Day 29 - Makkum

Wednesday 1^st July 2015 – Makkum – Day 29

It is a very bright, warm and sunny morning and before leaving I went along to the chandlers  and bought the book which had been recommended, for navigating in the Waddenzee, namely, ‘HP33 Dutch Coast Tidal Streams’.

We left the marina at 10.30 and headed up the eastern side of the Ijsselmeer, close into the Friesland shore.  With the speed log unit removed from its tube, my speed instrument in the cockpit was showing zero and I had no indication of how far we had travelled.  Luckily, I had remembered to bring along my hand-held GPS, with power to it from the cigar-lighter socket, I at least knew what speed we were doing.

Old Harbour

Six mile along the coast and we entered the old harbour of Hindelopen, asking the harbour master, no problems to stay for two hours on the harbour wall.

This is a very picturesque town with its narrow streets and canal; it is immaculately clean.  It does not take long to walk around it and were delighted to see some very unusual works of art.

Happy Face

 

Sad but colourful

  

These wood carvings, one on a house wall facing the streets, while these colourful characters, overlooking the harbour.

Church

The local church with its tilting tower, the graveyard contains a section looked after by the war graves commission, of which there were six members of a crashed plane, five Canadian and one British airmen are buried here.

Main Street

Wee canal

  

Not far from the little canal, we stopped at a restaurant for a ham and eggs lunch, while watching others yachts manoeuvring in the harbour.

We had to be moving on and left at 13.30, continued north up the coast to our next port, Makkum.  Only a two hour run and we were alongside in this very large marina.  Booking in at the reception was hilarious, with this girl in fits of laughter, trying to explain the joys of Makkum.

This new marina complex has a supermarket, shops, bar, restaurant, swimming pool, children’s play area and on this very hot afternoon, the first stop was the small café and a large ice cream, sitting under an umbrella, it was a treat.

   

The ice cream was not sufficient to cool us down, it was into the open-air swimming pool.  Though it was 30 degrees, the water in comparison was very cold and just what we needed.

Shower block entrance

The shower block facilities are the best I have seen and I really enjoyed the experience.

The walk into town took longer than we were told, the half-hour stroll took us up the river past large  sheds belonging to ‘De Vries’, who look after the super-rich, building their super yachts.

In the town centre, we sat outside in the bar/restaurant ‘De Zwann’ and tucked into a large bowl of mussels with bread, roast potatoes and salad, this was delightful.

A taxi back to the marina bar, ‘Beaufort’ for ould genever night caps.

It had been an eventful, three ports, an excellent sail in very good conditions and the sun shone all day.

Day 28 - Stavoren

Tuesday 30^th June – Stavoren – Day 28

I was at the harbour master’s office as it opened at 09.00 and told him of the situation.  He contacted the local technical services who would come and see how they could help.

At 10.15 a representative from ‘Skips Maritem’ arrived on board, I showed him a drawing of how I thought a repair maybe achieved, but he came up with another idea of fitting another bronze tube with a blank, as he had seen this failure before.  He told us to make our way to the crane and he would send in the boys.

65 tonne gantry crane

  

Lift out

The lifting dock was at the entrance to the marina and we were safely tied up there at 11.00 and lifted out at 12.45.

Keel rock contact

The damage to the antifoul coating on the keel can be seen after hitting the rock off Urk, six days ago.

Failure

The removed plastic speed log tube shows the sealant failure while the securing ring rubber has disintegrated, allowing the ingress of water.

Prefer metal to plastic

  

New tube in place

The new bronze tube was fitted with sikaflex sealant to the hull and sealing ring, blank secured with threadlock and ptfe tape. 

Working with the shore personnel the job was completed in an hour and a quarter.

Clean bottom

   

Lift back-in

 

The underwater hull was remarkably clean and put it down to, being in fresh water for the past three weeks along with a good antifoul paint.

The lift back in was very successful with no leaks and in our allotted box at 15.00.

A big thank you goes to the harbour master, technical representative and technician for a job very well done.  A couple of hours later when I went to the office to pay the bill, I was astounded, it came to 205 euros (£155), they really looked after me.  If this had happened in the UK, it is a license to print money and would have cost an arm and a leg.

It is 30 degrees today and time for some relaxation, ashore in the evening, outside the marina you pass a pumping station with four very large Archimedes screw pumps which when needed, control the levels within the Ijsselmeer and the surrounding rivers.  A walk along the canals with the many boats at their moorings brings you to the old harbour.

