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We welcome comments and feedback on the book, and these will be collated here for other readers to take advantage of.
Comments or corrections can be emailed to louise@inlandwaterwaysofthenetherlands.com

Zeeland & general comments Anthony Barber 10 July 2008

Page 8: It might be worth mentioning that there no longer appear to be any terrestrial television transmissions in the Netherlands, so one has to rely on using a satellite dish. Our UK set up worked fine everywhere even, to my surprise, in forests of masts, but I was disappointed not to be able to receive Dutch TV for the local news and weather forecasts. It seems that the Dutch satellite transmissions use a different system so that we would have needed a different digibox and a Dutch address to obtain the requisite card in order to do so.
Pages 23 and 25: Sluis Kats is actually the sluice. The lock for entering and leaving the Veersemeer is the Zandkreeksluis.
Page 29: Terneuzen. ‘Locks … operate 24 hours for three hours either side of high water.' I don't know where those limits have come from. There is a reference on page 387 of the 2008 Wateralmanak, part 2, to the effect that the lock keeper may limit operation in order to save water but no more detail is given. We certainly came through a month ago at low water springs and came through again a couple of days ago at high water springs. We were the only boat in the East Lock at the time.
Page 30: I can confirm that the JH Bruinisse now has WiFi.
Page 33: We were very disappointed to find that the steam train linking Port Zélande with the visitors’ centre at de Punt has a very limited timetable – just a couple of days a week for a couple of months of the year. One of the attractions of this particular marina is that it is an easy walk from here to the North Sea beach on the other side of the dam.
Page 33: The WSV Herkingen to port as you reach the end of the entrance channel also provides access to all the facilities and is very friendly. We have now used it on two occasions some years apart and would not hesitate to go back. The harbour master is also a member of a group of shanty singers, which appealed to me (I bought a copy of their CD) though I realise that view might not be shared by all! You are of course quite right in saying that the entrance channel is relatively narrow and shallow but it is extremely well marked by substantial posts and should not put people off.
Page 35: references to ‘Berg Peterssluis’ should be Burg. Peterssluis (presumably named after a former mayor) and not ‘Berg Peterssluis.
Page 35: Tholen indeed has shops, but there is no longer a supermarket and we were unable to find a greengrocer.
Page 84: ‘Diemer bridge can be opened by a loud horn signal…’ It might be helpful to say that the usual signal for requesting a bridge to open is  — - — (4 secs, 1 sec, 4 secs)
Page 91: Westeinderplas. I know you can’t mention everyone but I think it’s a shame you don’t mention that Kempers have a second excellent marina, Kempers Princessepaviljoen in the southwest corner of the lake at Leimuiden. There is also an excellent restaurant at the marina  – Plasmeijer.
Page 116: ‘… make use of radar in poor visibility if possible’ (there is also a related remark on page 3). I think you ought to point out that, officially, the radars fitted to most (UK) pleasure vessels may not be used on inland waterways. On page 696 of the Wateralmanak, part 1, it states, among other things that,
‘… A boat may only use a radar if:

  1. a type-approved radar is on board. Depending on the type of radar, the Telecoms Agency may grant approval for use at sea or at sea and on the inland waterways.

Yacht radars fall in the category of radars for use at sea and are therefore not approved for use on the inland waterways.’
For more detail see the Binnenvaartpolitiereglement (BPR), Article 4.06.
Having said that, I must admit that if, I were caught out in fog on the inland waterways, my view would be that it would be safer to use my radar and risk a conflict with the authorities rather than risk a collision by not using it!
Page 277: Glossary.  I believe that ‘gebak’ is (cream) cakes rather than tart/pie (See also van Dale Groot woordenboek Nederlands-Engels). ‘Bezet’ can also mean occupied. You might also consider adding ‘passanten’ as a word commonly used in the boating world for visitors. ‘dankuwel’ is actually three words - Dank U wel’ . April is april, not ‘avril’. It looks to me as though an extra ‘braising’ has crept in after minced beef (‘gehakt’).
Finally, and I suspect that this might be a bit contentious, I wonder about the wisdom of peppering the text with your most admiral attempts to help the reader with the pronunciation of Dutch names. They certainly brought a smile to the face of our son’s Dutch girlfriend. ‘Komperlont' (p 25) in particular caused much mirth. You don’t give them for all names (I notice you have omitted the best of the lot – Yerseke!) and they are also not placed consistently by the first occurrence of the name. See, for example, Heusden on page 253. This is also another example where the suggested pronunciation is a bit strange. I believe the ‘eu’ sound should be much more like ‘er’ than the ‘oo’ you get from ‘Whose-den’. Also, as far as I know, a fundamental rule is that a vowel followed by a double consonant is shortened so that the ‘plarzer’ in ‘car-kher-plarzer’ (page 86) is quite wrong.
Personally, I find they interrupt the flow of the text and would leave them out. Dutch pronunciation is actually quite straightforward and consistent so I think the guide to pronunciation you have included at the end of the book (page 278) is quite sufficient (but move it to page vi?). I think the ‘ij’ in Nijmegen should sound like ‘i’, not 'l’, which looks like a small letter ‘L’ (see also the last paragraph on page 279.). I also don't agree with your suggested pronunciation of the ‘eu’ in Terneuzen. See my remarks on Heusden above. You suggest that the ‘en’ at the end of a word sounds like ‘er’ but I think that the truth is somewhere between 'en’ and ‘er’. Indeed in some parts of the country it is most certainly pronounced ‘en’. Leaving the ‘n’ off altogether never sounds quite right to me.


