Monday 29 May
Tuesday 30 May
Wednesday 31 May
Thursday 1 June
Friday 2 June
Saturday 3 June
Sunday 4 June
Edam to Marken
Marken to Hoorn Inner Harbour
Hoorn Inner Harbour
Hoorn Inner Harbour - trip to Enkhuizen by train
Hoorn to Makkum
Makkum to Hindeloopen
Hindeloopen to Zandmeer, near Workum
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The 08:05 weather forecast on VHF from the Netherlands Coastguard said force 3 to 4 from the North West which was OK for the trip down to Marken. But it would get worse later. There was plenty of blue sky with white fluffy clouds and it was very pleasant out of the wind.
We left our berth in Edam in time to arrive at the bridge for the 10:30 opening where we said our farewells to the Harbour Master. At the other side of the lock we pulled in for the pump-out machine. The HM had told us that it was €0.50 for three minutes pumping. In the end it took fifteen minutes of pumping time to empty the tank, but we succeeded. While we were doing this the HM appeared to check that everything was working all right, which was good of him.
We then headed out into the Markermeer and turned South for Marken. When we got to the
Gouwzee the water was a lot more choppy because we lost the shelter of the coast. As we approached the harbour entrance to Marken we had the full force of the wind directly behind us. At the point where we had least control and needed all the space available another yacht appeared and exited the harbour. We thought they might have preferred to wait until we had got in - steel vs fibre-glass etc etc. But we passed each other without any problem.
We then tried to moor in various locations within the harbour where we would be in the lea of the jetties, but each time we were defeated by the strong winds. At one point we had two lines onto two bollards, but the tee bars were so small that the ropes came off with all the pitching while we tried to pull the boat in, and we had to start over again. In the end we opted for a spot where the wind would assist mooring up, but in as sheltered a part of the harbour as we could find, and at the same time away from the ferry. As I write this, Starry Night is bouncing about in the wind quite a bit, but then everything is.
We had lunch in a cafe on the harbour front and then had a wander round Marken. Around 4:00pm the crew were demanding appelgebak and coffee so we headed off to the other cafe on the harbour front and indulged ourselves. When we came out there was a lull in the wind so we did some more exploration.
The houses are mostly painted the same colour - dark green with white detail - and it looks really good. They are built on mounds called werfs. Because soil to build mounds was in short supply, it being a small island, the houses are packed tightly together in little groups. The gardens and fields are on the lower level. Some houses are on stilts which was to let the sea wash under at times of flood before the sea was blocked off and the Markermeer formed. It is a very pretty place and well worth the visit.
Marken harbour entrance
Our mooring for tonight
Typical Marken houses
When we left Marken the wind had veered somewhat and by the time we were out of the Gouwzee and the full shelter of Volendam we were facing an icy North wind. Because of the nearby land the sea state was still, thankfully, only moderate despite the wind. But every time Starry Night hit a big wave, the spray was whipped up over the decks and cabin, and frequently came over the top of the windscreen (into the helmsman's face!). It was most exhilarating! For most of this short passage we were followed by a small flock of terns that were fishing in our wake.
As we approached Hoorn the sea became much calmer and once inside the protection of the harbour things were positively placid. We opted for the municipal inner harbour which gives us a nice view of the old houses along the harbour front. Everyone was frozen and soaked, but this afternoon has been sunny, windy (but cold) and ideal for drying out the wet weather gear. There are three other British boats here, all yachts.
After a lunch of piping hot soup to revive the crew we set off to explore Hoorn. It has a strong maritime history; Cape Horn was named after Hoorn, and the Tasman sailed from here and discovered Tasmania. It is a very pleasant town of character with lots of facilities. There are herons everywhere, and they seem quite urbanised. As I am writing this I can see one standing on the top of a nearby house gable. Earlier we saw two riding on a fishing boat as it left the harbour. The local fisherman see them as a bit of a pest.
In Hoorn we have seen a number of wet fish shops, some with an amazing variety of fish for sale. We have bought four fillets of sole or plaice - we are not entirely sure! They look very good. The challenge will be to get them all cooked at the same time on our small stove.
The forecast for tomorrow is less wind than today but still a chilly one from the North. So we may decide to stay here for an extra night and get the train tomorrow to Enkhuizen for some sightseeing. It depends on what the nice man from the Netherlands coastguard says tomorrow. In any event, Jim and Sara will be heading back to Amsterdam tomorrow morning to catch their plane home.
Terns fishing in our wake
Hoorn Binnenhaven, Starry Night on LHS
Harbour front merchant houses
The 08:05 am weather forecast had said more Northerly force 5 to 6 for the next 24 hours so we are going to stay put until tomorrow.
