Frisian waters

During our 3-week vacation, we chose to also spend a few days on the inland waters of Friesland. A little to make the transition to the new waters not too big. Our ladies really wanted to visit Sneek this year as well (some nice shopping), so (as you could read in Scratch on the boat and on our ego) we sailed into Friesland.

Although the high season had already begun, we found it still remarkably quiet. We did have to look carefully at the water depths and we now have to deal with bridges even more than before.

Gaastmeer

We chose to start behind our anchor on the Groote Gaastmeer, a place where we came a lot. It was boiling hot so we could swim. With curtains and big pegs we provide shade in the cockpit.

It feels like coming home again, but we didn’t really miss the sloop parade. Unlike with Casper, we get the anchor right in the ground. So it feels totally safe and secure to get a great night’s sleep. But before we close our eyes we are treated to a beautiful sunset. Yes, you don’t always have to go to the Caribbean for this.

We also anchor for a while near the Sneekermeer (or rather the Goingarypster Poelen). It feels a bit uncomfortable to me at first, the ‘neighbors’ seem to be very close. I had to get used to this crowd after the space of the IJsselmeer and Ketelmeer.

But it is wonderful there, a bit of cooling from the wind, the outside temperature has now risen to 35 degrees. The Ice cream boat (a speedboat that sails around all day with a freezer full of ice cream) that passes by around 21:00 was very welcome. We bought his last 4 ice creams if I understood correctly. Then sat in the cockpit until late, playing games and enjoying the starry sky.

Sneek

And yes as it goes in the Netherlands after a warm period there is always a thunderstorm along. This one was predicted as well. So the next morning we pulled the anchor with a knot of 16 on the nose. How that works you can read in the blog Anchoring. Then we sailed into the harbor of Sneek. It was still very quiet so we could choose a nice spot. The mooring went well this time, that is the advantage of sailing in Friesland, we can practice with mooring.

We relax a bit and a little later a large motorboat comes and lays next to us, how many of them there are and how they take away our view. And now we realize what we have ‘done’ to others in the past.

As it should be we help the new neighbors with mooring. Catching lines etc. and like you have a chat. Nice people, a man who has sailed a lot on his own and now sails a lot on this (rather large) motorboat. He is familiar with the brand of our ship and he expresses his admiration.

I like that, because in terms of external appearance we don’t have the most beautiful boat at the moment. It needs a paint brush and so on. But the connoisseur recognizes the beauty through it. This gives me a proud feeling, because this is our boat :).

Glacer 40 – for sale

Due to circumstances (you can read in the blog what is broken) we stay 2 nights longer in Sneek, so enough time for shopping. And we also get new neighbors. Very friendly people with a very beautiful ship.

A steel Glacer 40 from 1995, where the deck and pilothouse are made of stainless steel. A centercockpit of course appeals to us immediately. Especially the tent they have mounted on it. We study it carefully, because we can use it to our advantage when designing our new cockpit tent (which is in the making). And so we get to talking. I am also curious how deep the ship is and why you are in Sneek and not in Denmark or France. Well we get the answers, their considerations for the design of this cockpit tent and the motivation to sail in Friesland. By the way, the ship has a lifting keel, so they don’t have to worry about depth.

As is the case with many couples, the man loves sailing and the woman does not (champagne sails, yes, but as long as it is not too slanted). Sorry for my choice of words, but in this case it was the same. The man loves sailing, but can’t get his wife enthusiastic about it (anymore). And sailing is something you really have to enjoy together. That is why they have been sailing the inland waters of Friesland for a few years now and have made their decision. The ship is going to be sold. For us it’s a year too late, we would have certainly taken a look at this ship. So if you are still looking for something, it is definitely worth it (send us an email for more info about this beautiful ship).

This way we can exchange experiences about our buying and selling process, hopefully this will help them.

So much fun all such conversations while sailing. Not only live, but also the contacts and conversations through social channels are great fun.

Yet we are glad when we go back to the quietness of a big Frisian lake behind our anchor after a few days. Three days in the city was long enough. Time to go out and play again.

What we experience there again you can start reading in: “IJsselmeer – Crew: 1-0”.