Your adventure begins in sturdy Harlingen, located on the beautiful Wadden Sea. You set foot on a gunwale for the first time, a term you will soon become familiar with. The smell of fresh coffee welcomes you, and Axel and Katja’s faces soon become familiar. Time for a cup of coffee and a first introduction to your cosy cabin. It already feels like coming home.
The sailing plan is discussed, with the sea chart on the table, Windy.com on your mobile and the tide table in mind. We can go in any direction, but the wind has the final say. A first lesson for a landlubber. The mate draws the sail plan on the deck with chalk. Words like fours, stakes, cuckoos and buckskins take on a whole new meaning on board. You learn a language that all sailors around the North Sea understand.
Then we sail between the breakwaters into the open water. The sails are hoisted under the watchful eye of skipper Axel and Katja. The sheets are tacked at 8-knots, the daggerboard drops to leeward, the engine turns off… silence. Sailing is a miracle of physics that you are going to fathom this week. What you will learn further is to enjoy, day after day! Of the colours of the water: sometimes grey, sometimes blue, sometimes turquoise. The sky can be bright blue, but even more beautiful are the Dutch skies with their billowing clouds and silver rims, for which we are so famous. Not to be captured is the velvety black of the evening sky, with thousands of stars suddenly visible.
Falling dry is also an experience not to be missed. Four hours before low tide, you will anchor at a sandbank. The ebb sets in and after a few hours you walk around on the seabed, amazed at how big the ship actually is. In the small channels and pools, the water is pleasantly warm, perfect for bathing. On the IJsselmeer, if you dare, you can dive into the cool water from the jib boom. Swim around the ship and tick this adventure off your bucket list.
You’ll discover the quietest beach on Terschelling, the chicest beach club on Vlieland, the cosiest harbour-side café in Enkhuizen, the most beautiful lighthouse on Ameland, the finest bike ride on Texel, the stateliest buildings in Hoorn and/or the tastiest kibbeling in Den Oever. The island feeling… it really exists, you slowly but surely notice: on the Wadden Islands, on an uninhabited island in the Frisian lakes, the Marker Wadden, Pampus, the Kreupel… Maybe the ship itself was your island, when you anchored in the lee.
And then, in conclusion, throw the loop around the mooring pole with a smooth throw. Hit! A compliment from the mate. You make another mast throw to hang the fenders, now without thinking about it, and walk carefree down the gangway. A farewell photo with the other guests, you will miss them. ‘He who does not dare does not win,’ you think, because that is why you were on a ship together with like-minded souls, fellow sailors, sharing fond memories of a time when the wind set your course.
Note: The exact route always depends on wind and tide and is therefore never fixed in advance.
