14th January 2017 – There was heavy wind last night and a lot of rain. The barrier in Beernem was closed and water was high in Bruges. Because of the high tide and the wind, several of our ships got stuck on land when the water lowered. I decided to stay the night in Bruges.
Category: Daily Life around the water - page 16
8th January 2017 – Just home after a heavy week of boating! I need to update this blog from November till now and a lot of events took place! So it might take a while. What happened last month? I swapped the Aquarel for the Tordino.
28th October 2016 – One day of not working, just relaxing and driving to Leeuwarden to see some ships.
On the way back, I stopped on the afsluitdijk and sat there for some time. Some parts in the Netherlands are extremely beautiful!
20th October 2016 – I gave the lemmeraak ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’ a new life. If I didn’t rebuilt her, she was likely to be scrapped. I did most of the outside work and had just started insulating the hold.
I hope the new owner has the talent and know-how to finish this project. I wish him luck with the ship.
4th October till 9th October 2016 – I went to Emden (Germany) to pick up a Luxe Motor from an English friend. We brought it to Bruges. With some smaller issues on the engine, it took us a bit longer then expected. Again a nice journey, just like last month!
2nd October 2016 – In the afternoon I went to Astene to the old Sashuis. This is small bar in old house, that used be the house of person responsible for the lock. It contains a very small museum. Nice to see if you are in the area.
1st October 2016 – I drove through the country to collect to miniatures of ships. One is a British fuel tanker and the other one a British steam tug. Both of them will be visible at the museum space aboard the Aquarel.
There was a great party in the evening in Beernem with some boat friends. A perfect way to close the evening!
7th September 2016 – Instead of working, we just had another trip on the water. I did have intentions to start working, but it will be for another time.
2nd September 2016 – Today, I had to leave a nice group of people behind, to go back to my daily routine in Bruges. I’ll be back at some point. I like it to much there. It is more then just a mooring, it is a community.
1st September 2016 – Something different, writing my blog with a view on Tower Bridge, fast passing ferries and being shaken all the time.
31th August 2016 – We arrived at 9 o’clock in the morning, nearly 29 hours after we left Ostend. It was a great journey with a friendly crew.
30th August 2016 – In August a dream came through for me. I was able to join and help on a crossing with a Dutch barge from Belgium to London. It was a pleasant experience and I hope to do it again. I made new friends and discovered a different look at barges and how people use them. Many thanks to my English friends!
At 3 o’clock this morning, we left Ostend, heading to London. It was a nice journey with no issues. We arrived the next day, 29 hours later in London.
29th August 2016 – We had to move the barge back to Ostend. It was a short journey with good weather. One of my neighbours joined for the journey.
27th August 2016 – The last bit of the journey. We left the port of Ostend and headed for Bruges.
26th August 2016 – We left Bruinisse in the early morning and head to the Veerse Meer. From there we continued to Middelburg, where we added some more fuel. From Middelburg to Vlissingen was a nightmare. We had to wait 20 minutes before they would open a bridge. There were five bridges, so we lost a lot of time!
Once in Vlissingen, we passed the lock and went over sea to Ostend. Arrived in Ostend, we had a beer and a good meal! A successfully journey. If we didn’t had to wait for the bridges in Middelburg, we could have been in Bruges….