This has been an opportunity for some detailed planning for the next couple of weeks and we now have the main ports of call and timings sorted out. Friends who are joining us later will have a better idea of where they will find us.
We will probably go to Enkhuizen tomorrow, but taking Starry Night rather than a train.
For some tips on Dutch cruising click here
Jim and Sara bound for Amsterdam
Skirt designed by Kate, seen in Hoorn
The 08:05 am weather forecast for the next 12 hours seemed to be a repeat of yesterday - more Northerly force 5 to 6, but the look ahead to 08:00 tomorrow was forecasting a significant decrease in wind strength down to force 2 to 3. So we have decided to stay put in Hoorn for one more day and take the train to Enkhuizen.
We dropped our washing off at the service laundry just by the quayside at Hoorn, and headed for the station. We were in Enkhuizen by 10:30.
Our mission was to visit the Zuiderzeemuseum, which is split into indoor and outdoor sections, and also to take in the Ship in a Bottle Museum. We started off with the indoor Zuiderzeemuseum, which concentrates on the history of the Zuiderzee. The archive film footage of floods, storms and dykes breaching is enough to give you a huge respect for the Dutch and their battle against the sea. Amongst the many interesting exhibits is a collection of old wooden ships.
The outdoor museum is just up the road from the indoor museum. It is a museum village consisting of over 100 buildings from 42 different Zuiderzee locations grouped in "neighbourhoods". You can go inside many of the the buildings to sample a bit of Zuiderzee life from around 1900.
Our favourite of all the exhibits was the herring smoke house where there is a crusty old mariner type in authentic dress smoking herrings for sale. We bought one, to share between us (we had just had lunch). It was very tasty if rather oily. You had to eat it with your fingers and there was great potential for a further trip to the laundry! A sink was provided so you could wash your hands afterwards - with soap, and two (dry!!) towels hanging alongside.
After the outdoor museum we headed back into town and found a nice bar by the inner harbour for coffee and appelgebak (this is becoming a habit!). But we were disappointed to find that the Ship in a Bottle Museum was closed despite the signs on the outside saying it was open. Another time.
Then it was back to the station and "home" to Hoorn.
Enkhuizen, near the harbour
Lime kilns at the Zuiderzeemuseum
That herring was good but messy!
Finally the force 5 to 6 winds have abated and this morning's forecast said force 2 to 4 decreasing 1 to 3. And what a difference! The Markermeer was almost like a mill pond - well, smooth, in official jargon.
Before we had left Hoorn we topped up the water tanks as well as adding another 100 litres of diesel to the fuel tank. There was a pump-out machine on the fuel barge and when we asked how much, the answer was "it's free". Since that was rather hard to beat, we emptied the loo tank too. And as well as being free it did the job in a couple of minutes. So everything that needed to be full, was full, and vice versa.
The trip round to Enkhuizen took about ninety minutes in lovely smooth conditions, with the sun shining, but still quite a chill in the air. The Jachtensluis here is fairly new, and there is an impressive waiting pontoon for leisure craft with its own set of traffic lights so that they can keep us penned in while they let commercial barges take priority. This lock divides the Markermeer from the IJsselmeer, with hardly any change in level. There is an arterial road running right under the lock, that then passes along the dam dividing these two lakes. From a distance you could see lorries in a haze seemingly driving along on the top of the water.
Coming out of the lock we then passed the Zuiderzeemuseum where we had been yesterday, and then struck a heading almost exactly due North for Makkum on the other side of the Ijsselmeer in the North East corner. This was in theory a straight line for little over twenty miles but we had to do a fair bit of dodging to avoid the numerous sailing craft of all shapes and sizes.
At 14:45 we were nosing into the Makkum harbour channel, and by 15:00 we had moored up in the municipal harbour just outside town by the Visserhaven. When we arrived there was just one other boat moored up. There must be thirty by now and they are still coming in. This has been our first mooring in a so called "box" but we have cheated to make it easier to get on and off, by choosing an inside end one, adjacent to the main spine of the staging. In a box you moor end on to the staging that runs off at 90 degrees to the spine. There are no finger pontoons between boats. The locals seem to prefer to be bow in first, with the stern held by lines on each side to the piles that make up the box. But you have to clamber over the front of the boat to get off which is easier said than done on Starry Night.
Makkum seems to be a very pleasant little town with a couple of ship building facilities and a pottery centre making typical Dutch blue and white pottery. The centre is quite charming and a good place to stock-up on provisions.
Taking on water in Hoorn - is that blue sky I see?
