Leaving Vlieland
Another early start, 0630hrs and a grey sky as we exit Vlieland marina
As we exited the marina the command to hoist the sails was issued and the trusty crew obliged. The sails filled and it seemed that this was to be the sailing day of the passage, sadly as soon as we rounded the headland the wind dropped and the sails sagged. Perhaps the local yacht coming out with us and motoring knew more than we thought! It was to be another day of motor sailing. The sea become quite roly and not a pleasant ride so it was decided that the ability to stand unsupported at the helm was an excellent exercise for the core...........that's what Adrian told Sue.
Building core strength
Just as we were going slightly mad with the noise and drone from the iron sail the wind picked up and we shut the engine down and the last 10 miles was knocked off at a tremendous pace (max 9 knots SOG) with 14 knots of apparent wind appearing from nowhere we powered our way towards tonights berth in the Sea Port Marina in Ijmuiden. Amsterdam is a mere 10 miles inland. It is a massive marina, bigger than anything any of us have seen before but the facilities are excellent and yet again the staff were very helpful.
Beam reach all the way into Ijmuiden