We had a fast beam reach sail from Lowestoft, England, to
Netherlands (Holland) arriving Ijmuiden at daybreak. We travelled the Nordzee canal through
Amsterdam negotiating several locks to enter the inland sea, the Ijsselmeer,
and we sailed the short distance to Pampus Island to meet up with our sailing
buddies Willem and Annehei , whom we befriended in the Azores. We were lucky that they were sailing for
several weeks in Holland and invited us to sail along with them. This will be their last voyage on “Meerlust”,
a 55 foot Contest: after travelling the world for several years, they have decided
to sell their yacht and spend time in Berlin and in Holland. In future they plan to charter sailboats in
exotic places.
The Ijsselmeer is a fresh body of water contained by large
dikes created by the Dutch. I was
surprised to find out that the 60% of the Netherlands is below sea level, engineered
by the building of dikes and pumping out the sea water using windmills.
For the last 10 days we have sailed to Muiden and then Urk.
We took a land cruise to Elburg; and then sailed to the North and now we are in
Waddenhaven Marina on Texel Island. We are exploring this beautiful island and
looking for a weather window to sail to Norway.
Here are some pictures:
25 knots and smooth sailing to Urk
Willem tested John's reactions by throwing his straw hat overboard. John fell in to save his friend's hat: note he still had his glasses on!
Willem and Annehei with Willem's specially taped VHF radio: it works, sometimes.
On the town dock at Urk
Urk has an active fishing fleet...
...and some work boats have been converted to pleasure.
Wooden barge type boats in Elburg: they are still making these boats
Willem is so hungry that he decided to eat his herring before they even cooked it...
....while John and Nancy are looking at their eels and saying to each other: "No, you go first!"
Heroine Admiral Nancy takes a nervous little bite....
...and then John gets going with gusto!
Haute Couture footwear.....
...and flowers of course! And.....
...bicycles galore!
Here's a typical old street in Elburg...
...and next door a magnificent church!
The Dutch are preserving their heritage.....
...but some of them shoot from the hip!
Old rowing boats, beautifully restored and completely functional.
This old working barge is now a restoration and week-end sailing project.
Nancy with Willem and Annehei and their friend Marga, who treated us to a land tour in her car.
Old and new boats passing....
....while these three barges enjoy a fine sail in "Dutch Sunshine"....means it's not raining!
Meerlust at anchor.
Nancy has a new problem...she loves Stoopwafels so much that she eats them two at a time!
On deck repairing the leach on the Jib...about 50 feet of sewing with our onboard sewing machine. Note that the electricity is plugged in!
Berthed at Waddenhaven on Texel Island....quite a popular spot!
Here is a typical small town Dutch scene....
....and there goes to sea a schooner rigged Dutch barge.
It truly has been a rewarding experience meeting the friendly, welcoming people of Holland. It is a beautiful, clean, sailing-oriented country.
Best wishes to all, John and Nancy
