Plans for the summer

The summer? Well, yes, assuming we get some summer this year, we have plans to head south again on the Hennie H and finish up in one of our favourite places, Erquelinnes, on the French/Belgian border. The thought is perhaps to leave her there for a longer stay which would give us a weekend getaway in one of our favourite areas during the autumn and winter.

Anyway, of course the route we take depends on a number of factors: the amount of water in the canals (shouldn't be a problem this year, but you never know), the speed at which we want to arrive, the number of times we get side-tracked and, somewhat obviously, the weather.

The aim is to leave early in July, although we can't make a precise date as yet. There's a lot of preparation to be done in terms of making sure we have all our paperwork in order, as well as permits, certificates and supplies.

The paperwork includes the vignette for both Flanders and France. We won't need one for Wallonia, which is another reason for loving the French Belgian area. In addition, we need to have our fire extinguishers checked, as well as our life jackets. Another necessity is to update our certificate of ownership and make sure our VHF is in order, so lots to do in the admin department.

Technically, we have to change the oil and all the filters on the HH. Koos has been having trouble draining the old oil. Even after running the engine for some time, it doesn't pump out as it should, so we're trying to figure out why that should be so. Fingers crossed it works next time we try.

As far as safety is concerned, I've got a life jacket for Zoe and we have spare floating devices on board. We also have a good lifebelt available and an anchor, so we can tick those of our list.

The Belgian Waterways

But back to the route. The one I'd like best would be to go west to Brugge (Bruges) and then south towards Dunkirk but heading to the small town of Bergues first. Bergues was where that wonderful films Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis was made and I've wanted to go there for many years (see/read recent book of our 2017 trip).  After that, we could head east until we reach the Canal de Saint Quentin and go south until it meets the Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise at La Fere. At this point we could turn north and complete the southern section of the canal as far as Vadencourt, which we didn't do in 2022. A few days travel north after that would find us in Erquellines. If we take it slowly, we could have some lovely leisurely faring.

Possible routes from Bergues: all black includes the Canal
de St Quentin. Red is the Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise

Other options would be to take a last trip south down the Canal du Nord (see southward black line in the map), which we would get to before the  Canal de Saint Quentin (northward black line). Alternatively, we could go downstream on the Schelde (Scheldt) river from Gent and take either the Dender or the canal to Brussels and then to Charleroi before reaching the Sambre at its confluence with the Brussels-Charleroi canal (not marked on either map). 

If we were to do this route, we wouldn't make it to the Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise, which would be a pity. For one reason, I would very much like to go to Ors, which is where Wilfred Owen (the war poet) is buried and that's near the canal south of Landrecies. Another reason is that we've never done this section before, which makes it all the more appealing. I'm sorry the maps aren't very clear, but they hopefully give you an idea of the possibilities.

In the meantime, we are taking our opportunities for boat maintenance as they arise. I'm aware that Vereeniging will be left unvisited and unloved all the while we're away, so she needs some TLC too. Fingers crossed the skies will clear enough for some time to work on her before then. I really hate leaving her (that's an understatement) but we can only manage one boat away and our Shoe is so much more practical for faring.

Now I’ve put it all into words, it's helped to give me some focus on what needs to be done, so with that said, I'll sign off now with a few boaty photos. Until next time, allemaal!

The beauty among the beasts (as in size)

My favourite view of Vereeniging

The Hennie H in Gent

The Henie H on the Sambre