8. Nieuwpoort to Calais via Bruge, Ghent & Dover 27th June to 25th July 2025

27th June Nieuwpoort VVW Westhoek Marina to Bruge Coupure (39.6km, 3 locks and 15 lifting bridges in 6hrs 5mins) River Yser - Plassendale-Nieuwport Canal - Gent-Oostende canal.

We had been a bit worried about the journey, with so many moveable bridges and being potentially quite a busy route, but it all went well. I think our timing was good and we didn't meet too much commercial traffic.

27th June - 4th July Bruge is a lovely city to be moored at. The mooring place was near

enough to the centre to explore and far enough out to be away from all the people/tourists. We had heard a lot of good reports about Bruge and it was great to finally be here. The Harbour master and his wife were so lovely, helpful & friendly. We have been on the waiting list for a Winter mooring at Bruge for a couple of years or more, and so whilst here I took the opportunity to ask again if there would be any chance for this winter. The chap in charge of the Winter mooring was actually moored at Bruge for a few days too, so I had a chat with him, but he didn't think it would be possible this winter unless one of the 'For Sale' barges got sold. Never mind, at least we knew where we stood, so the search for another winter spot continued.

Bruge has to be one of the most stunning places. Every street we turned onto was picturesque, we couldn't stop taking photos! There are quite a lot of tourists, but not too disturbing. We went to the Wednesday market which had some great fruit and veg. When it wasn't too hot we walked all around the various streets, and enjoyed the architecture and the history. It's a Belgium version of Venice. We also felt very safe here.

We noticed that Belgium does seem to be more expensive than France for grocery and alcohol. We spent a week in Bruge and whilst here we had a heat-wave, so on some days it was too hot to venture out, but luckily our boat was on the shadier side for the late afternoon.

4th July - 6th July Bruge Coupure to Gent-Lindenleie (47km, 2 open locks and 5 swing bridges in 5hrs 50mins) Gent-Oostende canal - Gent Ring Canal ( Ringvaart).

Because there is a lifting foot bridge to the entrance/exit of Bruge marina, the Harbour master (Dany) gives you set time slots when you can leave being 9am, 11am or 1pm. We took the 9am slot. Dany, also checks the river traffic to make sure we don't suddenly go out in front of a large commercial and he also advises the operators of the lifting bridges how many boats are coming onto the water way and in which direction they are heading. All very well organised and reassuring!😊

We were the only boat from the marina heading towards Gent. We did meet three other Commercial barges, but the canal is wide enough for it not to be an issue. We had two open locks, one was definitely for flood control, as was the second one probably, because it was at the entrance of the Gent Ring canal.

The Gent Ring canal was quite narrow and bendy, and in some areas it was full of hire boats and canoes, all of whom seemed to think that it was our 35 tonne boat that should move around them!! I wee bit stressful for Ayhan to navigate. I was at the front asking them very politely if they could keep out of the way as we were too heavy to stop and move out of their way.

We explored Gent for a couple of days and met a couple that had been in the Bruge marina the same time as us, they were from Southampton and had come across for 3 months. We also met another Piper boat - 'Plan B.'

We decided to leave Gent and return to Bruge so that we could head towards Calais for the channel crossing. We had done what we had wanted to do, which was to visit Veurne, Diksmuide, Bruge and Gent, so see which one would be suitable for winter mooring, and Bruge was definitely our favourite, although Diksmuide was also worth a thought.

6th July - 10th July Gent - Lindenleie to Bruge Coupure (47km, 2 open locks and 5 swing bridges in 5½hrs) Gent Ring Canal ( Ringvaart) - Gent-Oostende canal.

We left early at 07.50am to avoid getting caught up with the daily hire boats. It was a very good call, we had a much nicer journey through the Gent Ring and out onto the Gent-Oostende canal. It was also raining so not many people would be wanting to hire today anyway. We met up with a couple of Commercials and also a horse had fallen in the canal and there were a lot of people about trying to rescue it. We don't know how the horse fell in, in the first place, but it was all a bit sad to watch, the poor horse couldn't get up the steep sides and was clearly frightened. We slowed down to a snails pace so as to not frighten the horse further. After a short while, we met a commercial coming the other way and I radioed him to advise him to slow down and keep a look out.

When we got to Bruge, it felt like coming home. There is such a friendliness to the place, probably because the harbour master and his wife are so kind and helpful. The weather had changed and we had some rain for a couple of days. The rain is needed, so no complaints. We were here for the market again and just enjoy strolling anywhere and everywhere.

