Netherlands Trip - Goes      23rd June:

Farewell Sint-Annaland

    Through the night a howling gale wailed amongst the rigging and gave all vessels a sound shake about. An occasional chorus of torrential downpours provided extra variety. I find it somewhat soothing to hear and feel this cacophony occurring all around us while snuggly cocooned in my bunk.
    We had intended to depart from Sint-Annaland at 10am to Goes. However, the wind on the water would be a Force 5, and we would be fighting the tide most of the way. Indications were we may be slightly better off starting early, so we slipped our lines at 08:45 and headed out into the Krabbenkreek.

Storm Clouds over Krabbenkreek

    We were immediately confronted by a strong wind and choppy seas. Once we were out of the shelter of the land we were subject to the full force of the wind and a brutal sea, a Force 5, and we sailed into the teeth of it against wind and tide.
    At first all we met were a few barges plying their trade, then along the Mastgat we encountered the odd yacht. Duonita's slamming into the advancing waves was relentless - good for the core muscles.
    We had to navigate our way around the mussel farm at the top of the Engelese Vaarwater, bringing our beam onto the galloping waves, resulting in the boat rolling about; a far from delightful experience.

Rough Seas on Keeten-Mastgat

De Werf Marina

    Then it was a slog down past the entrance to the Veerse Meer before turning off into the Sluis Goese Sas, where we were joined by a Dutch yacht. As if by magic, the lock opened almost immediately for us.
    Then it was a very pleasant motor down the Havenkanaal, through Wilhelminadorp to Goes itself. After a brief pause at the Ringbrug Goes, we and three other vessels passed through the bridge, where we knew we would find immediately on our left the Goese Watersportvereniging "De Werf". Sure enough, a young fellow was standing on the bank just before the entry into the marina. He was the harbour master. I asked if he had room for us for two nights.
    "What is the length of the boat?" he asked.
    "8.8m," I replied. He cross checked berths on a sheet on his clip board, and assigned us to Box 25.
    Soon we were ensconced in our berth, chatting to the owner of an adjacent boat. The chap lived in Goes, and this was where he kept his craft. His father had helped form the marina in 1952, and sailing had been in his blood from an early age.
    The fellow had to get back home, and we needed to stretch our legs after our uncomfortable trip from Sint-Annaland. We headed into town; a town we had visited a few times before in our travels and held fond memories for us.

Sint Maartenbrug

    In the 10th century, on the edge of a river, de Korte Gos (the Short Gos), a small settlement was created; Goes. The village grew rapidly and in the early 12th century it boasted a market square and a church devoted to Maria. In the 13th century Goes grew into a port town and the town acquired more and more rights. City rights were granted in 1405, and Count William VI gave the town permission to administer justice in serious crimes, a process that sealed the shift from village to town. In 1417 Countess Jacoba of Bavaria gave the town permission to build walls and gates around the town. Seafaring, cloth making and especially the production of salt were principal means of livelihood in the 15th century. During this period the town continued to grow despite the uncertain political situation, wars, floods and crop failures. However, the connection to the sea gradually degraded, and during the 16th century Goes declined. A large fire in 1544 destroyed a part of the city with a quarter of the wooden houses being burnt down. The town's population at that time was around 1,750.
    The Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) in the Low Countries was characterised by sieges of cities and forts, field battles being of secondary importance. It was during this period, in autumn 1572, that Dutch forces together with the support of English troops besieged Goes, which at that time was part of the Spanish Netherlands. The siege was relieved in October 1572 by Spanish Tercios (Spanish Third), a Spanish military unit during the period of dominance of Habsburg Spain in Europe and the Renaissance era. The tercio was an infantry formation made up of pikemen, swordsmen and musketeers in a mutually supportive formation, and the Spanish Tercios were the first modern European army, understood as an army of professional volunteers. In 1577, Prince Maurits of Nassau drove out the Spanish soldiers who occupied Goes. He then had built a defence wall around Goes, parts of which were still visible. In the subsequent centuries, Goes maintained its importance as an agricultural centre, but industrialisation never really took off.
    We soon reached the pretty Sint Maartenbrug. St. Maarten or Dark Gate stood on the junction of Goeskade and Kleine Kade (Goes and Little Quays) until 1853. Sint Maartenbrug was the only entry/exit point into the Stadshaven Goes. Around 1970 talks took place concerned with the filling in of this basin for a car park. Common-sense prevailed, and instead St. Maartenbrug was erected, allowing water craft to enter the basin for mooring purposes.

Grote Markt with Stadhuis and Grote Kerk of Maria Magdelenakerk Behind

    A short walk south of the Stadshaven delivered us into the Grote Markt. In 1389, the Grote Markt was called the Korenmarkt (corn market). In 1417 the inhabitants of the city were granted permission to hold the Goes fair or carnival during August, lasting eight days. At the fair mainly cereals and pulses were traded. There was a lot of fun. From 1684 the market operated every Tuesday. The market was divided up into smaller markets: grain and seed market, cloth market, basket makers market, etc. Visions of Breughel paintings conjured up in my mind. Back to reality, today the market square was decidedly empty. The Grote Markt was large, hugged in on all sides by cafes, bars and restaurants. The south end of the square was dominated by the Stadhuis and Grote Kerk of Maria Magdelenakerk behind.
    The Stadhuis (Town Hall) was late Gothic and Rococo in style. The oldest part was the right tower (1389), which served as a prison, the "vanghuus". In addition, there was a market hall where the weighing-balance stood. Above this stood a hall, furnished like a tribunal where justice was meted out, and where the city council met. Behind the market hall were the meat market and stalls for rent. An orphan room and a city messenger house were built in 1463. The upper floor of the town hall was still used for receptions and weddings.

Wesshuis Arch

Weeshuisplein

Meal in Grote Markt

    We skirted the Stadhuis down Singelstraat between the churches Grote Kerk of Maria Magdelenakerk and Saint Maria Magdalena. Before us stood an historic building, the Weeshuis (orphanage). This 15th century building was part of the housing of the Black Sisters, an order of nuns. The sisters devoted themselves to nursing. In 1627 the monastery was in use as an orphanage. Between 1620 and 1795 the former convent chapel served as a Walloon church, offering shelter to the soldiers. From 1821 until shortly before World War II, the chapel served as an orphan's school. In 1970, the Historical Museum Bevelanden was established here. Behind the Weeshuis lay a beautiful small courtyard, the Weeshuisplein, reached by passing under the arch next to Weeshuis.
    A warren of shoppers' streets lay behind the Grote Markt sending Rex into raptures; he couldn't resist. He dived in whilst I took a walk around the market square. After an age I was worried he was struggling with carrying all his purchases, so I sought him out. I eventually tracked him down - he was assessing shorts. He surpassed himself and bought a pair. Half the town lined up both to admire them and to chase away the moths escaping from his wallet.
    In the evening, we returned to the Grote Markt, now a hive of activity as the skeletons of market pitches were being erected. Rex cursed fluently at the swarms of bikes hurtling around the square at breakneck speed. We picked a restaurant at random (most menus were more or less the same), and put the world to rights over a couple of beers. Our food was good.
    The evening was starting to chill, so we didn't linger. We headed back to De Werf, passing by the Stadshaven en route. Several British craft were moored here, one of them from Levington. No doubt there was an organised flotilla tour from East Anglia, which is not uncommon.
    Peace had descended over the De Werf marina. A few boats had people gathered in their cockpits, reading, chattering, playing scrabble or whatever. The sun was sinking, the wind had dropped and peace reigned (ignoring of course the imminent NATO conference in the Netherlands).

Stadshaven