Netherlands Canal Boating 2023

[@apntv]

Let us know if you’ve been or are going? It was great to meet some viewers on the last trip so make sure you stay to the end of the video.

[@BertVermeerSailing]

Nicely done! Well done on the video and yes, many places that I recognize from a couple of years ago. That looks like it may have been mid-summer?

[@apntv]

@@BertVermeerSailinghi Bert, yes this trip was June 23, second time we were lucky enough to catch a heatwave there.

[@prensesdoga-oz7xc]

Thanks.

[@frankieboy967]

Perfect way to experience NL: your boat and the way you captured everything on video and sound. No long narrative, just gentle music, brief explanation, and wonderful imagery.

[@apntv]

Thank you, much appreciated.

[@basdenhartogh7216]

Hi Chris and Andy, first of all thank you for coming to the Happyachts base in Alphen aan den Rijn again. And what a great video (again) of your trip on the Dutch Canals. I really enjoyed watching it, so thanks for that. I hope you are both safe and sound and maybe untill 2024. For now, enjoy the holidays and I wish you a fantastic 2024.

[@michaell6580]

Thanks for producing such a high-quality video log of your journey. Your trip is an inspiration for a future adventure and was a great follow along. Cheers from Florida.

[@apntv]

Many thanks and we are very glad you enjoyed it. Do let us know if you decide to take a similar adventure sometime. :-)

[@borge2014]

Wonderful video, loved the commentary, and of course the all the sights through your lens. 🏳‍🌈

[@apntv]

Thank you, we are glad you enjoyed it :-)

[@Paul_C]

The canal you sailed on entering Haarlem isn't actually a canal, it's a river called Spaarne. Used to row there once per year, competing in 2x and 4+. Long, really long time ago. Thanks for bringing back that memory.

[@apntv]

Awesome, thanks for the info and I love it when viewers take away great memories like that :-)

[@MultiPosaune]

Funny that one of you had a t-shirt with New York on it and Brooklyn, which is named after the Dutch town Breukelen, which you visited nearby. Also on the t-shirt was Coney Island, which is a corruption of the Dutch word Konijneneiland (rabbit island). New York was once Dutch territory (New Amsterdam) until it was traded with the English for Suriname.

[@apntv]

@@MultiPosaune that’s really interesting, thank you for that, there’s so many little things like that are easy to completely miss. Talking of T-shirts though, on our latest video, I noted that I was wearing a Colorado mountain T-shirt, while in the Colorado mountains, yet I’d actually purchased it in Spain :-)

[@sebobastiseppobas]

Danke!

[@apntv]

Thank you very much, really glad you enjoyed it. :-)

[@MotoFuzzi]

@@apntv 😍

[@KiaTaatje]

Utrecht a very nice city , been many times before we left to NZ

[@KiaTaatje]

Best Country in the World , ......good Pictures Guys ( shot with CX350 ???) I just bought one

[@apntv]

@@KiaTaatje believe it or not no, I shot most of this video with my iPhone 12 Pro Max using Filmic Pro. I like to travel light on holidays :-)

[@Bigjohn6945]

Thanks!,, I been thinking about this kind of cruise for a while now Time to start some research on a trip

[@apntv]

Wow, thanks for that, much appreciated. Again, feel free to ask any questions while researching. Obviously we went with locaboat, other companies available. I guess it depends on the number of people on the boat, but we found the Penichette 950 E extremely good for two people.

[@Bigjohn6945]

Thats the boat I'm looking at. I have sleep apnea and need a machine to sleep every night. Emailed Loco Boat and they said I'd be fine as long as I cruise 5 hours a day. Did the electrical power work ok for you ?,,Thanks,John@@apntv

[@apntv]

@@Bigjohn6945 typically yes, most nights we hook up to shore power and some nights, if we’re mooring along the bank with no power, it’s generally been fine. However, on our last trip we did get woken up early one morning when the fridge started bleeping as the power was running low. We did do a couple of short days that trip and we did report it as it could be that the battery was a bit weak and needed attention, we had not seen that happen on the previous two trips on the same model of boat.

[@Bigjohn6945]

@@apntv Is there a guide book that you recommend ? what about nautical charts ?,,Thanks

[@apntv]

@@Bigjohn6945 Locaboat supply you a manual with boat and navigation info. They normally supply charts for your chosen route and they even highlighted the route for us or you can buy your own copy to keep. There are guide books available, we didn’t find anything particularly useful and just looked things up online. We hired a Wi-Fi hotspot from them on this last trip, which wasn’t perfect but did help us stay connected most of the time. The Nautical Maps app I suggested was great for the Netherlands, In France they didn’t have that and we used Google maps but it wasn’t that great for boating.

