adventure – The Gray Route

No more jumping summersaults

Increased safety measures again

April 18^th, 2020

In the Netherlands we are still under a lock-down light -or as our Prime Minister calls it- an intelligent lockdown due to the corona virus.

In addition to the regulations that were imposed at the beginning of this month, the marina is now completely closed down. Since the 7^th of April no boat may enter or leave the marina. No-one is even allowed to be at the marina at all and all the sanitary facilities are still closed. They made an exception however, for long-term residents -or in boat jargon- liveaboards. Thank goodness we were allowed to stay, because otherwise we had to find another place to wait out the pandemic. A lot of other boatowners who were not permanent residents were rather disgruntled. The weather for the coming days promised to be perfect for a day on the water or to polish your boat, but now they have to stay inside their stuffy houses.

In these trying times lots of Dutch citizens are suffering from loneliness and supermarkets are ransacked because everyone is hoarding pasta and toilet paper, being a liveaboard has it advantages. Apart from being the only ones allowed in the marina and to spend the warm sunny days in the cockpit, we are sort of prepared for a quarantine-like situation. We like to spend most of the time at anchor somewhere in a remote area and limit our visits to the shore only to do the necessary shores like filling up the water tank, buying groceries and do the laundry. Spending lots of time in the limited space of our boat is therefore not much of a change.

The empty supermarkets are also not really problematic. Even though we have a small boat, we have a reasonably large food supply with food that keeps for a long time, like rice, flour and beans. Next to the dry stuff we also have lots of preserved foods. Things like home-canned pate, stews, fruits and even home-brewn beer. In the worst case scenario we can make our own tofu with the dry soy beans. With a helping of rice and some home-grown microgreens we have a complete meal, ideally enjoyed with a glass of our own beer

So even if the shops are ransacked or if we are really quarantined, we won’t starve. On the contrary.

In that sense the lockdown isn’t such a radical change for us. But some other things have become more complicated. The sanitary facilities in the marina are closed, which means we have to wash ourselves and do the laundry by hand on the boat. And we don’t have warm water. So if we want warm water we first have to put on a kettle and bring water to the boil, just like the olden days. Doing the laundry by hand is a time-consuming task, and is everything but fun especially when it involves big soggy things like towels.

And today we were also told off by the harbor master for using the trampoline on the playing field here at the marina. All the facilities in the marina are out of bounds, he said. Disappointed we headed back to our boat. No more jumping summersaults for us.

But the most difficult part is that we aren’t allowed to go sailing, and can’t travel anymore. All our plans for this year have to wait.

So, we just grab one of our beers and enjoy the sunshine in the cockpit. Under the circumstances, things could be worse.

Alone in our floating nutshell

Sailing back to Stellendam

March 25^th, 2020

Today we’re sailing to Stellendam. It was the perfect day for a trip: Blue skies, light winds and reasonably warm temperatures for March. We had to wait a bit for the extreme low tide to pass, otherwise our keel would get stuck in the mud in the marina.

Around noon we awkwardly untied the lines and set off. It seems our sailing skills have become a bit rusty during our winter break. But soon we were on our way again, just like we used to.

It was quiet on the waterways. Almost no commercial traffic, and we’ve just spotted two other pleasure crafts during the whole trip. On the shore however, it was a completely different story. On the cycle- and walking path along the river banks it looked like a procession with so many people walking, cycling and riding horses. We’re glad to be far from the crowd alone in our floating nutshell on the water.

After quite a pleasant trip we arrived in Stellendam. The slip we were able to hire was coincidentally next to our old slip. Probably due to all the familiarity, docking went a lot better than when we untied the lines this morning.

It’s a bit strange but also nice to be back again, almost a year after we started our journey here.

Change of plans

Postponed travels due to Corona virus

March 16th 2020

After four months in Rhoon our hibernation has come to an end. We have looked forward to spring, to be able to untie the lines again and to sail to distant shores. But then the Corona virus happened. During the last month we saw the virus spread and it seemed inadvisable to go traveling with a pandemic raging over the globe. And now the Dutch government has issued several safety measures like social distancing, closure of schools, prohibition of contact professions and the advice to stay indoors and work from home as much as possible, it seems highly unlikely that the situation will change anytime soon.

