How We Brought Erewhon From Ghent to Antwerp

(with sincerest apologies to Robert Browning)

We started the motor, we let off the ropes,
We left our Ghent mooring with very high hopes.
Hermaton, Erewhon, Dave, Di, J and C
Were headed down river towards the North Sea.
We'd done lots of planning with tide times and guides
And now we were wary of sand banks and tides.

Through Ghent's narrow ways we sailed Erewhon.
Dave and Di took the long route on Hermaton.
The boats, as arranged, met again at the lock:
No time to tie up there, no time to take stock.
They'd said we would wait there an hour maybe two
But that didn't happen, we sailed straight through.

We came out of that lock with some fear and dread.

We were anxious about the two days ahead.

With the tide on the make, the water was low,

A big barge in front made our boats go so slow.

Would we make it to Temse on the first day?

Our target was long kilometres away.

The water came faster when we hit the Scheldt.

Came tide, flotsam, sandbanks but still our nerve held.

Came Sandra and Sylvia, barges astern

Their wakes as they passed us gave cause for concern!

When Temse appeared, where we’d stay for the night

We couldn't imagine a more welcome sight.

Next morning in Temse our time we did bide

Awaiting the top of the in-coming tide.

We cast off with hopes of a plain-sailing day,

Enjoying the sights as we went on our way.

At just before one, into Antwerp we sailed

And called up the lock but then bad news prevailed.

We couldn't get into the Royersluis lock.

We looked at each other and muttered, ‘Oh fock!'

The lock wouldn’t open for sev’ral hours more

Said the VHF man “We’ll call you at four.”

We weren’t all that happy; it can’t be denied

But a pontoon we found on the other side.

We tied up and waited; our lunch we prepared,

Considered our options, tried not to be scared;

Stayed as long as we could ‘til tide made us leave

Joining boats, large and small, that made the sea heave.

There were launches, police boats, barges galore,

Working boats, tugs, yachts, a cruise liner, what’s more.

It was just before four; the wait would be short

They’d call for us soon now; well, that’s what we thought.

But no, two more hours on the Scheldt we did wait,

Then we got the green light and sailed through the gate.

Eight barges (enormous) and pleasure boats three

Went into the lock with scarce any room free.



We watched with relief as the gates they did close

And slowly, so slowly the water it rose.

The barges revved motors and made lots of noise.

We held fast to our ropes; we maintained our poise.

The barges left first; the pleasure boats after

Delighted at last to be in calm water.

Siberia Bridge gave no problems at all:

It rose on demand as night started to fall.

An hour it would be before London Bridge rose.

We'd missed its last opening just by a nose.

Unhappy were we as we realised our plight

We now couldn’t enter the port before night.

“Come quickly” cried out the nice Haven master,

“I'll open it now, you'll tie up much faster.”

We followed our knight in his rubber ducky

Then tied up our boats – we knew we were lucky!

Safely moored, into chairs on the boat we did sink

With sighs of relief and a well-deserved drink!

Random Vignettes from Ghent

While we were in Ghent we decided we should purchase a sample of 'real' Belgian chocolate. We were outside a promising looking chocolaterie and admiring the huge and tempting array of different chocolates through the window. We entered the shop and explained to the young lady behind the counter that we would need a few minutes to make a decision. She smiled, gave us a pamphlet about each of the chocolates and waited patiently while we carefully chose two chocolates each. As the assistant, a slender being, was putting the chocolates into a small bag, J asked her how she managed to stay so slim while working in a chocolate shop. She smiled and said, “I used to be slimmer!” That made us all laugh.

***

There was a Music Festival in Ghent while we were there. We were just finishing a cup of coffee when we could hear the most glorious singing. We walked towards where the sound was coming from, which took us to what we would call the "town basin", and this is what we saw there:


An opera singer was 'floating' around the basin. Well really, she was being towed by a couple of 'sharks'. We couldn't see the craft she was standing on because it was covered in colourful umbrellas made to look like a billowing skirt: very clever and effective. This concert was really amazing. All the songs were well known and the singing was appreciated by the hundreds and hundreds of people who were in the area at the time. It was a very special experience.

