Ieper BE 19-26 March 2022 For our first week on the boat we have had brilliant sunny weather with maximums of around 19 degrees C. Of course the mornings have been rather cold for us getting as cold as 0 degrees C. But we were able to top up the water in the hydronic radiators on Sunday morning so we have good heating again. There are lots of jobs to be done on the boat before we are ready to cruise. Here is a bit of a summary of what we've been doing. The Yser-Ieper Canal Our first weekend was spent unpacking and sorting out. We were pleased to welcome Davy and Claudio back on board on Monday. Davy said they had worked until 3am on Friday night to get the boat ready for us, including having his wife and daughter on board cleaning. We really appreciated the effort and the flowers. There were a few small jobs that will need to be done by Davy and/or Claudio, including getting us a new battery for the generator and a new plug for the hydraulic steering which is leaking. Howard will also need to charge the bow thruster batteries and the engine batteries - hopefully they won't need to be replaced. They were also able to get the back water tank pump working again, the brushes we not making contact so another lesson for Howard and it was fixed. So now we were able to do some loads of washing. On Tuesday we did a road trip to Oostende (about 50 minutes away) to drop off our three fire extinguishers and two life jackets for re-certification. On the way home we stopped in Diksmuide for lunch. We had wintered here in 2017 and it was nice to revisit the main square. My foot has been slowly getting worse so we ended up going to a pharmacy to try and find out where to get a moon boot to give my foot a rest. They said that the only place to get it was at the hospital which luckily is nearby. After our trip to Oostende I cycled over to the hospital (I have been told cycling is fine - it is walking that I have the problem with). I was able to find an orthopeadic provider who sold me a moon boot /walking boot, and gave me a few travel tips as well. Usually these boots are only provided with a doctors prescription and are then charged to the state, so I had to pay in cash, so a trip to the ATM was required. But at least I can now walk about without much pain and without the walking stick. We'll see if the rest for my foot will help with my recovery over time. On Wednesday Howard organised to use unlimited tap water for just 10 euros to clean off the boat using our water blaster. He was able to assess the state of the paint etc. Given the amount of time we have been away, the boat is in pretty good condition, but will probably need to be painted bow to stern over the season. He also organised to have fuel delivered on Thursday. I finally got my hair cut - long overdue. And also did a bit of shopping for the boat at the local Delva - a hardware and homewares store. In the evening we did a big shop to re-provision the boat. We had had to throw out a lot of supplies as they had expired while we were way, and I was keen to have at least a week of supplies in case we have to isolate with COVID. So this was a BIG shop. Now that we have a good filter on our domestic water supply we no longer need to buy and carry bottled water, which gives us more space on the boat and makes trips to supermarkets much easier. We'll eventually get a soda stream too. On Thursday Howard started sorting out the forepeak. This hadn't been done fully since we bought the boat, and there is a lot of stuff from the previous owner that can be thrown away. He was very pleased to report that the forepeak with completely dry and there was no sign of any mould at all. With the extra room now that rubish has been removed, he is now confident to put his tools, spare parts etc in there - freeing up space in our lounge room cupboards. When Davy returns he will take away the rubbish for us. I went for a bike ride along the canal on Thursday, which was very pleasant, and a nice break from jobs. The official start of Spring was 20 March and we are starting to see a few leaves, and flowers. Also the fuel was delivered on Thursday afternoon. The pump was incredibly fast and we took onboard 1200 litres in about 5 minutes. Unbelievable. Of course fuel prices have soared so it wasn't a cheap excercise. Frank the owner of the fuel company dropped by to get paid and over a cup of coffee he told us that his family had lived in Ieper since the 11th century and he had lived there all his life. He is very interested in the town's history and has a collection of stones/rocks used in catpults. He also told us about an archaeological dig in the city centre near the Cathdral which has uncovered some very interestding things including the old city wharf from the time when the canal still went through the city, and thousands of human remains, from the cathedral's graveyard. He told us that Ieper at one time was as big as London and Bruge, which we hadn't known and that during the plague 3/4 of the city's population died. On Friday we return to Oostende to pick up our fire extinguishers and life jackets. Unfortunately we had to get new fire extinguishers as one was too old, and the others couldn't be re-foamed before we return the car. After that we headed to Nieuwpoort where we had lunch and the went to the ship's chandlery where we picked up some ropes and a couple of other bits and pieces. Then on the way home we stopped at the garden centre to pick up new herbs and potting mix to set up our small garden for the season. Finally on Saturday Howard drove to Rotterdam to return the car, stopping off to visit our good friends Ruud and Petra in their new house. Then he caught the train home. A busy first week ! Here are few photos from the town.
9 Comments
Caesar paul
27/3/2022 06:25:11 pm
Welcome back to the boat! The restoration work to the kitchen looks great.
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Hilary
27/3/2022 06:38:25 pm
I’m exhausted just reading this! Sounds like you will be in excellent shape once you set sal and hopefully can then relax!
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Richard Switzky
27/3/2022 11:05:13 pm
Thanks for the pictures and commentary. I really admire your commitment to your boating lifestyle. The amount of work sounds somewhat daunting but you just keep working away. I wish your foot troubles would resolve! Happy travels and please keep us updated.
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Diana Grant
27/3/2022 11:23:16 pm
Hello chums, love the blog. Hope that foot is soon improving.
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Suzanne Jessup
28/3/2022 12:19:22 am
Hi Deb and Howard, great that you are back on board! Looking forward to reading about your 2022 adventures.
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PAM KERSHAW
28/3/2022 08:26:00 am
Hi Deb and Howard. I'm envious! Well done on getting everything provisioned - boy, what a job! Look forward to reading about your cruising. And hope the foot improves deb. Pam.
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Hazel
28/3/2022 08:38:08 am
Busy busy!!! Glad to see you are getting everything shipshape🙂....don't work too hard.
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Pamela DALGLIESH
28/3/2022 10:27:39 am
Hi Deb and Howard. I missed how you hurt your foot- looking forward to reading more of your journey
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Dawn and Marcel
28/3/2022 09:16:45 pm
Sounds like hard work to me, I'm not envious, 22 years of our own boat, I want miss it no its burnt out. We both have motorbikes now, so its time for something else. Maybe we can pop in on our travels in Juli, as we are going down to France with 5 other bikers for a 2 week holiday...
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