The morning we were leaving to head for Nieuwport, Dany told me that there might be a mooring spot for us this winter! He said that the boss had counted one boat as two, because the boat had changed it's name and they had given the same boat two places by mistake! He told me that he had to do some calculations with the lengths of all the boats and see if he can get us in. We were over the moon, but had to wait for a few days until he got all the boat measurements and could confirm it. But it looked promising. 🥳

10th July - 13th July. Bruge - Nieuwport-WW Westhoek Marina (39.6km, 2 locks & 15 moveable bridges in 5hrs 40mins) Gent-Oostende canal - Plassendale-Nieuwport Canal - River Yser.

We had a good journey, it was a slow start, due to having to wait at the first lock for a very large commercial to get into the lock. We were three cruising boats all moored at the side of this round lock - quite bizarre - and the commercial came in so very slowly and only just managed to get in, touching each end of the lock gates as they closed. It was very interesting to watch and be a part of. Once out of the locks we followed the two other cruise boats and the commercial pulled over to let us pass him, which was very kind of him. We were happy to be following the other cruisers, so that they could call ahead and get all the bridges open for us!

We decided to stay at a different marina this time. Still wanting to try out all the marinas for a 'just in case' Bruge can't accommodate us. They put us as far away as possible from the entrance to the pontoon and it was a bit of a squeeze, but ok. We were tired, so we were happy to sit, relax and watch all the fishermen on the opposite bank, They really love their fishing here in Europe.

The next day we walked to the very large marina by the sea. It was a nice marina and everyone was extremely friendly and told us to tell all the English boaters that they want to see them coming to Belgium, they love having the British visit Belgium with their boats. We were out for most of the day exploring and on our return we popped in to say hi to 'Plan B' - they were also moored at Nieuwpoort.

The next day we decided to head back to the VVW Westheok marina that we had moored at previously, going through the guillotine lock to get there.

13th - 15th July Nieuwpoort marina to Dunkirk (Pk 21 Jeu de Mail Lock) (36.2km, 5 locks & 6 moveable bridges in 8hr 20mins) River Yser - Nieuwpoort-Dunkirk canal - Furness Canal - Canal de Bourboug.

We couldn't leave until 12.30pm, due to having to wait for the allocated time slot to go through the tidal locks. Once we got going, we had hoped for a quick get-away, but had to wait quite a long time just before the first of the tidal locks and then the lock didn't function which the lock keeper then had to fix, it was a very slow start, but interesting to go through these locks that are quite old and historical.

This time we enjoyed going back along the Furness Canal more than the first time. We knew what to expect and it just seemed nicer. We still had problems with the Furness lock at Dunkirk, and had to call someone again to come and operate it, but they came quite quickly. We then got to the Jeu de Mail Lock, it was open but it also didn't operate. It was a Sunday and we were too late. We were worried about being stuck this side of the lock and the next day was a bank holiday. I called the VNF and to my surprise, a lovely lady came out and operated the lock for us, to enable us to go through. Unfortunately the small pontoon that we had so wanted to moor alongside, was taken by a commercial barge who was going to be there some time as he was painting the outside of his boat. The VNF lady was so helpful, she even came along to help us get moored up by a not so user friendly bankside.

It had been an extremely long day and we were exhausted. Had we not had three long delays with the 3 locks, it would have been a much kinder journey. Never mind, thats all part of the experience. We spent the next day doing a big food shop and I packed all the breakables and Ayhan tied up the bikes, outside furniture and anything else that would need securing in preparation for our sea crossing in the coming days.

15th - 17th July. Dunkirk (Pk 21 Jeu de Mail Lock - Calais (Pont Mollien) (59kms, 2 locks & 5 lifting bridges in 7½hrs) Canal de Bourboug - Canal de Lynck a Coppenanfort - Canal de Lynck a Coppenanfort - Aa - Calais Canal.

We left early at 07.30am, as we knew it was going to be a long day with some strong wind gusts forecast. We had to get to Calais by today as we had arranged to meet Phil Webb - an ex-Piper owner - who does channel crossings with those, like us, that need the extra person for insurance purposes. We were the only boat on the waterways and we even managed to fill our water tank at Watten lock, with the help of the friendly lock keeper. All was going very well, until we got to the second to last lifting bridge, which wasn't opening. They were doing some work on it and were taking their time. The wind gusts had strengthened and we got blown over to the side and couldn't get back off due to the wind strength. Ayhan eventually managed to, but just as we were going through we got blown into the side of the entrance to the bridge, luckily our fenders saved the day, so no damage done. We were very glad to get to our mooring spot, even though it wasn't the nicest.

