How to navigate with google earth

As rush hour

begins, Urania

steams serenely

through the rain

CRUISING

MARCH 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 41

Since 1830 the Royal Netherlands Navy

has used sail-training ships to sharpen up

their recruits. They all take the name Urania

• the Greek muse of astronomers and
  protector of sailors.
  During a passage from Halifax, Nova
  Scotia to Belfast in the current Urania,
  bosun Mark Balm told me: ‘We were in
  a Force 11, doing 15 knots, being pushed
  down waves and yet I never felt safer.’
  ‘She’s forgiving,’ said Harry, ‘she does
  not heel very much, which is good for
  inexperienced midshipmen or VIPs.’
  Urania has 17 berths, a 250hp diesel
  engine, carries 2,000 litres each of fresh
  water and fuel and is designed as a one–off
  by Oliver Van Meer.
  Her motto is ‘Vigilance without Fear.’

Urania

had disintegrated: only one blade was left,

they found the others in a filter. Both filter

and impeller were swiftly changed.

By 1115 we were south of Gouda and

amid the unmistakable mud, reeds and

wildlife of navigable salt water. ‘We have

some ebb with us now,’ said Harry.

Urania is capable of seven knots

through the canal system. For smaller

yachts making, say, five knots this journey

can take a whole day, especially during the

summer when there can be congestion at

bridges and locks. ‘But it is a pleasurable

trip with an ever-changing environment in

good weather,’ said Harry, ‘for us this time

it is just a necessary transit.’

The whole of The Netherlands can be

covered from north to south via canal.

The total distance from Delfzijl in the far

north to Vlissingen (Flushing to you and

me) in the south is 160 nautical miles. The

country has a coastline of only 240 miles

yet its hinterland is criss-crossed with

3,240 miles of navigable canals and rivers.

Up to 50,000 ships a year use the big

locks, carrying 40 per cent of Netherlands’

export trade and 20 per cent of the

country’s domestic wares.

At 1400 we moored alongside a quiet

wharf in Dordrecht and the weary crew

turned in while I made my way to the

railway station to enquire about train

connections back to Amsterdam.

That night we had a hearty meal in

Dordrecht to say goodbye to Chief Petty

Officer Niels Van Eck who was retiring and

also to raise a toast to Commodore Frits

Schipper, also now retired but another

keen yachtsman. W

‘The Netherlands’ coast

is only 240 miles long,

but it has 3,240 miles

of canals and rivers’

PHOTO: COURTESY ROYAL NETHERLANDS NAVY

With Urania safely alongside at Dordrecht, her crew catches up on some much-needed sleep

Keep an eye

out for

Urania on

England’s

south coast

this summer