This is "Onbekommerd"!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Back in Monnickendam

After a 6 hour trip over the IJsselmeer (almost 7 hrs if you include the detour via Volendam to fill up with diesel), we arrived back in Monnickendam, our home port. Over the last 3 weeks, we covered 415 KM in 44 motor hours. All went very well, we still do get better and better in handing the boat and can park it in tiny places without any fuss. Its over 10 tonnes of steel and does not react like a car at all, especially when there is a bit of a wind blowing!
Monnickendam is very nice and we celebrated 'coming home' with a meal onshore (which is a rare occurrence because (amongst other reasons) of the cost of eating out in Holland).

Tomorrow we'll clean the boat thoroughly as it is very dirty and still full of salt from the Waddenzee. Then there are some minor maintenance jobs to do (always, on a boat) and on Saturday it is the queen's birthday, which is quite a festive occasion here (the decorations are already in place in Monnickendam, lots of Dutch flags and orange bits and pieces).
On Sunday early evening (19.00) we fly back to London.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Workum

Remember 'dial-up' Internet? Well, that'sabout how slow our connection is at the moment! Maybe even slower. So it has to suffice to tell you that we are now in Workum (of Dutch Optimist Nationals fame) and will cross the IJsselmeer back to Monnickendam tomorrow. Shoud be about 6 hours in all. Weather now overcast and quite cool, but the predicted rain has not yet materialised.
More tomorrow!

Sneek

After a quick 2 hour trip, we reache Aqua Solar in Sneek. After some measuring and pondering we have decided to have 3 solar panels installed and to replace the very energy inefficient 'absorption' type fridge for a modern compressor type. All of this will make us a lot less dependent on shore current when we are moored. Currently we can really only spend one day static without the 'electrical umbilical cord', which restricts us from spening more time at anchor, at a small island or (intentionally) grounded and 'high and dry' on a tidal flat. So we are buying a bit of freedom. All of this will be done on 7 June, when we are back here.
After that, we moved on to the town of Sneek itself where we are moored under the 'Waterpoort'. We bought a new flag and flagpole for the boat and some other neccesities. Sneek is the last (relatively!) major town on this trip and it has excellent watersport shops so we took advantage of that. In the evening we visited Henk and Inge de Jong, a couple we met during last year's Wadden trip and who live in Sneek (with their boat moored behind the house!).
Today we'l do a few more things in Sneek and then move to Workum from where we'll cross te IJsselmeer to 'home port' Monnickendam tomorrow. The weather is still good, although quite a bit cooler and there is a rumour of some rain later today and tomorrow. Will keep you posted!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Hooidambrug

We left the little island in the middle of nowhere at 10 and motored over the Lauwersmeer, through the lock at Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen and through the 'Zwemmer' to our friends Hans and Jet who have a cottage at the Hooidambrug (this is sort of in the middle of Friesland). It was very nice to see them again, we had our first 'Wadden experience' with them last year and we are now planning a possible trip to Berin with them this coming summer. They have a 7.7m 'Loodsboot', a bit smaller than Onbekommerd but very nice as well.
Tomorrow we plan go to Sneek quite early to visit the supplier of solar panels. It would be nice to be less dependent on shore currentb when we do longer trips and want to discuss the possibilies. Sneek should be 2 hours or a bit more from here.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Back to the mainland

We had a wonderful 4 days on Schiermonnikoog ("Schier"). As the islandis so small (4 by 18 KM officially, but only 4 by 10 really accessible), we decided to leave the bicycles on the boat and walk everywhere. Each day we had a good walk, between 2 and 4 hours and enjoyed the peace and quiet. When Easter came, it was just nicely busy, but no big crowds. As the island is car-free (only the 948 inhabitants are allowed one car per household), it is very safe to cycle and you see lots of families and even quite small kids cycling on their own. The weather is still holding and it is actually getting quite warm during the day: we start wearing something warm when we get up, but soon it is back to T-shirts!
This afternoon we left the island on the high tide (at low tide the channel to the harbour runs dry!) and we did the one hours crossing to Lauwersoog on the mainland. Through the lock and then another hour to a little isld in the Lauwersmeer where we are now moored 'in the wild', the first time on fresh water in 2 weeks! Fortunately there still is internet access through the 3G 'dongle' and we even just had a Skype conversation with our British friends. Technology is amazing!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Schiermonnikoog

