headed off toward the busy Rhine river, passing vast commercial ships (some as long as 193 metres long, maybe even more) lining the huge quays – there were literally tons of ships lined up along its sides, two and three ships deep in places! – but then we were out on the Rhine on our way to the Netherlands.
As we motored along the Rheine river, we spotted a large decoratively painted tower, which on delving into Google proved to be the cooling tower of a former Schneller Brüter (fast breeder) nuclear power plant in Kalkar, Germany, (at Pk 842 on the Rhine river) which never went into operation and was effectually repurposed into a prominent feature of the Wunderland Kalkar amusement park, featuring a large mural of mountains on its exterior. Inside the tower there is a large swing ride and other attractions and rides, and the surrounding buildings became a hotel and a convention center.
The Rheine was busy but other than trying to avoid the shallows, we made good time. The water levels into the marinas were only about 80cm and we needed at least 1m so we pressed on. Tempted by various lakes along the route, without sufficient information, we knew that any attempt to visit them could end badly.
Boring at times but we started to feel the frustration of the dogs after about 10 hours because they obviously wanted a wee break and are far too polite to soil the deck. Every time we spotted somewhere to pull over, it was too late as the current swept us past. The pace dropped a little as we turned onto the Ijssel river and for the first time on our journey we encountered a commercial barge Blue Boarding us!
By now, in fact quite some while ago, we had decided that the only option for us was to push on to Doesburg – a much longer day than extracted at the start – I contacted the Doesburg marina to make sure they had space for us because the last time we visited, it was really full. The Harbour Master said there was indeed space for us and also that the water depth was ok. (In fact, when we arrived the Marina had very few boats moored up which was a surprise as we are now in the holiday season.)
And so, having travelled a distance of 125km with only one lock at the start, we ended our 11.5 hrs of travel on the fast flowing waterways, and gratefully cruised into Doesburg marina – probably not as grateful as the dogs though! After changing our minds a couple of times, we decided on a spot to moor and as I finished trying up, Nicki quickly got the dogs off the boat to do their business.
Despite being so busy and the stress of the day, both Nicki and I took the dogs out for a nice walk in the cooler evening to stretch their legs and get some exercise, and hopefully help them get a good night’s rest …. we were pretty sure we’d sleep well after all that excitement! During the walk we came across an interesting sculpture, one that we remembered from our previous visit to Doesburg in 2019.
The sculpture is part of Roberto Barni’s “Passi d’Oro” (Golden Steps) group, installed on the IJssel quay in Doesburg, Netherlands. Often referred to locally as “the red men”, these sculptures were installed to complement the historic cityscape along the Ijssel river.
The following day, despite the high temperatures, we took a stroll around the city streets and managed a few photos as an aide memoire for the future!
In Doesburg we booked into the marina for just two nights, leaving on 29th July and hoping to reach Zutphen a few hours late. We had called up to make a reservation in the town marina (WSV Gelre), and the operator had advised that despite low water we should have no trouble getting in.
The short trip down to Zutphen was just two hours, and although it was a little hairy getting ourselves onto the hammerhead mooring right at the entrance to the harbour, we managed it and quickly tied up to head off onshore.
As we made our way along the boardwalk we soon realised how problematic water levels had actually become – as we turned the corner, we could see a long stretch of boardwalk listing some 30 degrees down into the marina!
Casper valiantly attempted to walk along but his back legs couldn’t manage it and they just slipped away from him, which resulted in him sitting down with no inclination to carry on. So for any and all travels to and from the boat/marina exit, I had to carry him all the way – and he’s no lightweight really. Still, despite it being a challenge to walk along the boardwalk, he and I made it to the ramp and then hit a second obstacle. The ramp was far too steep for him to get any purchase …. so I continued with the climb until we got to the top. I gratefully put him on the flat flooring and he decided to disappear round the side of the shower block – with very little hearing I had to chase after him to lead him back on track. Ah well, lesson learned for the future. Nicki let Pip find her own way along off-lead. It seemed safer for both of them, as Pip does pull and Nicki’s balance isn’t great at times – an accident waiting to happen really under these conditions – but they coped and reached the flat levels. As a reward for all that effort, we stopped at a lovely hotel at the edge of the city and treated ourselves to a delicious iced coffee, with the full works of coffee, ice-cream, lashings of cream and some chocolate on the top.
In the evening we made it out again wth the dogs for their pre-bed outing, this time down to a little beach just round the corner from the marina. That was short lived though as there was a lady on the beach with her cat, so we politely withdrew.
In the morning, the dreaded boardwalk journey was repeated yet again and we all wandered into the town to look around – a good sized market was in progress, which is always pleasant to walk around, followed by a walk through the backstreets to get a flavour for Zutphen, before returning to Shensi.
During the afternoon a few more cruisers drove into the marina, all struggling with the water level, and each found spaces around the jetties, except for one who rafted up to Shensi. A little later, we took another walk out, this time without the dogs which made negotiating the boardwalk much easier, then dinner, last dog wee break of the day, and bed, with the intention of heading off to Deventer the next day.
As per usual, our morning began with a short dog walk, returning to bed for coffee and TV binge of the news, followed by a longer walk to discover a little more of the town. Normally this was the point when we’d leave, but today we had to wait for the rafted cruiser to move off, which it eventually managed after lots of to-ing and fro-ing wth the thrusters. Next, our turn to leave, and we too had to work the engine and thrusters to be able to manoeuvre ourselves out of the marina, but at last we were on our way.
The plan on reaching Deventer was to moor alongside the river wall, but as the water level was so low, it meant that the quay was too high for us. So we went to our second choice mooring on the opposite bank outside of a hotel and close to the ferry. Unfortunately we were thwarted once again by not enough depth and so, having almost stranded ourselves, we had to press on to a third option, still in Deventer but a little further outside of town … only to find that the marina had been closed due to – you’ve guessed it – lack of water. But that was still after a failed attempt to enter the channel.
After struggling a lot with low water, the noises and handling of Shensi were a bit of a concern. We seemed to be crabbing a bit so I slowed and tried the thrusters. The bow initially made some horrible noises but then cleared so I’m not sure if a bit of debris had found it’s way into the tube. That stopped the crabbing but we still seemed to be going slower.
I had previously checked with an alternative marina, although further away, in Hattem, who gave us the happy news that they still had a two metre clearance and that they could indeed accommodate us. A few more hours of travel and we managed to turn off the Ijssel river and into Hattem, and claimed a box mooring for the night in a large, pleasant, busy marina, which is where we spent our final night in July.
After we tied up in the marina, I took the plunge and got into the water to investigate the prop. Mostly it seemed ok but there was what appeared to be tights and the obligatory fishing line wrapped round the rope cutter. Hopefully that will make things run a bit better now that it has been removed.