***

We have been to lots of 'favourite' places and Ghent is right up there with the best! It didn't suffer too much during the wars so has amazing, old buildings. Compared to other cities it is compact and is of a manageable size. There is a large area of the city that is largely vehicle free. Pedestrians, cyclists and trams only are permitted in the area. Most of the roads are cobbled and are not comfortable to cycle on so we walked everywhere. The locals cycle however everywhere it seems at all hours of the day and night. It has a nice and safe feel about it. People are helpful and friendly. Our mooring spot gave us a million dollar view for just €11 per night.



In Ghent, there is a plant and flower market every Sunday morning. We were amazed at the quantity, quality and variety of the goods on sale. We settled on just one photo for you, one of a few stalls that specialised in orchids. And yes, Kenny we thought of you.



There is an ancient castle right in the middle of town. It was built, so we were informed, to keep the administrators safe from the town folk! Never quite got to the bottom of that! We visited the castle, we pick and choose what we pay to visit as there are thousands of similar places in Europe and they tend to be quite expensive. This was a good visit. The displays were well organised with an English translation. We came across a group of local school children who were being entertained (and frightened) by an accomplished actor, dressed in chain mail, who was doing a fantastic job riveting their attention. We could see how good he was and we understand very little Flemish!



***

During the trip from Deinze to Ghent, J's memory continually dredged up 'Ghent to Aix. Eventually she decided it had something to do with a poem learnt at Takapuna Primary School many years ago. On googling "Ghent to Aix", the mystery was easily solved. The words came from a Robert Browning poem How they brought the good news from Ghent to Aix. Aix was not Aix-en-Provence but the German town of Aachen. There is some debate about what the good news actually was as it is not specified in the poem. It may refer to a treaty that was signed averting a war. If you click on to the link and read the poem, try to imagine what it was like being in a classroom with everyone in unison reciting the poem with rhythm and energy. Obviously a memorable experience!

How they got the good news from Ghent to Aix

Random Vignettes no 4

The photo is of a sculpture in Lille close to where we were moored for 3 nights. It honours some of the men who were shot by the Germans in WW2. There is no explanation available, perhaps because none is needed. You will see the men are in civilian clothes. Perhaps they were deemed to be supporting the resistance movement. Perhaps they were deemed to be guilty of some other crime against the collaborating government, we can't tell. We hope the photo is clear enough for you to discern the fortitude these men displayed as they stared down the barrel of a gun with their comrade already shot and killed beside them.

***

An unexpected use for non-slip deck paint
The night we came off the Somme we enjoyed an all-too-rare, still and sunny evening on the boat in Péronne. We decided to make the most of it by drinking our digestif out on the bow of the boat. As we were sitting there, C started to rub her rough heels on the non-slip deck (painted on at the start of last year) and found, to her delight, that it does a fantastic job of smoothing down that rough skin! We'll both be using the technique again in future.

***

We left Halluin on Sunday and had a pleasant and uneventful trip to Kortrijk (something of a relief after our adventures of the day before). The guide book indicated there were two possible moorings in Kortrijk. To get to either, we had to leave the main river and enter a loop. A bit like the waterways version of a crescent. One pontoon was at the near end of the loop, the other was at the far end. We slowly went past the first one with a view of checking it out, going on to the second one and then deciding which one we would tie up at. All eyes were on the first pontoon, looking at its condition and where the water and electricity points were situated, what was nearby. Having seen all we needed to see we then fortunately looked in front of the boat and just in time too. There was a bridge just a few metres away. J said to C, 'can we get under that bridge?' C quickly replied with a loud no!' Accident averted. We don't know how we would have explained that to Christian (our friend and insurance agent). We decided to stay at the first pontoon and didn't bother checking out the other spot until later in the day when we went for a walk. That spot is possibly less influenced by passing barges but would lose the sun quite early. We get the sun where we are until quite late in the evening. As usual, you win some and you lose some.


PS The navigator has promised to pay more attention to the height of bridges printed in the guide book. To be fair, we have never before encountered quite such a low bridge without being forewarned by the VNF (waterways staff).

