After our first three weeks in the Netherlands it was too early to have a full perspective, but some of our early impressions were:
- Well- kept waterways and excellent locks. Some are huge: one on the Rhine- Amsterdam Canal was 220 metres by 18 metres while others are tiny, the smallest so far 20 metres by 5 metres. We didn't have much room to spare. Some have a significant drop (that one was 5 metres) others hardly change the level at all in normal circumstances. It seemed in the Rhine Amsterdam Canal lock that the gates were closed behind us and almost immediately opened in front to let us out. In the Southern areas all locks are mechanised; in the North we have found manually operated locks and bridges on some of the canals.
- A large number of opening bridges. On most stretches of water these react very promptly to the arrival of a boat, which actually cuts down the disruption to traffic. A boat already moving gets through much faster, unless a convoy can travel together. Lifting railway bridges often have fixed-only opening times.
A typical lifting bridge of which there are many hundreds or perhaps thousands
- Widely available moorings available for up to three days, clearly marked on the charts. Sometimes, especially in towns, these cost about 80 centimes a metre per day. Electricity and water are sometimes available and are paid for separately usually at quite a high rate. Mooring spots which are more rural are usually free and are unlikely to have water and electricity. A few don't have access to shore! Great for a complete rest.
Anja at a quiet mooring on a lake
- Commercial marinas cost from about 1.50 euros a metre, sometimes inclusive of water and electricity. They are often huge. At one it was a ten minute walk to get to the gate!
- The Dutch keep their boats(and houses) looking great. They seem to clean them down every morning, sometimes doing a bit of extra mopping if they are held up in a lock. They often wipe down all fenders after every lock. The fenders sit in racks on the bow and stern when not in use.
- The Netherlands flag is typically huge. The paintings in the Maritime Museum showed us that this is not new. The Dutch flags on ships of maritime battles in the 17th century are twice as big as those on the rival British ships. Anja came equipped with a Dutch flag which is about twice as big as our Australian flag. If flown from our stern it would dangle into the water which is what happens on many small boats.
The Dutch have the biggest flags
Best regards,
Penny and Dave