Notes from the Galley Slave: New Traditions onboard Pirramimma: Part 2.

In my last blog post, I mentioned the Coffee and Orange Rum Liqueur the Galley Slave made for the first time in late February, 2014. And I promised you the recipe. This photo of that first batch was taken in early April, 2014. It's still in the preserving jar and is just about ready for the liqueur to be poured off the fruit and bottled up. If you're wondering, those are whole oranges and they're studded with roasted coffee beans. The recipe is courtesy of Carl Legge who gives further attributions - I'm not sure who concocted the original recipe - but it's thanks to Carl the Galley Slave tried it. 

From memory, this batch took slightly less than 5 weeks before it was ready for bottling. It was then left in the bottle until December 2014 when it made its first guest appearance on Boxing Day. It was ready to drink long before then but it was one of those bottles that lurked at the back of the drinks cupboard and consequently was forgotten. Though it's too late to start a batch in time for this coming Christmas, sadly. 

Photo: Richard Hayes.

You might be able to see that the rum has taken on a very slight orange tint from the oranges. The flavour is distinct: a quite subtle but delectable blend of coffee laced with a touch of orange. The rum provides a lovely rich base note and colour to the liqueur. 

In Carl Legge's recipe, he mentions that it is the orange oil and juice which gives the flavour to the blend. True enough. Galley Slave decided that this year, she would put her own twist on the recipe and cut each of the oranges in half once she had studded them with the coffee beans. Time will tell!! 

With that in mind, here are some photos of Galley Slave's latest batches of this liqueur.  Below, the sugar is weighed out and the coffee beans counted. Ready, steady, go...

This time, Galley Slave made three batches - two litres of rum and a third litre using cognac. The cognac batch is in the middle - you can see quite clearly the different colour of the two different alcohols. Galley Slave used Lamb's Navy Rum and Otard cognac in her brews. 

Even if you think you've managed to get all the coffee beans into the oranges, come the time you shake the brew to dissolve the sugar, you'll find some of the coffee beans will dislodge themselves. No matter: it won't be a problem to the final result. 

Here's Carl Legge's recipe. It will make about 1.2 litres of liqueur. You will definitely need a clean container that is larger than 1 litre to steep the liqueur in. And of course, a bottle or bottles to store your finished creation. (Last time, Galley Slave used a 2.5 litre preserving jar - this year the jars are 3 litre in size.) 

Ingredients:
2 large or 3 smaller oranges. 
about 80 - 100 roasted coffee beans.
300g of white granulated sugar.
1 litre of vodka, brandy or rum.

Method:
Divide the beans up equally by the number of oranges you have. If necessary, give the oranges a wash or scrub to remove any waxes or sprays. Then press the coffee beans, one by one, evenly around the orange. You may need to make a start on a hole for them with a small knife or skewer. Some of the beans will fall out. Don't worry. I think the important thing is that the orange skin is punctured to allow oils and juice to dissolve in the spirit. 

Put the bean covered oranges into your preserving container. Pop in any stray coffee beans. Add the sugar and then pour over your chosen spirit and cover. Leave for 6 weeks or more. Stir or shake your concoction every now and then to make sure the star dissolves.  Then strain off the oranges and beans. You could do this through a double layer of scalded muslin for a clearer result. (Galley Slave did this)
Bottle the spirit. Enjoy.

Galley Slave has an important addendum to the recipe: once the sugar has dissolved, it's worth making sure the oranges are completely covered by the alcohol. Otherwise you run the risk of the batch fermenting.  A small, spotlessly clean saucer might be the trick to keep them submerged. Whatever you use, make sure it really is clean.

And a final photo from Galley Slave's recent efforts... 

With Pirramimma tucked up in the winter halls, now's the perfect time to get cracking on all the goodies we'll want to be ready to take with us next season. Time too, for some serious planning for next year's cruising. And of course, there are some maintenance projects to carry out in the warmth and comfort of home. Lots to do, and hopefully, lots to look forward to. 

Let me know if you make any of the recipes in this blog post or the one before. I'd love to hear about your successes. 

Vxx

Notes from the Galley Slave: New Traditions onboard Pirramimma.

Good food and top quality stores are not an issue in the Netherlands. Or at least we haven't found it to be so. We think the supermarkets and weekly food markets that are to be found in the towns and cities in the Netherlands are excellent. But still, the Galley Slave likes to make certain preserves and liqueurs she considers to be 'essentials' for onboard eating and drinking pleasure. We think it's rather lovely to be able to offer our guests some home made treats when they join us onboard Pirramimma for meals or apéros. And these liqueurs, served in a tiny liqueur glass or mixed with white wine or Champagne are charming and delicious.

