May 20th 2019
The weather is changing and the barometer is plummeting like a rock. Time to move today because tomorrow the wind is going to increase even more and it will start to rain. Despite our worries of the last days our anchor had set well. We could tell it had dug in really deep, because when the last shackles and the anchor surfaced it was covered in such a thick layer of clay that we could provide for a whole pottery.
We had also dragged up pieces of pond weed (Potamogeton), common water plants for this area that in summer grow so fast that the authorities need to mow them to enable boats to move. But it is still springtime so hopefully the growth isn’t that severe yet. As the plants appear to be edible we probably need to graze our way through the Markermeer in summertime.
The wind was perfect for sailing, thus after hauling in the anchor we hoisted all the sails and headed towards Edam. We made good speed, and soon rounded the Horse of Marken, a historic lighthouse built in 1839 on the former island. Although heavily overcast, it was quite an enjoyable sail. Later in the afternoon the wind started to increase steadily, and before long it had increased to wind force 4 with gusts of 5 and was still increasing. All the other sailboats were heading towards shore, and soon we were the only boat left on the water. But we were already approaching the entrance to the marina of Edam, so we took down the sails and traversed the last bit by engine.
The harbour entrance was a bit shallow for our draft, but we docked in the marina of W.S.V. De Zeevang without difficulties. What proved to be difficult was getting electricity. Just like in Leiden, there are poles with sockets in which you have to insert €0,50 to get electricity. But after trying two sockets and loosing 2 coins we decided that this is a problem for tomorrow.