Brugge to Plassendale/Oudenburg

Thursday 14 May 2015

After a quick, early visit to the nearby bakkerij

and saying goodbye to our very pleasant harbour master 

we left our lovely Brugge mooring at 09h00 as the Coupure pedestrian bridge lifted and were first in line at the first bridge on the Brugge/Ostend canal while a small convoy built up behind us until the mystery lady, system-operator deemed that there were enough of us to be let through the series of bridges and one holding lock. Behind us was the spanking 15m-ish Brit boat which had been moored behind us at the Coupure but whose occupants we had not spoken to.

Leaving Coupure with Brit boat in tow.

A pleasant enough cruise – once we were past the railway bridge at the outskirts of the city and thinking that the lifting bridges were finished until just before Ostend, we let the Brit boat through as they had indicated that they were in a hurry as they still had to cross the Channel; typically, the Dutch boat behind them which, coincidentally, looked like a slightly smaller version of the same boat, muscled their way past us before we were up to speed.

A short while later we came to a holding/passing lock and when we entered the big Brit boat had plonked themselves right in the middle of the quay, leaving insufficient space for us in front of them and very little behind – and the Dutch boat had done exactly the same on the other side! Anyway, we managed to squeeze into the curved corner of the lock, right up against the lock gate while the boat behind us rafted up against the Brit, and watched as a convoy of about a dozen boats passed through going in the opposite direction.

The holding lock.

Sure enough, with the wind blowing us up against the wall I really battled to make the corner into the passage but after a couple of attempts and a bit of scraping we made it – courtesy sometimes just doesn't pay.

All’s well which ends well as we found a free mooring with free electricity and water between the towns of Plassendale (not the more famous Passendale) and Oudeburg and finished the day with a chicken braai.