sailaboutvic
Well-known member
After many many years cruising southern seas and adamant never to return to Northern Europe sailing ,here we are cruising Northern Europe.
It's very early days yet to make any judgement but given the weather been great and the winds have given us plenty of free fuel days movement, I'm not complaining.
well not yet.
We now well in our second month and 600 nm , most of it spend in the Netherlands with a part of France and Belgium thrown in for good measure.
Although the whole of the south coast from Devon to Kent did get a look In too.
One thing that come to light sailing in these waters that we miss is waken up and going for a swim , the dark muddy waters just don't appeal to me although nothing seen to stop my partner from her diving in.
our plain for 2022 was thrown out the window when we sold our much loved Moody 42 out of the blue,
We now on a much smaller boat .
so we decided we won't plain anything and just go alone with what ever come alone.
At the moment it's the stand up mast route through the Netherlands,
I did think after the excitement of 13 years open seas this was going to be a walk over, ahh think again,
To start with we spending a lot of time with just under .5 under our keel , now that takes some getting use to when we use to a min of 10 mts and more like 40 mts
Add to that navigation a lock which in it self isn't difficult until you have 12 other boat racing to get In at the same time.
Feet from every side of your hull , there been a few very close calls .
The answer to this madness we decided was just to hang back and go in last making them all wait for us , not always pleasing the lock keeper, oh dear, at time shouting from his PA in Dutch , I asked my partner what he saying and she tells me I didn't want to know,
Personally I think he saying , ( I say old boy your a wise sailor hanging back from these idiots )
Then there the low lying barges that turn up at speed from no where .
And bridges who time opening means nothing to them.
One bridge Christine called up as we been waiting for a while to ask about opening it , the conversation when on for a while , nothing seen to be a quick reply when it come to Dutch , a lot of what seen noises like someone got some thing caught in their throat,
Anyway the short answer was , he waiting for the bus bloody hell I said can't he open it before he goes home .
Putting that all to one side,it's quite nice to sail with greeny all around , wild life of all kinds and best of all if you do fancy a marina stop over its between 1.25 E and 1.75 E a mts
wait for it, and it including water and power and not the crazy prices in the Med or the UK come to that.
Talk about marinas as many who know us,
we only ever use marinas for over winter stops, even on the worst night you can imagine you would find us out there swinging on our hook.
But here in the Netherlands everyone heads for marinas,
I guess one reason is that's the way they do things here, another it's cheap and thirdly as we found out there not many anchoring spot although we are finding them with a bit of imagination thrown it.
For our friends who are nervous to anchor under 5 mts let me just say last night we had .03 it did go to zero while setting the anchor, but we surround by swans, duck, and wild birds , just wish they stop shirty on the deck.
Funny story , the other night we could hear these noises , no not fish eating , but a tap tap all around the boat,
everything I went out it stop could I find the bloody problem ,
It drove me mad , this when on a hour ,
It turned out there was about 10 ducks around the boat pecking at weed that got caught on the hull.
The other thing that come to light although the Dutch are very friendly towards the brits especially when one of their own is on board there can be quite reserved,
not what we use to, inviting cruisers on board and being invited for a drink is quite normal for us, socialising is a big part of cruising,
Chatting about anchors to block toilets,
disagreeing over a beer about things without making enemy of each other , unlike forum , yea you know what I mean guys .
Prices in the chandlers seen a bit higher then the UK but once you adjust for the euros to pound there not much different.
But there plenty of them around.
We thinking we will spend a bit more time in these parts then maybe Denmark but as I said no plain .
I guess as soon as the night start to draw in and weather change to wet and cold, Northern windy set in my view my also change.
But for now things are good.
It's very early days yet to make any judgement but given the weather been great and the winds have given us plenty of free fuel days movement, I'm not complaining.
well not yet.
We now well in our second month and 600 nm , most of it spend in the Netherlands with a part of France and Belgium thrown in for good measure.
Although the whole of the south coast from Devon to Kent did get a look In too.
One thing that come to light sailing in these waters that we miss is waken up and going for a swim , the dark muddy waters just don't appeal to me although nothing seen to stop my partner from her diving in.
our plain for 2022 was thrown out the window when we sold our much loved Moody 42 out of the blue,
We now on a much smaller boat .
so we decided we won't plain anything and just go alone with what ever come alone.
At the moment it's the stand up mast route through the Netherlands,
I did think after the excitement of 13 years open seas this was going to be a walk over, ahh think again,
To start with we spending a lot of time with just under .5 under our keel , now that takes some getting use to when we use to a min of 10 mts and more like 40 mts
Add to that navigation a lock which in it self isn't difficult until you have 12 other boat racing to get In at the same time.
Feet from every side of your hull , there been a few very close calls .
The answer to this madness we decided was just to hang back and go in last making them all wait for us , not always pleasing the lock keeper, oh dear, at time shouting from his PA in Dutch , I asked my partner what he saying and she tells me I didn't want to know,
Personally I think he saying , ( I say old boy your a wise sailor hanging back from these idiots )
Then there the low lying barges that turn up at speed from no where .
And bridges who time opening means nothing to them.
One bridge Christine called up as we been waiting for a while to ask about opening it , the conversation when on for a while , nothing seen to be a quick reply when it come to Dutch , a lot of what seen noises like someone got some thing caught in their throat,
Anyway the short answer was , he waiting for the bus bloody hell I said can't he open it before he goes home .
Putting that all to one side,it's quite nice to sail with greeny all around , wild life of all kinds and best of all if you do fancy a marina stop over its between 1.25 E and 1.75 E a mts
wait for it, and it including water and power and not the crazy prices in the Med or the UK come to that.
Talk about marinas as many who know us,
we only ever use marinas for over winter stops, even on the worst night you can imagine you would find us out there swinging on our hook.
But here in the Netherlands everyone heads for marinas,
I guess one reason is that's the way they do things here, another it's cheap and thirdly as we found out there not many anchoring spot although we are finding them with a bit of imagination thrown it.
For our friends who are nervous to anchor under 5 mts let me just say last night we had .03 it did go to zero while setting the anchor, but we surround by swans, duck, and wild birds , just wish they stop shirty on the deck.
Funny story , the other night we could hear these noises , no not fish eating , but a tap tap all around the boat,
everything I went out it stop could I find the bloody problem ,
It drove me mad , this when on a hour ,
It turned out there was about 10 ducks around the boat pecking at weed that got caught on the hull.
The other thing that come to light although the Dutch are very friendly towards the brits especially when one of their own is on board there can be quite reserved,
not what we use to, inviting cruisers on board and being invited for a drink is quite normal for us, socialising is a big part of cruising,
Chatting about anchors to block toilets,
disagreeing over a beer about things without making enemy of each other , unlike forum , yea you know what I mean guys .
Prices in the chandlers seen a bit higher then the UK but once you adjust for the euros to pound there not much different.
But there plenty of them around.
We thinking we will spend a bit more time in these parts then maybe Denmark but as I said no plain .
I guess as soon as the night start to draw in and weather change to wet and cold, Northern windy set in my view my also change.
But for now things are good.
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