August 10, 2007
Maurik - Maasbommel: 6 hours
Like last year, we have split our holiday-season tour into two forthnights. In June our course headed for the north, this time we have planned a direction of the prevailing Dutch wind: south-west. A daring attitude, specifically because this year seems to be dominated by strong wind force all the time! Lets label this tour, the Biesbosch Tour. Which sounds kind of silly, because our first day of this tour goes opposite direction - heading to Venlo. It is like going from London to Rome, via Helsinki. Reason for this detour is the ordering of a bimini to be fixed by Gommans in Swalmen, the company that provides all the hoods for Linssen.
Venlo is a convinient place for Gommans to visit us and fix the bimini - I don't fancy to drill holes in Cómplice myself - and we don't mind to make the travel. Despite - or maybe even because - we have done the trip upstream the Maas to the south several times now, we do not mind, it is a beautifull stretch to go. And we haven't seen it all, yet. From Maurik to the Maas, there are several ways to go. Last year we have done Maasbracht-Maurik via Nijmegen and the Waal to Tiel (both downstream and upstream), early this year we have experienced the connection between Maas & Waal via the Bergsche Maas at Heusden. This time we take the route via the connection between the two rivers at Sint Andries. Such is the place where the Waal and the Maas and the Waal come closest to each other.
The three locks we have to take for this route - at Tiel, at Sint Andries and at Lith - are very much in favour of Cómplice today. Without exception, we can enter them without even waiting. After six engine hours we moor on one of the many (>175) free nature places in the Gouden Ham area at Maasbommel. A good start of our August-adventures, which will bring quite some surprises - not at least the one of tomorrow (we are not aware of yet).
Maurik - Maasbommel: 6 hours
Like last year, we have split our holiday-season tour into two forthnights. In June our course headed for the north, this time we have planned a direction of the prevailing Dutch wind: south-west. A daring attitude, specifically because this year seems to be dominated by strong wind force all the time! Lets label this tour, the Biesbosch Tour. Which sounds kind of silly, because our first day of this tour goes opposite direction - heading to Venlo. It is like going from London to Rome, via Helsinki. Reason for this detour is the ordering of a bimini to be fixed by Gommans in Swalmen, the company that provides all the hoods for Linssen.
Venlo is a convinient place for Gommans to visit us and fix the bimini - I don't fancy to drill holes in Cómplice myself - and we don't mind to make the travel. Despite - or maybe even because - we have done the trip upstream the Maas to the south several times now, we do not mind, it is a beautifull stretch to go. And we haven't seen it all, yet. From Maurik to the Maas, there are several ways to go. Last year we have done Maasbracht-Maurik via Nijmegen and the Waal to Tiel (both downstream and upstream), early this year we have experienced the connection between Maas & Waal via the Bergsche Maas at Heusden. This time we take the route via the connection between the two rivers at Sint Andries. Such is the place where the Waal and the Maas and the Waal come closest to each other.
The three locks we have to take for this route - at Tiel, at Sint Andries and at Lith - are very much in favour of Cómplice today. Without exception, we can enter them without even waiting. After six engine hours we moor on one of the many (>175) free nature places in the Gouden Ham area at Maasbommel. A good start of our August-adventures, which will bring quite some surprises - not at least the one of tomorrow (we are not aware of yet).
Above: Our mooring in the Gouden Ham
Next: Air view of Gouden Ham area at Maasbommel with entrance from the Maas at low/left side (c) Google Earth
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