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Published: September 26th 2013
Steering Down the River/Canals
You have to keep a good look out with all the traffic. Janice found it cold enough for ear muffs already!
We left Willemstad and headed west out to the North Sea to make the jump up on the outside to get to Amsterdam. The plan is to visit Amsterdam for a few days and then move on to Lelystad where we will take the boat out of the water for repairs.
We had a very pleasure journey out to the North Sea with little traffic and almost no development. Just before heading out to sea you must go through a lock. This one had its excitement. Janice was near the bow using her boat hook to grab the ladder located in the lock. Unfortunately she had to stretch a little farther than the length of the hook. After making the mistake of trying to “stop” the boat with the hook (not something that really works) something had to give so to avoid going in the water she dropped the hook. Fortunately we have an extra, but we really didn’t want to lose it. The good thing is that the boat hook floats, the bad thing is that it floats and you can see it moving away from you. While in the lock you aren’t in a position to go get
At First Glance It Seemed Strange
to see water pouring out the side of the ship, but realized it was dredging which is important here as the depths are quite shallow. it, just watch it drift away. It kept moving farther and farther away with the current inside the lock. When the lock doors opened it very nicely floated out the door and around the corner behind a dock that is located there for fishermen. So, do we try a rescue? Why not? We took a chance to see if we could spot it. Fortunately we did and on our second attempt we were successful. We were rewarded with a standing ovation from the nearby fishermen that were watching these crazy sailors do a rescue of a boat hook. Guess it is always good to do a rescue practice once in a while – fortunately it was only a boat hook!
It was pleasant to be back out to sea again and the weather cooperated. We had to cross one of the busiest shipping traffic areas leading into the Europort. This is the world’s busiest port due to its proximity to Rotterdam and the mouth of the Rhine and Meuse River which connect to Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and France. As we approached there appeared to be a highway of ships crossing in front of us. You are required to call
the harbor to get permission to cross this area at a 90 degree angle (the shortest distance across). In fact they specify on the chart where you are to cross and at what point you must call. Just as we got to the point where we would be crossing the “highway” was empty and the crossing was a piece of cake! The shoreline around the port is very industrialized with petrochemical refineries, storage tanks and cranes used at the port for offloading ships.
After traveling for a little over eight hours we were ready to stop at Scheveningen. The marina is right in the middle of a newly developed part of town. It was just an overnight stop but boats were rafted up three and four deep. This was the first time we had the person at the marina apologize to us for not being able to raise a US flag for us. He explained that he only had 4 flag poles and he cannot lower another flag or put one flag under another. We thanked him for his concern but told him it was definitely OK as we would be leaving the next morning. They did give us
Europort - The World's Busiest
A line of ships heading to the Europort in the Netherlands. a very nice pennant from the marina that we could fly, we proudly put up the next morning before we left.
Just before heading off in the morning a sailboat came in behind us which we helped with the lines. Fortunately for us it was two very pleasant women from Amsterdam. They took the time to give us some suggestions of things to see while there. We were sorry we weren’t going to be there longer to have a chance to get to know Marion and Marjo better. They very kindly took a photo of us before leaving and printed two copies for us. My Mom was very pleased to get the photo – thanks again! We meet the nicest people as we travel.
To go with the tide we should have left Scheveningen in the afternoon about 3:30PM, but we didn’t want to wait that long so left an hour early. It was an easy and short passage to IJumuiden where the Seaport Marina was located. There is a beautiful long and wide beach located here. Fortunately in the evening when we arrived the place was quite empty and we had a lovely walk around the area
A Picture of a Picture
That we were given by new friends we met in Scheveningen. just in time to see a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we moved again, this time we had to start off going through a lock to enter the canal system that would lead us to Amsterdam. We lucked out and were able to go right into the lock and everything went smoothly. After moving every day for a couple of days we were looking forward to stopping in Amsterdam to explore.
About 20 minutes before we were to arrive at the marina we were headed to, we were “pulled over” by the Netherlands Customs boat. It is interesting how they stop you – they actually don’t want you to stop, you are to maintain the same speed and course while they pull alongside and 2 men jumped onto Tsamaya. They asked us quite a few basic questions about where we have been, where we are headed and if we had anything to declare. They mentioned that they wanted to see our flare gun and have a look below. No problem. We were then surprised to find them actually going through the entire boat pulling out drawers and using a flashlight to look behind the drawers, opening all the
The Seaport Marina at IJmuiden
is quite large & is in a tourist area due to its beautiful beach. cupboards and having a very thorough look through the boat. Fortunately at the end of it, they thanked us and said that they were finished. One thing that we did need to do was to see the Netherlands Immigration Officers to have our passports stamped. They made arrangements for officers to meet us at the marina we were headed to so we didn’t even have to go out of way to accomplish this. We had heard of others being boarded by officials in numerous countries, but this was our first experience. Fortunately it was a very positive one and we now are in the system so we won’t be stopped again, at least in the Netherlands.
