Hippie jetty

On my way back up the Maas, I stopped over at the Linne jetty at the end of a dead river arm. The small town has a shop where I needed to get some supplies. Also, there were good reviews on “google maps”. But it turned out to be a “hippie jetty”. I am unsure whether “hippie” is the correct term, as we are in 2023. They were friendly and seemed to have made a lifestyle of it to hop in simple small boats from one free spot to the next. Among themselves, they had quite a hierarchy, funnily based on who found a better way of running some little business and making an income. I expected a different dimension, frankly. Also, men were telling off the women for using the wrong knot and patronising them by asking questions about how to operate some details on the boat. They also had some strange cults and beliefs, mainly about “the system”, which appeared to be some spiritual god-like concept. But “the system” was not their god. Instead, it is an evil power manipulating humankind for some small group of beneficiaries. So they, the “hippies”, gathered wisdom to trick “the system”. One of these tricks was selling marijuana in Germany, which they smuggle over the border in their boats. That business model may soon fade, as in Germany the current government is now in the process of legalizing these substances in some kind of “drugs for votes” deal. Anyways, the setting in Linne reminded me of the movie scene in “Fizzcaraldo”.

In any case, I left early in the morning, slowly navigating through the fog covering the river arm. Then turned left for the Linne lock, which I entered with a few other boats in the early morning. I became quite skilful passing these locks single-handed. Eddie, the dog, though has to stay on a short leash during the time in the lock chamber. Should he fall overboard, it would probably be the end of him. That day we moored early and I needed to get some work done with my laptop. That’s one thing different from the Amazon of Fizzcaraldo. I have 5G.

Meandering Maas

Between Venlo and Maastricht, the Maas River splits into some sections of straight canals and besides those, there are the quiet arms and lakes of Maas, also called Meuse. You still can’t go along them to avoid the humongous locks, as you will hit the wall at some point, keeping the water levels straight between lock levels. I decided to stay in this region and found a winter mooring place. In the old days of the internet, I would have posted my geo-log and described much more about the details. Now, I prefer keeping my location off the public charts. But should you take or plan to take this route, please get in touch. I am happy to share what I know one to one. I subscribed to a new GPS tracking system which is excellent. It’s “Gaja” and you can download the application for Android or iOS by clicking here. There is also a free version. But once I was convinced, I signed up for the annual subscription. It is about the same price as 1 (!) nautical paper chart. I fear this started the end of my old Garmin (which I love). I think I will have to download my World of Waypoints once, take out the batteries and put it in my treasure box for the days to look back on the years when this machine guided me around the globe.

I also ventured into Belgium by following the meanders; when there is time, I will probably continue to Liege. The original plan to bring the boat to Alscace has to wait. There is too much work and also family arrangements.

The boat is performing very well. I see more of the kind here in the South of the Netherlands. And everywhere, these boats now get a lot of attention. It’s just a very smart concept. Even the engine, with just 10 BHP does not let me down and allows a decent cruise speed of 6 km/h at around 3500 rpm and a fuel consumption of about 2 liters per hour. It’s a Yamaha 9,9 High Thrust. That’s all that’s needed. And it is super comfortable. Even home office works. The only shortcoming is manoeuvring in tight ports, when there is strong wind. And as there are sometimes sports boats on the Maas, which could not care less, it needs closing doors when hitting the waves from a bad angle.

I will continue exploring the “Passantenhaven” for a few more days and then the boat will also be my base for a course I will teach in September at Tilburg University. Then it gets ready for winter. And there the plans are completely different. I still go to Hong Kong in October and need to finish my Dacha before it gets really cold and a big move is on the horizon.