I feel that one last post on traveling the inland waterways is warranted as my previous comments appear to paint a bleaker picture than reality. As with any lengthy journey there are ups and downs and one of the ups was the time I had to make friends. It was with great pleasure that I’d [...]
I’d just left Namur and it was raining. Eva, my mother and Chester were accompanying me for the short trip to Dinant which was the last leg of my trip through the Belgian canals. For no good reason (but certainly a bad hair day!) my mood was even darker than the prevailing weather. I wanted [...]
Technique, Tips and Tricks You can never have enough fenders (and I’m not taking about guitars Gianluca!) I used five a side and one bent around the bowsprit. I would have liked to have more. I carried four good warps at least 15m long (one for each quarter), plus two boat hooks. I always secured [...]
I had read that the canals would take me through some of the prettiest countryside in Belgium and France and this was largely true as many of my photographs will attest. But I also saw some of the ugliest industrial zones, junkyards and nuclear power stations in central Europe. It turns out (not surprisingly) that [...]
Warning! I have found that locks can be stressful, especially when shared with cantankerous captains in commercial barges or leisure craft. Let me illustrate with one of my many misadventures… Between Liege and Namur there are three relatively large locks. I was traveling this part of the Meuse with my mother as crew and Chester [...]
Having had very little experience with traveling though canals and locks, it was with considerable trepidation that I first entered the Belgian canal system at Nieuwpoort. Reading several guidebooks did little to instill a sense of confidence. In fact it had just the opposite effect. I am now convinced that good “lockmanship” is not something [...]
