Well we survived the night, and despite appearances, the harbour master in Dordrecht couldn't have been more helpful. So we radioed through to get the marina Bridge opened at 0930 to catch the 1015 bridge opening at Verkeersbrug Alblasserdam and thence north for the 19 miles to Gouda. Turning off the Maas onto the Hollandse Ijssel, the waterways narrowed to 1/4 mile wide from well over a mile wide in places, and the size of the barges dropped slightly also. Negotiating two further bridges and the Juliansluis brought us into Gouda for lunch. However, here things didn't quite go to plan. We had intended mooring in the heart of Gouda but unfortunately a key lock was out of action, so instead moored on the edge of town at WV Gouda, at the end of a dead end canal, between a petrol station, a busy road and the Dutch equivalent of B&Q. Despite 3m of water, we're the only yacht.
We then had the pleasure of meeting up with Jenny and Ted, Ann's neice and great nephew, showing us some of the delightful sights of Gouda.
