The next stage of our adventure! Today we leave for Middelharnis. Not to the municipality marina in the city center, but the ‘Parkhaven Middelharnis’ which is a commercial marina. The reason we choose a marina far away from the old city center, is that this marina lies just over a kilometer away from the place where we’re going to rent a car tomorrow. Well a van actually, they were out of cars. Our car is still in Stellendam, so we need to retrieve it.
It was going to be a sunny day again, slightly warmer than yesterday but still cold. So after putting on all the sail gear minus the Ushanka hat, we untied the lines and left. First we had to cross a traffic lane with big container ships bound for Germany or coming back. Always a bit intimidating to cross those traffic lanes. Their appearances are deceiving. They look so plump and slow when in fact they go over 20 knots per hour, where our maximum speed is 6 knots. So the rule of thump is, if you can see them, they are crossing in front of you.
After the crossing we had to tread water again whilst we waited for the Haringvliet bridge to open. Always funny to see the massive traffic jam caused by a few tiny boats bobbing about.
A relaxed downwind sail
After we had cleared the bridge we had the wind in our back and the current with us, so we unrolled our genoa and shut down the engine. It is so peaceful sailing with the wind in your back. No noise of the engine, only the soft sounds of the waves you’re surfing. There was something wrong with the jib though. It wouldn’t unfurl completely and furl in completely again. Like it was stuck somewhere at the end. Despite the problem with the jib and the light winds that varied between 9 and 15 knots, we still had an average speed of 4 knots so were making good time.
Fun in the sun
After a great sail we approached the lock of Middelharnis. Right behind the lock lies the Parkhaven. The harbour master was already waiting for us. We called earlier to asked for an available slip and gave 5 o’clock as estimated time of arrival. And it was exactly 5 o’clock when we entered the marina. “Punctual people aren’t you”, he joked. It must be obvious that we actually aren’t. Parkhaven is a lovely small marina with friendly harbour masters, Arthur and Saskia. They have seen a thing or two during their own sail adventures in the Caribbean and Mediterranean where they’ve worked and sailed for years, so it was great to have a chat.
For the first time this year we were able to sit in the cockpit till evening. Summer is coming!
Today is the big day. We’re leaving the safety of marina Stellendam, and sail towards the unknown. The last checks, the last goodbyes, make sure everything is tied down, and then it is finally time to untie the lines!
First stop is the Marina of Noordschans. 2 years ago we bought our boat there and their yacht service specializes in Volvo Penta engines, which we have in our boat. We wanted to give our engine a thorough service before we sail north and Noordschans is actually on the way. Perfect combination!
It’s quite unreal to sail away from the marina knowing that you’re now really a nomad. Even more because the landscape is still so familiar.
The weather is amazing: although still a bit hazy it was 20 degrees Celsius, a day for shorts and t-shirts. But no wind. Suddenly the wind picked up, a perfect light breeze for sailing. Quickly we hoisted the sails but just as sudden as it started, the wind died again. Alas, back to motoring, let’s start the engine.
But the engine wouldn’t start…
Luckily the main sail was still up enabling us to slowly sail on with one knot of speed, and kept us from being fully adrift. But what was wrong with the engine? It couldn’t be the batteries. We had just installed a battery monitor and that indicated we had enough juice. We had just filled the diesel tank, so that couldn’t be the problem either. What then? The lights in the control panel for the engine wouldn’t light up when we turned the key to start, indicating that there might be a problem with the electronics. Where are the tools? Of course they are in the back of the quarter berth behind a pile of stuff we had so skillfully stowed away yesterday. Let’s start digging then…
Meanwhile we were slowly but steadily sailed towards a narrow stretch of water with a lot of hazardous shallows. Captain Fluffy remained fast asleep through all the commotion, which was actually quite calming. What is the worst that could happen? We might have to drop an anchor and spend the whole day searching for the cause of the trouble. And if we can’t find it we could always call the coast guards.
That really helped to see things in perspective thus methodically Jeroen checked every wire and connector if there was any electric current running through them. After an hour of searching he finally found the culprit. One of the connectors was totally eroded. Bit of scraping and wriggling and..VROOOM! Just in time, we were approaching the shallows.
Due to all the commotion we missed the bridge opening and had to tread water for nearly an hour before the bridge would open again and we could continue our journey. Oh well, time to relax after the stress of a failing engine.
Waiting for the Haringvliet bridge to open.
Eight hours after we left Stellendam we finally entered the marina of Noordschans. We had called them earlier to ask which slip we could dock. “If you sail towards the crane there are three empty slips on your left hand, it’s quite obvious when you see it. Just choose one”. But when we entered the marina we were confused. There are two cranes and in each case there were 3 empty slips on the left. We went for the first option, but it was a tight fit and quite far from the workshop. And since our engine was going to be serviced tomorrow it seemed not likely to ask us to dock here. So when we were safely docked, we got off the boat and checked out the other option. Seeing the other slip up close it was clear we had chosen the wrong one. Back to the boat then to move it to its proper slip.
All in all an hour later than when we arrived in the marina were finally moored. We met the owner of the marina on the dock. He said: “That’s a familiar boat!”. “Yes that’s right” we said, “We bought her here two and a half years ago, and now we’re back to service the engine before we go on a big trip”. “Engine service for a Dufour 31?” he said. “I know nothing of a service for a Dufour 31, and I schedule them. Are you sure?”. Oh no…we had made the appointment with one of his employees last week, surely she must have written down the appointment somewhere? But before we could explain he added, “But it’s not a problem, we can fit her in somewhere this week, probably tomorrow”.
Finally time to settle down an prepare something to eat. We have shore power here, don’t we? Indeed there was shore power, but slightly further away than our cable was long. Where is the electric power cord reel? Of course, it is stowed in the back of the quarter berth as well. Time to dig again.
In the meantime let’s heat up the diesel heater. Hmm, it won’t start. A fault code? What does it read? Sensor overheated? Well that could be plausible, the sensor is in the engine compartment and since the motor has been running for about 8 hours -minus the part where it wouldn’t start- the sensor might be under the impression that it is too hot. Well, since it has been a warm day and the engine is indeed still emanating a lot of warmth, let’s see if it will start again in the morning. We’ll just make dinner and we’ll probably go to sleep soon after we’ve finished eating anyway.
When we finally sat down for a late dinner the bilge pump started to pump. It runs automatically, so there’s probably some water accumulating there. But 5 minutes later it started again. And then 2 minutes later. And again. And again. And then it wouldn’t stop anymore…
How to deal with a bilge pump that is going berserk? Could we have a severe leak? No, it didn’t seem like there was a severe leak. Is there something wrong with the wiring? No, no problems there either. Disconnecting the pump doesn’t seem like a wise idea, what if we do have a leak which we haven’t discovered yet? Okay…What does the hive mind say? The pump might be dirty. Let’s check, yes, the inlet of the pump is quite dirty. A quick wipe calmed down the hysterical bilge pump. We’ll probably have to clean it thoroughly tomorrow, but it is good enough for now. At least we can get some sleep.