To make matters more complicated, we cannot stay here in Rhoon. We hired a slip just for the winter. The owner of the boat that normally lies in slip spent the winter on the hard for maintenance, but will return here around the 1^st of April. So we have to leave and go somewhere else in the coming 2 weeks.

Instead of sailing north again, we’ve decided to go south. Just a little bit, to Stellendam, our old marina. It occurred to us that it might be prudent to hire a slip and to be sure of a place to stay for the coming year. We don’t know how long this virus will be rampant, and sailing to other countries like Denmark is out of the question anyway with all the closed borders.

Besides, if we would become ill, it is way more comfortable to stay in bed in your own marina, then as a guest in a strange marina without having to worry about costs or if you can stay at all. And Stellendam might be an ideal spot to wait out the storm. It is quite isolated, next to a nature reserve, and if the weather is nice we can go for a short sail on the Haringvliet or the North Sea. So we called Marina Stellendam and asked if they still had a spot available for us, which luckily they had.

It is a bit sad that we have to postpone our plans, but that’s life. You never know what will you will find at the end of the rainbow.

Feed me

Swans requesting their breakfast

August 3rd 2019

This morning we were awakened by a flock of swans requesting breakfast. They were pecking at the boat with their beaks, obviously stating their intentions, which were ‘feed me’. The last few days we had ducks and geese, and now swans. Maybe the birds are telling each other that there’s plenty of food available at the blue boat. Who knows what birds will be on our doorstep tomorrow. Pelicans maybe? Albatrosses?

Although it was still quite windy we tried flying with the drone today. We haven’t done it in ages, high time to brush up in our flying skills. When we found a place to fly and were setting up the drone, another drone passed over our heads. It was making a ‘follow me’ motion, probably the other pilot wanted to race with us. But since we are still in beginners mode we rejected the invitation for play and found another spot to practice.

We’re leaving tomorrow, so after playing with the drone we got some groceries for the passage and went to bed early.

A smoked treat

A visit from the local legend

August 2nd 2019

Night view on Makkum Municipality Marina

What is wrong with this summer? The weather goes from tropical to cold and rainy overnight. Weird.

Around noon an elderly man knocked on our boat. We went outside to see what it was he wanted. It turned out he was selling smoked eels. They were still warm, fresh from the smoker and smelt absolutely delicious, so of course we bought a few. Later we heard that it’s quite special to meet this elderly man with his smoked eels. Because they’re so tasty, everyone who comes to Makkum hopes that the old man comes knocking on their boat if they’re in the marina. But he tends the be rather infrequent with his visits, and you’re considered lucky if you chance to meet him. Us befell the honor of being visited by the legendary smoked eel salesman. Which is great, now we don’t need to go out in the abysmal weather to get lunch.

And yes, they were absolutely delicious.

Smiling self consciously

Watching the spectacle at the locks

August 1st 2019

The rain had stopped and while still cloudy there was a glimpse of sunshine now and then. A lovely day to explore the town of Makkum. It’s a cosy small town, dating back to the 10th century. It used to be very prosperous and was especially renowned for its seashell lime industry. But due to severe siltation in the 19th century the harbour of Makkum became unreachable for the seashell fishing boats and the economic growth declined. A lot of the old architecture is reminiscent of the once affluent times. Now the small town is prosperous again thanks to the flourishing water sports tourism with 4 marinas, ship wharves for super yachts, kite surf schools and beach clubs.

Makkum also has an old lock, build in Medieval times, which used to be the gateway to the hinterlands when it was still a coastal village at the Zuiderzee. We ate fish and chips in the sun while watching the commotion at the locks. People are always so stressed and impatient, resulting in near crashes and irritated words back and forth. A firm harbour master fitted the whole bunch neatly into the lock and reprimanded a huge Swiss motorboat for entering before its turn. He had to go back to the end of the line. He obeyed with a lot of evident reluctance and irritation. It is quality entertainment, no wonder sometimes people even bring chairs to watch the spectacle at the locks. Of course it isn’t so funny if you’re the one in the lock. If you do something stupid there’s nowhere to hide from the spectators above. And since we’re far from being experienced sailors, we know what it is to be on the receiving end of the laughter. But not today. Today we’re the spectators, smiling self-consciously.