Galley Slave has been making her own Sloe Gin since moving back to the UK from Australia some 23 some years ago. Back then she was surrounded by beautiful Hampshire countryside and the hedgerows seemed to be bursting with sloes in Autumn. The recipe she used was based on one from Jane Grigson's superb 'Fruit Book', though Mrs Grigson gives the drink the far smarter name of Sloe Liqueur. 

About 3 or 4 years ago and following some cyber chats with friends Vivia and Linda, Galley Slave switched the base spirit from gin to vodka. Vodka, with its bland flavour, seems to allow the gentle, spicy flavour of the sloes to permeate the blend far more effectively (and deliciously) than gin. Or so it seems to us anyway. Thanks for the tip, ladies!  Other folk say it's also delicious when using brandy as the base spirit but Galley Slave has yet to try that. Maybe one of you lovely folk out there has tried making it that way…?

2014's batch of Sloe Vodka - an outstanding colour.

Since then, Galley Slave has experimented with a few different flavoured vodkas. Most notably using bush plums from the hedgerows near her current home in Suffolk, England. This little batch was utterly treasured; even more so as since then the spring flowering hedgerows have been plundered by pigeons. No flowers: no fruit: no fruit liqueur.  

Bush Plum Vodka. Home made in Suffolk by Galley Slave.

And probably some Raspberry Vodka as well. That was another tiny, but very successful batch she experimented with a couple of years back. It made just about 400ml of liqueur and seemed to disappear rapidly when offered to friends to enjoy. Which, of course, is the idea!

Group photo - fruit vodkas doin' their thang. Plus apricots in Sauterne.    Photo: Veronica Hayes

Rhubarb vodka was, in our opinion, less successful. The colour was an extraordinary pink which sadly faded within a matter of weeks after the liqueur was filtered off the fruit. But there wasn't much flavour in the first place so a 'thumbs down' for that effort. 

It looked pretty enough. 

This winter, she'll be making more Sloe Vodka together with more of a fabulous Coffee and Orange Rum Liqueur to name but a couple. Also this year, the Coffee and Orange Rum Liqueur will have a comparison brew made using cognac as the base spirit. It'll be interesting to see how they compare and which we prefer. This time too, Galley Slave is upping the quantities so as to be able to give some little treats as gifts. There'll be more on the Coffee and Rum liqueur in another blog post as the method is quite different to these other fruit liqueurs.

An excellent recipe book - it's still in fruit. Photo: Veronica Hayes

Sloes are mouth puckeringly sour, so for sloe vodka I tend to use about 700 gms of fruit to about 1 - 1.2 litres of vodka. And about 600 gms or so of white granulated sugar. Traditionally, you should also peel one of the notoriously sharp needles from the sloe branch and use that to prick each of the sloe berries several times before popping the fruit into a pristinely clean, sterilised preserving jar. This lets juice, flavour and colour seep into the vodka. Add the sugar and vodka. Close the lid tightly and shake the preserving jar before putting it into a dark, cool cupboard. Then remember to shake the jar thoroughly a couple of times a week to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, leave the fruit and vodka to get to know each other a little better: 6 months or so. In truth, I have forgotten about bottles in the past and left them for longer than 12 months - a pleasant surprise in the finding! 

When you're ready, strain the liqueur off the fruit. Unless you don't mind some sediment and therefore a cloudy effect to your drink, pour it through some coffee filters or two layers of scalded muslin draped over a funnel when you take the liquid off the fruit. You'll get a lovely clear liquid. And remember to label your bottles. I always think I'll remember what's what. But usually forget come 6 months down the line.

Sloe Vodka 2014 after bottling. Look at that colour!! Photo: Veronica Hayes.

The fun is in the experimenting. Just think about how sweet or sour the fruit is that you're using and adjust the sugar levels accordingly. Also, think about whether you prefer a sweeter drink or not. It's also worth mentioning that they are high in alcohol and therefore strong. A little goes a long way. You have been warned!

Vxx

Season Wrap Up. Good Friends in Elburg, Leeuwarden and Rotterdam.