***

Yay!! We can buy cream cheese in Belgium; we have never seen it in France. Tonight's entrée was the most delicious, fresh, grainy bread with Philadelphia cream cheese and smoked salmon - a combination made in heaven!

***

Monday was street market day in Kortrijk. We were very impressed with the variety, quality and prices of the goods for sale. Compared to most markets in France, the fruit and vegetables were much cheaper... and we were able to find such treats as butternut, buttercup pumpkin and (surprise, surprise) brussel sprouts. The fruit was fabulous, expecially the grapes and once again we are left to wonder why we can't get such tasty, juicy fruit at home. We were really impressed with the different kinds of food items you can buy. The different meats, cakes, cheeses and chocolates are almost bewildering! All are, of course, labelled in Flemish, which is a bit of a mystery for us although, not surprisingly, C can decode a lot of the words. She particularly impressed J with her understanding of the price one stall owner was asking for the items we'd purchased – until C revealed that she'd simply read the amount on the cash register that was hidden from J's sight.

As a special treat, we went into a cafe / bakery after the market. The cups of coffee (hot and delicious in itself) accompanied by a special treat for each of us arrived on a tray, beautifully presented and included a piece of tea cake and a little tablet of Belgian chocolate!

***

Yesterday (Tuesday) we entered a large lock first and were instructed to tie up on the left side right up front. A HUGE barge then gentled its way into the lock on the right hand side and came alongside us! There was about a metre between us, all very intimidating. Another barge came into the lock on the left hand side, it was too wide to come alongside the other barge but its bow slightly overlapped the stern of the other barge which meant it just fitted into the lock, and the lock gate, which is like a guillotine, was lowered and there was not much room between stern and gate. We are constantly amazed at the skill of the lock keepers. It is of course vital they don't make mistakes! The ride down was gentle enough. J used the VHF to ask which order he wanted the boats to leave the lock. He said, 'you go first'. J said in a heartfelt voice 'thank you very much and you have a nice day'. We thought we could hear the smile in his voice when he said , 'you have a good day too'. We did not relish the idea of the barge going first, we would have been whooshed around as he got up enough power to move that monolith forward. We would have liked to take a photo while we were in the lock but we were both clutching ropes and were simply transfixed with the barge movements. However the photo shows the barge next to us leaving the lock. It gives you some idea of the amount of room that was available to us!

From France to Belgium and back again in one day!

   Rob stayed with us for three nights in Lille and we  really enjoyed his company, as well as our stay in Lille: lots of interesting things to see, and plenty of tasty food and, of course, appropriate liquid accompaniment. Our mooring was on a quay opposite the citadel and very close to the centre of the city but was not a designated port, so there was no electricity and water available from a pump but not suitable for filling the water tank of the boat. The reactions of passers-by (and there were a LOT of those – walking, running and cycling by) suggested that it was quite unusual to see a boat moored there but it proved to be a safe and interesting spot.  

 Just after Rob left us for Reims on Saturday morning, we headed north towards Belgium.  It is true to say we were a little anxious about crossing the border.  Those who had gone before assured us that if our documentation was okay for the French authorities, then we would enter Belgium without any problems.  Nevertheless, bureaucracy can be capricious and, with Erewhon booked to come out of the water in Antwerp, any delay could pose major problems for us.     

