Jan Haring regatta 2023

 As the story goes, 450 years ago a brave young Dutch sailor, Jan Haring, started the end of Spanish rule in the Netherlands. 

In the midst of a sea battle in the Zuiderzee, between a small Dutch rebel fleet that was quite at home in the shallow seas and the much superior Spanish fleet, Jan boarded the Spanish flagship, climbed the mast and struck her colours. In the confusion that followed, the rest of the Spanish fleet thought that the battle was lost. Within weeks Amsterdam fell into the hands of the rebels, the Spanish fled and within a few years, the Dutch republic was born.

GT 13, the 125 year old Botter on which I crewed for the regatta.

Our Spanish competition !!

That momentous event is celebrated each year with a Botter sailing regatta, a sea shanty festival and an eel smoking competition in the little town of Monnikendam. The locals go to great lengths to dress in traditional costume. The eel smoking competition took all day Sunday with over 100 competitors, with Harry, one of our Saturday race crew, being one of them. Post race on Sunday we enjoyed some of his prized smoked eel. 

Heading out to race, your author at the mast.

Racing tactics take a bit of long term planning

Our hardy crew, beer in hand on the run home, leeboards up

Skipper Roy, me,\and veteran eel smoker Harry, with some of his day's work.  

Harry checking out the next door competitor.

Period costume, the order of the day.

Having somehow earned a crew position aboard botter CT13 in the Urk regatta, I had been invited to sail again. The two day regatta was held in light winds which did not favour us, but we managed to be placed 3rd in the traditional ( boats over 100 years old) Botter division for which we earned a ceramic bottle of local rum. 

Among the fleet was 'Bona' a vintage Leigh bawley from England. 

She had sailed across the North Sea just for the regatta

To recover, we escaped to a quiet island mooring spot for a few days. These mooring sites throughout the waterways are marked as 1 to 3 days stay, are often free and are marked on the charts. We have found them very well looked after and respected.

We found this quiet mooring spot to share with locals, 

 just a few miles from Amsterdam.

Next, we spend some cultural time in Amsterdam,