30 May 2017

Roggebot to Hardewijk to Leidam Island

The meer was particularly boring this morning. We had 30kms down to Harderwijk where we had decided to stay the night. We have been there many times on the bikes from our homeport, Strandhorst, but had never been there on the boat or explored the historic old center.

The Randomeer - just as boring as it looks.

 Coming from the north, the Harderwijk visitors' harbours are through the bridge and turn left. The harbour on the north side is only for commercials.

Instead of going through the bridge, one can elect to go over the aquaduct instead. 

Our previous visits had been really "exciting" ones - boat shops, hardware stores etc etc on the outskirts. Shortly after lunch we were tied up in one of the last spots available in the tiny binnehaven, which was a squeeze to get in.

Skip literally had only inches to spare between the boat in front and the bridge. It was quite a masterful maneuver to get in without incident. You can really see the "moustache" we pick up from the brown water. It drives Skip nuts, and he is forever up front scrubbing away, muttering to himself. Graeme informs us it is called "Chesapeake eyebrows" in the USA :)

From the bridge behind, passing traffic had a good look into our cockpit. I felt like I was in a goldfish-bowl. I was pleased when we moved. 

The town's waterfront in in the process of a huge redevelopment project and I expect it will be very nice when it is completed. This binnehaven is small and only has space for half-a-dozen boats. There is a binne-binne-haven the otherside of this little bridge, but that is reserved for the botter/skutje fleet (cuties!). There are also a couple of marinas on the outskirts.

Skip put his bike ashore and headed off (yet again) to the hardware store and the big camping shop to pick up some more BBQ mats. I elected to walk around the old town, looking in windows and wandering around inside every air-conditioned shop I could find. The old center is really attractive with more than it's fair share of monument buildings (what would be referred to as "Grade II listed" in the UK).

Back on the boat, hot, hot, hot, Skip declared we were leaving again and going to one of the islands where it would be cooler under the trees and without the town buildings blocking the breeze. So despite already having paid the 11 euro harbour fee we went 2km out into the middle of the meer and found a lovely deserted (mostly) mooring with trees and the promised breeze. AND we were back in clean water so we could take a swim and a BBQ ashore. Phew.

 Please ignore me in bathing-suit (aaaaaargh) and admire the tranquil island mooring. There are dozens of these islands in the Randomeer and almost all of them have moorings similar to these. At some of them, a chappie will come around and collect 6 euros from you for the organization that maintains them.