We are now on Island Drifter in Amsterdam at the start of our planned four-month cruise of Scandinavia.
During the course of our 2011 Circumnavigation of Great Britain we were inspired by a number of Scandinavians whom we met and who all extolled the virtues of sailing around their coasts. We are now planning to work our way through the Kiel Canal, up the east coast of Denmark and across to and up the west coasts of Sweden and Norway as far as Bergen, before returning to Ipswich via the Shetlands and east coasts of Scotland and England. We intend to complete this circuit by the end of July.
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| Planned Route |
Over the winter we again spent periods house-sitting for Mike’s brother Bruce and sister-in-law Jill when they were away. Since they live not far from Ipswich, where we keep Island Drifter, we were able to work on the boat, although not to the extent necessary last year when we effected a full refit.
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| Preparing to lift off the hard |
We finally got her back in the water on Monday 2 April, only to find that the self steering (Autohelm), had developed a fault that had not been obvious while the boat was on the hard-standing. This delayed our departure for a few days. It did, however, enable us to get better organised than we might otherwise have been.
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| Back in the water again, 2 April 2012 |
We eventually left Ipswich on the afternoon of Friday 13th and made our way down the River Orwell to a buoy near the entrance, where we had a peaceful night prior to departing with the north-going tide early on Saturday morning. Before leaving we made a particularly generous libation to Neptune to make up for setting out on a Friday…
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| Leaving Ipswich, approaching the Orwell Bridge |
It took 26 hours to cover the 126 miles north-east to IJmuiden, one of the four major ports in Holland. We would normally have chosen to do a sea trial along the UK coast in order to check out the boat and regain our sea legs. Having lost time waiting for the Autohelm, we had to forgo this luxury. As it turned out, we had an excellent trip and nothing of consequence, to our present knowledge, went seriously wrong. Indeed, we were particularly impressed by the improved performance of the upgraded Autohelm and modified (now “silent”) wind generator (which we had fitted during the winter).
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| Felixstowe cranes forming a guard of honour! |
We began sailing on a close reach in relatively comfortable weather but, as forecast, the wind from the north slowly increased during the passage to a F6 with a 2-metre swell for the last seven hours. It was an invigorating first day’s sail.
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| Heading into wind with cutter rig |
We arrived in IJmuiden early on Sunday morning, signed in at Seaport Marina, bought Dutch coffee and bread in the little seafront supermarket and had both of these with English bacon and eggs before crashing out for a few hours. It takes time to adjust physically and mentally to long-distance sailing – and we have not fully done so yet.
The marina is vast but, at this time of the year, more than half empty. The town is a popular seaside holiday resort, only a short distance by car or bus from Amsterdam. It is renowned for its long sandy beach and adjacent 65 miles of coastal dunes. With a northerly F6 blowing, the beach was deserted, except for dozens of enthusiastic kite-surfers. The port has the largest fishing fleet in Holland and the fish market is reputed to be well worth a visit – but unfortunately it’s not open on a Sunday.
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| Seaport Marina, IJmuiden |
We left Seaport Marina in IJmuiden
on Monday 16 April at 9 a.m. and made our way through the locks into the
Nordzee Kanal. There we motored the 12 miles to Amsterdam. Although there
was much commercial traffic, particularly large motor-powered barges and huge
container ships, we didn’t see another yacht on the canal or in the lock all
day.
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| Lock into the Nordzee Canal |
The canal, which was completed in
1876, provided access from the North Sea through Amsterdam into the Zuiderzee
and back out into the German Bight. It helped to establish Amsterdam as
the international centre that it is today. While the sides of the canal
become increasingly industrial as one approaches the city, there are pleasant
little havens for wildlife along its length – rather like on the sides of a
British motorway.
We stopped in Sixhaven marina in the
centre of the city. It cost £16 per night all found, including unlimited
WiFi, compared to the £48 we paid last year for a night in St Katharine’s Dock
in London. The marina was half empty. In the summer it can be 200%
full – once you’re in, it can be almost impossible to get out.
We spent the afternoon in Amsterdam investigating options for tomorrow when we’ll visit the city, before moving on north on Wednesday up the Ijsselmeer towards the Friesian islands.