The first Belgian lock we came to saw C head off to the lock keeper's office with our boat papers, a smile and a confident look on her face, which belied what was going on underneath.  While she was away the lock emptied and eventually she returned. As soon as she saw J, she smiled in an exaggerated way to indicate that all was well, so we both heaved a sigh of relief.  The only little hiccup was the lock keeper's printer wouldn't print out a page we needed but he gave us the important MET number 5010 (our postal code back home so no trouble to remember) and said we would be okay.  We were now authorised to navigate anywhere in the French-speaking regions of Belgium – and it didn't cost a thing! C climbed down the ladder back onto the boat and we started to follow two large barges out of the big river lock.  Just as we started to move off,  the lovely lock keeper ran to the edge of the lock waving the paper he wanted to give us.  He told C the computer had now decided to print off 32 copies!  J had to gently put the motor into reverse only to hear a sickening noise and the boat wasn't responding properly.  With a big commercial barge waiting to enter the lock, we had no choice but to leave the lock as best we could.  The barge was also blocking the way between us and the waiting quay for the lock, where we might have hoped to be able to tie up. Fortunately, there was a wall with bollards just a little further on, where we could tie up to and discuss possible courses of action.  We decided to check the propeller as that was the easiest first option and, we thought, the most likely source of the problem (limited steering and propulsion).  Luckily, we have a weed hatch (not as common a feature as you might expect on canal boats) so no-one had to dive under the boat to complete the inspection of the propeller. The water was by no means crystal clear and was less than inviting.  The first thing C dragged off the propeller looked like a regular supermarket plastic bag.  The second was the remainder of what turned out to be a huge plastic bag of the kind you see around new mattresses.  Whew, that was a simple and successful solution to what might have been a crippling problem!   

We decided that since we were happily tied up and it was nearly 1pm, it was as a good time and place as any to have lunch, after which we cast off and continued north.  (Well actually you just have to go where the river takes you!)  We were on a bend so we were very careful to move out into the stream and not put ourselves in the path of a large commercial vessel.  We were just comfortably on our side of the river at a point where the river narrowed and turned a 'skinny S bend ' when a HUGE barge appeared.  The bargee blew his very loud horn for a long time, frightening the living daylights out of us.  His wife ran down the length of the barge waving furiously for us to reverse quickly.  Well, actually, it is impossible to ram our boat in reverse and quickly get out of the way but we did the best we could and ended up resting against the bank creating comfortably enough room for the barge to pass.  Those monsters weigh mega tonnes and are not easily slowed down, nor can they change direction very quickly once committed to a certain course. It was just bad luck that we met at that point in the river.  The wife and C had a relieved laugh and chat as the barge went by.  I know we got a fright and I think they probably did too.    We then went through our second Belgian lock.   This was potentially a more demanding lock in terms of paper work because we were now entering Flanders, the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium – and the Flemish have a reputation for being more exacting in terms of paperwork....and money.  So once again C went off with all our papers and a smile on her face.  Eventually, she returned to the boat with another smile.  There were no problems with the papers and €25 covered the navigating fees in Flanders through until next March. We breathed yet another sigh of relief. It is always the unknown that makes you anxious; sometimes unnecessarily.    We planned to spend the night in a sheltered port at Halluin, which is back over the border in France.  When we entered the port, we could see just one spare mooring spot left.  A boatie called out for us to wait  where we were and she would see if the people who 'own' that space were returning that day.  There was a stiff breeze blowing so holding the boat in a confined space was a bit of a challenge.  There were different people shouting out different instructions in all directions. Thankfully, though, the Capitaine (or harbour master) turned up before too long and confirmed that we could back into the available space.  With that done, we both heaved a sigh of relief and felt we deserved a cuppa, or something a little stronger.   

Our mooring spot was just great.  We were on the French side of the Leie and Belgium was on the other side, almost within spitting distance.  We were sheltered with water and electricity, and wifi on the boat -  a rare luxury!  When C went to the Capitaine to pay for our mooring spot, she asked whether it was possible to obtain some sort of a guide to the Belgian waterways, something we've been trying to buy since we left St Jean de Losne. We have a map but were hoping for something with a little more detail – like the guidebooks we use in France.  C had seen one in St Laurent that belonged to Chris and Paul and had tried to order one through Amazon to be delivered in Lille for us to pick up.  Unfortunately the delay was going to be just beyond what we thought we could tolerate, so we abandoned the idea at that point. How lucky we did because the capitaine produced a beautiful, 272 page guide which he gave C as a present! It would normally sell at €30 but is an out-dated version from 2000. It still gives vital information about location of locks, lifting/turning bridges and ports etc.  Because an update is now available, the capitaine was happy to give us this one.  On a day when C had produced some beaming smiles, the one on her face when she came back fro the port office was the biggest, brightest one of all!

