After a week of family gatherings and bill-paying we returned to the boat via plane, train and automobile to continue our inland Belgium cruise. The boat did not seem to have suffered from its week's leave but it had got very dirty from being next to a surprisingly busy road. We started the day with some long overdue cleaning and surprised ourselves at the improvement we could make with some TLC, some elbow grease and some 3M boat polish. It was 1pm before we finally got underway for what is always a slow transit of the Brugge ringvaart.

We thought we were going to be lucky as we caught up a convoy of boats at the first bridge, the Katelijnepoortbrug, but when several of them turned into the Coupure moorings we were left with only two companions and not a barge in sight.

There was a half hour delay at the Dammepoortsluis whilst a barge locked through towards us with the large, triangular compound taking forever to fill. Two fixed bridges completed the obstacles around Brugge and we then had a more relaxing stretch as far as the Nieuwewegbrug. The bridgekeeper here declined to answer either of his published VHF channels but we routed him out with the mobile phone and were rewarded with only a ten minute wait.

We had planned to go all the way to Veurne today, a trip of some 28 miles, but what with the late start and the slow progress it soon became clear that this was a wildy ambitious target. We toyed with the idea of stopping at Jabbeke where free pontoons serve the small town and a passable looking restaurant, but decided to press on through the open Plassendale lock as far as Oudenburg. Here another free pontoon complete with water and electricity, one of the benefits of our €50 license fee, was totally unoccupied.

Originally a 3rd century coastal town built up by the Romans as a fortress, Oudenburg ("Old town") now has a distinctly modern feel with the converted Abdijhoeve ("Abbey farm") serving as restaurant and function room and a very serviceable supermarket in the Marktplein.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 12 nm

Total to date: 1544 nm

Avg Speed: 4.7 knots

Duration: 6 hours

Diesel: 12 litres

Mooring: Free

Electricity: Free (10A)

Water: Free

Locks

Dammepoort

Plassendale (open)

Bridges

Brug Ring (9m)
Katelijnepoort (swing)
Gentpoort (lift)
Kruispoort I & II (lift)
Dammepoort I & II (lift)
Warende (swing)
Krakele (swing)
Scheepsdale (swing)
Spoorweg (5.5m)
Waggelwater N339 (7.5m)
Van Mylle N31 (7.5m)
Nieuweweg (swing)
Jabbeke foot (7.5m)
Kleine Plassendale (lift)
Spoorweg (5.5m)
A10 (5.5m)

Charts

Toeristische Vaargids West & Oost Vlaanderen

Navicarte 23

Geocart 1 & 4