Having arrived in the 17th century town of Hoorn after the ‘Battle of the Zuiderzee’, the OGA NL20 enjoyed the last few days of the Tour mooring up together in the somewhat crowded historic harbour. Hoorn used to be a major shipbuilding centre until the surrounding waters silted up. Tuesday night was dinner party time as each boat hosted another for supper, with many skippers and crews dressing up for the occasion.
The Dutch Gaffers had also organised a ‘contest’ on the Zuiderzee before sailing on to Enkhuisen. “Yesterday we had a sort of competitive sail in company (but not a race) around a course from Hoorn to a point in the Markermeer just south of Enkhuizen. We had a reasonable S breeze, so it was nice to be sailing properly again. The proceedings were complicated by the requirement that we should pass a capsule between the English and Dutch boats while under way to collect signatures. This provided a test of seamanship and it was useful to have several crew available to fend off. In the evening we locked into the Ijsselmeer and tied up in the centre of the historic town of Enkhuizen. We visited the Zuiderzee museum which has many exhibits both under cover and in the open. It records the social changes resulting from the building of the dam to close off the Zuiderzee from the North Sea in the early 1930s and some of the disastrous floods that occurred before then. There is a fine collection of traditional Dutch boats stored under cover. Outside in a dock there are some boats afloat maintained in sailing condition, a rarity among nautical museums. Certainly an excellent museum and well worth a visit.”
Extract from the blog: Bonita
As boats start to depart at the end of the Tour, there are farewells and promises to meet up again. For those planning to return to the UK by the ‘mast up’ route south through Gouda, there’s challenges to passage planning due to closure of some bridges. ‘Lahloo’ and ‘Onward of Ito’ have decided to take the North Sea Canal and cross the North Sea from Ijmuiden, departing today, Saturday 17 August. Those still in Enkhuisen have enjoyed one more day out sailing together as the successful and enjoyable OGA NL20 draws to a close.
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