Our adventure started with exceptional good luck. Although we had planned to leave at the start of June, a fine weather window gave us the opportunity to leave a few days earlier.
    We had a whistlestop trip all the way up to Harlingen, our main objective. This was our gateway into Friesland. Rather than travel up the Van Harinxmakanaal, we used Harlingen as a base to explore Leeuwarden and Terschelling, and later we used Hindeloopen as a base to explore Sneek. This approach was a lot quicker to get around Friesland, and it saved the skipper a lot of navigational headaches. We always have enjoyed Friesland; a lovely Dutch province.
    It was with sadness that we noticed not many British boats were exploring Holland nowadays; indeed many marinas are filling up with German craft - Hindeloopen being 50% German, and even Dutch services are now starting to speak to non-Dutch speakers in German. A sad reflection.
    Sailing the Noordhollandsch Kanaal, over two days was a challenge The continuous battle with bridge operators drove us to despair; sailors with masts beware.
    Duonita held up well. We suffered water leaks around windows, an autopilot cabling problem and a smashed navigation light, all of which we resolved on the trip.
    We had hung about in Amsterdam towards the end of the trip waiting for the window of weather opportunity to cross back over the North Sea. But this was not wasted time, it gave us the opportunity to indulge in culture and visit: Leiden, the Rijksmuseum and the Fabrique des Lumieres, all of which I totally adored.
    In Ijmuiden, before our sail back, we caught our breath and had a heart to heart conversation. All the places we had visited on our trip were places we had been to before, some of them many times. We knew the towns, history, streets, pubs, restaurants and some of the pub and restaurant owners remembered us from previous trips. But it was all becoming a bit of a muchness; to extend our net we would have to resort to catching buses or trains further afield, which we have done before. We were no longer finding novel places, which dilutes the excitement of such trips. Some folks are content to go back to the same B&B at the same seaside resort year after year, but that mentality is not for us. Another important factor is we are not getting younger. There was a time when we would have romped across the North Sea in a Force 6, but our bodies couldn't handle it now. Also, it puts a lot of strain on Rex; he has the worry about the boat, he is the skipper, navigator, chef etc, plus he has a wife who misses him very much. Meanwhile, I for one, admit that I am not the best person to be cooped up on a boat with for weeks at a time. So we sadly agreed that we could have sailed our last long Dutch adventure.
    That does not mean to say that we will stop sailing together completely. We can still have short sails together, even charter a boat in different climes (we and Ian charted a boat in Croatia a year or so ago). A trip 14th - 18th September is already in our diaries. So sailing has taken on a different approach to reflect the changing needs of our circumstances, but there will be more memorable adventures.