Sunday 15th July
Middleburg to Goes
There was no need to set an alarm, so we woke when we awoke and after showers and breakfast and a brief stroll, we got ourselves ready to take the 11:00 bridge out of Middleburg and headed for the Veerse Meer. We had no great plan but wanted to press on towards Amsterdam. As we approached the Veere Sluis we could see that the lock was closed so we tied up to a waiting pontoon. There are two locks here, one for “Sport” which is small for leisure boats and a large lock for the commercial boats and barges. As there were about 10 yachts waiting, the Lock keeper opened the larger lock. We proceeded in and found a clear space near the front. Carole looped our spring line on one of the wall bollards and kept us tight in. We attached our stern and bow lines, adjusted our fenders and had a few minutes’ wait before the lock gates opened to let us move on.
We were looking for places along some of the small islands but as this was a very hot weekend and school holidays have just begun, it was unsurprisingly very busy. We continued on and decided that Goes was going to be our destination. We negotiated the Zandreeksluis into the Oosterschelde. We were briefly back into tidal waters and the water depth increased to approx. 50M. The tide was running hard luckily going our way to the Lock for Goes. Once in the Havenkanaal, a lovely breeze greeted us and we noticed a few groups of swimmers obviously enjoying the 23 degree water temperature. We gently approached the last lifting bridge at Goes and tied up briefly awaiting the next lift which we were reliably informed by a Dutch boat would be in six minutes at 6 pm. When the bridge opened, the young Harbour Master for the Garden Marina (De Werf) greeted us and gave us a lovely mooring just on the outside, which was straightforward to get on to, which made up for the fun and games at Middleburg! We made our visit to pay our dues and once connected to power, we sat in the sunshine with a cuppa and watched the antics of some teenagers with a small inflatable and a ski board. Carole decided it was far too warm not to have a dip, so donned her costume and slipped into the water from the steps at the stern. It was beautiful and was exactly what was needed to cool down and relax. We then both had warm showers on the boat and sat in the cockpit with our supper of omelettes, hot potatoes and salad (and a glass of cider). It was a nice end to the day and we slept well.
Monday 16th July
Goes – Day 2
We awoke just after 8 am and after our first cuppa and biscuit, Chris had some work to do, while Carole did some below decks chores (the fridge needed emptying and wiping out as a lot of condensation builds up in the bottom of the fridge and there’s nowhere for it to drain). After breakfast and tidying away, we took a walk out to find the local supermarket to top up our fresh provisions. Unfortunately we had forgotten where the supermarket was and followed the road into town. Half an hour later, much warmer and very thirsty we returned to the boat for a drink and googled the whereabouts of the supermarket, which we found less than five minutes’ walk away over the other side of the bridge. For those visiting soon, it is a fairly well stocked Aldi in Molenplein.
We had lunch and cleared away and with not even a puff of wind, Carole took to her bed with her book while Chris pored over his charts and books working out where to go next and where we could top up our diesel tank. Various boats were coming and going through the hourly (on the hour) bridge openings and a few lone swimmers passed by. Carole took another dip, swimming to the other side of the marina and back before taking a shower ready to go out for supper. We took a walk out, but the one restaurant we had in mind was closed and we didn’t particularly fancy any of the others and then it started to rain. So we legged it back to the boat and made a very quick hot chicken Caesar salad with crusty bread and a glass of white wine, which was just as nice as eating out (apart from the washing up, which Carole looked after anyway). The rest of the evening was spent blogging, reading and listening to Radio 2 through the Internet. Tomorrow’s weather forecast looks cooler with a breeze which will be lovely.