Yesterday we spent a good couple of hours wandering around the town of Spakenburg. It is an interesting place with a busy boatyard repairing and maintaining old Dutch wooden vessels. In any other country it would have been called a 'working museum', but it seemed to us to be fully commercial with plenty of business. Fascinating. Probably hasn't changed in 300 years apart from the fact that they are now using power tools.
Even the ditches are pretty here. Looks like the Canal du Midi:
Anyway, that was yesterday. Today started misty and calm in the harbour. We were underway by 0930 with the breeze, once we were in the channel, still in the SW. Nice change to have it behind us.
By 1000 the vis had dropped to about a mile but pilotage is very easy in this area, with port & starboard channel markers every 500m or thereabouts. Probably overkill actually, but at least you know exactly where you are.
A commercial barge of about 80 meters was closing from astern so we slowed to let him past, and also to delay our arrival at the lock Nijkerkersluis as he would have priority and we couldn't both fit in. We still arrived early at the lock so jilled about while the commercial locked through. The vis was now well under a mile but just as we were about to line up in anticipation of getting a green light, another commercial loomed out of the fog. I thought he would have priority again, and I was now in the wrong place, blocking his entry to the lock. Oops. We managed to shuffle our way sideways by which time the lights were green. I called the lock on VHF Ch18 to say that we would move aside to allow the commercial through, but the keeper said "you have a green; please come into the lock". So we did. Locking up was as easy as locking down; we didn't actually notice any water turbulence. I was still feeling a bit awkward about pushing in front of a commercial but, as far as we could see through the fog, he didn't in fact lock through. Phew; all OK then!
Lunch on the hoof as vis was still poor and it was now raining as well. Quick MoB drill carried out using the 'bucket and fender' trick.
Met our French friends and neighbours on M/Y Leisure (great name) going in the opposite direction.
Vis still poor with rain showers. Our pontoon friend arrived to say hello:
By 1800 the visibility had improved and by 2000 the fog had gone to leave a calm and clear evening.
/Rich.
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