Tuesday morning we left at 09:00 hours with almost no wind and some sunshine. I had the steering wheel. Once on the open water it was still not easy to find enough wind to move forward. However, the wind did increase later on. Most of that day I steered at an angle to the wind. That was a great experience. We arrived near Enkhuizen via the Naviduct and entered Ijselmeer. There the wind force increased to Bf 4 and some larger waves. I wasn’t too sure about steering in this so I gave Guus the wheel and we initially reefed the mainsail and jib but later we lowered the mainsail completely to have a smoother voyage. We sailed all the way to Medemblik (31 miles) and docked in the old Pekelharinghaven in the middle of the town. Then we went shopping and had supper cooked by Guus on board, followed by a few whiskeys. Then discussions ranging from cows, calves, politics and religion.
Wednesday 28th of July. Even though a wind force of 6 was predicted for today, when we woke up it was very quiet outside. Ellis and I went for a walk first to Castle Radboud and then we decided to set sail towards Stavoren. A crossing of about 11 miles with wind from the Northwest. I steered for the first part, but then the waves become too much for me and I gave it to Guus. The boat rocked too hard and the wind was just a wee bit too strong for my liking, but I did get used to it – although I was glad when we reached harbour. During the voyage a bumblebee landed on the sail and stayed with us all the way. I fed him a piece of apple. After three and half hours of sailing we docked in the outer Stavoren Marina. We had dinner at the harbour restaurant. Later in the evening Ellis took the bumble bee to a nice flower and we hope he recovered from the journey.
The next day the weather was still nasty, so we decided to stay in Stavoren for this day. We explored Stavoren and found a restaurant that serves Scottish food and lots of different whiskeys. As it was Guus’s birthday – I took Ellis and Guus out to eat there in the evening. We also passed the place where only on Sunday a train went through the end of it’s tracks and middle through a shop. Stavoren is a very nice little place.
Saturday. We had an appointment with a friend of Guus and Ellis; Dolf and his daughter Dominique. The weather was really terrible. Wind shocks of 5 to 6, completely cloudy and occasional rain showers. So Ellis and I took Dolf’s car and drove the scenic route along the Ijselmeer to the south, while Guus, Dolf and Dominique sailed to Monnickendam. While we drove slowly they sped to the harbour. We went to Marken to see if we could spot them when Dolf called to say that they were nearly there. We ran / raced (me in a wheelchair) through Marken and came just in time at the harbour entrance to see the Pelikaan in the distance . We drove back to the Monnickendam harbour and there was the Pelikaan already neatly docked. Inside the ship, Ellis noticed quickly that there had been heavy weather. Things were everywhere on the floor and the worst was that the roof hatch of my cabin was slightly open. As the weather was so rough, the waves had come over the front of the boat and my bed, pillows and some things, including the iPAD had become wet. The iPAD was still working and all the other stuff we've thrown into the dryer.
Then Ellis put on her wetsuit to dive under the boat, to remove some plants and stuff from the boat. Guus had to help, and jumped into the water in his underpants, but even he could not find the propeller under the boat. Mission not accomplished. So we all went to out eat at the “Old Blue” restaurant at the port. What a day ....
Last day of my holiday. Sunday. The morning was sunny and calm. And we took out the Pelikaan for a short sale. Again I took her out of the harbour – this time on sail. Then we just had a bit of fun in the sun, before having to go back. Quick change from my sailing clothes to my flying clothes and on we went to Schiphol. There, with the usual small annoyances I got my BA flight and landed back in Heathrow on time. Sadly when I go home there was no welcome from Vali (my male cat) only Vitia came. This is so unusual. I found Vali sitting on the chair in the bathroom. Eyes closed and generally unwell. He didn’t want to eat or anything. In the night he came and purred for a bit. But the next day I took him to the vet. He seems to have a few infections (lets hope that this is all it is) and suffered a bit from patting and love neglect. So a bit of a sad ending to a great holiday.