Zeeland Dick Holness 7 July 2008
P24 Veere.......the YC of course serves excellent food as well as having a bar. Worth mentioning there are now no provisioning shops at all, not even a baker, the whole place has been taken over by tourist-oriented shopping.
P25 Delta Marina - most expensive moorings we found....loo/shower 'hall' like a palace....anyway, there is a good selection of shops and eateries in Kortgene, plus wifi at the marina although for some reason I could not get on.
P27 St. Annaland.....Large marina; restaurant on site reputed to be one of the best in Holland but has prices to match. Excellent loo block, bikes for hire, free wifi, chandler. On entry to marina, head round to right, first pontoon encountered is place to stop and contact HM for instructions. Nice little town, large supermarket, small bars and cafes.
P33 Herkingen.....worth mentioning that the alternative marina, to the left, is perfectly acceptable - in fact we prefer it, it's quieter and very friendly. In 1944 a British airman crashed on the endge of the town, and he is touchingly remembered with a street named after him and he is buried in the local cemetary.
P43 Middelharnis....worth mentioning that the footbridge is in the dyke by the (usually open) lock - we didn't notice it and were looking for it up by the town. Tank pumpout is only on the left, just before the town is reached. Loo block on left nearby, and another opposite on the right bank. No fuel at Jachtwerf Peeman that we could see, but there is now a automatic filling station just across the road from it. Only works on cards, though, and UK cards don't work in Holland at present!!! Only quite small box berths round the corner at the top, best ones are on the right before the top.
P52 Numansdorp.....on the SW corner of the quay by the office there is a notice board ('Vrije boxen') listing the spare box berths, which can be read from the boat if you get close enough. Very good free wifi, daily password from the HM. Excellent shops in town (including a cheese-shop to die for) and good restaurants. Loos in HM building are a bit tired, but new ones by box no.100. Yacht harbours apparent just E of the canal entrance, but seem to be part of a private estate.
P34 Volkerak...Ooltgensplaat....I would guess you didn't get there....nice little place, very quiet but friendly, very cheap moorings and very good loos etc. No restaurants that we could see, just one bar.
P41 Haringvlietbrug........beware special opening times and restrictions in strong winds at present owing to some mechanical problems. They don't tend to answer their VHF, but the brug is managed by the people at the Volkeraksluis opposite, who are more communicative.
P25 Zeelandbrug ....I know you suggest people use the Almanak vol 2 (not popular with other yachties I discussed with!) but I think that as you mention the bridge opens twice an hour you might as well add that this is at H+15 and H+45, which I think it has always been.

Warten, Friesland David Bartley 3 July 2008
the main change in our area is that they have removed the fixed bridge to N. of Warten and replaced it with aquaduct so that the fixed mast route for most vessels (there is a maximum beam limitation) through the village.There is work in hand to build a new fixed mast route through Grou, bypassing Wegea, and joining up at the new aquaducuct. Knowing the speed of Dutch engineering works this will be probably be completed by next year.

Tholen Anthony Barber 20 June 2008
We’re currently in Tholen and have discovered that, as you say, there is a ‘good selection of shops’, but there is no longer a supermarket and we could find nowhere to buy vegetables. Good job we always carry a stock of tins!