Brouwershaven

When the Grevelingen was still open to the North Sea, Brouwershaven was an important port. Today it is a picturesque tourist town with a medieval feeling and a marina.

Brouwershaven town hall.

Brouwershaven old harbour, right in the town centre.

In addition to the old buildings and harbour, Brouwershaven retains the lock that was once used to close off the harbour if the water level got too high. Nowadays, you enter the harbour by a very narrow passage between the stone walls of the old lock. There is a traffic light system controlled by the harbourmaster from his modern office on the top of the wall. As we approached we were asked via a clear loudspeaker if we were coming to overnight or do the shopping.
- OVERNIGHT! - We shouted at the same time and at the top of our voices, not realizing there are also microphones in the lock.
The poor man must have got some ear damage from our yelling. He was still kind enough to assign us a berth. The problem was that in that moment Yo-Yo Ma The Outboard Motor, realized the interesting acoustics between the lock walls and launched into one of his renowned solos.
So, stop at one of the pontoons, walk the maze of the harbour, climb onto the old dike and enter the harbourmaster office with hat in hand to ask if he could repeat the number of our berth.

Brouwershaven new marina, where we spent the night.

Another Brouwershaven claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Jacob Cats, a famous Golden Age errrr... darts player?

Statue of Jacob Cats, famous XVI century darts player born in Brouwershaven.

No, actually an important artist, poet and diplomat during the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic. The town is so proud of this illustrious son, that they have a Jacob Cats square, a Jacob Cats street, a Jacob Cats walking route, ....
The rest of the afternoon was spent tidying-up the boat, relaxing, going for a jog along the dike, and finishing with a gigantic meal at a very pleasant restaurant called (would you know?) Jacob Cats Steak House.