Berthing yacht in Netherlands

[DavidWilb]

Am exploring/researching the options re keeping the boat in the Netherlands & 'commuting' to sail. Have in mind somewhere accessible easily from say Amsterdam so good airport connections.
Grateful for any tips, cautions, suggestions, possible lines of enquiry etc.
Thanks. David

 

[sailorman]

http://portfocus.com/netherlands/index.html

http://marinas.com/browse/marina/NL/1/B

int internet wonderful /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[johnalison]

It depends what area you're interested in. If you want to do inland sailing in the Delta, then it's better to be in the Haringvliet or Veersemeer. If you prefer the Ijselmeer and Friesians, you'd be better off north of Amsterdam. Enkhuisen and Lelystad are both well-placed but there are hundreds of possible places.

Because it gets crowded in season it's as well to check out the main bottlenecks in each area.

 

[PeterGibbs]

Good choice. Lots of air services to Holland of course, but when choosing your storage marina you'll want to look up rail and bus connections to ensure you are not lugging gear down long grass strewn tracks to get to your boat. Look up the Netherlands rail service and bus connections on their sites.

The marinas at Haarlem and Dordrecht are good value as well as accessible. Marinas in the Ysselmeer etc are, by our standards, still pretty good value, but are more expensive. Marinas direct on the sea are the most expensive. Engineering, sail making services etc abound wherever.

See you there!

PWG

 

[BAtoo]

Stena line do a rail & sail ticket which is from any National express east anglia rail station (from London Liverpool St thro' to Norwich) taking u to Harwich, then ferry to Rotterdam then to any rail station in Holland all for £25 single - used it for crew in the past & very good - especially for non drivers.

Link here - http://www.stenaline.co.uk/stena_line/st...l_and_sail.html

 

[vyv_cox]

Others have given good advice. Remember that virtually everywhere has good connections to Schiphol airport. The Dutch public transport system is everything that ours isn't - cheap, reliable, coordinated. Rotterdam airport is a little more remote. Bus service into Rotterdam but no direct train service.

If you are intending to sail mostly inland you are best finding a berth as far from the coast as possible from a cost point of view, bearing in mind that it has to be mast accessible. On the main railway network, Dordrecht is very reasonable, I knew a man who kept his 10 metre yacht there for 850 Euros per year.

It's a bit of a trek to go further south by rail, as you need to make several connections. Hellevoetsluis is about an hour south of Rotterdam by metro and bus. Stellendam a little further. These two have the advantage that you can get out to sea very easily, or go inland.

Otherwise the Ijsselmeer towns mostly have good connections to Schiphol but I don't know them as well. Quite a way from the sea. Den Helder would be a good base, on the sea but with lots of options, south and east on the sea or inland. A fascinating area to sail on the seaward side, I recall doing 7 knots on a broad reach, between withies, with half a metre under the keel.

 

[roger]

Agree with previous post. Inland Holland can get incredibly crowded. Even early in the season you get huge ship locks bung full of pleasure boats with all the roblems that brings. We once waited three hours to go through one popular lock (Isselmeer to Versemeer)

 

[vyv_cox]

I think you may mean Ooste Schelde to Versemeer. This is a very severe bottleneck due to the bridge over the lock entrance, carrying a busy trunk road. The lock-keeper routinely shouts at anyone who shows any hesitation here. Best to be like the Dutch, full throttle into locks and forget your British 'after you, Sir'.

 

[overstag]

Hi David,
I live in the Netherlands and I work at Schiphol Airport. I am quite familiar with the commute to and from the airport.
I am assuming you have a sailing boat, although I am not sure what an MG335 is.
First of all, forget putting the boat in the southern part of Holland. If you want to have a berth anywhere near open sailing water, your commute by public transportation will be a nightmare.
On the IJsselmeer there are plenty of good marina`s that are very easy to get to from Schiphol. My choice would be a marina in Enkhuizen. This has a direct train connection with the trainstation directly under Schiphol Airport. You cannot get anything more conveniant. Driving time approx. 1h15. This is more because of all the stops underway then because of the distance.
A good marina in Enkhuizen is the Compagnieshaven. www.compagnieshaven.nl
Other possibilities are Hoorn, which also has a train connection, but you have to walk quite a distance from the station to the marina`s. But if you take a taxi, this is also very much worth considering. A good marina there is the Grashaven. www.grashavenhoorn.nl

For sailing the area of the IJsselmeer is much better then the Delta area in the south. The IJsselmeer has much more marina capacity. You can always find a place there, even in high summer. Also, there are much less troubles with locks. The downside is that you come across lots of charters in summer. most of whom cannot sail at all. Most think they are experts, though.

If you want to know anything more, pm me.