A friend of ours commented on Facebook “you guys are the luckiest people on the planet!!! Such a great adventure/life.” Maybe not on the whole planet , but we do feel very lucky indeed. We just sailed (motored) into Amsterdam and what a truly amazing city it is. Historically most people stay in a marina called Sixhaven across from the Amsterdam Central train station, but had heard it was usually very crowded. Fortunately friends told us of a new marina that just opened
up (with the imaginative name of Amsterdam Marina) we decided to try it out. It was a great decision. There was lots of room, great docks, fabulous shower facilities (we figured they designed them for those that are on the mega-yachts) and it was a very easy walk to the free ferry dock that ran to Amsterdam every half hour.
When we finished with the Immigration Officers we hopped on a ferry to just check out the city and get oriented (and of course stop at the tourist bureau). The first thing that hit us was the number of bicycles here. We have been seeing people using bikes everywhere we have stopped, but nothing like this. After only walking around for a short time we realized that our bikes were going to stay on the boat, they ride like crazy here and it would be much easier to see the sights by walking. Just crossing the street was a challenge, not only do you have to watch for cars, but also the bikes, motorcycles and even the handicap “golf carts’ that zoom by on the bike paths. Amsterdam has quite an extensive public transportation system which includes trains, buses,
A View of One of the Sluice Gates
used to control the level of the water to eliminate tides. and trams. Similar to Lisbon you can purchase one day as well as multi-day passes that cover all modes of transportation. We decided we’d check out the distances between places the next day and decide if we needed to do this. Quickly that evening we realized that even though Amsterdam is quite a large city, it is easy to walk around which gave us more flexibility to “turn down a street that looks interesting.”
Everyone recommended that we check out the Rijks Museum and the Van Gogh Museum among other places. We are fortunate that they are now open, they both had been closed for a long time for major renovations. After considering other sights we narrowed it down to these two. We took a full day at each one and we could have easily used more time. They were both wonderfully done and had audiotape tours that we could rent that provided us with in-depth information on the various pieces we were seeing. At the Rijks they included information on the actual building which had just gone through a 10 year renovation. The collection at the Rijks is so extensive that we were only able to see what
Getting Busier
Getting closer to Amsterdam – more traffic and more industry. they labeled as highlights in each of the sections, but it gave us an excellent cross section view of the art and history in the Netherlands. One section that they are particularly proud of is dedicated to one painter, Rembrandt. His Night Watch painting is the centerpiece of the room. What surprised us at both of these museums was that photography was permitted and that you could get as close as you wanted to the paintings to see the details. There were only a few pieces that could not be photographed and they were clearly indicated. When we asked what made the distinction we found it was the ones that had been borrowed from other collections that could not be photographed. It was obvious that many that were touring both museums were students of the arts and were thoroughly discussing and enjoying the art, not just running through the museum to check it off the list of things that they had seen.
Bob commented after spending the day at the Van Gogh Museum that he never thought he would spend a whole day learning about one artist and enjoying it. The exhibit was done so well and the narration
Going Through the Industrial Area
before getting to the city of Amsterdam. on the audiotape did an excellent job of putting it in context. In the case of Van Gogh they followed his life from when he started as an artist in his early 20’s and followed him until his death. In learning his art he had worked with others such as Monet, Gaugin, Hons and many others. He adapted some of their techniques while rejecting others after trying them. The museum did an excellent job of having art work of these other artists in the same room as Van Gogh’s so you could compare the work of the two together. It was fascinating to be able to see the development of his artwork over time and determine what influenced him during that period. There were many of his most famous paintings such as the sunflowers, irises, starry night and many more, but some of his earlier works had a very different style and you could see his development and growth as an artist. It was a fascinating look into the life and artwork of one man. We would highly recommend a stop at both of these fine museums if you are ever in Amsterdam. (15 euro per person for each museum
More Wind Turbines
everywhere and houses below the water level. plus 5 euro for the audiotape)
Amsterdam is a very vibrant city with lots going on. On one of the days we were there was a Russian folk dancing group performing in the park. They were only rehearsing when we were there, but it looked like it would have been an interesting performance. Due to the recent decision in Russia against gays, there was a protest being held. We feel sorry for the performers that have nothing to do with their government’s decisions, but it was definitely a very peaceful protest and not disruptive while we were there.
While we were in Amsterdam friends of ours that we met and traveled with from Trinidad to Venezuela back in 2011 came to visit us. It was great to get a chance to catch up with them. They very graciously gave us a full day of their time and took us to some of the neighboring towns and villages to see some of the other sights in the area. As that was a full day of exploring with lots to tell you, I’ll put that in a separate blog posting. We could have easily spent more time exploring Amsterdam, but
More bridge openings
to go through – this one is going down so have to wait for the next opening. we need to get repairs done on the boat, so the following day we decided to leave Amsterdam and head to Lelystad.
Believe it or not we are still in Lelystad, but the repairs are finally done and we are scheduled to go back in the water today (9/26). We should be moving tomorrow to another town where we will meet up with other Dutch friends of ours and explore that area more.
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