[@grantchannel7187]

What is the Air draught of the boat you hired ? Just curious about the maximum clearance under the bridges in Utrecht - I’d like to take my boat there.

[@apntv]

2.9m, (allowing 20cm extra), some 3m bridges were pretty tight. In Utrecht the bridge where Chris has to duck down was probably the lowest point. Good luck, we really enjoyed Utrecht.

[@grantchannel7187]

@@apntv I thought they did look low - I need 3.45m so I won’t be able to get that far in ! Great videos by the way 👏

[@apntv]

@@grantchannel7187 thank you, we really appreciate that :-)

[@bobbutcher7725]

Do you have to be in radio communication with the various locks and bridges? If so, is there a language barrier problem?

[@apntv]

No. It would be a good idea and very convenient but you would need to have a marine radio license for the country and have your own radio equipment, as a radio is not fitted on the boat. We do actually have Marine radio licenses, but we would need to buy a VHF handheld and get the relevant permits from the country. The alternatives are that you can ring the bridge control and the numbers are usually posted on the bridges. In practical terms, we found it much easier to try and follow another boat, who can often contact the bridges and get them open ahead of you. Ringing each bridge and trying to explain where you are based on our pronunciation of the name of the bridge can be tricky at times. :-)

[@apntv]

The Dutch do mostly speak English, but pronouncing the place names, is as I say, challenging.

[@Bigjohn6945]

Hello Gentleman ,,me again. Couple of questions. On Locoboat site there is mention that people stay there for the first night and then start your trip the next morning. Did you do this or did you leave that afternoon after check in ?,,also did you pre book marinas ?,,If not did you have any trouble finding a spot for the evening ?,,Thank you for your help

[@apntv]

You can stay the first night but we did a short cruise on the first day each time. We never booked a marina, they almost always managed to squeeze us in, although we missed the last slot in Delft basin but managed to find a free mooring beside the road a few mins away. Later we noticed some of the visitors had gone and there were spaces, so it’s all a matter of timing. For Amsterdam we left quite early to make sure we got a good space as we stayed there for the whole weekend. You can call ahead, and during the busier season that’s probably a good idea, we have tended to go just off season, outside of school holidays. You usually return the boat on the last afternoon and stay on the boat overnight and clear the boat first thing in the morning.we haven’t had any problems finding a space to date. One harbour master, on Kaag lake, sounded a bit cross that we hadn’t rung him before entering the marina but that was the only one.

[@Bigjohn6945]

@@apntv Thanks

[@Bigjohn6945]

AMAZING VIDEO, What is the app on your phone that you are using ? We are just starting to plan our trip.. Hope you don't mind some future questions Thank you John

[@apntv]

Hi John, yeah I have been using the iPhone 12 pro Max for filming these recently instead of my bigger cameras and it has been a bit of a game changer as you’ve always got that in your pocket. I shoot in 4K and I’m currently using Filmic Pro legacy. Unfortunately, Filmic Pro moved to a subscription model for new users. There is a new camera app out from BlackMagic and it’s free. I was filming this shortly after its release and I was having problems with exposure so I flipped back to Filmic Pro but it’s definitely worth a try. The time lapses are taken with my LUMIX G90. I’m glad you like the video and found it useful, please do feel free to ask any questions as I know how useful that is when planning a trip somewhere new, and I’ll do my best to answer. All the best, Andy.

[@Bigjohn6945]

I’m sorry for the misunderstanding,, I meant for the mapping It looks like that while you’re driving that you have a map on your phone Also is the boat electric ?

[@apntv]

@@Bigjohn6945 ah, got ya, I believe it is called Waterkaarten, there is a seven day free trial after which you can subscribe for a month and it gives you much more detailed maps than available on the inbuilt plotter. It also gives you contact details for all the bridges and locks, info on marinas and moorings et cetera so very useful. The boat has electric drive, there is actually a diesel generator running that but the boat is very quiet because of it. If you look at our canal du midi video there is actually a picture towards the end of the motor drive.

[@paulcunningham2859]

Fun

[@tjerkheringa937]

The 'ou' in Oudewater is pronounced the same as in 'Gouda' or in the English word 'round'.

[@apntv]

@@tjerkheringa937 thanks.

[@janjanssen9629]

Actually, the cheese was never made in Gouda! Gouda had the exclusive rights to sell cheese so all the local producers had to go to Gouda to sell their cheese… so the whole world knows Gouda cheese while they never produced any 😂

[@apntv]

Thanks, we did not know that. :-)