Stage 16: Back through the Netherlands

Friday 17 August
We had to leave near high water to carry the tide along the coast, but it was at 11.30, and we left a bit before then - not one of our usual early starts. Borkum has a narrow dredged channel from the main Ems river to the harbour, and when we emerged into this, we found an incoming ferry and an outgoing one, with us in the middle. They both passed very close, but we have become used to large fast vessels passing very close! Once we picked up the favourable tide and joined the branch of the Ems which heads westwards, we were able to sail with the drifter. It was hot, the wind was adequate and the sea was blue and calm. This is what sailing should be! We watched the islands pass by - first some uninhabited ones, then Schermonnikoog. We changed the courtesy flag as we passed into the Netherlands, although we were not entirely sure where the border was. Eventually we reached the channel into Lauwersoog, the Westgat. There are some restricted areas that the harbourmaster had warned us about in May, but other boats seemed to be sailing all over the place, so we took a cautious path around where we thought the restrictions were. We sailed a couple of miles towards Lauwersoog, along with quite a fleet of other yachts, but then the channel turned into the wind, and one by one, they (and we) motored the final bit. Everyone seemed to be preparing lines to go into the lock, but it was a few minutes before 7 and the lock-keeper had gone home, so we all filed into the marina on the Seward side of Lauwersoog and moored up. It was reasonably empty, at least it was until our fleet turned up.

Saturday 18 August
We decided to go towards Schiermonnikoog and dry out on the sands. We did it a couple of times in our previous boat, and it was lovely in settled weather. The weather was forecast to be good, so we left just before HW and sailed slowly up the winding and complicated channel, which has lots of branches and lots of buoys. I assured Gordon that the ferry that was approaching wouldn't come our way, but it did, and yet again we found ourselves passing just a few metres from a ferry in a very narrow channel. We got to where lots of other boats were anchored, picked a spot at least 100m from any of them and dropped our anchor (all under sail, so we hoped they were watching ).

We turned out to be rather closer to the channel than we wanted, and when the tide went out, the fast flowing water scoured out holes around our keels. All was ok, except we took a long time to settle and we ended up with a 9 degree list - safe but a bit uncomfortable. However, it was worth it. We waded through the water on firm sand and watched the tide leave miles of exposed sand and mud, and the birds return to feed. We scrubbed Alshira's bottom and changed her anode, but mostly we just enjoyed the space and quiet. It was sunny and hot, so being able to paddle and swim was perfect. In the evening, the water returned and gradually we levelled out and floated. We pulled in the anchor chain to make sure we did not go aground in the same hole that she dug for herself last time.

Sunday 19 August
The original plan was to go to Vlieland, but when we measured the distance and worked out the tides, we realised that we'd get there very late in the evening after a 12 hour sail - no fun! So we went to Ameland instead. This is the next island to Schiermonnikoog, but you have to go a long way around the back of it to the harbour, which would be very full in school holidays. The plan, therefore, was to anchor in one of the sheltered channels behind the island. The day was beautiful, sunny, warm and a decent breeze. We sailed off the anchor as soon as we were floating and headed out to sea. Lots of other boats were sailing too, but they mostly kept behind the islands, or headed off to dry out on another sandbank. We were particularly amused by the crew of a trimaran, who were wearing matching hats... But nothing else. Out at sea, there was a bit of a swell, which was ok while the wind was keeping us going, but when it died, we were just bouncing around getting uncomfortable, so the engine had to come on for the last couple of hours. We rounded a nasty shallow bar called Born Riff and made our way between the islands, and then, after getting quite confused by the different buoys and channels, into the one we had selected, and dropped the anchor. It was quiet and peaceful, about a mile from the island shore and with sand banks behind and in front of us.