Waiting at Enkhuizen for the lock
Our mooring at Makkum (we are the one in the centre
without the mast!)The sailing boats moored up at Makkum seemed in no hurry to get out and go this morning and by 10:00 hardly anyone had left, which rather surprised us.
The harbour master made his rounds at high speed on his bicycle along the pontoons (daring chap), and gave a few bars of Starry Starry Night as he whizzed past us. He is only the second person to have done this, the other one being a lady we shared a lock with yesterday. (We get this quite often on the Thames from passers-by whom we imagine don't even know they are doing it!)
At 11:00 we decided to go, and wormed our way out of our tight position, having asked one yacht to move for us, which they did. We felt a bit out of place as the only motor cruiser in a tangle of sailing boats.
Our destination, Hindeloopen, was 90 minutes down the Ijsselmeer. It was a lovely day and felt quite warm in the harbour though the breeze on the lake was still very chilly. We were soon nosing into the harbour at Hindeloopen, and decided to take a look at the municipal harbour before committing to the marina. The harbour looked really nice, and the harbour master greeted us and asked if we wanted to stay the night, so we did. He directed us to a spot and helped us moor up.
By 14:00 there were six other boats relying on our ropes, all rafted out from us along the key. By 19:00 there was not much water surface left in the harbour on which to float a boat - all the available area was boats rafted to boats. There are just two motor boats in this part of the harbour and both of us are against the quayside.
The chap alongside asked what time we were planning on leaving, to which Mike replied "six am", followed quickly by "no, 11:00 or 12:00 will be fine" as he gave a look of horror.
When the harbour master came round to collect the mooring fees he also could be heard whistling the tune to Starry Starry Night. Was Don McLean more popular here in Friesland, than further South in Holland?
Hindeloopen itself is a lovely little village. It has very pretty back streets and a church with a decidedly wonky tower. We sampled the quayside fish bar for lunch, which was excellent. Later we went for a walk along the sea defenses which was quite bracing as the wind has re-doubled its strength.
Starry Night bottom right hemmed in by yachts
It's not the camera, it really is bent.
Hindeloopen backwaters
There could be no hurry this morning because we needed five other boats to move before we could extricate ourselves from our corner plot in the harbour. In any case we didn't have very far to go - twenty minutes up the coast, into Workum, and then a few miles the other side of town to one of the lakes.
We have now sussed the Dutch sailors' regime which is to rise at a leisurely hour, having been up late the night before. Breakfast is about 10:00 and is of sizable proportion, to last a day's sailing. Around 11:00 there are usually some signs of getting the boat ready, so that an 11:45 departure can be on the cards! It gives plenty of time for a friendly chat to the neighbours.
Of the forty or so boats in the harbour, you could count on the fingers of one hand the number that had left before 11:00. If you want an early start it is important to pick a position in the harbour from which you can retreat with minimal disruption, particularly here at Hindeloopen where the boats are well tessellated due the shape of the harbour and the way the harbour master packs them in.
When we left, it was straight into the teeth of a force 5/6 blowing from the North. Luckily we didn't have far to go but we were glad we had properly stowed everything for the twenty or so minutes we were bouncing along on the Ijsselmeer. Once we were in Het Zool, the approach channel to Workum Sluis, we were in relatively sheltered waters.
The lock keeper was giving priority to boats coming the other way and went through three lock cycles one way only and then knocked off for lunch! When he came back there were some fifteen or so boats waiting in our direction. There were three before us in the "queue" (a concept not fully understood here). When the gates opened there was a general free for all, and a yacht that had just arrived at the back of the queue sailed straight in, followed by a mass of smaller more zippy boats that had the march on the likes of us struggling with an unfavourable cross wind. Nett effect was we missed the first locking! But very quickly there was a second locking and we were first in, this time having employed more ruthless tactics!
Once through the lock we were in a very pleasant stretch of canal with four bridges and lots of moorings and other interesting boaty stuff. The town of Workum itself seemed very pleasant and the overall atmosphere reminded us of the Norfolk Broads. At each bridge the keeper dangled a clog on a line, expertly placing the clog right into your hands as you passed by, so you could put the toll money in - €0.60 per bridge, no change given!
When we were through Workum it was just a couple of miles to the first of the groups of lakes in Friesland, and we chose to moor up at one of the many stagings on Zandmeer. It is very peaceful here, just the squawking of various birds, and the wind. Perfect.
Clog dangling on a line for brug geld
"Bank Holiday" traffic jam in Workum
Pastoral scene in Friesland
Copyright © 2006-2009 Mike Hawkridge