Syd's enjoyment

t'Havenhoofd

Here we went into a restaurant I knew ‘t’Havenhoofd’, we had crispy seafood starter followed by a very large pork schnitzel, salad with chips

We were well satisfied after consuming this lot, needed a walk afterwards around the harbour to aid the digestion.

Some of the other harbour side bars and restaurants were closed and this was appearing to be the norm, as after the weekend activities, they would close for the Monday and Tuesday.

Wandering back we found ‘Schots Restaurant’ which in the corner had a whiskey bar with a fine selection of Scottish whiskeys.  It was a little strange being in Holland with a big Dutchman dressed in a white shirt and kilt, ladies in long tartan skirts serving meals and drinks, but you have to enjoy the moment.

It has been a very eventful and successful day, at last a peaceful night.

Day 27 - Stavoren

Monday 29^th June – Stavoren – Day 27

The morning was spent walking round the town and shopping.

Station and Church

The railway station appears to be run by enthusiasts with information on steam train excursions, we saws none at the time and for a Monday morning it all appeared unusually quiet.

Syd the Shopper

After collecting stores in the Spar supermarket, along the high street numerous stores were being set up and we could not resist this wonderful selection of fruit and veg.

In the café next to the drawbridge, a late bacon omelette breakfast was enjoyed with an iced tea to quench the thirst, on this very warm morning.

We left the marina and cleared the harbour entrance at 12.30 and had a wonderful sail across the Ijsselmeer on a port tack arriving in Stavoren at 15.00.

I made my introductions to the harbour master while Syd went off to explore the town.

On returning to the yacht after kicking my shoes off on this very warm afternoon, entering the cabin the starboard side section of the carpet was wet and on investigation, there was two inches of water in the centre bilge and water in the starboard side provision and under the cooker lockers.  The centre bilge was pumped out using the built-in bilge pump and the lockers mopped out.

Where is the water coming from?

All lockers were inspected within the cabin and nothing found.  All items from the very large cockpit locker were removed onto the deck and the side panel removed from the engine compartment.

Speed log leaking tube

The water ingress was from the speed log tube, an attempt to tighten up the securing nut, although it did move was not sufficient to stop the leak. 

The speed log unit was removed and blank fitted to the tube, but it was still leaking.

Now suspected the tube was cracked and wrapped it with self-amalgamating tape and secured with two jubilee clips but still the water is weeping in.  The boat is sinking!

By this time Syd had returned from ashore and over a few drinks we discussed our options.

On the positive side, we had at last established where the water was coming in, and more importantly, knew how to get rid of it with the bilge pump.

 

A watch system of checking and pumping out every two hours, if necessary, was agreed.

It was not a peaceful night.

Day 26 - Medemblik

Sunday 28^th June 2015 – Medemblik – Day 26

In the morning, I took Syd for a walk around Enkhuizen, to show him this wonderful place and why I always like coming back.  He was enchanted by the different places to moor your boat, either in the large and small marinas, or on the canal banks, along with their many welcoming bars and restaurants.

We left the marina box at lunchtime and near to the Zuiderzee museum, we hoisted the mainsail after watching a Dutch yacht, whose lady crew member had the mainsail up in no time.  A round of applause from us for her effort, we waited until they were away, before our hoist which went unnoticed.

Being a Sunday and a fine day there were a variety of vessels on the Ijsselmeer, all taking advantage of a flat sea and fair breeze.

Dutch barge with its day trippers.

On our short journey we passed a man-made island called ‘De Kruepel’, one mile long by half a mile wide, which has been turned into a nature reserve and water-sports facilities.

Marina

We were inside our marina box in Medemblik by 16.30.  The harbour master was most helpful with his local information and maps of the area.

Draw bridge

Syd went off into town while I struggled on with the computer, later to meet up in the ‘De Zeepaardje’ bar, a short distance from the marina once you crossed over the drawbridge.

The barman told us to eat at the ‘Local’ just down the street, here we dined on very nice rib-eye steaks.

I had been in Medemblik previously and went off seeking one of the harbour bars ‘De Boerberke’.

Apart from chatting with the locals, the couple on the next yacht to us in the marina ‘Scirroco’ were also there.  He gave me lots of information on the Waddenzee, the website to follow for the area, tide tables which should be carried.