Monday 20 August
So we had to complete the passage to Vlieland, abandoned in favour of Ameland yesterday. But since we were already behind the islands, there was an option of taking the inland route over the mud. We could go over a restricted island called Blauw Balg, but only when the tide had risen quite a bit and then over the much longer mud route behind Terschelling, also requiring maximum tide. The alternative was to go around Blauw Balg - an extra 3 miles, but with only one drying section to worry about. We chose the latter. We left in a procession of boats, which separated to go in all directions, some over Blauw Balg. The tide was strong and against us, so we went slower than we expected and came to the Terschelling drying part at, rather than just before, HW. However, it was fine, with more water than we expected. When we emerged into deep water again, the tide was with us, and the direction was good for a fast sail almost all the rest of the way. Here there are branching channels in all directions, and it is a real problem to work out which buoy marks what, particularly when they move the buoys from where they are shown on the chart. We managed it and came around Vlieland island only a few hundred metres after a motoring yacht that we had been sailing alongside for several miles. Lots of boats went into the harbour, but we continued along the island shore and anchored just below the lighthouse - another quiet beautiful place. The only problem is that we have almost run out of food!

Tuesday 21 August
We badly need to stock up on food and have showers after 3 nights at anchor and one (in Lauwersoog) where we could not get at the showers or shops. We decided to come into IJsselmeer, which involves a fairly straightforward sail along the more popular routes across the Waddensee. First, though, we had to raise the anchor. It was ridiculously heavy - due to a lump of weed about the size of a beer barrel hanging off the chain, being pulled back in the ferocious tide.

Once I had picked that off, frond by frond, with the boat hook, the anchor came up reasonably easily. However, there was patchy mist which limited visibility, which is a bit of a problem when you ate having to follow buoyed channels which twist and turn, and where the position of the buoys is quite different from on the charts. We took a slightly longer route, via Harlingen than the more complex, shallower and more direct one. The tide runs really fast here, in one of the major places where the water enters this vast muddy area behind the islands. We sailed and in some places had to motor, and the buoys and the branches in the channels came by rather quickly, necessitating some rapid changes of direction to keep us in the right channel. When we got to the lock into IJsselmeer, there was a queue of boats waiting in an orderly fashion. Once the lock opened, everyone surged forward, and crammed themselves into it, tied to lock walls and to each other. The lock keeper tried to cram a few more in "English boat - move ahead", so we did. We came into a little sailing club in Makkum - a friendly place that we have visited before.

Wednesday 22 August
The wind was whistling again, but it was quite dry and warm. We needed to stock up with food, clean the sand and mud off Alshira, and do a few more domestic tasks. Makkum is a nice little typically Dutch town - canals, lifting bridges, rather twee little houses and a really excellent supermarket. we've become quite connoisseurs of supermarkets in European countries now, and the Dutch ones we have visited have generally been a lot better than even the German ones. The Swedish, surprisingly, were the worst. While we were in the sailing centre in Makkum, a catamaran was brought in by the Dutch equivalent of the RNLI. It had been dismasted in the IJsselmeer, just close to Makkum, in a 22kt gust. 22 kts is pretty routine - we would expect any mast to cope with twice that. Anyway, no one was hurt, and the crew, a family with teenagers, looked a bit shocked, but no worse.

Tomorrow, we have to go across to Medemblik, the other side of IJselmeer, so that an engineer can have a look at our ailing AIS, which still is not working completely correctly after it was supposed to have been dealt with in Neustadt. After arranging this, we found out that the biggest race in the Netherlands sailing calendar is taking place with a finish in Medemblik on Saturday. It sounds a bit like arranging a visit to Cowes at the start of Cowes week, but the engineer assured us it would be fine, and has reserved a place for us.

Thursday 23 August
We wanted to sail right across the IJsselmeer to Medemblik ready for our appointment with the Raymarine man tomorrow. It was about 20 miles, and the direction of the wind just allowed us to sail straight there, close-hauled. To start with, after the strong winds yesterday, it was a bit choppy, but after an hour or so, the waves were reduced, the sun came out and the wind dropped to a pleasant degree, so that it turned into a nice sail. Our instructions were to go to the Westerhaven and ask for the berth that had been arranged for us, so we moored just before the lifting bridge while I went to ask. I talked to the harbour master (actually mistress) of the wrong harbour at first, but she was also in charge of lifting the bridge, so once I had found the right person and been allocated a berth, she lifted the bridge smartly for us. We are right in the middle of the town, in a large basin surrounded by trees, with small boys swimming and people peering over the bridge at the boats. We wandered around the town to the station (touristy steam train), along the main street. But we will be here for a few days, to allow a nasty weather system to pass over and also to avoid the IJsselmeer race which will take place during the poor weather, so our exploration of the town can wait.

