From the ugly look of the weather we certainly made the
correct decision to take the inland route from Lauwersoog to Harlingen. Six
weeks earlier our new Dutch friends Ad and Werner had mentioned something about
this “Upmast” route through the top of Holland, and John thought he remembered
them saying that they lived there somewhere. So we called them and made
rendezvous for dinner in Leeuwarden, where Werner keeps his office. Off we set on a damp grey morning for a cruise
through the Friesian country side, through Dokkum and to Leeuwarden, where we
found a spot to tie up in the city at the park marina.
On the way to Leeuwarden
Sheep gather along the canal to greet us
Parked in the Park!
Leeuwarden is a beautiful, interesting and clean city. We were charmed by the canals, its varied old
architecture and the friendliness of its citizens. At the Walrus restaurant with
Ad and Werner we had entertaining conversations – they, like all Dutch, speak
excellent English - and the dinner was outstanding.
Flowered Bridges
We had been through a half dozen lifting bridges to get to
Leeuwarden: now we set off for Harlingen, the port on the Waddenzee. The
monotony of another bleak day motoring along the canal/river was broken up by
many lifting bridges.
Art under the bridge
Hope it stays up!
While waiting for the penultimate bridge to open, we took
the opportunity to chat with Axel and Marion on Rascal, the sailboat ahead of
us, and asked them where they were going to stop in Harlingen: they told us to
go through the lock into the Waddenzee, then make a sharp U turn to port and go
into the town dock: “No problem,” they said: “We are going there so just follow
us.” And so we did. And what luck! The
Noorderpoort harbour in Harlingen is a canal running through the old wide city
street lined with Fifteenth and Sixteenth century buildings – old trading
“warehouses”. Once again we had an
unexpected treat, tying up to the side of the canal among the old Dutch barges
and the new modern yachts. Then we discovered that yet again we had arrived in a
charming small city when they were having their annual festival! We were fascinated by over 100 sailing barges
of all sizes that were moored in the canals.
Entertainment, interesting food and friendly people made this three day
festival a fun experience for us.
Noorderpoort Harbour in Harlingen
We dined at Restaurant Noorderpoort..just across the canal...outstanding!
South Harbour
Eels fresh from the smoker!
One of the many classic old houses
The "old" yacht is actually brand new
Fishing boats dressed for the festival
A dozen buggies compete to spear the rings!
Hordes enjoying the festival
This lion is guarding the lock gates
Hundreds of sailing barges
Quaint bridges cross the canal
The Friday evening crowd arrives...note the cream colored yacht in the distance
...another Island Packet 420 like Adventuress
After enjoying Harlingen (even though the skies were mainly
overcast with some rain), we sailed across the Waddenzee to Den Helder, which
is located next to the North Sea, a perfect take off spot to cross to
England. Den Helder is the home of the Dutch
Navy and we stayed in the Navy marina which has superb facilities. To our delight we were invited by a Dutch
neighbor, Hubert, a retired officer, to dine with him and his partner at the
officers’ club. And again everything at
the club was first class.
A very nice marina at the naval base
A few Dutch Navy boats
Thank you Netherlands! You received us with open, friendly
hospitality. We loved your sailing
culture and your orientation towards the sea.
We loved the food, the clean, beautiful towns and cities, and we will
definitely return.
On Sunday/Monday we crossed the North Sea 136nm from Den
Helder to the Deben River. We had a lumpy seaway when the North wind was
opposing the North flowing ebb; but we were able to sail most of the way. We
timed our arrival just right, one hour before high water. We are now anchored
in the Deben River, awaiting high tide at Woodbridge, three miles north of us,
so that we can enter Tide Mill Marina and start the process of putting
Adventuress to bed for the winter.
It has been a fantastic adventure this summer. We fly home to the USA to Florida for the winter and will return to England and Adventuress next May.
Our very best to you,
John and Nancy
