Hoorn - Lelystad - Weesp - Amsterdam

We left Hoorn on Wednesday morning to get to Lelystad for the engine service. A completely clear sky and almost no wind made the crossing extremely pleasant:

Leaving Hoorn

There were a lot of 'charters' around. It looked like they were in convoy to Enkhuizen

'Deckhand' Gwilym having a rest on the foredeck. Nice conditions to cross the Markermeer!

On Thursday the mechanic arrived even before the agree time of 8am. He did most of the engine service but could not set the valve clearances as he did not have a spare gasket for the valve cover. Had he opened the valve cover and broken the old gasket, it would have meant a 2 day wait which was a problem. So we'll go back in the spring to sort that out. He also gave some advice about fuel treatment and - filtering. With the decreasing sulphur contents in diesel, combined with the increase in the bio-diesel content in the fuel (both are legislated), it is becoming increasingly difficult to stop 'diesel bacteria' from growing. The excrements of the diesel bacteria can completely block fuel supply systems.

By mid day the service was done and we set 'sail' again. First we thought about going to Muiden and then via the Markermeer to Amsterdam on Friday, but we then realised that a trip through the city of Amsterdam was more intersting so we went through the lock at Muiden and moored at the side of the canal (Smalweesp) in the town of Weesp where we treated ourselves to a beer 'ashore' after a long day:

Weesp: the unused lock and lock bridge

Yesterday (Friday) we did the final 2 hours to Amsterdam. Some bits of that are still quite rural:

We took a route through Amsterdam with very low bridges (well, low for us: 2.4m) so after the mast and the radar had already been dropped we also had to remove the searchlight (which is a 1 minute job). To be honest, my plan was another route, but I tool a turning too early. A new route for me as well!

In the evening we had a nice 'rijsttafel' in Amsterdam. The 'Sixhaven', the usual yacht harbour here in Amsterdam is quite busy as it is both weekend and nice weather. So it was good to arrive early (about midday) and get a nice comfortable box. Gwilym flies back to London this afternoon and Hans will join me for the final leg to Alkmaar on Sunday