Friday 24 August
The man that Raymarine had asked to look at our AIS problem came. We had left the chart plotter on all night in the hope that it would fail, as it has done in the past, and sure enough it gave out sometime during the night. So when he appeared, we were able to demonstrate the problem. He spent some time looking through all the diagnostic screens and managed to get it working again without rebooting the chart plotter. So at least Raymarine will have to believe that we really have a problem, and we know now how to get it working again when it fails, but we are no nearer finding a solution - presumably it is another software fault that Raymarine will have to work on. We found out a bit more about this 24 hour race taking place today and finishing tomorrow here. Yachts can start at any of about 15 places, and have an initial leg to do, then they can sail any course they like between certain buoys in IJsselmeer, Markermeer and the Waddensee, but must finish in Medemblik 23 to 25 hrs after their start. We went up to see the start. The was almost no wind, and about 40 yachts were drifting about about half a mile from the town. There must have been different starts for different classes, because from time to time spinnakers appeared and a few yachts appeared to drift faster than others.

However, half an hour after the time we thought they started, yachts were still motoring out of the harbour towards the start area. It seemed to be a friendly affair, with quite normal looking cruisers as well as the racing boats with fancy sails. We'll go up to see some of them finishing tomorrow.

Saturday 25 August
There was a used boat show in Hoorn, just 5 miles away, Gordon said. When I measured it on the map it came to about 20 miles, but never mind, we went anyway. The bike ride was classic Dutch countryside - flat fields, dykes, straight roads and super bike paths. As we got into the outskirts of Hoorn - yes it is big enough to have outskirts - we were stopped by a huge street jumble sale.

All along a long residential street were stalls and tables, mostly just junk from lofts, but some proper market stalls selling clothing and stuff too. It was heaving with people - a major local occasion. We came across the same sort of event in Edam a few years ago - perhaps it is a part of Dutch culture. The boat show was in the main harbours in the town centre. There were dragon boat races, trips round the harbour, and lots of stalls and boats for sale.

We went around an old lifeboat, which used to be based in what is now Lauwersmeer but was then open sea.

We then had a look at a couple of classic boats which were for sale. We told the owner or dealer that we were only looking for curiosity, but they were charming and showed us round all the same. The second had been designed by the present owner, who had arthritis in his wrists, forcing him to sell the boat. He was surprisingly positive about it, although it must have broken his heart - it was a lovely boat! Soon after we got back to Medemblik, the boats that had been racing started coming in. The finish was in the Osterhaven, which is a narrow channel which leads through an opening bridge into the harbour we are in. It was raining hard, so we didn't watch them come in, but lots of boats came into our harbour. There is a raft about 12 deep blocking the whole of the channel between our pontoon and the next, and the harbour probably has twice its normal number of boats.

It was very good natured, with everyone helping everyone to moor up. There is a really excellent jazz band in a hospitality tent just ashore from our boat, so we can enjoy the music without venturing out.

Sunday 26 August
Heavy showers on and off all day stopped us from doing much. The Raymerine man was supposed to come to have another look at the chart plotter, too, and we waited in for him, only to find he had forgotten and sent an apologetic text a couple of hours later. The main excitement was watching the huge number of race boats disentangling themselves from their rafts and leaving in some sort of order. Again, it was all very friendly, with people fending off, untangling and casting off lines etc. Back in Oosterhaven, as the boats headed out into IJsselmeer and home, the race people tried to get them to detach their race numbers and throw them onto the quay to be collected - lots of fun there too. By the afternoon, Westerhaven was back to normal. It is a huge event for the town.

Monday 27 August
We have got to the point of trying to work out the best day to cross the North Sea, and making our way to the NL coast at the right time. It doesn't look to promising for wimps like us till Thursday or Friday, so we have a day or two in hand. We decided to go to Muiden, just on the Markermeer close to Amsterdam, because it looked nice in the free guide to marinas and harbours that we picked up somewhere. The text (in Dutch) said you should phone to book a place, so we did that. The Raymarine man turned up early, and admitted he had no idea how to solve the AIS problem, but he will report back to Raymarine. We headed straight out through the opening bridge, and towards the lock at Enkhuizen. The wind was forecast to be SE, which would have been nice, but it wasn't, it was south, on the nose. We tacked all the way. At times the sea was a bit choppy, so we headed towards the shore, but most of the time, it was a lovely easy sail with a reasonable wind. However, I had measured the distance at a bit over 20 miles, and Gordon reckoned about 30. It turned out to be 42 miles, including a lifting bridge and a very efficiently run lock. Muiden has a royal yacht club, with a rather splendid flood lit castle overlooking it. We will take a day looking around tomorrow.

