Tuesday 27 March
Because we’re only allowed to move on canals in daylight hours, and all the bridges have strict operating times anyway, we called it a day a little early yesterday, and so set off bright and early to get through Leeuwarden and on to Dokkum today, where we hoped to be able to fill up my water tanks, and the crew to fill up the fridge.
Unfortunately, as we arrived near the next bridge the ‘brugwachter’ declared it shut, as the one after is a damaged railway bridge, closed for repairs until 10 April. If only my crew had checked the website for announcements… They took an extended coffee break while they worked out what to do instead, and we set off again, back past where we’d moored last night; a round trip of three hours to achieve nothing.
We had to retrace our path two-thirds of the way back to Lemmer before we could turn right and make our way to Stavoren, another entry point into the canal system on this side of the IJsselmeer, and therefore a way out for us. It was windy and grey across several shallow open lakes, reminiscent of the Norfolk Broads, with a few dinghies out for a daysail. We opted to stay in the buoyed channels, and not to bother hoisting sail – it just seems like too much effort for the short distances over which we could use them. The skies are full of huge flocks of starlings, and long skeins of various species of geese, on the move as the weather allegedly warms. Actually, Mate considers it’s more likely the lengthening daylight triggers their activity.
At the end of another tiring day, we didn’t quite make it to Stavoren, but tied up alongside a swimming pool! Sadly, the machine rejected our payment card, so we had neither power nor water, and Skipper was unable to locate either refuse disposal or shoreside facilities.