Sloop through the Zwolle city moat in half a day
4 h€ 90-150 Calm
Rent a sloop in Zwolle and sail the entire ring canal around the city centre in three hours, past the Peperbus, the Pelserbrugje and the Sassenpoort.
The city moat around Zwolle is a complete circle: in three hours you can leisurely sail the whole thing, with room along the way to step ashore for a terrace. The canal is narrow and shallow in places, so sloop rental companies keep you in check here with low-powered engines and a cruising speed of six kilometres per hour. Along the banks you pass the Peperbus, the Sassenpoort and the Thorbeckegracht, the kind of spots that look entirely different from the water than from street level.
Three hours sounds short, but on a sloop it stretches quickly: sail a stretch, drift for a bit, have a chat with someone on the bank, sail on. A terrace break at the Thorbeckegracht or near the Pelserbrugje fits naturally into the rhythm. A boating licence is not required under twenty kilometres per hour, but you will always get a skipper's briefing.
Checklist
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ID paraat
Waterdichte zak voor telefoon
Petje of zonnehoed
Drinkwater per persoon
Lichte regenjas
Snack aan boord
Book a sloop for three hours with a rental company in the Zwolle city centre and confirm the start time.
Follow the skipper's briefing on board and note the clearance heights of the low bridges on the ring canal.
Sail past the Peperbus and the Pelserbrugje and look up at the Sassenpoort from the water.
Drift for ten minutes in a quiet corner of the Thorbeckegracht, engine off, phone away.
Sail the full ring canal back to the starting point and return the sloop right on time.
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For anyone copying this
Do as we did
Suggestions
- Book on a weekday for lower prices and fewer crowds.
- Duck for low bridges and check clearance heights in advance.
- Keep your phone in the waterproof pouch.
- Agree on who is skipper and swap halfway through.
- Factor in a fuel surcharge if you run over time.
Variations
- - Combineer met een lunch op terras Thorbeckegracht.
- - Vaar in de avond met lampjes aan boord.
- - Boek een schipper als niemand stadswater-ervaring heeft.
- - Maak er een verjaardagsmoment van met taart aan boord.
Atmosphere
by PlayTryBe team