'Somehow' it's the end of October and there's just one more week onboard our beautiful boat before we have to leave her for 2015. But at the end of that time, we have a bit of a treat in store - a three night stay in Rotterdam. Meantime, we need to do some cleaning, packing and 'emptying' before we leave Pirramimma for the winter. And we need to do a bit of socialising too. But mostly it's just 'pottering' time for us to simply enjoy and relax. Time for a few more lovely memories to keep us warm during the coming winter months.

Creature Comforts! And some cosy memories.

Time for some wickedness indulgences, too. Oliebollen for one thing. Slimming, they're definitely not, but delicious - every once in a while! - they very definitely are. We ate just the one each: they're kind of large and rather rich. And the very first we've tried since we've been visiting the Netherlands. I went for the rum and raisin filling whilst the Skipper went for the fried banana filling. If you're going to be wicked, you might as well go the whole hog. As they rather conveniently say. And I can also safely say that we'll be definitely enjoying a couple more next year. 

Photo: Wikipedia

It's thought that Oliebollen were/are the precursor to the modern American doughnut. Maybe. Very likely. But we thought these were much nicer than doughnuts.

The weather still had some superb days and sunsets in store for us to enjoy. 

Autumn memories - Elburg.

Sunday, 31st October brought some fog rolling down the channel in the afternoon. Visibility reduced to about 100m at one stage, though we could still see blue sky above us. 

Fog rolling down the channel. Though it didn't last too long.

But it's noticeably cooler in the evenings and we eat our evening meals below decks for the rest of our stay. That's not a hardship either; the dining area is cosy, warm and very comfortable.

Soft colours in our dining area onboard Pirramimma.

And the Galley Slave continued to make some delicious meals for us to enjoy.

Lush Thai Chicken and Potato curry. 

On Wednesday 3rd November, we drove to Leeuwarden to meet up with one of our lovely friends. And were fortunate to also meet her equally lovely sister. We all enjoyed a very happy couple of hours over a very pleasant lunch at one of the many excellent eating establishments in that lovely city, Leeuwarden.

Happy times in Leeuwarden.

All too soon it was Friday 6th November and we found ourselves saying goodbye to our friends in Elburg. Promises to meet up next year and more shared laughter as memories to take away with us.

The weather kindly turned on a spectacular sunset for us that evening. 

2015 Season's Finale in Elburg.

On Saturday morning, there was an extra bonus surprise when we saw two of our lovely friends with their new RIB in the water. Exciting times ahead for them as they make her ready for the coming seasons. Congratulations both!

Photo: Richard Hayes

The car was packed up, waiting for us. Lines on Pirramimma were checked for the last time this season and we reluctantly closed her up in readiness for her to be 'winterised' and lifted out next week. 

The drive to Rotterdam was, happily, uneventful and with the wonders of sat-nav we found our way easily to our floating accommodation for the next three nights. 

Our night time view from our lovely B&B was fabulous. The tall luminous structure is part of the famous Erasmus bridge and the building is the Wereld Museum. 

It doesn't get much better than this!

And this was our view in the morning. Looking aft from the 'stuurhut'…

OK.. maybe it does! (Bit of swell in the haven makes for slightly blurred photos.)

The next day we took one of the Fast Ferries over to the SS Rotterdam. Part of the Holland America line in her heyday, she's now a floating museum and hotel. If you're just visiting for the day, there are cafés, bars and restaurants, and there's a very good audio 'guided' tour you can take too. I particularly liked the fact that you can take the tour at your own pace rather than being part of a group. The ship still has the most amazing Art Déco decor and it's nice to see her still being used and enjoyed by so many people. She's so impressive that I think she just might deserve a separate blog post devoted to her alone.

We were lucky and managed to get a table in the very busy restaurant. And… erm... indulged in more wickedness Kibbeling for lunch. Again, this was the first time we'd weakened and again, it won't be the last time. Delicious!  Essentially it's deep fried pieces of cod and chips/fries/frietjes with mayo. A glass of wine and a glass of beer seemed to be essential too. 

Kibbeling - lunch on SS Rotterdam.

We came to Rotterdam for a specific reason. And that reason was to finally be able to meet two lovely ladies I know via Facebook. The three of us are members of a women only group there and we've been chatting for some time now about how good it would be to meet up.  So we decided to do something about it and they, and their lovely partners, met us for drinks and a meal in the Oude Haven in the centre of Rotterdam. What a fabulous evening of laughter and camaraderie. It was an 'instant' click moment for all of us. What joy it was to finally meet up with you wonderful, wonderful people. From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You so much for making the effort to meet us in Rotterdam. We can't wait to meet up again. 

