Dead Centre

 Quite by chance we find ourselves in the 'Cadastral' centre of the Netherlands.

A red laser spot marks the geographic centre of the Netherlands. 

A change in the weather, and a wet and windy night moored up on an isolated island in the Eemmeer had us scuttling up the Eem river for shelter to Amersfoort. What a delightful town we found and just coincidentally, they were hosting a Latin American music festival.

It is 346 steps to the top of "Our Lady's tower" 

from where the view was spectacular

The performance stage was in the shadow of Our Lady's tower which at 98m high is visible for many kilometres. A laser mark on the floor directly below the tower spire marks the geographic centre of the Netherlands. 

Latin American festival in full swing

Any visit to Amersfoort must include a visit to the 3 Ring brewery,

which traces its heritage back to 1626

Koppelpoort, the watergate into the old town Amersfoort, 

with a carpet of duckweed.

The small boat waterway through Amersfoort

Before the weather change we visited the hansiatic town of Hardewijk where I found more enthusiastic Botter sailors. These very sturdy, traditional sailing craft were originally used for fishing or local freight. Now they race them! Despite the average age of these craft being over a century. That said, the traditional boat workshop in Hardewijk used their Covid lockdown time to build a brand new, all wood Botter.

A new build Botter, a Covid lockdown project !

These Harderwijk botters are all 100+ years old

As I write, a storm labelled 'Poly' is passing over the Netherlands, reportedly their most severe summer storm on record. We are securely moored just out of town in a backwater of the river Eem.

As I write a storm rages outside, 

the arrow marks our mooring spot

 

The calm before the storm

Weather permitting, we cross the Ijsselmeer to Monnickendam in the next few days to take up an  invitation to sail in another botter regatta !! 

  

Boating beneath the sea

 Well, not exactly under water! As I write we are afloat, but 5 meters below sea level.

We have at last started exploring and we are traveling in glorious summer weather. Following a month in England visiting folk, we were able to get back aboard Antiope and get on top of a few jobs. The new washing mashine arrived and was duly hoisted aboard, hooked up and put into service.

      Steady does it !                                  A tight fit through the hatch

We have a new working washing machine! No more smelly shirts. 

It is a pleasure to be able to have family and friends aboard again. It is now 11 years since we were in these Netherland waters. We are getting used to the change from France, from the morning baguette to the Dutch coffee and applecake routine.   

Away from the boatyard.

So far we have stayed north of Amsterdam, cruising Friesland and the IJsselmeer. 

Following a casual dockside chat while exploring the old Hansiatic port of Kampen, I had an invitation to go Botter racing and I found myself crewing in the annual 'Urk' traditional boat regatta. 

 

,

GT 13, 120 years old and we finished in 3rd place

Your author in a casual pose, mid race

Not much wind on the day

The Botter fleet, post race in Urk. 

The Urk lighthouse still shines out over the IJsselmeer. Urk was once an island in the Zuider Zee before 1943. This old fishing settlement is now on the edge of a vast polder of reclaimed land. It is midway across this polder on the man made waterway 5 m below sea level, where we have moored for the night. Sobering thought. 

The Urk lighthouse

                                             

The watergate at Sneek, the waterway hub of Frieseland

We found this remote island mooring in the middle of the IJsselmeer

The Dromedary tower, which dates back to 1540, in the old seaport of Enkhuizen 

Once a defended seaport, Blokzijl is now far inland

Sailing on the Meers

Summer evening on the Meers

Exiting the lock where we have descended 5meters to the level of the old sea bed 

Ciao Zanussi

 Our month-long social visit to the UK ended up in Felixstowe, once a grand Victorian Suffolk seaside town, which now has England's largest container terminal in its backyard. Just across the harbour is the historic town of Harwich from where my way-back ancestors sailed, and it was from the Stour/Orwell estuary that Antiope began her voyage to Europe 12 years ago.  

                        

                            Some folk in Felixstowe have too much time on their hands.

                             A more comfortable mode of sea travel. (The ferry, not the lightship!)

Our trip across the North Sea was again overnight, but this time in a lovely cabin aboard the 240 m ferry, Stena Hollandica. Definitely a more comfortable ride than last time, according to Annie. 

