As promised on Saturday to the lock-master on duty we left the (officially off limits) Rijkswaterstaat-port on Monday morning, the 17th of May oat 10:30AM. We did not have a clear-cut idea about where to go that day. However, at the moment we arrived at Jutphaas (north Nieuwegein) we decided to use that mooring-possibility. The engine was switched off at 10:48AM – so we cruised all in all an astonishing 18 minutes. Mind you, two bridges were included, both visible in the background of this picture. We can be brief about the weather: see the clouds.

It still is the Merwedekanaal where we are moored. Since some 70+ years there’s the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal, but sometimes it’s old glory revives, as proven by this huge passing commercial ship ‘Quintus’ (fifth?).

Only after adding water into the system we discovered that the highest radiator -the one inside the wheelhouse- was leaking. Even severely, one might add, clearly noticeable inside the engine room below. The pressure had gone back to too low, for obvious reasons. We removed the carpet in the wheelhouse and a plywood floor underneath it, so we were able to inspect the original floor. This is what it looked like. A bit of a shock really.

It was not all doom and gloom in Jutphaas (north Nieuwegein). After crossing the nearest bridge that is visible in the background on the first picture a short road leads towards Fort Jutphaas (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Jutphaas), a pretty walking area nowadays. Humans and animals alike love to be here.

Our beloved, though sometimes naughty, dog (Jay) felt thirsty and discovered the fort-moat. Here he is inside our little ship again, drying. He sleeps ‘the sleep of the innocent’.

After five nights (one more than planned, because of the high wind on Friday) we left Jutphaas (north Nieuwegein) on Saturday the 22nd of May at 10:10AM. We forgot to mention a little cruiser in front of us, for some reason (drugs? alcohol? – probably both) a meeting point for mainly youngsters, making noise until after midnight sometimes. We even saw not-that-young men anymore, in their thirties or even forties, smashing the windows of an abandoned building on the opposite side of the road. Anyway, they fortunately didn’t bother us. Since we were looking for water we stopped at Jachthaven Marnemoende (https://www.marnemoende.nl/), northwest of IJsselstein, on the canalised river Holandsche IJssel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollandse_IJssel). Our engine was silenced at 11:40AM. The weather en route and during arrival: dreadful. Therefore, a gloomy photo of our temporary residence is more than appropriate.

The floor inside our wheelhouse today. The swelling of the wood because of the water has gotten worse, despite a dehumidifier on the highest setting. Because we (think we) found a repairman we’ve WhatsApped him this picture and asked whether he is able to do this job on short notice. We’re eagerly awaiting his response.

Walking the dog in this area is a pleasure, providing the rain stays away. It did this morning, Whitsun-Sunday. On the way (up-and-down to/from IJsselstein town, about 5 kilometres/over 3 miles, we even noticed this very old(-fashioned) orchard consisting, nota bene, high (tree-)trunks (‘hoogstammen’). ‘Hoogstammen’ are not efficient and therefore orchards of this type have virtually disappeared.