Rest day in Gouda

Today we had a well deserved rest day in the lovely historic town of Gouda. We filled up with water and fuel. We bought fresh provisions including an ample supply of Dutch cheese. We walked around the town and inspected the cheese market with piles of huge cheeses, and visited the historic town hall. 

The Museumhaven where we are staying has an interesting selection of resident historic ships - none as old as Bonita- and we have had a steady stream of visitors. In the evening we were entertained and well catered for by the Dutch OGA. We had a nautical skittles match which the Dutch won convincingly. We listened to a sea shanty group and had a fine outdoor paella supper.

Tomorrow the fleet of around 40 gaffers will be off and negotiating a network of locks and bridges. Some of the bridges open infrequently and only for a few minutes ar a time, so plenty of challenges lie ahead. 

Gouda

The gaffers left Dordrecht in convoy at about 8.20am, and made a fine sight, dozens of traditional style boats travelling along the canal in convoy. The first part of the trip was spent keeping out of the way of the huge barges that share these waterways, and travel at great speed. The latter part of the trip was spent negotiating a large number of bridges and locks. In the company of a large number of other elderly boats, in confined waters and sometimes approaching the obstruction with a brisk following wind, the afternoon provided plenty of mental and physical exercise for skipper and crew.

We eventually moored up in the Museumhaven, near the centre of Gouda.

We were last here ten years ago: the historic harbour has been closed for renovation and has only recently been reopened.

The Dutch OGA had organised a reception with free beer to get the visit off to a good start. Here we were joined by Sian and Ant to augment the crew. We went into the town with Justin for supper at a restaurant in the town centre.

Dordrecht

A busy day. D and I left home at 4am to get a taxi to St Pancras, then the Eurostar to Rotterdam and taxi to Hellevoetsluis. Bonita seemed none the worse for her few days neglect and we left Hellevoetsluis at about midday. We mostly motored through the canals to Dordrecht with a little help from the wind and a fair tide down the Spui. Some of these waterways seem to have significant tidal flows even though the waterlevel doesnt go up or down very much. We had to wait about an hour for the road and rail bridge at Dordrecht to open.

The Gaffers have congregated in the Wijnhaven. To get into this haven we needed to negotiate a narrow entrance and a lifting bridge that doesnt open for long. This manoever proved to be more difficult than expected, perhaps due to a difficult narrow entrance, passing barge traffic and maybe a long day.However the situation was rescued by D jumping ashore from the bowsprit and pushing off, to widespread admiration. Fortunately no damage was done to either Bonita or other boats

We eventually relaxed over supper with Justin and some of the other assembled gaffers: there are about 40 boats here so far.

Hellevoetsluis

Today we had a sunny day with a pleasant force 3 SW breeze. We left Middelharnis and had a fine sail exploring the western end of the Haringvliet up as far as the very impressive dam and sluice structure that keeps out the North Sea. There were plenty of yachts out in the fine weather, though we did have to avoid a dinghy crew that chose to practice their capsize drill right in front of us.

The picture shows Toby concentrating on steering us to windward.

 In the evening we tied up at a marina in Hellevoetsluis, in a berth kindly arranged by our Dutch friends Else and Edgar. Here we will leave Bonita while the OGA members catch up with her as we need to go back to the UK for a family gathering. We had booked to go home on the Eurostar but our booking (and the train) got cancelled at short notice because of damage caused by terrorists apparently in some way connected to the start of the Paris Olympics.  So we plan to go home by ferry instead. However we hope to be back to join in the OGA festivities and get Bonita moving again  in early August.

Middelharnis

I hadnt heard of Middelharnis before, but we got up early and came up the canal to this typical Dutch town. There is just enough width in the canal to turn Bonita round, so long as no other boats are in the area at the time. We came here as we were seeking expert reassurance that our VHF radio was working as it should despite some recent difficulties including a dodgy aerial connection. That sorted, we tied up at a pontoon close to the centre of town. There is a lively area around the canal and a surprisingly large number of high-quality looking shops. On the water there are many boats old and new, and ashore there is a historic shipyard/museum. There is a rich history of ships and shipbuilding associated with the town.

The large vessel is the Johanna Hendrika MD10, a 94 ton iron fishing vessel built in 1897. She was originally schooner rigged, but it wasnt clear to us if there are any realistic plans to rerig her or to get her back in the water again.