Zilvermeer

We left Lier in the morning with destination Zilvermeer. The route leads us through the Netekanaal, Albertkanaal and Kanaal Bocholt-Herentals. Seven locks are waiting for us on this tour.

The Netekanaal is a quiet waterway with nice trees at both sides. Life got busier when we arrived at the lock Viersel which connects the Netekanaal and the Albertkanaal. During our trip through Flanders we already got a good idea why long ropes are mandatory in Belgium. Viersel lock has a rise of 5 m, and when we went into the lock the lock master sent us a hook where we could fit our rope. She moored us at a bollard 5 m above us and Fiona hang in the lock like a fish at the fishing-rod.

Albertkanaal is a busy large waterway with lots of commercial boats and industry around us. Luckily we only have a short distance on Albertkanaal before we take the lock in Herentals to the Kanaal Bocholt-Herentals. This lock has a rise of 7.50 m, but with ladders for the ropes. Much better, but the dirty ladder made quite a mess on our rope...

In the course of the Kanaal Bocholt-Herentals we have to pass one lock after the other, sometimes we have to phone instead of using our VHF radio, sometimes we have to wait for some time.

Mooring in the lock

Locks, and locks, ...

In one lock construction works were ahead so that one side of the lock disappeared below the waterline. Unfortunately, also all the bollards disappeared with rising water level so that the rope got loose. In the end, Frank had to keep Fiona still by motor until the lock opened.

Not enough of adventure, we had to share our last lock for the day with a passenger boat. The lock master took our rope and moored us some distance behind the passenger boat, but under an open bridge he then went to close. We needed some good ideas and fast reaction to bring the boat away from the bridge so that our canopy was safe. The passengers had an interesting show, though. 

and locks...

Sharing the lock with a passenger ship

We found that seven locks, some of them quite delicate, were enough for this day, and turned into the lake Zilvermeer where we moored in Zilvermeerhaven Port Aventura. This is a great place to stay! A modern yacht harbour with all facilities and a nice restaurant, and a fantastic lake around us! The weather was wonderful, so that we decided to stay here for two nights.

Relaxing at Zilvermeer

The rest of our trip through Flanders lead us through another 8 locks. We went from the Kanaal Bocholt-Herentals into the Zuid-Willemsvaart and finally into the Kanaal Wessem-Nederweert.

Due to the warm and sunny weather during these days the water level in the waterways was low. The first lock on this last day took us more than one hour because a commercial boat got stuck between two locks. The water level was raised with the help of the locks, but this took some time. 

Waiting for lock 18

Panheel lock with a commercial ship

The lock 18 to the Zuid-Willemsvaart gave us even more delay due to low water level. So we ended up at the lock in Panheel, our last lock for these trip, shortly before sunset. This lock again took us more than the usual time because we had to wait for a commercial ship. So we left the lock almost in darkness, but luckily we were not far away from Fionas new home berth, and we had been there before several times so that we knew the way. Finally, we brought Fiona to her new home, after having a lot of fun and adventure with her on our trip through Flanders.

View from our berth at the Marina Boschmolenplas at our arrival. For the next day we had reserved a table in the restaurant.