Giggles with The Gals!

Group giggles!  Cheers! Proost!

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to these warm, wonderful friends and walk back to our floating B&B.  The Oude Haven kindly gave us one more spectacular view for the evening…

The White House, Oude Haven, Rotterdam.  Photo: Richard Hayes. 

Tuesday found us back on the ferry for our crossing to Harwich - the last one for 2015. And Pirramimma was lifted safely out of the water by the excellent team at Jachtcenter - thanks to you guys also. 

Out of the water and muck being pressure washed from her hull. Photo: courtesy Diederick van Wijk.

It's been a year of discovery for us - new places, new friends, new memories to treasure. We're looking forward to 2016 and to many more happy times onboard Pirramimma.  

Vxxx

Pirramimma's end of season cruise to Flevoland.

We've been back in the UK for a little while and Pirramimma is now tucked up, warm and cosy in winter halls.  Here she is, heading towards the crane dock for lift out.

Photo: courtesy Inge-Brith Nielsen.

Photo: courtesy Inge-Brith Nielsen.

However, I'm getting ahead of myself and there's a story to tell you before we wrap Pirramimma up for the winter ahead...

Saturday morning, 24th October and here we are, leaving Harwich for the final visit to Pirramimma of 2015. The year has absolutely flown by. One of the best sights at this point on any of our journeys to the Netherlands and therefore to Pirramimma, is watching the bow and stern thrusters on the ferry as they work to push the ferry away from the dockside. Hooray… off we go!

Just a tad more powerful than Pirramimma's bow thruster!! 

In spite of another late departure due to the amount of freight being loaded onto the ferry, the Captain hit the hyperspace button and we arrived in Hoek van Holland at the correct time. The calm sea conditions certainly helped. Security and customs clearance were noticeably more stringent this time though, so it took longer to clear through. No complaints at all: these guys do a tough job with the utmost courtesy and charm.

As we drove away from the port, rain began to fall and continued to lash down for most of our journey, only stopping as we passed Harderwijk. I couldn't help but compare it to the first journey we made this year when we enjoyed the most amazing sunset which seemed to follow us for most of the way. And funnily enough, pretty much turned to darkness as we passed Harderwijk!  A quick detour to Nunspeet and and a super quick whizz through good old Jumbo for supplies - tomorrow is Sunday and the supermarkets will be shut. Even so, we arrived at Pirramimma by about 1945 hours. The usual chores: moving a small amount of kit from the car to the boat, packing it all away and munching some restorative nibbles before we collapsed in bed. It had been a long day as the ferry had been "scheduled" to leave an hour earlier than usual. 

Sunday dawned bright and clear. What a joy and utter treat to have this glorious weather so late in the year. I grabbed this shot through our aft cabin port hole… 

No filters or tricks - just straight from the iPad camera… glorious colours!

… then headed up to the aft deck where the Skipper was pouring each of us a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Coffee and breakfast on deck - an absolute gift for late October weather in the Northern Hemisphere. Today's agenda is pretty relaxed: pottering, cleaning and tidying. And relaxing. Later we mooch over to the office to grab some wi-fi and are delighted to meet up with one of our beautiful Dutch friends. Happy times. Photos various also have to be taken for friends of ours who have their boat in the water, next to Pirramimma.  It's lovely to be able to do this and we're very grateful when they have kindly done the same for us. 

Sunday remained warm enough for us to eat our evening meal on Pirramimma's aft deck - imagine: late October and warm enough to stay there until quite late, without wearing enough clothing to vie for Michelin Man status!! We supped on sautéed prawns, roasted vegetables and green salad. Oh, and a glass or two of a smooth and mellow Merlot.

Tomorrow we'll be prepping for our cruise through the inland waterways of Flevoland. Running up the engine, checking lines, provisioning, topping up water etc, etc. The usual stuff. Plus catching up with more friends before casting off the following day.

The plan is to cruise south to Harderhaven and to lock down into Flevoland via the De Blauwe Dromer sluis; a 5 metre drop. The weather forecast is superb and we're looking forward to seeing Flevoland from a completely different angle. In the past, our experience of this polder has really just been about the commute between Hoek van Holland and Lemmer where Pirramimma had been berthed for the summer.

We've discussed our route several times and according to all chart data, this one will be fine. There are two fairly low, fixed brug to contend with, but again, chart data gives both as 3.9m air draft. Let's hope so - but if not, we can easily retrace our route, then turn south/starboard to Almere before entering via the main sluis there.

