A Holland Holiday Getaway..

This year, we have been spending a lot of time fixing our boat. Last week, all this work finally paid off, when we finished the last repairs. Time to take that hard-earned holiday break! We had about eight days, so no overly ambitious sailing goals this time. We spent the week on our country's sweet water lakes.

Around Giethoorn, you'll find a lot of these private paradises

We started at our local boat yard near Giethoorn. This is a beautiful area, but it has its drawbacks. In the summer, it gets very crowded and it consists mainly of narrow canals. Because we prefer to sail on more open waters, we decided to head for the Ketelmeer lake.

Another beautiful retreat

That first day, we did not sail for very long. We had spent the entire morning hurrying to get the boat ready. After that, we found navigating through busy canals, dropping and hoisting our sails for every bridge we passed a bit tiring. So after a few hours, my boyfriend and I decided to call it a day.

We spent our first night in Genemuiden

We picked the old town harbor of Genemuiden, one of the many small marinas situated on the banks of the Zwarte Water. It was a place we've never been before. It turned out to be a pleasant suprise. Spending a warm summer evening in a picturesque town, sipping rose wine in our cockpit really got us into a holiday mood....

Sailing at its best

Next day, we reached more open waters. We were running wing on wing, through a calm lake on a warm summer day. Sailing at its best. One of our friends called. He and his girlfriend were planning to take their boat out for the weekend. Perhaps we could meet somewhere? Sure, cool! We decided to meet at Trintelhaven.

Trintelhaven

Trintelhaven is kind of unique. It is an artificial harbor situated right in the middle of the 16-mile dam that separates the IJsselmeer lake from the Markermeer lake. It really is in the middle of nowhere. No harbor fees, no wifi, no toilets. There is a little truckstop cafe, that literally operates off the grid: it produces its own water and electricity. It is popular with sailors, especially among the more laid-back kind.

While we were catching up with our friends, drinking whiskey and swapping war stories, a thunderstorm came rolling in. Standing on the dam, I could see it approach over the Markermeer lake, while the skies over the IJsselmeer lake were still clear. The storm brought a brisk wind in its wake. Next day, we had a bumpy ride sailing south along the dam. 

 

A bumpy ride...

Nothing we could not handle. But I wanted to be safely back in port, before the wind force would increase beyond our comfort zone. So we went into the first marina we came across. That turned out to be a good choice. While we enjoyed a cozy evening with wine and good music, we could hear the wind howling in our mast.

Next day, the skies cleared up again. We went through a lock to enter the Markermeer. We spent the night at anchor there, in a lonely harbor inlet. After a refreshing morning swim, we pulled up our anchor and sailed off. It was a typical hot summer day, with clear blue skies and almost no wind. But still enough for us. Our small boat does not need much wind to keep her going. We calmly drifted towards the old town of Hoorn.

Hoorn is really beautiful

When we dropped sails to enter the city harbor, we discovered that our outboard wasn’t working. What to do next? The weather still was very calm and forgiving. So we hoisted our sails again, sailed out to a quiet spot, and drifted around a bit, to do some troubleshooting. After half an hour, my boyfriend found a possible cause. But he still couldn’t get our engine to run, so we asked another sailboat to tow us into the marina. There, we managed to revive our outboard. Victory!

Hoorn was a home base for the Dutch East India Company

We took a short walk trough the old town. Then, we dined on a floating terrace on one of the city's canals. A beautiful summer night followed a hot summer day. It remained warm outside, several hours after sunset. And the next day, the sun was right up there again, heating everything up like it had never left. We caught up with an old friend who happened to be in the neighborhood. After that, we took a guided tour through the Halve Maen, a replica of a historic sailing ship, moored right next to our marina.

The Halve Maen's cargo hold

In the afternoon, we sailed off again. It was like the day before: hot, sunny, little wind, easy, calm sailing. Our destination was the town of Enkhuizen, a town we frequently visit during weekend sailing trips. Like Hoorn, Enkhuizen has a beautiful old town center. But Enkhuizen has less tourists than Hoorn. And its inner city harbor has a nice atmosphere, because it is surrounded by cafes and restaurants. This makes this town one of our favorites. We spent another long summer evening there, dining in a local Italian restaurant and enjoying wine in our cockpit.

Enkhuizen by night

The following day, we took the train to Amsterdam to visit a boat show. We don’t really like boat shows, because they are mostly about shiny, expensive, look-at-how-rich-I-am stuff no one really needs. But we were invited by a sailing mag I write for. It was a nice opportunity to have a drink with some of my friends and colleagues and we had a great time there.

One of Enkhuizen's old city harbours

Time flies when you're having fun. Before we knew it, it was Friday already. Only three days left. We crossed the IJsselmeer lake to get to the Frisian lakes. There, we met some friends who rented a Fox 22, a small sailing boat. We spent the weekend sailing in Frisia, with a small trip on the IJsselmeer lake. 

 

The last two days, we sailed with our friends

The Frisian lakes are more sheltered than the IJsselmeer lake, but that does not mean that sailing there is easier. On the contrary. There are many shoals, so you'll always have to keep one eye on your chart and your depth sounder, or else, you'll run aground. That weekend, we ran aground three times! Fortunately, the mud is soft there, so it is easy to get your boat free again.

Workum, a small town in Frisia

Next to the shoals, these lakes are also very busy. And everybody has their sails up. Apparently, the people who sail here are real sailing fanatics! There were dozens of big and little sails, dinghies, yachts and traditional vessels bustling around on a small lake. A spectacular sight. How very different from the IJsselmeer. Even with perfect sailing conditions we always see a lot of big yachts motoring around there.

These guys pull their sails up, wherever they can...

That Sunday, we sailed back to Lemmer, our home port. The end of our holiday came too soon already... But next year, we'll make it up with a longer holiday! 

 We had an amazing holiday with our little boat