Postcard from Den Oever

We were a little jittery as we left Lemmer but successfully navigated our way right across the Ijsselmeer to Andijk, despite the wind sending gusts of F5-6 and shifting so that we had to tack the last part of the trip.

Taking pictures on a boat sailing hard seems to confuse the horizon!

 At Andijk it was more of the same - lovely bike rides, days of strong winds, walks along dike tops.

Bike rides need to include delicious cakes!

There are an awful lot of boats in Holland!

We left Andijk to sail up to Den Oever in glorious sunshine!  Could summer finally be beginning? 

Thinks "My Dad would have thought I'd won the football pools!"

 This harbour was some distance from the town - bikes were handy once again - but the beautiful evening ride through a woodland nature reserve is my memory of this stop.  Being at the western end of the enclosing Afsluitdijk we also went to take a look at the truly enormous sluices - they had looked like Lego blocks in the distance as we had sailed towards them.

Ongoing dike repairs - makes repainting Forth Bridge seem like a walk in the park!

As you will have realised by now, we are using the boat as a floating caravan to allow us to visit a variety of places. We do not belong to the style of yachtsmen who cross oceans and enjoy endless days at sea. For us it is more a wonderful way to travel, especially when the wind is in our favour and we can sail without help from the engine, but we love to see the countryside and towns as we go.

Taking photos of the boat sailing isn't easy as I can't get far enough away from her to really show what is happening – this is the best I can do.

Hopefully when we have a visitor who is happy to be set adrift in a rubber dinghy then we can get some photos from afar.

For now, I will give an idea of life below decks. There is plenty of space for two – in theory she has room for seven, but they would need to be VERY good friends! 

Our comfy new mattress is in the forepeak (the below-decks area in the bow) and has proved a great success. We climb into bed very happily! You can see some storage on shelves ...

but most of our clothing is in an adjacent locker (cupboard) – somehow I always seem to need two shelves while Chris manages with one!

We have a VERY compact heads (toilet) with a pump-out loo and small basin. The tap can be used as a shower, but it was once described as the “Harry Houdini of showers” by a friend who tried to use it. We go to use the showers ashore or make do with a strip wash!

The main saloon (general living area) has a multitude of uses – dining room, sitting room, office, airing cupboard, spare bedroom, larder, tool shed, cellar amongst others! It never ceases to amaze me how much storage space is hidden away here.

The galley (kitchen area) has a camping style cooker complete with grill and oven. In the past I have baked bread and home-made pizzas but we now mostly cook simple pan meals – spag bol, chilli, chicken and rice, omelet, stir-fry etc and the oven is more often used to heat up croissants! This year we have a new cold box / fridge which is proving to be a great success, especially as most Dutch marinas seem to have electricity included in the price nowadays – a real sign of the times. Hence the electric kettle too. We have even discussed a microwave, but not taken that step yet!

 A chart table is where we are supposed to keep track of where we are going - with the help of GPS and radar when necessary.

And then the area not much used when we are only two ...

except for storage ...

but it leads to another "spare bedroom" - a very cosy aft cabin - I think this may be what is known as a "1 and a half" bed!

The sharp-eyed amongst you may have spotted our stowaway - this little man was a daft Christmas present who has taken up residence with us - can you find him in each of the interior pictures? (except the dining one)  You may need to click on the pictures to make them whole-screen if you are taking on the spotting challenge!  With thanks to Stephen Cartwright for the idea!!!