Thunder and lightning

Struggling boats and warm tea

July 31st 2019

Late start, we had been working till early in the morning. And although we were a bit groggy, we were glad that we had made the decision to work at night and enjoy the sun during the day, because the weather had changed immensely overnight. The wind was howling and it was raining a tantrum. Thunder and lightning illuminated the dark skies.

While we were peering out through the curtains to watch nature at work, we saw other boats who despite the bad weather, had decided to move on. It all didn’t go too well. Most of them had trouble leaving their berths because of the strong winds. We watched them struggle for a while, wondering why you would choose to sail in these conditions. Maybe if you only have a few days vacation and you need to get home again you might choose to leave, but since we are not in a hurry we closed the curtains again and enjoyed our tea.

A dry spell in the evening, and Captain Fluffy wants to go out and explore

Proper gypsies

Covered in towels and bedsheets

July 30th 2019

A radiant day again, allowing us to bask in the sun and swim to our content. And we’d better enjoy it, because in the afternoon a bad weather front is coming in. We actually had to do some work, but we’d rather do it tonight and enjoy the sun now, than regret that we’ve spent the whole day working while it’s raining tomorrow.

We did something useful today, though. It was high time for a laundry again. When we went to the harbour office to get tokens for the washing machine and the dryer the harbour master flat out refused to sell us a token for the dryer. She pointed upwards and said “There’s your drying machine. No, you’re not getting a token with al this sunshine, are you silly or something?” Since she really didn’t want to sell us a token for the dryer we had to hang all the washed towels and bedsheets on the lifelines and makeshift drying lines. Our boat looks as if it has hit a dry cleaner. We look like proper gypsies now.

Mr. Blue Skies

Nothing as unpredictable as the weather

July 29th 2019

The bad weather had arrived. Well, bad…it was heavily overcast but the temperature was still very mild. A good day to refill our long shelf life food supplies like coffee, sugar and such, which are always heavy to carry. But halfway to the supermarket the clouds dissolved making way for Mr. Blue Skies. It turned out to be a nice and sunny day again after all.

It’s really remarkable how inaccurate weather forecasts are. And since our live is governed by the weather, it can be a bit annoying sometimes. We planned to work today and get the groceries because it would be cooler and overcast. Of course we’re not complaining now the weather is better than forecasted. But if the weather is worse than predicted, or if the wind is coming from a completely different direction, we are less happy about it. We’re hoping that the forecasts are wrong again for the coming week. The predictions are not so favorable for the coming days and we might want to move on again soon. If not we might have to prolong our stay in Makkum. But with the weather you’ll never know.

Rush hour in high season

Watching people fight over the last free slips

July 28th 2019

Today was Carmen’s birthday. Although the forecast had predicted thunder and lightning and lots of rain, the weather turned out fine again, slightly less tropical, but hot enough to spend the whole day lounging and swimming. The perfect way to spend a birthday.

Every evening we watch the rush hour when all the boats come in. It begins around 4 o’clock when a steady stream of pleasure crafts starts to arrive at the marina, all rushing to obtain the last free spots. Usually the last slip is gone by half past 5. Same story yesterday and the day before. So if you want to be sure of a free slip during high season, make sure to arrive before 4 o’clock. Most sailors start early. At 10 o’clock in the morning most of the marina is empty again. So all those early birds that have left at the crack of dawn will arrive at their destination early as well, and take the first empty slips. After that it’s a matter of stacking boats, and you can imagine that the early birds that have arrived first are not happy with 2 or more boats tied on to them. Because if they want to leave early the next morning, everyone has to move first before they can leave.

We are no early birds. How hard we might try to have an early start, we always leave around 12. The one time that we left earlier During the whole of our adventure was when we had a dragging anchor at the Braassemermeer.

In the meantime emotions were running high in the marina. It was already packed, with stacks 4 boats thick connected to every side dock. People with humongous motorboats yelling at other people to move their boat so they could fit. Others yelling that they have permission of the harbour master to dock exactly where someone else is already moored, or people trying to be quicker than the others to race for a slip which was already taken. And there are the people with very big and expensive boats that don’t know how to moor properly, are totally stressed out because they don’t want scratches on their hull and as a result hit almost everything in their way. And we, moored snugly in our berth, watched the drama unfold outside our cockpit whilst eating the delicious fried chicken that Jeroen prepared. Beats watching television every time.

April 18th, 2020

March 25th, 2020