The first week after we left, the weather was exceptionally good. And that for the beginning of March 😃. Steep sawtooths though; because it is very clear the nights are still quite cold but during the day it is lovely and warm and sunny. What a gift to start our new migratory life like this ☀️☺️.
We spend two days in the Veerhaven harbor in Rotterdam, always a nice spot so in the middle of the city! With Harald and Madeleine we go to the movies together. Jeanette also visits us for lunch because she is in the neighborhood. By now we don't say goodbye anymore and just say "until next time"☺️.
With this nice and calm weather it is no punishment to go out to sea to Scheveningen. The standing mast route is blocked (last bridge at Haarlem has been out of order for months); but with this weather, via open sea is more relaxed.
In Scheveningen we stay for the day. We go out with the bikes to get the necessary stamps (at the CAK and the court) for some of the medicines from our emergency kit that fall under the opium law. We make a nice bike ride through the beautiful countryside of The Hague and north of Scheveningen. This goes very well on our Brompton folding bikes.
On Friday we sail from Scheveningen to Amsterdam in nice and calm weather. We have over 2 hours of wonderful sailing with plenty of wind. The North Sea Canal to Amsterdam is somewhat dull with little shipping. We decided to go to the Sixhaven. This is right in the center on the north side of the IJ near the central station. The other HR Seaquest has a winter berth here and Huib-Jan tackles our lines. In the evening we have a drink together.
During the weekend we have appointments with Inge and with that we explore Amsterdam well by bike. On Saturday morning we first go to a nice lunch spot near their old house on the Lineuskade. We sit in the sun for two hours. In the afternoon we bike along the Amstel River between Ouderkerk ad Amstel and Amsterdam to watch Mark's rowing race (The Head). Bit of nostalgia because I rowed it 37 years ago in a Phocas 8 and we came first then 😊.
On Sunday morning we bike through the western part of Amsterdam to Merel's field hockey game near the Amsterdamse Bos. This way we see another completely different part of the city. In the afternoon we clean the boat and remove as much of the winter dirt and green deposits as possible 🫧. That looks a lot better again👍! There are many winter moorers here and with this weather there is a lot of activity with nice conversations. We are a little stiff from all this activity though 😉. It doesn't stop us from walking into town for a Korean BBQ 😋.
Maandag ga ik nog gezellig een paar uurtjes wandelen met Inge in het voorlopig laatste mooie weer door Amsterdam Noord naar Schellingwoude. Weer een ander deel van de stad waar we nog nooit zijn geweest. Merel loopt stage in de buurt van de Sixhaven en komt gezellig borrelen en eten. Van Inge krijg ik heel lief een ‘zus’ armbandje waar zij zelf het ‘zusje’ van heeft 🥰. Heerlijke dagen zo met elkaar zonder dat de emotie van afscheid er is. Ook Inge en Mark zien we binnenkort weer, begin April in Vlieland. Dus ook tegen hen zeggen we gewoon ‘tot ziens’.
That anything can break on a boat we notice this first week with the anchor light already broken. Toine goes in front of the mast twice on Saturday. But the light and the connection above is not the problem. Eventually he figures out that it is down to the connector of the wires at the bottom of the mast. It takes hours, but is fixed again 😎.
It was a top first week 😊. Tomorrow we're going on up the Markermeer.