Saturday 18th June 2011 Oudenaarde - Wachtebeke. 55.9kms 3 locks

Horse drawn carriage on towpath near Evergem

Grey, overcast start with heavy rain showers, sunny spells in the afternoon. We set off at 9.10 a.m. after Mike had been down the road for a loaf (2,00€). A 67m empty barge called Espoir went past and tied on the wall above the lock, followed by a pusher-pair of 50m barges called Mac and Ouille from Paris, steering by a smiling, bearded man. We went past the latter and followed Enja-D, a well-loaded 80m barge, into Oudenaarde lock; we went on the left hand wall and WS came alongside us. Dropped down about 1.5m and followed everyone out. Loaded barge Nordica (110m x 10.5m 2,500 tonnes) was heading for the empty chamber. Behind him was an empty 60m boat called Sunshine. It poured with rain as we went for miles down a windswept bendy river following WS. 

Start of the ringvaart (ring canal) around Gent

A sudden freak gust caught our brolly and turned it inside out then blew it backwards to finish in almost total destruction, cover ripped off and most of the stays bent. Luckily we had a spare as the rain bucketed down. Paused on the wall above Aspin lock as Espoir and the pusher caught us up. A 60m empty called Columbus came up the lock followed by Susanna a 58m empty (both Dutch) then we followed Espoir and Mac into the chamber and a medium sized Dutch cruiser followed us in. The cruiser tried to get us to move over behind the pusher as we’d gone on the right behind the shorter boat and WS had come alongside us. They could have gone round us there was plenty of room behind Espoir – they were moaning because they had set up their fenders and ropes on the right. Shame. We all have to be adaptable in these big locks with the big commercials and fit into the gaps, no matter which side. 

One of the ships in Gent docks

The pusher was 100m long in a lock that is 120m long in total, while the barge was 70m long. QED. An 80m loaded barge called Marlesri (80m x 8.6m 1,246 tonnes) was heading for the chamber we’d just vacated, we passed him where the channel had been narrowed by a row of buoys on our right. It was a long way to the next lock. I made a cuppa then went inside to catch up with the log. Mike called me to see a horsedrawn carriage going by. I made sandwiches for lunch. A large loaded German barge called Rothensee from Berlin went past. The sun came out for a while. Saw only a couple of boats on the Ringvaart, the high tonnage canal that surrounds Gent.  Into Evergem lock (a new one for us, we’d never been through it before) alongside WS behind Hapi, a 70m empty, on the right hand wall, after 80m container boat Athena had got settled on the left hand wall. 

Shipbreakers at Gent - down to the waterline almost!

Mike insisted Anne put her rope round her bollard on her forepeak - it was too short she said - so he attached the end of another rope to it for her. The lock emptied gently and was only a drop of 1.20m then the commercial in front went out sedately with no prop wash trying to flush us off the wall, the one on our left also motored out slowly then dropped into a slot between moored boats that was exactly the right length for him- how did he do that? There were dozens of commercials moored in the port of Gent. A colony of Egyptian geese had made their home on the spit of land before a large, wide arm off to the left. On our right were the main docks in Gent with a breakers yard on the corner cutting up old ships; only the red hull of one called Mercator was left. Large ships occupied one corner of one dock. All along the canal work had been going on to remove the sloping concrete walls and replace them with vertical quays equipped with mooring bollards and ladders; all was quiet today being Saturday. A loaded tanker went past heading uphill. 

X marks the spot! Gent

More rain as we set off down the impressive Terneuzen ship canal that leads to the Westerschelde and the sea. A car ferry flitted across the canal just after the Royal Belgian Yacht Club, where we spent a few days moored in 1993. Another loaded 80m tanker boat (Melanie) went past as we were almost at the junction with the Moervaart. The wind was blowing very hard making waves on the surface of the canal and wafting the sort of strange smells that are only found in large ports. Loaded péniche Univers overtook us then we turned right into the Moervaart where a big barge called Milagro NL was repositioning itself after the boat in front of it had untied and set off down the canal. 

Moored on the waiting point for the Moervart bridges.
Wachtebeke.

Past the refinery and more moored tankers, then a sharp bend and there were lots of moored cruisers and the navigation became much narrower and full of sharp bends, just like UK canals only with a gale blowing and a rudder in serious need of whacking (a delicate adjustment of trim according to the skipper) as the boat constantly wanted to turn right. At least it became more sheltered from the wind as trees appeared on both banks and the sun came out again. Past more and more moored boats, some of which looked extremely new and expensive. At 6.00 p.m. we moored next to the wooden steiger by the first liftbridge at Wachtebeke. There were signs to say mooring only for waiting for the bridge, limited to three hours. Tough, we have to wait until ten tomorrow so that’s sixteen hours! It was a difficult mooring with a gale trying to blow us off it and the stern ends were on the bottom.