La Carrière Wellington

La Carrière Wellington (Wellington Quarry) Memorial de la Bataille d'Arras 9 Avril 1917 recounts a chapter in our wartime history that neither of us knew anything about. We went to this amazing display and felt proud and devastated at the same time. This is a short version although the longer one deserves attention too. To break through the front line and drive the Germans into retreat, the allies developed a cunning plan. Dotted around the countryside around Arras were abandoned underground quarries that had, in the past, provided stone for building. The plan was to bore tunnels and connect these quarries. Allied troops would hide in them and come out to attack the Germans right on the front line in what was supposed to be a diversion to draw attention (and German resources) away from the main attack planned for several days later on another point of the frontline. The Germans wouldn't see them coming and would be unprepared. The planning and tunneling was done by 600 NZ miners, most of them from Waihi. The praise for the work these men did is fulsome and well deserved. They progressed the tunnels at a rate of 80m per day without the use of explosives. The men named the various quarries after various places in New Zealand. We were in the Wellington one, which has been developed as a museum. The Leclerc supermarket 100m down the road is above the Auckland quarry. Part of the tunneling forms the display area where visitors travel 20 m down in a glass lift and then walk through passageways getting some idea what it must have been like for the tunnelers and the huge number of support men who had to find places to redistribute the rubble underground so the Germans weren't alerted to what was happening so close to where they were. Small rail carriages and railway lines were used, electric lighting was installed etc. There is some humour too. We walked past one very small cave, maybe 3m x 2m, which had “Waitomo NZ” carved above it. Eight days before the attack 24.000 Commonwealth soldiers, under British command, were brought into the various quarries to make sure all was ready for a co-ordinated attack. The outcome of this surprise attack was mixed to say the least. The Germans had retreated shortly before the attack. The French wanted the diversion to go ahead in spite of the re-positioning of the German line and so the men were ordered out of their underground quarries to do the best they could. While there was the element of surprise, the Germans were further away and had a chance to prepare for the attack. The allied forces gained ground in some places but, in what was planned to be a diversionary action lasting several days, some 4000 allied soldiers died every day for two months. The quarries were, perhaps, more successfully used in World War II, when they were used by the residents of Arras as air raid shelters and are credited with having saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives.

It seemed like a good idea at the time...!

Because we know we need to be in Antwerp by the first week in October, we have to tailor our navigation with the time and distance still to cover very much in the forefront of our minds. The first few weeks of our journey covered canals and rivers we had been on before which meant there wasn't a lot of exploring we needed to do so we found ourselves comfortably ahead of our original schedule, which is why we were able to do the side trip down the Somme.

Even after that, we found ourselves with time on our hands, as our French waterways licence doesn't run out until September 20th and we'd planned to meet our friend, Rob, in the north of France next week. Because of this, C thought a side trip up the Upper Scarpe (a canalised river) to Arras would be a good idea because Arras is supposed to be a beautiful and interesting town. Travelling 20km to our planned mooring spot and going up 7 locks should have been easy before the locks closed, given that we turned onto the Scarpe at 11.30am, having left Marquion on the Canal du Nord at 9am. We arrived at the first lock only to find out that we should have picked up a remote control unit at the previous lock. We asked the VNF man who told us this how were we supposed to know about it – we hadn't seen any signs on either canal or at either of the locks. His response was the usual Gallic shrug...but to his credit, he did then hop in his van and drive back to get us a remote control before heading off to lunch.

The lock was full and had to be emptied. C used that time to have a look to see which side we should tie up on, bearing in mind we were going into an empty lock. Just as well she did! There were bollards on only one side of the lock but, in a masterful piece of waterways design, the mechanism to activate the locking process was on the other side and therefore unreachable from the boat if we were both on it and tied up to the bollards. We set the ropes for J so that she could clip them onto the carabina which C passed down to her from the top of the lock. She could then position the ropes, walk around the start the process going then come back and manage her rope in the bow while J managed the stern one. The lock was slow to fill but very gentle which was a welcome surprise. It has to be said, too, that the area surrounding the lock is very industrial with many ugly abandoned buildings. Not exactly a promising start...