While the bar owner, when we told him our next destination, Stavoren, on the other side of Ijsselmeer.  He informed he has swum across eight times in his younger days, a distance of twelve miles.  Seemingly, this is annual event held in August and he has become one of the organisers.

Back on board for midnight after a lovely night ashore and a pleasant day on the water.

Day 25 - Enkhuizen

Saturday 27^th June 2015 – Enkhuizen – Day 25

Most of the morning and afternoon spent on the computer. (really sad)

Main Shopping Street

Around 15.00 went off down the Westerstraat, main shopping street to the supermarket.

There was a wedding going on in the main street church, I was amazed by the clothes the young men were wearing, afraid this latest fashion is not for me.

Town Hall

   

Main Church

On the way to the supermarket you also pass by these impressive buildings.

At night went back to the station to meet the latest crew member, Syd Trugden from Penzance, whom I sailed with on the tallship.

Met him at 23.00, he had flown from Exeter to Schipol airport, Amsterdam, then train to Enkhuisen.

Went into the nearby ‘Hotel du Compaigne’ and drank expensive Belgian beer before going on board for midnight.

Good to have another crew member on board.

Day 24 - Enkhuizen

Friday 26^th June 2015 – Enkhuizen – Day 24

Zuiderzee Museum

In the morning Dave went to the close-by Zuiderzee museum, I had previously been there when I last visited Enkhuizen, it is well worth the visit.

I busied myself with cleaning the boat and once more removing the water from the engine compartment.

In the afternoon went to the station, a fifteen minute walk from the marina, and a farewell coffee and tea in the platform café.

Dave's train

Dave boarded the 16.24 for his one hour journey to Amsterdam, a change of train, which would take to the Hook of Holland and the night ferry to Harwich.

Thank you very much for your time Dave and the enjoyment of seeing another part of Holland, around Flevoland.

Idyllic

Close to the station is this wonderful park and residential area, a very peaceful part of this bustling town.

I carried on exploring different parts of the town, before returning to the boat and spent the evening catching up on the computer.

The night walk found the town very busy, although it was now starting to lightly rain after the warm sunny morning.  Last stop the ‘Café Kop’ before retiring to bed at 23.30.

It had been a nice quiet day.

Day 23 - Enkhuizen

Thursday 25^th June 2015 – Enkhuizen – Day 23

Duck on a rudder

Awoke this morning to find on the next boat, this duck who had found himself a nice little spot stood on top of the rudder having a sleep.

Ashore and found a shop where I purchased a new MP3 cable to connect to my entertainment radio, as of late the playback had been very hit and miss.

Wind turbine work boat

A walk round the harbour and found the wind turbine work boats on which the Welsh lads we met last night drive around the Ijsselmeer.  You know it is Welsh, it has the red dragon on the side and an unpronounceable name.

Dave in relax mode

Before setting off an ice tea for me and a coffee for Dave in the nearby ‘Havenzicht’ bar. 

We left Urk at mid-day, hoisted the main inside the harbour entrance and headed out across the Ijsselmeer, keeping a very careful eye on the buoys which took us along to the end of the Markermeer dam.

Half-way across we were confronted with an array of fishing pots flags and picked our way through. 

Enkhuizen marina

On the beautiful sunny warm day the wind died  and motored into our destination at Enkhuizen and were allocated box C5 in the marina.

On this day, brought out the banjo, sat in the cockpit entertaining myself and others when along came this wonderful sight.

A Grebe, with one of it’s chicks on its back, hitching a ride.

In the evening, a walk ashore to the station, on the way passing the very pretty canals, crossing over the famous Dutch draw bridges.  There are many little harbours within this town with boats of many shapes and sizes.

Dromedaris Tower

Walking by the Dromedaris tower, the local youths were throwing themselves into the canal beside the draw bridge, either to cool off or impress the gathering young ladies.

A meal in the Italian restaurant ‘Conto Vecchio’, before going further into the town centre to the bar ‘De Enckhuyser’, where we sat in the last of the sunshine and pleasantly watched the world go by.

We ended up in the ‘Café Kop’, the nearest one to the marina for a night cap and were back on board for midnight.

A day in which we had crossed the Ijsselmeer from Friesland to Noord-Holland; in wonderful conditions, and taken in the sights of two different but delightful towns.