French / Belgium Waterways

[bendyone]

Just considering a plan for the summer.
Mast down and left at the marina in Calais (home berth) Into the canal system and following a route along these lines.

Calais, Dunkirk, Nieuwpoort, Brugge, Gent, then maybe back via Lille.

We have 2 weeks and a good crew. Draft 1.2m.

Any comments or advice ?

 

[sailorman]

only Why

Just considering a plan for the summer.
Mast down and left at the marina in Calais (home berth) Into the canal system and following a route along these lines.

Calais, Dunkirk, Nieuwpoort, Brugge, Gent, then maybe back via Lille.

We have 2 weeks and a good crew. Draft 1.2m.

Any comments or advice ?

 

[Koeketiene]

Just considering a plan for the summer.
Mast down and left at the marina in Calais (home berth) Into the canal system and following a route along these lines.

Calais, Dunkirk, Nieuwpoort, Brugge, Gent, then maybe back via Lille.

We have 2 weeks and a good crew. Draft 1.2m.

Any comments or advice ?

You will find most info you need here: http://www.waterrecreatie.be/htmlEN/start.html

 

[bendyone]

only Why

Because it would be a new experience for us.

 

[bendyone]

You will find most info you need here: http://www.waterrecreatie.be/htmlEN/start.html

Thanks for the link, I think I have got the technicalities of doing it under control, what I really need is a bit of inside information , what to see and where to spend time etc.

 

[pks1702]

We took a trip from Ostend to Niewpoort a couple of years back to 'see what it was like'. Very impressed with the efficiency of the bridge keepers etc.

Quite pretty too.

Locking through at Ostend

Bridges (Plenty)

Which way is West Hinder

Got there...

 

[Marmalade]

hadn't realised you could do that - were you mast up? How much depth is there?

That might be an interesting way of spending a day when it's blowing a hoolie out in the North Sea and you get itchy feet...

 

[Stork_III]

hadn't realised you could do that - were you mast up? How much depth is there?

That might be an interesting way of spending a day when it's blowing a hoolie out in the North Sea and you get itchy feet...

Mobo, but very nice anyway.

 

[pks1702]

hadn't realised you could do that - were you mast up? How much depth is there?

That might be an interesting way of spending a day when it's blowing a hoolie out in the North Sea and you get itchy feet...

Sorry should have outlined a Mobo.

It was the fact it had been blowing a hoolie out in the North Sea that gave us itchy feet and made us look at other options for a change of scenery. We thought it looked possible so talked to the kind folks at Mercator who said 'don't worry we will arrange it'.
Locked in to the canal and a guy on a scooter (not sure if he was the same one) was always there to open the non manned bridges on Kanaal Plassendale.

It was slightly embarrassing as we had to catch the lock into the basin at Niewport before levels dropped to much, at each bridge we would be asked to 'allez plus rapide' despite the speed limit. Fishermen waved at us without a care in the world as we made more wash than we ought but were just obeying instructions

Its quite a confluence of locks into Niewpoort -http://goo.gl/vZbzS

The canal guys were really determined we would catch our lock and could not have been more help.

All fairly straight forward and as we were classed as 'in transit' no charges.

'back' route into KYCN

Worth waiting for

They knew we were coming