Wandering Canuck

Canal from Plassendale to Brugge was larger and very quiet, until I met a convoy of 20 boats close together. This is because they only raise the bridges for convoys of boats- and when I arrived, no convoy, so I had to wait for more than an hour. No big deal: the weather is finally great. The convoy posed a real nuisance for a single rower as the wakes built up. He was upset and bailing constantly. He waved nicely to me as I crept by with little wake.

a different type of swing bridge

the main bridge I had to wait for

Brugge canal- but only for tourist tour boats

Brugge is a wonderful place where I’ve been before by car, and shared time there with both my family and with friends. My daughter and I climbed both bell towers and enjoyed the carillon. Probably one of my first major ‘bell-infections’!

windmill near city walls of Brugge

After making the arrival into the city-center mooring area, I was informed that there was a big parade starting shortly. I hurried into the main square, and found a vantage point. There will be lots more in the next posting about this event, with lots of pictures.

I’m spending the next day visiting and re-visiting Brugge. Then, on to Ghent.

Rochester skyline as we made our exit at 0600h

the Crew: Terry and Annette as we set off

part of the historic displays of old ships in Chatham dockyards

We made it! First crossing of the English Channel in my new boat  ‘Wandering Canuck Too’.

Last view of Britain as we set off the channel towards the continent.

Not without a little drama, we had an engine overheat issue as we left Rochester on the Medway. Probably due to an improperly set coolant valve (I’m learning…), and we were moving faster than the previous owner had likely ever done, the engine got hot. OK. We stopped and drifted with the tide, and Terry kept lookout as I dived into the engine room, added some additional coolant to replace that which had boiled, and adjusted the coolant valve. Restart, and an eagle eye on the engine temperature for the rest of the trip. We had alternative plans, had there been further issues, but the mighty engine just purred along with no complaints and we made our way at between 9 and 10 knots with the tide, to North Foreland.

Here we decided between breaking the trip in two and spending the night at Ramsgate, or just going for broke across. The weather was ideal, though there developed a little chop over the swells, later. Onward we went, dodging the commercial traffic in the main shipping lanes, and across the sand banks that made the swells ‘interesting’. I’ve found where I need to secure items better when dealing with coastal waters!

It was longish day, but we arrived on the European side of the channel and made our way east past Dunkerque (spelled imaginatively different in every language!), to Nieuwpoort in Belgium, where we arrived at 1912h. Into the harbour, onto the previously arranged mooring and all was snug. We had a celebratory visit to the marina clubhouse, and then crashed for the night. Thanks to Terry and Annette for their company, assistance, and sharing of stories.

arrival into Nieuwpoort, Belgium, harbour. A great trip!

Today, after arising to another glorious spring day, we watched the fish boats exit the harbour, and a number of sail training yachts begin their training maneuvers. This brought back memories of my training course in Vancouver and the hundreds of docking maneuvers we practiced! Terry and Annette had determined that there was a tram that would take them to Oostend, where they would catch a train for their further adventures. I decided to go with them, and off we went through the coastal resorts that line the shore in this area. There are thousands of apartments in large (mostly ugly) concrete blocks from Dunkerque all the way along the coast. Not appealing to me at all, and I suspect this will make the area VERY busy in the warm holiday season. I enjoyed my excursion, and then back to the boat to get ready for the Belgian Canals tomorrow.

Nieupoort Harbour at first light as the fishboats begin to leave.

I’m on my way across the English Channel. All good with beautiful blue skies, light winds and  and little seas. It is very different to be headed towards such big waters, shared with wind farms, large commercial vessels and innumerable sailboats. It is a long weekend in Britain, and there are many taking advantage of the conditions to take their boats out to play (me too!).

All good here. I’ll report upon arrival.

You may be able to follow my progress in real time with the link to the bottom left of the narrowboat picture above. Click that, and wnter the name of this boat “WanderingCanuck Too”, and see if I show up. This is AIS and new technology for me, so let me know if I appear! Take care.

I’m moving along in terms of getting the electrical systems upgraded in this new-to-me boat. The weather has really been chilly and there have been few moments of spring warmth and sunshine, so getting boat maintenance done is an ok activity.

I’m having a diesel generator installed, rather than depending on a gasoline (petrol) portable generator that is on the swim platform. As I cross the channel and am in salt water, leaving that exposed near the sea water just doesn’t seem to be a wise thing to do. This has been a shoe-horn activity to get it sandwiched into the engine room, but will be protected, quiet, and reliable.