The first five locks were all full and had to be prepared for us. There were none of the usual waiting platforms, so J had to control the boat in what was sometimes very short and narrow spaces. This is made more difficult because when a lock empties, all that water in it wooshes straight towards the boat. Any wind adds to the difficulties. The third lock malfunctioned and we met with two red lights on arrival. After several phone calls and a 10 minute wait, C was finally given the right number to contact the itinerant lock keeper. He arrived an hour later to fix the problem. In the meantime, we managed to tie up to a fence, with a good deal of foliage poking into the boat. Fortunately there was enough water under the boat to keep us afloat.

The further we went the more weed in the water became a problem. We know this can be a problem in branch canals, which are less-frequented and therefore also less well maintained. The weed catches on the propeller making steering and propulsion increasingly difficult. Our usual technique for dealing with this is to find a clear patch of water and reverse the motor to 'thrash off' the weed. However, the weed was growing right up to the surface and finding a clear patch wasn't easy – attempts to clear the weed resulted in tangling more on. This caused the boat to slow down really badly and it was sluggish to steer. After a little while, though, we discovered that weed doesn't grow under bridges so we used those spots to reverse and forward the motor at speed to get back some control. The worst places were halfway down the canal and improved a bit by the time we got into port, absolutely exhausted at 6pm. Later, when we checked our weed hatch, we found surprisingly little weed on the propeller but a fair bit of fishing line that was wound tightly around the propeller shaft. It was difficult for C (of the long arms) to cut away but we'll certainly be better off without it.



The port at St Laurent Blangy (just outside Arras) is in need of a little TLC but in every other respect is a delightful haven. There are many hundreds of canoes and kayaks complete with a water flume which provides an impressive confidence course for canoeists. This site will apparently be a back-up training zone for the summer olympics next year. On the other side of the canal is an large park with an extensive network of walking and cycle tracks. We have water and electricity. Paul and Chris, a Welsh couple in a 60ft narrow boat have a permanent mooring here and live here on the boat most of the year. They have been very helpful with giving us good local knowledge – which electric point not to use because it cuts out, where to find the boulangerie and the supermarkets, the easiest way into town, etc.



The next day we cycled three km along a flat towpath to Arras, a town which was pretty much completely destroyed in WW1. At the end of the canal, on a section which is closed to navigation, a very interesting competition was taking place. It is the water version of jousting. Two long narrow punts with paddling crew, a steersman and a 'jouster' on an elevated platform at the stern, paddle furiously towards each other and the jousters try to topple each other off their platform and into the water. The best of three is the victor. There are different grades with the younger competitors starting early in the day, and the older more serious contestants taking part later in the day. There is a lot of posturing, the winning jouster raises the 'prodding' pole above his/her head and twirls it two or three times accompanied by huge cheers from the crowd. It looked like great fun, though!


We had a look around the town which is beautifully laid out – and distinctly Flemish in terms of its architecture. It was a hot day, we sat in the shade in the Petite Place (yes, there is a Grande Place as well) and did some people watching while we sipped an ale. The lady at the Office de Tourisme let us know about a WW1 display, La Carrière Wellington (Wellington Quarry) Memorial de la Bataille d'Arras 9 Avril 1917, which she thought we would be interested in given that we were NZers and came from Wellington. It was a great visit and you'll be able to read more about it in the next blog post.

All in all, we spent a thoroughly enjoyable weekend based at St Laurent Blangy, all the more so for the fact that the sun shone the whole time we were there. However, with a relatively short deadline for reaching Lille in time to meet Robert, the trip back was a bit fraught. As well as the weed, we had to contend with three malfunctioning locks out of the seven on the canal and we spent a lot of time waiting for the itinerant lock keepers to come and unblock the system. When we did come out of the last lock and back onto the Canal du Nord, we both breathed a huge sigh of relief. I think we had both felt we had been released.

So, was it a good idea? Now that we are safely elsewhere, we are happy to have done the trip and especially to have visited Arras but we agree that neither of us would want to do it again (especially if time was any sort of an issue) and we would really hesitate to recommend the trip to other boating friends.