April 15th 2017
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.
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.
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!