We reached our 5th (and last) 'Waddeneiland' today!
After a short but pleasant stay on Ameland (which at time seems a bit like a German enclave), we set off to 'Schier', over about 5 shallows. The first one (Zuider Spruit) was quite a challenge: although according to the calculations and the computer programme we could go over it from 10h16 (that's the time the tide is high enough), there were reports on the internet that it had becom more shallow and that one should allow for a later time. So we got there at close to 11, but we still got stuck on the sand for about half an hour before the tide was high enough. We made coffee (what else does one do at 11!)and patiently waited a bit. Then we were afloat again, but only a few hundred metres later the story repated itself. All in all, we lost about an hour but then we were through. We just hope that this particular spot does not 'sand up' a lot more, because then it will become difficult for us to do the Ameland - Schiermonnikoog trip, which actually is fantastic with lots of 'water life' (seals and birds) around you.
When we got to Schier, it was pretty quiet, only a few boats in the harbour (which is also being dredged at the moment - just before the Easter weekend). The lady harbour master was waiting on the jetty to take our lines and even came on board to shake both our hands, such a nice and personal welcome! Harbour fees? "Oh, you can come anytime later before you leave to pay, dont worry about it". We walked to the village (about 15 minutes) to buy provisions and also manged to pick up our 4th (and final) new plate (we also found one on Ameland). Schier is still clearly our favorite island here! We'll stay until Sunday afternoon and the go to Lauwersoog on the mainland and on Monday from there to meet up with friends (Hans & Jet) near the Hooidambrug.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Is this really Holland?

We can't believe we really are in Holland (OK, The Netherlands for the purists, because in Ameland we actually are in the province of Friesland and saying that you are in Holland is a cardinal sin!). The weather is so 'un-Dutch'! We have been here for 12 days and one night we heard some raindrops on the roof (well, I did, Lyn does not believe it). For the rest it has been mainly sunny, with a small cloud now and then (and a morning of fog on Terschelling). And the forecast for the rest of the week is good as well. Most unusual, but very welcome!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Ameland

Terschelling was very nice. We (of course) cycled quite a bit, especially on Saturday. Sunday started quite misty: a few boats went out and came back as the visibility was too poor to see the channel markers. Then we heard that in Midsland, only 5 KM away, it was nice and sunny, so we got on our bikes. As we left West Terschelling (the main town on the island), it started to clear, but by the time we got to Midsland (via a detour through the dunes), it was thich with fog there so we returned to 'West' where the sun waas shining. All very confusing. Anyway, fortunately it was still clear this morning to we continued our "Waddentrip" to Ameland, a 3 hour voyage over two shallows and past sand banks with seals and lots of birds. There were also seals in the water, quite close to the boat (we'll try to get them posted some time). We got to Ameland by 12.30 and as this is a real tidal harbour we were stuck in the mud by 16.30. But now it is 21.30 and we are afloat again! We'll be here for two nights, cycle a bit tomorrow and then move on again.
Our quest to get a dinner plate from each island (which stranded in Vlieland as they had no plates) was moderately successful on Terschelling: we did get a (rather nice) plate but it does not look 'real Terschelling'. Plates are hard to get, a shopkeeper thought that it is because people dont break enough plates so they dont buy new ones (she still uses her mother's plates, hows that for real Dutch!).

Friday, April 15, 2011

Terschelling

We had two days on Vlieland. Very quiet outside 'the season'. The island is preparing itself for the tourists to start arriving from next week, the shop opening hours are being extended and the restaurants, some of  which are closed for winter are opening again. Of course we cycled the length and witdh of the island, but that can be done in a few hours as it is very small! The nature is completely different from Texel: there is no agriculture to speak of, so no lambs in the fields and also few spring flowers. A problem was that we could not find any nice dinner plates! We were planning to replace the (melamine) plates that we have on the boat with a different hand-painted one from each island. So we got a nice one on Texel but Vlieland let us down. We therefore still take turns using the one and only 'nice plate'. Lets hope that Terschelling does handpainted plates!
In spite of the plate-disappointment, we enjoyed our stay on Vlieland and this afternoon we used the favorable currents to motor the short (12 n miles) to Terschelling. Is is getting boring (for you, not for us!), but again wonderful weather and virtually no wind! So it was a very nice and comfortable trip, which ended in Terschelling by 2.30 PM. The sun has now just set, I have taken the flags in and the Brandaris (the characeristic lighthouse) is watching over us. The harbour is almost empty, even though it is Friday night. The harbour master expects more boats tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Vlieland

We had a few glorious days on Texel, cycled two 40 KM each routes on Sunday and Monday. The weather cooperated by being sunny and with little wind. Still quite cold, no more than about 13 C but when cycling that's OK and on Monday we even had to take our jackets off! We did both the Southern and Northern 'Thijsse routes', with some adaptations to take us past points w especially wanted to see (and avoid other ones). The diversity of birdlife and nature is quite surprising, no wonder that it was (and still is, I guess) a biologist's dream. Being spring, the meadows were full of lambs (Texel is not called the 'sheep island' for nothing) and there are wild Daffodils everywhere along the roads. I will work out how to post pictures on the blog when we are back in London and share some.
We were planning to go to Vlieland on Tuesday but as it was blowing quite hard (5-6 Bft), we decided to take a rest day. Today it was 4-5 Bft and we had a comfortable 5 hour trip over the Western Waddenzee to Vlieland, the last bit over the shallows of the 'Franse Gaatje' which was interesting as we could not easily find the 'prikken', the little trees that mark the channel.
We are now safely tied up in the marina on Vlieland. As in Texel and Den Helder, it is very quiet; the season has not really started yet, I suspect that comes at Easter in 10 days' time. But we do share the marina here with about 30 or so 50+ foot motor boats which are on some cruise together. Poor little "Onbekommerd" looks very small in between them, but we are very happy that we can just step out on the jetty without a stepladder and that we can easily swing the boat around!
The plan is to stay here two nights (until Friday) and then move to Terschelling for the weekend. The weather forcast continue to be reasonable good!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Texel

