Weed in Markermeer

Dan Tribe

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Not sure if this is a particularly bad year but we picked up about 25 kgs on the rudder and prop sailing between Edam and Hoorn, about 7 miles. Could only make 2 to 3 knots under sail or 1.5 kts under engine. I started to worry that we might need a tow if it got much worse. It's blooming tough stuff, like sisal string. They claim to be mowing it but plenty left. Can't post a picture.
 
It was bad last year on a way to and from Hoorn from Amsterdam. We had to stop and go astern a couple of times to try and free it off (we have a ropecutter too).

The word was to go up the Lelystad side of the Markermeer and come into Hoorn from that direction (ie make a bit of a loop).

Obviously, that's no help to you if you're going via Edam.
 
It was certainly bad last year. We spoke to the HM at Edam and it looks as if it is the end of the world coming to them. There was a chart on the wall showing the areas worst affected. I don't remember the details but much of the shoreline from Amsterdam to Hoorn was marked as weedy. We picked up a load under sail south of Marken and I had to contrive to sail backwards to throw it off.
 
Muiden wasn't on my list of places to visit, but I'll give it a go soon.
Thanks for the tip.

I would like to crave your patience to tell the tale of a secretary of mine, relating to Muiden. She was young thirties and a bit plain compared to her more successful sister, but had attractive long hair. She was the best secretary we ever had, being efficient and brilliant at dealing with obstructive hospital staff.

She had a sleazy boy-friend who was a second-hand car dealer. One day she was returning from a short break in Majorca with her mother. At Heathrow they were required to walk across the tarmac to the terminal, when a young Dutch man called Fred going the other way ran across and said "Hello beautiful English girl, can I have your phone number", so she gave it to him. A week or two later he phoned her, and the long and short of it was that they got married and moved to Muiden. We lost our secretary but I met them at their flat and she was clearly very happy, and he was a delightful and funny chap.

I'm afraid the story ends sadly, because only a couple of years later she developed cancer and dies shortly after.
 
What's the depth like in the Markermeer? Is it as plotted on the charts? We're planning to visit for the first time this year and draw 2m so I'm anticipating a few close encounters with the silt!
 
What's the depth like in the Markermeer? Is it as plotted on the charts? We're planning to visit for the first time this year and draw 2m so I'm anticipating a few close encounters with the silt!

If I understand it correctly (no guarantee), the chart shows winter depths. Summer depths are 200 mm more. That seems to agree when I try to get my 1.8m into a marina charted at 1.7m.
. I can't stop myself trying to do tidal calculations. E.g. new moon last night, that means spring tide. Doe!
 

Deer, deer. Do you mean 'doh'?

Lelystad has some surprises, we found:

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