Before leaving London, Annie and I made the Thameside walk from the old Docklands to Greenwich including the must do 'Cloud' cable car ride over the Thames. We finished up with a reviving pint in the bankside Trafalgar taven, then a swift 'Uber' ferry up into central London and a further walkabout. There is so much more to see of London by foot than getting around on the 'Tube'

The 'Cloud' cable cars cross the Thames, well worth the ride

                                 The Greenwich meridian crosses the Thames at this point

                               It then heads on South through docklands all the way to NZ 

A grand sight, the Trafalgar tavern on the bankside at Greenwich,

Coronation bunting still flying.

                                       

Meanwhile, back in Scheerwolde

Monday 6th June, re-launch day, and the first of the warmer weather

Once back aboard Antiope, she was smartly launched and we began the long delayed task of removing 'Zanussi'. The task made more difficult as Zanussi (the washing machine) was a big beast, wider than any of the boat access ways and we suspect built in before the original interior fit out was completed back in 1996. Zanussi had been misbehaving for several seasons and was on its final warning.            Pre Covid I had cut out a big enough hole and made a larger forehatch. This week the test, having dismantled it as far as possible a mobile jib hoisted the 80 kg up through the hatch. We knew that if we could get one out, a new one would fit in.

Going

Going

Going

Gone

Watch this space soon for some actual cruising stories and pictures.

Cheers Charles and Annie

A Coronation to kick off the season

 Annie and I arrived back aboard Antiope at the end of April, to a Netherlands that was still shivering. Spring, it seems, was a bit late arriving. Antiope, however, had been snug inside a shed all winter.

Antiope as we find her, snug in her shed. 

The family run business has storage space for up to 200 boats

No sooner had we unpacked our bags when were invited to join friends over in England for the Coronation! Well, any excuse for a good party. We also thought it should also allow some time for the weather to warm up just a bit. 

Eurostar trains run from here direct to London

We chose to travel direct from Amsterdam to London by Eurostar. So easy! We have come to prefer train travel to short flights around Europe as we are not in a hurry and find it far less stressful. With friends and with Pimms in hand, we watched the pomp, parades and the stunning concert in a riverside setting, followed by the obligatory British street party.

 

TheThames Meadow Coronation street party 

       Bunting and Balloons, essential additions!

                                               

      There was even a craft beer for the occasion.

Once the dust had settled, we took a couple of days out to visit the Historic Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth. This visit had been on my bucket list for a long time and was worth every hour. In fact, I could have happily spent several more days there. A must see was the restored 'Mary Rose'.

The Spinnaker tower overlooks Portsmouth harbour

 and the historic dockyard.

A model of the 'Mary Rose' 

The 'Mary Rose' was Henry V111's flagship and already a naval campaign veteran when she capsized in 1545 in a very local battle with the French navy, in full view of the king who was watching from a castle on the foreshore. It is thought that a tight jibe turn, open gun ports on her lee side and a sudden gust of wind sealed her fate.  

Re-discovered in 1971, salvaged and now preserved in a disused navy dry dock, she has revealed a time capsule of Tudor shipboard life. 

This largely intact part of the ship lay forgotten for 500 years under a layer of silt.

A salvaged cannon bearing the King's crest looking almost new,

 its original wooden carriage rotted away.

Alongside, in another dry dock, is Victory which was Lord Nelson's flagship in yet another battle with the French at Trafalgar in 1805 

300 years younger, Victory is in better shape than the Mary Rose and survived the battle. However, Admiral Nelson was not so lucky, felled by a French musket ball just when the English fleet was winning the fight.  

The Victory is undergoing a 12 year refit, her masts out 

and much of her massive oak planking being replced. 

On deck, a plaque marks the spot where Nelson fell

Nelson's bed, hard up against a cannon,

was put away during battle

Below decks, the term 'A Square Meal' 

comes from the mess plates served to the sailors.

Advance another 200 years and moored up only a cannon shot away is the latest addition to the King's navy, the massive HMS Queen Elizabeth, just short of 300m long and weighing in at 65,000 tonnes.  

HMS Queen Elizabeth. (France beware)

Meanwhile in our urban London garden !