April 2022 – Part 2
After a good night at our mooring on the Wettering we set off on 16th April in cool, dry weather, along the long stretch of Kalenbergracht (with a very brief comfort break for the dogs along the way) through Ossenjzil, ending the day in Oldelmer where we stopped on a jetty in a very picturesque area near the bridge.
Next day we moved further into Friesland with a quick visit to the chandlery in Echtenerbrug to purchase the necessary Marrakrite flag (enabling free mooring at any of the many Marrakrite moorings), among other items. Three hours later we found a lovely mooring at a jetty alongside the Noarder Alde Wei, and decided to spend a few nights there to take advantage of the lovely weather, the very peaceful, green and lush scenery, and to enjoy the sheep and lambs wandering past the boat during the day (much to the dogs’ interest) – although not so much the sheeps’ poop dotted liberally around the area!
Two days later we were on our way to our next scheduled stop at the island of Rangepole in the Alde Feane national park area, before heading off to Harlingen for the planned works on the boat. Rangepole is a great place to spend time, no facilities (except some massive bins) but peaceful, uncluttered, and perfect for relaxing strolls along the grass banks and in the woodland (and, as it turned out, collecting ticks!).
Finally it was time to move on though, and on 24th we set off for Harlingen and the SRF boatyard. Unfortunately there was no available space and we couldn’t actually moor there overnight, ready for action on Monday, so had to carry on into the town centre for the night with the intent of returning early in the morning. The actual waterway into the town was a little tricky – boats on both sides of a narrow-ish canal and a breeze pushing us over to the sides at times – with a couple of camels watching our progress, but we made it and found a lovely mooring alongside a small park very close to the town centre, hoping to return to SRF on Monday. Sadly though, that didn’t happen!
When we called SRF to let them know our plan, they said they actually couldn’t get us into the boatyard until maybe Tuesday and if not then, well, it was Kings Day on Wednesday and they would be shut, so maybe Thursday! And that’s what happened – it was indeed Thursday before we were eventually allowed in and lifted out!
Despite this setback, it gave us the chance to spend a little time in the town and to take part in the Kings Day celebrations on the Wednesday. Harlingen was quite a small town, with a nice beach walk along the dyke, but it wasn’t as interesting as many seem to think although we still enjoyed looking around.
As we were right next to the park, we thought we’d make the effort to decorate Shensi for the occasion although not many other boats seemed to bother, but it felt like it might look quite good, especially as it turned out that the park was to be the main attraction for the area, with live music, stalls, vendors etc from 9am – all making for a very nice day (although fortunately it all stopped at 6pm!).
During the day the town hosted a big flea market, and we spent some time wandering around the various stalls; a brass and a silver band were marching and playing music around the area too.
We thought we’d see what was going on in the evening and about 10pm took a walk into town, but were disappointed that (unlike in Amsterdam on our first Kings Day) everything seemed to be closed down and quiet. However, it did give us the opportunity to take some lovely night photos.
Thursday saw us un-decorating Shensi, and moving off again towards SRF, with Pirate Pete seeming to be on guard and looking out for us as we made our way out of the town.
Half an hour later we arrived at SRF and finally Shensi was lifted out in readiness for work to begin.
The first job was a thorough power wash of the blacking and all in all everything looked pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there still appears to be plenty of life left in the anodes, the epoxy paint is holding up well and the rope cutter on the propellor appears to have done its job as there was a fair amount of nylon caught around the prop shaft.
Nicki and I and the dogs are still living onboard whilst on land, with our first night spent in the yard by the crane lift. Friday saw Shensi being moved, very slowly, into a boat shed where we believe she will stay for the duration. The yard doesn’t appear to be locked at night, although we can lock the shed from inside, but it seems safe enough, and anyway, we have two trusty, fierce dogs to warn us of any problems …. don’t we?