The 82-ft-long (25m) Veluwemeer Aqueduct, opened in 2002, is one of the shortest in the world. The water bridge carries boats with a draft of up to 9.8 ft (3m) and unlimited air draft over the road connecting mainland Netherlands with the province of Flevoland, the world’s largest man-made island. Other possibilities considered were an underwater tunnel or a tall bridge, but the aqueduct was considered the less expensive and intrusive option.

From our anchorage near Medemblik, we cruised the east side of the province of Flevoland, where we spent our final two nights before reaching Amsterdam. En route we passed under four bridges and transited two locks plus the Veluwemeer Aqueduct. Even though is was our third aqueduct of the year, after the two in the Sweden’s Gota Canal, passing through an air-suspended water bridge with traffic running underneath always is an exciting experience.

On our second night we anchored off the town of Naarden and toured the impressive Naarden Fortress, completed in the late 1600s with a unique two-level 12-point star shape.

Below are trip highlights from October 30th and 31st, 2019. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

10/30/2019

Sunrise Position: 52°44.28’N, 5°20.81’E Beautiful sunrise over the IJsselmeer as we depart Andijk in the province of North Holland for Flevoland, the 12th and last Netherlands province. Most of the land in Flevoland was reclaimed in the 1950s and 1960s.

Noordoostpolder Windpark Position: 52°38.45’N, 5°34.70’E The Noordoostpolder Windpark, when completed in 2017, was the largest wind farm in the Netherlands. The 429-MW park includes 48 3MW Siemens turbines standing offshore and 38 7.5MW Enercon E-126 turbines standing onshore.

Swifterbant Bridge Position: 52°36.80’N, 5°38.56’E Passing under the Swifterbant Bridge. With 41.5ft of clearance (12.5m) we have plenty of space for our 30ft (9m) air draft, but it still looks reasonably close.

Zwolle Bridge Position: 52°32.74’N, 5°51.31’E Waiting with several other pleasure craft for the Zwolle Bridge to open. We were told to expect a wait of about 40 minutes, but it ended up being only about 20. The channel Vossemeer that we’d just passed through was the shallowest of the day at about 7.7ft. The rest of the run was generally in water at least 10ft deep. We draw 6ft 7in, so we’re running without much safety margin. Just a sunken log could be a problem for us.

Roggebot Lock Position: 52°32.67’N, 5°51.31’E The Zwolle bridge and the Roggebot gate closing behind the group of pleasure craft together in the lock.

Departing Roggebot Lock Position: 52°32.66’N, 5°51.32’E The Roggebot Lock is mainly for flood control with little water height difference between either side and the whole locking process took barely ten minutes.

Waiting Again Position: 52°31.23’N, 5°51.44’E Waiting with the same group of pleasure craft to pass through the construction site for the new Reeve lock.

Reeve Lock Position: 52°31.17’N, 5°51.45’E Passing through the Reeve Lock, currently being built to replace the Roggebot Lock we just came through. We were told we’d need to wait at over an hour, but were let through after about 15 minutes.

Elburger bridge Position: 52°27.48’N, 5°49.05’E Passing through the Elburger bridge—the operator opened it right away for us as we neared. The words “Tot Ziens in Flevoland”, painted on the underside of the bridge, translate roughly to “See you in [the province of] Flevoland”.

10/31/2019

Brrrr Position: 52°24.19’N, 5°41.81’E After a peaceful anchored just off the channel in the lake Veluwemeer, we awoke to a temperature of only 37.6°F (3.1°C). That’s the coldest we’ve seen since Sweden earlier this year.

Dredge Position: 52°23.56’N, 5°39.39’E Dredge working the lake Veluwemeer in sea smoke just south of our anchorage.

Sea Smoke Position: 52°22.49’N, 5°37.60’E Sea smoke and utility lines looking west in the Veluwemeer.

Veluwemeer Aqueduct Position: 52°21.68’N, 5°37.15’E Passing over the road on the Veluwemeer Aqueduct. This is the third aqueduct we’ve passed through this year in Dirona including the Ljungsbro and Kunns Norrby aqueducts in the Gota Canal. And we passed through a fourth in a canal cruise along the Dalsand Canal.

Nijkerker Lock Position: 52°15.77’N, 5°28.64’E Approaching the Nijkerker bridge and lock, our second to last lock before reaching Amsterdam.

Green Light Position: 52°15.77’N, 5°28.64’E Green light to enter the Nijkerker lock. The operator opened up for us as soon as we arrived.

Frost Position: 52°15.72’N, 5°28.34’E Frost on the grass by the Nijkerker lock. Winter is coming.

Eemmeerdijk Wind Farm Position: 52°15.78’N, 5°22.94’E The Eemmeerdijk wind farm, built in 1998, is one of the few using two-bladed turbines. Most newer, high-capacity wind turbines are three blades.

Passaat Position: 52°17.22’N, 5°20.52’E The barge Passaat overtaking us in the Eemmeer.

At Anchor Position: 52°18.51’N, 5°9.66’E At anchor off Naarden, our last stop before Amsterdam.

McLaren Position: 52°18.18’N, 5°8.90’E We landed the tender at Naarden Jachthaven and walked about a half-hour to reach Naarden Fortress. On the way we passed this fabulous McLaren GT.

Naarden Fortress Position: 52°17.81’N, 5°9.48’E Naarden Fortress, completed in the late 1600s, has a unique two-level 12-point star shape that is best appreciated from the air or satellite imagery. This is looking across to the fortress from the northwest from outside the outer star.

South Wall Position: 52°17.61’N, 5°9.75’E View from the south wall of Naarden Fortress.

Stint Annastraat Position: 52°17.68’N, 5°9.71’E Looking south to historic homes along narrow Stint Annastraat.

Post Office Position: 52°17.77’N, 5°9.64’E The relatively modern former post and telegraph office in Naarden was built in 1902.

Nauwe Steeg Position: 52°17.75’N, 5°9.61’E Walking through the narrow alley Nauwe Steeg.

City Hall Position: 52°17.75’N, 5°9.79’E The Naarden City Hall building dates from 1601.

Bunker Position: 52°17.91’N, 5°9.92’E The Dutch upgraded Naarden Fortress in the 19th century, building many barracks and underground bunkers.

Naarden Main Gate Position: 52°17.72’N, 5°9.92’E Naarden’s main city gate on the east side of town.

Eetcafe Het Hert Position: 52°17.79’N, 5°9.69’E Enjoying a drink at Eetcafe Het Hert in Naarden.

A-Fusion Position: 52°17.76’N, 5°9.78’E An exceptional dinner at A-Fusion in Naarden to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday.

Grote Kerk Position: 52°17.77’N, 5°9.76’E We had a look inside beautiful Grote Kerk in Naarden as the audience arrived for an evening concert. The paintings on the vaulted ceiling date from the 16th century.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.