Hello, now I am at the port of Lemmer. Just one lock and two bridges to go through and I am out on the big open IJsselmeer. Ready for some sailing again after all the canal motoring. But for the coming few days the weather is hot, muggy, thunderstorms and big winds. So I am enjoying good dutch food and the fabulous beer.
I have already gone under 48 bridge openings and through five locks in the northern part of the Netherlands. Most of the time the bridges open as you are approaching. Yesterday there was a bridge that did not want to open. The waiting time led to a long que of boats with masts or huge motor yachts. The bridge operator closed the road booms several times, all the traffic stopped.. But the bridge wouldn’t open. After a while three service cars appeared and a bunch of technicians went to work. It took another half hour, but they managed to get the bridge to work. Every boater was cheering as we passed through. Such a great service, and all for free in this country. Superb! I will sail from here to Enkhuizen on the other shore of the IJsselmeer. And then I will be in Holland for real. From there follow the other coastline down south towards Hoorn and Amsterdam. Stopping on the way to meet one of my sisters. I am very pleased with the progress made, and must admit that I miss the Baltic Sea and Swedish coast a bit. Here, although I have good charts, the size and depth of my boat make it almost impossible to go outside the ship channels. So very shallow everywhere. That’s one of the reasons I am looking forward to the IJsselmeer, where I can actually do some sailing off the channels. For now, I will just have to wait for better winds. But I am good! Enjoying every minute of the journey.