Tuesday 28 August
On the map, Naarden, not far from Muiden, looks extraordinary. It has two star shaped rings of concentric dikes and ten town is in the middle. The Rough Guide describes it as looking as if someone has used a giant sized pastry cutter. We briefly looked around Muiden - a fine old typical Dutch town, cycled off to a shopping centre along lovely bike paths along the side of Markermeer, but devoted the afternoon to an expedition to see if Naarden is as odd as it looks on the map. As usual, the bike paths were lovely, through agricultural land, mainly cows and sheep in contrast to further north (and this is about 10 miles from central Amsterdam). Naarden really is extraordinary. There are high fortifications, brick faced, about 20 m high or more, on the inner ring, and grassy mounds on the outer ring. Each ring is zigzagged. In the middle of all this is a reasonably normal small (though a bit precious) Dutch town with cobbled streets and canals.

Wednesday 29 August
It is just a few miles from Muiden to the canal through Amsterdam. At the Markermeer end of it, there is a lifting bridge which opens 3 times an hour and a lock. Every time we have been through it before, we have approached the bridge just as it is closing, and have had to double back and wait. This time, we got the timing right and were surprised to see that we were the only boat through the bridge in our direction, and were alone in the lock - Dutch children must have gone back to school - everywhere is empty again! The North sea canal, through Amsterdam is fairly boring, except for the worrying bits, like when a large ship being towed by two tugs suddenly veers across the canal in front of us blocking it completely so that it can be manoeuvred into a side dock. At one point Gordon observed that the block of flats at the side of the canal, roughly the same height as many others there, was actually a cruise ship.

We arrived at the lock into the sea at IJmuiden to find that again, we were alone in it. Leaving it, we relished that the lock alongside was emptying at the same time, so a very large barge emerged alongside us, with several barges queuing to come in to the locks we had vacated - another of those worrying moments. IJmuiden marina was also half empty.

The wind suddenly got up during the afternoon, but it was hot enough to tempt me onto the beach for a swim in the rising surf. We will now wait here till the weather is good enough to cross the North Sea.

Thursday 30 August
The original idea was to leave tomorrow, when the wind was forecast to be NW, whereas just about every other day it is forecast to be west - the direction we want to go. But the latest forecasts for tomorrow are horrible - gales, thunder and gusts of 50 kts - we will stay put! Anyway, last evening a towel that I had put out to dry blew off its pegs and sank into the harbour, so I said I would dive for it today. For some reason, I got quite nervous about this. I used to love diving for things when I was a child, so I don't know why I got worried. In the event, the harbour was clean and quite warm, so I slipped quickly into the water, put on a mask and retrieved the towel on the first dive. Luckily, the clothes pegs were white and they were easy to spot against the dark weed at the bottom. I rinsed out the towel, hung it out, with a few extra pegs and it has nearly dried. We got the bikes out, shopped, and then rode north across the locks and sluices to see what the big industrial area of the town looks like. There is a huge cement works - acres of coal and sand, and presumably lime too. Everything comes in by barge or ship. It is vast, and since we have only seen it from the sea or the canal before, it was interesting to get another view.

We were caught by a rain shower, and in the evening there was an intense thunder storm - with the sky turning black, lots of lightning, thunder and heavy rain.

Friday 31 August
The thunderstorm turned into a proper gale overnight. The rain lashed down and the gusts shook us and all the neighbouring boats. The wind screamed in the rigging and no one slept very well. By morning it began to clear a bit, and we went out to look at the sea. The waves were splashing over the harbour wall - the outer harbour, that is, where the wall is a good 20 m high. The kite boarders were loving it. The yachts stayed in harbour! We went by bike to shop, but for the first time this trip, riding our bikes was not particularly pleasant, because of the gusty wind. So apart from finding a really good fish shop, we didn't explore much and spent most of the day reading. By the late afternoon, the wind had really abated, so our plans to cross the North Sea tomorrow look feasible, which they certainly didn't earlier on in the day.