 Wind in Our Sails |
We had a problem topping up our water, a big issue for Rex who always insisted we keep our fluid levels topped up. The culprit was a kink in the pontoon hosepipe, which we managed to fix. Then I grabbed a carton of milk from the supermarket, the young owner wished us good luck with our journey. We cast off our lines, and went to the fuel pontoon for our quota of fuel; we were limited to 80 Euros worth, probably due to the fuel crisis stemming from the Ukraine war.
The lock into the Markermeer provided some entertainment. A large boat entered behind us and for some reason tried to get its bowline attached first. Four men on the craft scurried about, and their stern swung out across the lock. A boat coming up behind then sensibly decided to hold back until the floundering craft got its act together.
The problem got worse for the large boat, its anchor was now scraping the side of the lock. One of the crew managed to get onto the lock wall, and soon they had a rope attached to the stern. Once alongside the lock wall, the crew pulled the vessel further along the lock to make room for another yacht behind them.
God knows how many centimetres we had risen, but pretty soon we were leaving the lock, and we found ourselves sailing in glorious sunshine with a good Force 4 of wind.
 Cheers! |
After the 6.5 hour trip we were now entering the pinch point where all traffic converges towards Durgerdam. Then it was an effortless pass through the Shellingwouderbrug bridge and Oranjesluizen lock. In no time at all we were ducking and diving with other craft, barges, ferries and an enormous Celebrity APEX cruise liner. We picked up a berth at the Amsterdam Marina in a straightforward manner, and sat down in the cockpit with cups of tea.
We discussed plans for the next few days. In essence we were now juggling time between Amsterdam/Ijmuiden, waiting for the ideal weather window opportunity to cross the North Sea.
The evening was spent exploring the streets to the west of Centraal Station, where we discovered a lovely, little Italian restaurant.