Dany from Bruge contacted us to say that we could moor at Bruge for the winter, so very happy were we and a big relief! 😃🥳

The next day we met Phil at the ferry terminal and we all did our checkout. We then went back to the boat and waited until the allocated time to get us through the tidal lock and lifting bridge for Calais harbour and moored on one of the floating buoys, ready for an early start the next morning. There was a bit of swell about, so not the best nights sleep.

17th July Calais harbour to Dover Marina (42.8km in 4½hrs) English Channel.

We had hoped to get away very early and promptly, but had to wait for Calais Port Authorities to give us permission to leave due to ferries coming and going. We finally left 06.05am. We had a good crossing. It was a bit busy at times and the only swell we had was made by the passing ships.

We arrived at Dover in good time and had a nice hammerhead mooring spot. We got there at 09.50am UK time, so in time for breakfast! The marina staff were all very friendly too. After breakfast I went for a walk, and left the guys to rest and snooze. I went in search of the supplies that we can't get in France or Belgium, mainly being Extra Strong bread flour, for baking our sourdough bread. I even found an International shop that sold our favourite brand of Turkish coffee and other goodies. I rushed back to the boat, having bought as much as I was able to carry and then got Ayhan to come back out with and we took our shopping trolly and backpacks and stocked up! The afternoon was really quite foggy, so it was great that we had left early from Calais. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and then early to bed for an early rise to return to Calais, weather permitting!

18th July Dover Marina to Calais Marina (40.7kms in 4hrs)

When we woke up, there was a thick blanket of fog, so we obviously couldn't do our crossing. We kept listening to the VHF weather forecasts and checking various Apps and luckily at around 12 noon the fog just suddenly lifted! It was quite amazing that it could disappear so quickly. We left the marina straight away and the conditions were perfect! It was the most glorious cruise, and we would have done the crossing in 3½hrs had we not had to wait for a ship to pass in front of us during the crossing and then a ferry to leave at Calais, but never mind, it had been a brilliant journey! We then had to wait a short time out in the Calais harbour for the marina lock and bridge to open. We had phoned ahead and reserved a mooring for a week, away from the visitors pontoon and they gave a nice, quiet spot at the far end and our friends Albert and Katja were also moored near us. It is so nice to keep meeting up with the new friends we make on our journey.

 Once all moored up, we had to go to the passport police by bus to get stamped back in and then we went out for a lovely celebratory meal in the same fish restaurant we went to last year, it was quite late by this time, around 9pm. It had been a long day, but a good one. Happy tired!

19th - 25th July Phil left around 9am to get the ferry back to the UK. Ayhan & I - whilst tired - we were keen to get on with washing all the salt off the boat, unpack all the breakables and do some laundry. We spent the rest of our time in Calais stocking up with supplies and deep cleaning the boat whilst we had access to plenty of water and electric and a wide pontoon to hang things and dry things on. We also filled up with fuel.

The last day we had to move to the visitors pontoon as the owners of the mooring spot we were in, were returning. We ended up just in front of Kris and John from 'Inevitable' who were also there. They had been moored at the same time as us at the T & K marina in Reading as well as at Isle Adam near Paris, so we had got to know them. They were preparing for the channel crossing and were going back to the T & K marina. They were very kind and treated us to drinks and a charcuterie board. Both 'Inevitable' and 'Ayanna' had issues with the VHF and AIS systems. Ours had been a bit intermittent on our return sea crossing, so, luckily we found a French guy to come out and repair them, and they are now working so much better than before. The last night in the marina was not good, it was windy and the swell was coming in plus the fairground opposite was noisy, but in general we had a good stay at the Calais marina.

25th July Calais Marina to Calais canal - Pont Mollien. (2.2km, 1 moveable bridge and 1 lock in 40mins)

Left at 12.50pm. We were governed by the tide times, and so had no choice but to leave when we were told to, which was a shame as it meant we would have to moor in the not so nice area just at the beginning of the Calais canal. It at least gave us time to think about our route back towards Bruge. We will be needing to return to the UK for a couple of weeks as our tenant is leaving and we want to sell the house, so we now need to find somewhere to leave Ayanna for a month. I got in touch with Diksmuide marina, and they could accommodate us, so all good!