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DandV

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A similar kind of day to when we went into the madhouse that is Antwerp Docks. This entry lock is, i believe, closed for renovations at present, a scheduled affair but then brought forward as someone managed to tosh one of the gates. The vessel we were lying alongside in the top photo was so keen to get to the refuelling barge before anyone else did, we were half-way out of the lock together before I managed to get us untied.

 

It was active in the same kind of way where the Albert Canal comes in. See picture two.

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Antwerp.jpg

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We moored just outside Antwerp on the Schoeten Turnhout canal and when we went from the Albert canal into the harbour we had to report our port number by vhf to the control at the entrance. They always came back with “hello Warren David have a nice day”. The bill for the passage or for being on the dock was always sent to our home address in the UK and would be followed by various threatening letters until we became aware of it.

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16 hours ago, Dav and Pen said:

We moored just outside Antwerp on the Schoeten Turnhout canal and when we went from the Albert canal into the harbour we had to report our port number by vhf to the control at the entrance. They always came back with “hello Warren David have a nice day”. The bill for the passage or for being on the dock was always sent to our home address in the UK and would be followed by various threatening letters until we became aware of it.

 

That's always the problem with those sort of charges. As you know, boats are towed through Ricqueval tunnel on the Canal St Quentin by an electric tug. Tolls used to be collected at St Quentin lock, but about 15 years ago staff there refused to do it any longer after some argument or other, and after that they simply took owner's name and address at the mouth of the tunnel. That obviously worked OK for the commercials as they could record the ship's details and the shipping agent would be on file to send the bill. But it's on a major route south for pleasure craft, so they had to get an address, which was likely to be from just about anywhere in the world. When it first started we gave our address as the Capitainerie at Cambrai, so that  was simple enough. Even with that the guy had some difficulty making the record, and his face dropped when we told him that if he had trouble with our address, just wait - the boat behind came from Albuquerque.   ?

 

Tam

 

 

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Edited by Tam & Di
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Ricqueval Tunnel again. When we took the Arthur through, those many years ago, the tow took us through the second tunnel of Le Tronquoy as well, with a blissful journey on a bright summers day, through the section in between, just drifting along, 17th vessel in the train.

 

Two other pictures attached: Riqueval at the end of its period as part of the Hindenburg Line, the German defensive position in 1918, plus the famous photo of the 17th Infantry Brigade being addressed by their commander, three days after taking the bridge across the canal between the two tunnels.

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Riqueval1918.jpg

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21 minutes ago, John Liley said:

Ricqueval Tunnel again. When we took the Arthur through, those many years ago, the tow took us through the second tunnel of Le Tronquoy as well, with a blissful journey on a bright summers day, through the section in between, just drifting along, 17th vessel in the train.

 

Two other pictures attached: Riqueval at the end of its period as part of the Hindenburg Line, the German defensive position in 1918, plus the famous photo of the 17th Infantry Brigade being addressed by their commander, three days after taking the bridge across the canal between the two tunnels.

 

 

 

The Diapason looks a tight fit, and it looks as if her skipper agrees!

The last photo gives us an inkling of just how many men were involved in WW1; after all, this is only one small part of the line, and there must be over a thousand in that picture alone.

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7 hours ago, Athy said:

The Diapason looks a tight fit, and it looks as if her skipper agrees!

The last photo gives us an inkling of just how many men were involved in WW1; after all, this is only one small part of the line, and there must be over a thousand in that picture alone.

In 1917 Infantry Brigades there were 1007 men in a Battalion, Four Battalions in a Brigade. plus Support Staff when at Full Complement.

After combat, less.

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This Evening in 2012 we were on the disused quay at Anhee on the Belgian Meuse. At night the hills opposite are light up and there is an old fort on the top. Just down the towpath is a shop that claims to have over 300 varieties of Belgium beer. My favourite was called Mcchouffe a strong brown beer.

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Edited by Dav and Pen
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On this day in 2015

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West Stockwith   River Trent / Chesterfield Canal

Compare  21Apr2003 (2)    16Apr1978/16Apr2010    19Oct2005    3Sep2009    13Oct2014    14Oct2014

 

and between Keadby and West Stockwith

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Edited by PeterScott
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23 minutes ago, Dav and Pen said:

This Evening in 2012 we were on the disused quay at Annee on the Belgian Meuse. At night the hills opposite are light up and there is an old fort on the top. Just down the towpath is a shop that claims to have over 300 varieties of Belgium beer. My favourite was called Mcchouffe a strong brown beer.

260B811F-91F0-47F1-B031-EDC4EDCE9A04.jpeg

 

It was very striking that, when going down the Meuse in France the settlements around got poorer and poorer the further northward we went, until, suddenly, on reaching the Belgiam border, it all got rich  again. The lure of the south, I suppose, even within a country.

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