The 'kermis' was not that bad, it was definitely not well attended so at around 9.30 the guy who was desperately shouting 'shake your body' over the intercom every 10 seconds had gone quiet and by 10pm silence reigned!
This morning the slight mist had lifted by the time we got up and after loading water we were off though the lock, then through the naval harbour and into the Waddenzee. The salt water 'sounds' very different when you motor through it, there is a 'foamy' sound to it and I love it! The crossing to Oudeschild, the harbour of Texel only takes an hour and by 10.45 we were tied up in a very quiet marina. The season has not really started yet, many boats are still on the hard in their winter storage so in spite of the good weather (force 3 Bft, sunny but cool, 12 degrees max today!), and the fact that it is weekend, there are only about 20 boats in this 200 berth marina at the moment.
We walked to the village to do some provisioning and after lunch got out the folding bikes and cycled to some of the villages. Tomorrow we plan to do the 'Thijsse route'. My great grandfather was a teacher here between 1890 and 1893 and they named two cycle routes (of 40 Km each) after him. The signs are being removed and replaced by different signs without the 'Thijsse' name on it, but at the tourist information they still gave us a route map (after I explained the family connection).
We will stay here until Tuesday morning, weather allowing we will then go to the next island, Vlieland. Texel is quite big, about 25 by 15 KM and it does not really 'feel' like an island but it is very nice nonetheless.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Alkmaar - Den Helder

After a good first night's sleep on the boat, we visited the Alkmaar Cheese market, which is purely held for tourists each Friday between March and September (but it is still quite festive and nice). Then we motored North to Den Helder, which is at the very tip of North Holland province. Tomorrow we will make the short crossing to Texel, the first of the 'Wadden Islands'. The weather is very nice and sunny, but quite cool. There is a fete (Kermis) here next to the Marina so it wont be an early night....
For the Dutch amongst you: Lyn had her first 'oliebol' (bought on the Kermis).

Thursday, April 7, 2011

From London back to Onbekommerd

We got a lot done during our three days in London: sorted out the bank account, got Lyn a UK cell phone number and lots of MegaBytes for her iPhone. Also completed the paperwork for the residence card and sent it off. And made an appointment (for early May) with the Dutch embassy to submit the naturalisation request.
Yesterday's weather  was very nice and we went for a long walk along the Thames. To a place called Teddington lock (boaties have to go and see any lock within walking distance) and back all the way to Kew, it must have been around 20 Km in all. Glorious sunshine.
This morning we got up at 5.30 to get to Heathrow in time for an 8.30 flight. Arrived in Alkmaar just before 1 pm and by 2 pm Onbekommerd was back in her element! Rinsed the water tank and tied up in the town 'gracht' (canal) in Alkmaar, ready for the cheese market tomorrow.
We are really happy to be back on our 'second home' everyting is fine and it feels familiar and 'homely'. We'll have an early night.

Monday, April 4, 2011

London

We are in London. Well not true, we are actually in Richmond which is a London suburb (to the South West). The famous Kew Gardens are in Richmond, only 5 minutes or so from the house we are staying.
The trip via Dubai was long, especially because the 'plane we were supposed to fly on from Dubai to London had a technical problem (the back-up braking system) and they had to replace it as they could not fix it in time. Fortunately Emirates have 15 of these giant Airbus 380's (the biggest passenger plane in the world), so they had a spare one. That one also had a problem, but they managed to fix it. All in all that caused a 4 hour delay. Then we had a 1 hour wait in the immigration queue. The very kind immigration officer told us that with Lyn's EU spouse visa we can in future use the UK/EU passport queue so that will make a big difference next time we arrive here. The wait was long, but even so, the luggage had not yet arrived when we got to the carrousel! Fortunately all our 62 Kgs arrived a bit later (the 62 Kgs was the reason of flying via Dubai in the first place as Emirates have an allowance of 30 Kg each in economy).
Today we did a few of the things one needs to do when arriving in a new country: opening a bank account and getting a pay as you go local SIM card.
Not much else to do the next few days, we'll send out the paperwork for Lyn's residence card tomorrow and make an appointment for the first week of May with the Dutch embassy for the naturalisation.
On Thursday morning we fly to Amsterdam and collect 'Onbekommerd' from the winter storage in Alkmaar.