For our next leg we planned to go off the beaten track and take a mast-down route through the centre of Amsterdam to the Amstel and then south through some very rural countryside along the Kromme Mijdrecht and the Grecht to Woerden. From here we would follow the Oude Rijn as far as Alphen a/d Rijn where we would rejoin the busy route south on the Gouwe to Gouda.

The trip started with getting the mast down to pass under the bridges at the entrance to Amsterdam's Oosterdok. These are busy railway and road bridges and open only at night. However, this is not another night convoy route for yachts as the remaining bridges open only in the daytime! The specified height of the bridges was 5.1m and with our 5.15 air draught to the top of our mast light we weren't going to risk a collision in the choppy waters of central Amsterdam.

Unfortunately, our precision planning soon came unstuck as immediately inside the dock a new pedestrian bridge with a clearance of only 2.8m blocked our progress until we could attract the attention of the bridge-operators who mysteriously did not hear us calling on channel 22. We were also surprised to learn that harbour dues were payable, having studied the ANWB Almanak meticulously and not found this out. Having put the office straight on a few matters regarding their bridging policy and distribution of information we could proceed on our way along the 'Amstelroute' through the central canals of Amsterdam and onto the Amstel river. After the tricky start, the rest of the bridges opened efficiently with operators on most of the bridges, or cycling between them and it was fascinating to cruise through the centre of the city with barges as well as trip boats for company.

From the Amstel we took the Kromme Mijdrecht and the Grecht south to Woerden where we made an overnight stop at WV De Greft. These waterways are much quieter, winding through small villages where we gained the impression that English boats were not often seen. At Woerdense Verlaat we passed probably our smallest lock to date, and paid our sluisgeld in the traditional manner in the lock-keeper's 40 year old clog. We had been expecting an interesting stop at Woerden as the small city has a long and distinguished history but it has done little to attract tourists or cater for waterborne visitors. Only the yacht club offered a warm welcome with flags of the European Union on display. We continued our voyage the next day, making a more straightforward passage along the Oude Rijn and the Gouwe to arrive in Gouda by late afternoon. We planned to make this our base for the next few days, recovering the car from Amsterdam for some more land-based research.

Cruising Statistics

Distance (inland): 39 nm

Total to date: 405 nm

Avg Speed: 4.8kn

Duration: 8 hrs

Diesel: 70 litres (max est.)

Mooring: €10/night at Woerden; €28/week at Gouda

Electricity: €0,50 meter at Woerden; Included at Gouda

Water: Included

Charts

ANWB I Vechtplassen

Locks

Woerdense Verlaat

Bodegraven

Ir.de Kock van Leeuwen

Bridges

31 opening

6 fixed (min 5.1m)