Time for a more lighthearted message after all the serious subjects of the past months. We left the turbulent world for what it was and sailed to the isle of Vlieland once again.
After the rain and wind of the past months, a period of better weather was predicted for the second half of June. And certainly, after all the obligations of the first months of 2024, it was now time to take a break. We had cleaned our boat Manokwari earlier on and I had done a lot of work following battery trouble - they turned out to be life-expired. The boat now has a solar panel and two new batteries, a combination that appears to handle even the consumption of the fridge in warm weather.
On our way
We packed our luggage and groceries and stepped on board planning to go to the Wadden Sea, an area of mudflats and creeks inside the chain of islands in the north. As usual it takes some getting used to the small space and the unyielding mattresses, and the first nights were a bit cold. The day after stepping aboard we left for Kornwerderzand and Harlingen, against a weak northeast wind. Unfortunately that meant using the engine - this trip we had a lot of headwind.
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| sunset after a rainy day in Harlingen |
In the lock near Kornwerderzand I heard a heart-rending squeaking emanating from the engine compartment, of which I soon found the cause: a stretched V-belt. Since we were to be in Harlingen for an extra day, I was able to remedy the problem. The weather was a bit wet that day... Unfortunately, the engine dynamo was stuck in its bolts and I had to buy extra tools to unstick it, but that was soon solved. A car materials store turned out to have a V-belt of the right size and the problem was a thing of the past.
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| route to Vlieland, Harlingen-Blauwe Slenk |
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| route to Vlieland through the sea entrance |
On Saturday we departed to Vlieland on the ebb. Unfortunately, there was another contrary wind: northwest, in rough wind against tide conditions. We were particularly bothered by conditions in the Blauwe Slenk (an important stretch of fairway that runs west, see chart #1), with a fairly stubborn sea slamming us about. We motored slowly with the tide, and soon it became quieter, although the wind had increased to a force 5. We set sail and went quietly with the tide into the sea entrance.
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| image taken in the sea entrance on a previous trip to Vlieland |
When you approach Vlieland, you always have to go around the uninhabited isle of Richel to open sea, where it can become pretty rough. Not this time, however, and soon we entered the channel along the beach towards the roadstead and the harbour.
Vlieland
The harbour turned out to be well filled up. It was unexpectedly busy, perhaps because of the nice weather, but nevertheless we found a good place somewhere in the back, where we'd stay for three days whilst the weather suddenly turned into summer. Those days were spent walking, cycling and thoroughly cleaning the deck, which was covered with detritus of spiders and birds. That is because our home port on the IJsselmeer is ridden with insects. Wild nature, we might say, or free-flying bird and spider food...
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| shooting exercise by NL air force |
During a walk in our favorite nature reserve on the west side of the island, peace was disturbed by fighter-bombers having target practice on the Vliehors shooting range. This is suddenly busy with exercising activity due to all tension in the world and the noise is terrific. The peace dividend of past decades is apparently now gone after Putin's brutal assault on Ukraine, two years ago. If you want peace, prepare for war, as the saying goes.
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| fresh water pond on Vlieland |
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| someone built a sand castle on the beach, complete with a moat |
The walks on Vlieland also took us to a wooded area near the harbour where we had never been before. Here you will still find quiet forest trails with - in the increasing summer heat - the smell of resin from the pines. On the bike we also went further away on the island, finding quiet ponds in the dune area where water fowl rest.
The Witches' House
Not a place we visited, but the title of a book. Before we left I ordered a book from a fellow author in the Leiden region, to take with me as reading material. Jacqueline Zirkzee, another member of an author's association I am a member of, has several historical novels to her name. The Witches' House (regrettably still only available in Dutch as Het Heksenhuis) is about the witch hunt in Bamberg, Germany, which has cost the lives of hundreds of people suspected of witchcraft.
An accusation of witchcraft was the prelude to terrible persecution. Refusing to confess was seen as suspicious and led to torture, and confessing under the most terrible torment meant that the torture stopped, but still you were burned at the stake. The logic of this escapes us nowadays, but the witch hunters apparently saw it differently.
The author describes the chilling persecution not only with a great deal of historical accuracy, but she also manages to convey the sense of the uncertainty of people who directly or indirectly experienced the consequences of the witch hunt. The second part of the story is about the flight of the main characters to escape the witch hunters, and all the obstacles and dangers of traveling in the 17th century. It is a fascinating story that I could not put away - you are, as it were, immersed in the lives of ordinary people in times long past. Recommended if you understand Dutch.
She has one title in English, which is available as an e-book: The Book of Isolde, under her pseudonym J.J.Circe.
Homeward bound
At the start of the home journey I saw a small boat in the distance at the fairway approach buoy of Vlieland. On approach it turned out to be a small open boat with a single occupant. So I went to take a look, after all you are in the open sea. But soon it turned out to be a false alarm: it was a fisherman who had tied his boat with a line on the buoy (which is actually forbidden). He appreciated my coming to have a look and said he was was fine.
During the trip to Kornwerderzand we had to dodge the ferries to Vlieland and Terschelling. The boat to Terschelling now to my surprise is sailing once again through a narrow fairway that was totally silted up a few years ago. Things often change on the Wadden Sea, something I described in two of my earlier books: The Cargo and Two Fathoms Deep.
We sailed quite well on the route to Harlingen, but for the last part through the narrow fairway from Harlingen to Kornwerderzand I doused the sails. It is actually too narrow there and with the wind right astern you are constantly required to trim your sails, because the channel weaves around a bit, distracting your attention from the other shipping.
Kornwerderzand
After locking inside at Kornwerderzand we tied up to a jetty on the inside to spend the night. That has its advantages and disadvantages, because the dense vegetation behind the jetty is a breeding ground for tiny flies and midges, which are floating in thick clouds above the breakwater and also come on board. Moreover, it was very hot that day. Nevertheless, we spent the evening and night in peace, as the only vessel at the jetty. In the morning there was a cormorant on the concrete frame of the spare lock doors, which was extensively scratching and preening itself. Apparently it had unwanted stowaways in its feathers...
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| Manokwari tied up at Kornwerderzand |
The last day trip home started quietly. There was a weak southwest wind, which we again motored straight into. Peacefully having your coffee on the water also has its advantages! I decided to change course west to the opposite shore 10 miles off, because the wind was forecast to increase and possibly veer west. This would offer us some lee and a course advantage (call it tactical sailing!). And the forecast was right: at some stage I could set sail, turning south an hour later. Shortly afterwards it really started to blow and I even had to reef down to keep the boat in hand. After a few hours our home port of Andijk came into view and we could find our berth again.