We slip out of our berth at 1050 hours and motor slowly south to Harderhaven. The weather forecast is spot on - it's a beautifully sunny and warm day. When we arrive at the De Blauwe Dromer sluis, there's a large sign telling us the sluis is 4.8m wide, not the 5m given on charts. Pirramimma is 4.45m wide: add some fenders either side and it's going to be a tight fit.  All bar one of the sluis and lifting brug on Flevoland are remotely controlled. To access them, each has a sign with a telephone number and the numbers you then need to access/press to work your way through the menu. How civilised! So Crew gets on the phone and does just that. And we wait. And wait. And wait a little longer. 

Patiently waiting. We have time to remark on how crystal clear the water is here. In fact, we probably have enough time to read the full Oxford English Dictionary.

Eventually, Crew phones again and within minutes we realise that the sluis is filling, and we are given a green light. Skipper eases Pirramimma into the confined space without a bump or graze. Perfect! 

Lock gates shut. 

View from the lock showing the mural on the side of the pumping station. 

Going down! Skipper's view aft and across to Harderwijk.

Leaving De Blauwe Dromer sluis - you can probably see how tight the space was in there.

We're treated to a gentle, sedate lock-down into Flevoland.  The lock gates open and we glide out into another world: tranquil and very beautiful. We are entranced. 

It's on this section of waterway - the Hoge Dwarsvaart - that we have the two fixed brug with, according to chart datum, 3.9m clearance.  The first one looks good. It's an arched, wooden bridge that's used for foot and bicycle traffic. Slowly and gently does it and we clear it easily with about 30cm to spare: Pirramimma has an air draft of 3.6m to the top of the flagstaff and that is about 5 - 10cm higher than the canopy. That's the brug in the distance - we've gone under and are on our way to the second of the two…

The second of the fixed brug looms. It's a concrete structure for carrying vehicle traffic. Even from this distance, Crew is becoming concerned as to the true air clearance we'll have…

Crew gets the binoculars onto the subject and squeaks urgently to the Skipper who immediately slows us down to a crawling pace.  And crawl under it we do, but only just. Crew reckons the brug was close to 3.6m clearance and the Skipper had to rush to take down the flagstaff. Our original plan was to come back this way at the end of the cruise but now we decide to alter plan and leave via the Ketelsluis on Friday; a day earlier than planned too. 

We continue on and make our way to our evening mooring at De Groene Kathedraal (the Green Cathedral) on the outskirts of Almere. 

The weather is still extremely pleasant and we are able to sit out on the aft deck for a while. It's an interesting mooring location: on our port side we have the peace and quiet of this Green Cathedral but on starboard and across the canal, there is the noise, movement and lights from the fast flow of evening traffic as folk make their way home from work. Quite a juxtaposition. If you're thinking of mooring here, then be prepared for the evening/morning traffic noise but also be prepared to delight in the true beauty and peace of this 'Cathedral' on the other side of the canal.

Photo: Richard Hayes

Next morning, Skipper ventures out with the camera to take some photos of this really lovely 'structure', De Groene Kathedraal. Here's some info about it, taken from Wikipedia:  "…is an artistic planting of Lombardy poplars (Populus nigra italica) that mimics the size and shape of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims, France. The Green Cathedral is 150 m (490 ft) long and 75 m (246 ft) wide, and the mature poplar trees are approximately 30 m (98 ft ) tall." 

Photo: Richard Hayes

Do take the time to google for more info and photos - it really is very beautiful.

And also if you do decide to visit these lovely waterways, remember to check your boat's water intake filter. There were lots of leaves in the water and some of the mooring places also had significant water weed growth to contend with.

It pays to check regularly!

Engine on 1115 hours and we leave the mooring at 1130 hours. We're heading through the town of Almere and will be locking down another couple of metres. The weather is changed this morning and we have steady drizzle for the first section of our journey. Apart from several rowing skulls, pairs and even a three-some between 0800 and 0900 hours, we see no other boats moving at all on this leg of our journey. It's slightly surreal and even the outskirts of the town are quiet with just a handful of folk out and about. The town is modern and well-maintained.  

