Sailed the Elfstedentocht on the Nord.
Arrived on Friday, May 16, 2014, to sail the Elfstedentocht on the Nord. When we lower the bimini, it’s about 2.40 meters high, so it’s perfectly suited for the Elfstedentocht.
At 3:00 p.m., we left Terherne and traveled via Sneek and IJlst to Sloten and back to Woudsend, where we spent the night at the marina. That evening, we walked around a bit and had a drink at a local bar.
On Saturday, May 17, at 9:30 a.m., we set off via the Heegermeer and the Fluessen toward Stavoren and continued on a bit further to Hindeloopen to spend the night there as well. Both Stavoren and Hindeloopen are definitely worth a visit.
On Sunday, May 18, we set out from Hindeloopen via Workum to Bolsward, where we moored in the wild and spent the night. We did a little grocery shopping in Bolsward.
We left early on Monday, May 19, and enjoyed a beautiful leg of the trip via Witmarsum and Harlingen to Franeker. Things got a little tense in Witmarsum because we had just 1 centimeter to spare at the top of the boat, and it was very narrow there—but it was also very beautiful. We docked in Franeker and enjoyed a BBQ at the marina.
On Tuesday, May 20, we set out from Franeker, passing through the locks and following the new, widened, and deepened route toward Bartlehiem, then turning left toward Dokkum. The widened section is already starting to grow over quite a bit, and by next year it will certainly blend in completely with the landscape. In Dokkum, we sailed into town, moored across from an outdoor terrace, and enjoyed a delicious dinner at a restaurant by the water.
We left Dokkum at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 21, to sail back along the same route to Bartlehiem, where we turned left toward Oudkerk. There, we had to operate a self-service bridge to continue on toward Leeuwarden. On the way, at the Kanterlandsbrug, we stopped briefly to take some photos of the Elfstedentocht skaters depicted on the tiles along the bridge. After about half an hour, we continued on to Leeuwarden via the Bonkefeart toward the city center. We moored right where an opera was being performed that very evening; the production made its way through the city, and visitors could watch the performance from a pontoon as they sailed on to the theater where the finale took place—exactly where we were moored.
On Thursday, May 22, we set out early again and headed south around Leeuwarden toward Sneek, where we had started our Elfstedentocht route. We stopped briefly on the Sneekermeer at Starteiland and had a drink at the restaurant.
Once we arrived in Terherne, we sailed back into the Wetterwille harbor and freshened up a bit.
After having dinner in Terherne that evening, we stayed the night.
All in all, it was a wonderful week—we were lucky because, after two weeks of rain, we only had a little rain for two nights and were able to ride outdoors the whole week and enjoy the route, which is highly recommended.
This was the fourth time we’ve rented from Wetterwille, and so far we’ve never been bored, so we’ll definitely be back.
The Heeren Family and the Evers Family
