Relaxing in Holland's Inland Seas

After our previously reported troubles in the North Sea, we gently sailed the Waddenzee and Ijsselmeer South to Enkhuizen, and there found smoked fish 50 yards from our bow in the Old Harbour: mackerel, salmon and yes! for breakfast, kippers! But of course, we started with smoked eels:




But is it only eating and drinking we do in Europe, you ask?  Alright, don't get envious of our gourmet fun: here come some pics for sailors:

Sailing in the flat green waters of the Ijsselmeer ...

...with the classic old Dutch barges.

And talking of classic old, how about this short canal leading from the Ijsselmeer into Enkhizen's Old Harbour: that is a pedestrian drawbridge that is opening up for us to go in and berth alongside the wall that is just discernible beyond the bridge.

 And there we are, tied up in the heart of this old Dutch East India trading city. 

Enkhuizen's charm is on full view here, in one of the "backstreet" canals.

So after enjoying the medieval, off we went to Amsterdam and met up with our Dutch friend Willem, who gave us a short tour of history less quaint, and more imposing:

JFK and Willem pose in front of a canal, and beyond it a Can Can bar!

While Nancy found far more natural beauty than the girls in the windows!

Willem studied Philosophy at the University: he took us to his favourite bar just around the corner from the lecture rooms. Here Willem is giving forth on the Dutch view of ....what? philosophy of contrasts and horizontal versus vertical thinking? Anyhow, and it must be said that this will come as a surprise to many readers.....but this is NOT photoshopped!  JFK is really listening!

Well, the Cambridge Backs it isn't, but it does have an urban charm.

Ah yes, if you cannot find enough space for all the bikes, then why not invent a two-story bike parking garage?

Now we are finally in France, and what happened on the way here will be our next chapter.

Best to all,
Nancy and John

Recuperation in Historic Harlingen

The last three weeks have been difficult, mainly because of engine problems from air in the diesel fuel supply which resulted in:

Five stressful port entries .

Forty five minutes of pounding surf and loss of engine when we crossed the numerous sand bars as we left Holland for Helgoland.

Six miles outside of Helgoland – a powerful microburst storm that buried the starboard deck of Adventuress.  The wind speed was measured in the sheltered harbor of Helgoland at Beaufort 12 (65 knots.)  We estimate we had apparent  wind at 75 to 80 knots…..and two subsequent storms at   40 to 45 knots.

Having to be towed into Helgoland harbor by a very efficient and helpful German SAR crew.

We thought we had solved the air in diesel fuel problem when we left Helgoland, but no!  After 19 hours of motor sailing down wind and just as we are sailing upwind in the channel to anchor behind Vlieland  (it is pitch dark at midnight), we lost the engine and once again discovered air in our diesel.  We tacked to our anchorage with the engine on low RPMs and dropped anchor.  (The mechanic we hired in Helgoland foolishly inserted a gasket in the compression fitting fuel connection at the top of the diesel tank.)

So, we hope that this is all behind us and we have just  spent three relaxing days in Harlingen, a beautiful Dutch city, enjoying the architecture and old streets bustling with all kinds of interesting little shops. And last night we had a delightful fun evening with our good Dutch sailing friends Werner , Ad, and their daughter Ann: we shared a tasty dinner at Restaurant Noorderport and swapped lots of stories.

 

Here are some pictures of this beautiful old trading harbor:

Here's to better sailing!  Cheers!

Nancy and John Knight

(If you with to provide feedback, please post directly on the blog or email us at: jfk48jfk@gmail.com or nshaubknight@gmail.com.

No more air bubbles!

John has found the culprit!  We now have a new "air tight" Racor Diesel filter system.  We hope to leave Helgoland tomorrow, Tuesday the 26th.

Best

John and Nancy

Helgoland

We are in Helgoland.  We were towed into the harbor.....We still have air in the diesel fuel.  We continue to try to solve the problem.

Best

Nancy and John

Arrived Thursday in Helgoland

Detour to Den Helder

After sailing at seven knots for fifteen hours the wind died and we turned on the engine.  After an hour we discovered that we had air in the diesel fuel and a minute later we decided to turn ninety degrees to Den Helder Holland to make repairs.  In light winds we sailed literally to the entrance to the marina, turned on the engine and within a minute we tied up at the dock.

Thirty hours later, after repairs, we are back sailing to Helgoland, but we are close to shore in case we need to go into port again.

Best

John and Nancy

Off We Go to Heligoland!

15 June 2017  Lowestoft: at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club.

Time to quit messing about getting stuff fixed- it's a boat! ...and we are ready for crossing the North Sea tomorrow, casting off at 4am.  We found and installed new house batteries - 6x 100 ah: the bottom is shiny with new paint; the topsides, from the waterline up to the rail, are gleaming with fresh wax; a few little things have been fixed and almost everything is working!

We had a pleasant trip yesterday from anchor in the Orwell River, just South of Pin Mill, up here to Lowestoft. We had thought it would be a motor-sail all the way, but we spent about 70% of the time having a glorious sail in 12 knots of breeze and flat water: so that was a big bonus.  All sails and rigging are correct and shipshape, and the Admiral and the Captain are pleased with the progress made in the last couple of weeks.


Best,
John and Nancy

After three days up on the land at Ipswich Haven Marina, Adventuress is ready to be launched: 13 June 2017.