We continue in a north-westerly direction and just short of the Zuidersluis, take a sharp turn to starboard onto the Lage Vaart canal and on to the Vaartsluis. At the Vaartsluis, we drop down another metre or so, and continue on in pretty much a parallel route to that we've just come on but in a south-easterly direction. This section of the canal moves through the industrial part of town and is definitely not so well kept, but still interesting. Crew was amused to see a purple three-seater sofa floating in the water. And a little further along, what looked like the seat from a car also happily bobbing in the water. But it passed quickly and as we swung to port and north-east we again moved into residential areas that were neat and tidy. Well: there has to be industrial sections somewhere - and these towns are actively thriving so more power to them. We've driven past this area along the A6 motorway and it was of great interest to Crew to be able to get a closer look at the buildings. Curiosity, and all that!

We're heading up to Lelystad for our evening mooring and once we're past the last of the houses, the waterway widens out and we motor through heavily wooded and very beautiful countryside. By now, the drizzle has stopped but it's still cloudy and grey. Cold, too.

At Lelystad, we turn to starboard and move into the Larservaart for 1 mile before mooring up for the night. We're about 200m away from a brug but just a handful of vehicles cross it and the only life we see are cyclists, walkers, runners and lucky dogs enjoying walks with their owners. A very peaceful evening.

The view to port...

The view forward. Skipper inspecting the water for weeds etc...

The view aft. That brug looks much closer than it is...

Galley Slave marinaded some salmon in fresh, chopped chillies, chopped ginger in syrup and a splash of Thai fish sauce. It was very good; pan fried, served with roasted vegetables and a mixed salad. We can't seem to get enough of roasted vegetables at the moment!

The next morning and we woke to quite thick mist cover. We had just finished our breakfast when a smallish Bayliner motored past at some speed, slaloming its way through the water. It set up a really nasty pendulum effect that went on for a good 15 minutes, slamming us around in the process. Thanks a million, mate! 

We slipped the mooring around 1125 hours and also had to veer around all the leaves and weed. But at least we did so at a very gentle pace and leaving next to no wake at all. Turn to starboard back into the Lage Vaart and the sun breaks through the cloud. It's a glorious day again.

A short journey today to Dronten where we will hopefully be able to get a spot in the jachthaven. We continue to move along at a very gentle pace, enjoying the changing scenery. Woodland mixed with open farmland, including some large fruit farms. It's a very pretty and peaceful approach from the south of the town. Through the lifting bicycle bridge and a turn to starboard into the jachthaven, WSV Dronten. We are warmly welcomed by the charming havenmeester, Jan. Thank you, sir! €17 for mooring, including excellent wi-fi connection, Tourist Tax for 2 adults. Power an additional €2 but again, it's a good supply.  The haven is gated and secure, with the usual amenities including diesel.  There's a private club bar/restaurant but it was closed that night. Maybe closed for the winter? The haven is close to shops including an excellent Jumbo, Mitra etc etc. All in all, a useful stop-over spot and a very friendly one too.

That evening we're treated to a lovely sunset - tomorrow's forecast is good also. 

Galley Slave also treats us to a lush meal of pan fried chicken breasts in black pepper, brandy and cream sauce, ravioli and parmesan plus roasted cherry tomatoes on the side. Oh, and salad. There has to be a 'healthy' component to all of that cholesterol. 

Mmmmmm!

We woke to another beautifully calm day, though by 1030 hours a slight breeze was picking at the water surface. Today, we have 3 locks to contend with: 2 as we make the rise back up from this polder and the third on Drontermeer as we cruise back to Elburg. 

Arriving at the first sluis of the day, the Kampersluis, we were dismayed to see a heavy 'crust' of weed, reeds, branches and leaves covering the surface in the lock. The water was a dark, sludgy brown. Ugh. Skipper cautiously moved us into the lock whilst trying to avoid the worst of it. I snapped this pic as we left the sluis - and this is after all the water movement involved in the locking procedure cleared most of it away...

And this was the result in our engine raw water intake filter.  Look how dirty the filter mesh is compared to the other photo earlier in this post…

Keep checking those water intake filters!!

Our last lock in Flevoland was the Ketelsluis with a rise of 5m to the surface of the Ketelmeer.

We left the lock and followed the channel around to starboard and cruised gently back south on the Drontermeer to Elburg. This chap was taking up most of the channel at one point but kindly moved over as soon as he saw us approaching. Loaded to the gunnels - and then some!

Our cruise back to Elburg was uneventful and we were delighted to receive a 'Welcome back!' hail from our good friend as we made the approach to our berth there.  It's good to be 'home'!  Later that evening, we celebrated an enjoyable and successful End of Season cruise.  Cheers, my friends!

Cheers!