10th June
We didn’t bother setting an alarm as the banging of the piling hammer awoke us again just after 7 am. After our usual morning routine, we got the boat ready to leave at high water. Just after 10 am we slipped our lines and began our journey to Willemstad. With the wind coming straight at us, we had to motor all the way to the first lock into the Volkerak. We were the last but one boat into the lock, the last one being another British boat from Chichester, who were also heading for Willemstad.
On our way out of this lock, we had to pass under a bridge which declared its height as 18.3 metres. Seaduction’s mast stands at 17.5 metres, but we haven’t actually measured it ourselves and Chris wondered how high the aerial was on our mast, so Chris was a little nervous as we exited the lock. The water was also very shallow here for a few minutes, so we were both glad to leave this place behind.
Once around the corner, the wind direction was good to sail and we were almost able to sail up to the next lock. It took us two attempts to tie up on the waiting pontoon, but once in the lock, we got it spot-on, which was just as well, as a large commercial boat followed us in and there was no room for error this time.
Again, we exited the lock under a bridge which only just cleared the top of our mast and we heaved a sigh of relief as we followed the other boats out. It wasn’t long before we motored into the harbour at Willemstad, just behind the other British boat, and after receiving instructions for our berth location from the harbour master, made our way to our berth.
Chris decided to go stern in, so we got ourselves ready and Chris began reversing the boat in. Carole had the bow lines ready and got the windward line attached and secure. Chris then called out to secure the other bow line and Carole realised that here there was only one post, so Chris quickly attached this line to the boat next to us. There was an older gentleman on the boat the other side and although he didn’t need to come to our aid, he was keeping an eye on us to make sure we were all right (or was he making sure his boat was all right?). Anyway, after a bit of “faffing” around, we managed to sort ourselves out nicely and find the harbour master and sort out our next two nights’ stay.
The sun was now beaming down on us and to our amusement, we could hear the loud baaing of many sheep which were grazing on the grass all around the marina.
We checked out the facilities and then took a walk to familiarise ourselves with the town. There was a beautiful windmill which was now someone’s lovely home, a church with a chiming clock and many interesting old buildings. We bought our first ice cream of our trip and sat by the waterside and watched the world go by. This was the Holland we had come to see.
Supper was a tasty, spicy prawn noodle stir fry which certainly needed a glass of something to wash it down as Chris had been heavy handed with the fresh chillies. A ten minute walk round the other side of town was then needed to clear the head before settling in to write the blog (Carole) and look at charts to decide where to go next (Chris). However, I don’t think much planning got done as I heard snoring and I don’t think it was the sheep!
As I get ready for bed, the wind is still whistling around and vibrating through the boat. The question is, will it still be tomorrow?