I’m also replacing the original power inverter/charger. As I came to the Medway from Staines, I found that several electronic/electrical things failed (computer charger, a fridge, the microwave, phone charger, etc.). Investigation revealed that the inverter was providing very ‘dirty’ power, and, as I live aboard the boat, I depend on good electrical service. So, remove and replace the heart of the system- sort of like major heart surgery. There is lots of preparation, and there will certainly be a period of adjustment afterwards, but I hope this will make the boat more comfortable to live in.

I spent the weekend delivering my car to Devizes, and visiting friends Nick and Chris Seager, who have become my British ‘guardians’, looking after some of the domestic things that are difficult for a wanderer to deal with. Thanks to them! some photos of our trip together from Staines to the Medway River.

Big water! Very different than the environment of the narrowboat, but I’m excited!

I’m moored at Medway Bridge Marina, on the Medway just downstream of the motorway and train bridge.  This is the place where the electronic people have been to install my chartplotter (read sat-NAV (or GPS) for boats). That is matched with a new set of radios for boats, and a special piece of gear, called an AIS transponder. This automatically warns every commercial ship and many recreational boats, that I am on the high seas and in their way. Then they can aim for me and ram me (or avoid as they choose). I also get info about them and we can play dodge-em, if bored.

Ok, reality, this gear is to enable me to more safely cross the busiest shipping lanes of the channel, as I have to move back and forth.

We discovered that there are further electrical issues, mainly because the boat is 20 years old, and the former owner didn’t depend on the built-in systems for more than part of a day or so. I’ll try and deal with them this coming week, and have them resolved before I move across to Belgium.

I don’t have pictures yet: the ones from our trip down the Thames are on Facebook, and I cannot download them to re-post here. I’ll keep working on that to share with you all.

I also had one of those GREAT experiences today. While shopping for groceries, and finishing the scanning at a self-checkout, I reached for my wallet. Missing! Panic. When had I seen it last for sure? So, I let the nice check-out lady know that I was abandoning my cart, and off to see where my wallet might be (I had travelled across the country by train, fetched the car, dealt with deliveries, etc. etc.). As I was reporting to customer service (in case I had dropped the thing in the store) a very nice lady said she would pay for the groceries, as long as I would send the money on when I had dealt with the missing wallet. I was astounded! Elizabeth just heard me reporting the missing wallet to customer service and offered to help. This angel made my day, and her kindness was a special reminder that there are awesome people everywhere (sometimes hard to find, though!). The wallet was left on the boat, I’m an idiot, but this lady made my day. Thanks, Elizabeth!

Thanks for following!

OMG! What a great experience for my first expedition on the new boat. ‘Wandering Canuck Too’ has become both my home and new favourite!

I left the marina at Penton Hook on the Thames, at 0800h on Monday, April 11, with my friends Chris and Nick as support team. We immediately found some of the ‘fun’ of  maneuvering, as we threaded our way through tight berthing channels, and the Thames is full flow. Onward, with not a single paint scrape, and all was well. We made our way through 4 locks (three un-manned, and the 4th demanding payment!) to Richmond on Thames, where we moored up and sought needed provisions.. A lovely evening encouraged us to move along to Teddington Lock moorings, where we stopped in anticipation of an early start.

High water was at 0700h so we made ready and cast off, to find the water even- so we sailed straight through the lock, a rare occurance, I’m told. The water was very high and there was evidence of flooding along the way, with bikes and occasionally cars, splashing through water covered routes.

It was an amazing journey through London- reminiscent of the trip on my narrowboat last fall, but SO much nicer weather. We flowed with the tide and made great progress, passing the amazing landmarks of central London. (Sorry- I was steering, and the photographer will forward photos that I will post in the next edition).

We made our way into new waters for me, and out through the Thames barrier into the estuary, playing with a few of the bigger boats (radio needed- to listen for traffic info and warnings of 20 thousand tonne freighters bearing down on us!) We did what was needed- stayed out of their way!- and eventually arrived, through amazingly calm seas, to Queenborough Marina at almost the mouth of the Medway. We moored here, and sorted through a few of the teething issues of serious use of my new boat.

Problems identified, a very restful night ahead of a Sea Cadet Training ship, and then Chris and Nick left for their home. Thanks!

Today, I moseyed up the Medway to Medway Bridge Marina, past the busy and historic dockyards at Chatham. Lots of moored ships, boats, and historic stuff, but just about no one sailing. This reduced the stress levels significantly.

I’m moored just before the motorway Medway Bridge, and will be here  for a few days as I get the electronic navigation gear installed and working. Reading charts from an iPad is do-able, but just, especially in the bright sunlight. I really need a proper system to tackle the channel and busy European waters.

A long post after a desert of info, but thanks for following. I’ll post photos as I get them. I’m excited about the new adventures!