On Monday, May 3, we headed to Terherne in the pouring rain; we were already thinking, “What have we gotten ourselves into?” but it turned out better than we expected. At Wetterwille, we loaded the boat with our gear and received instructions on how to use it. We had a bigger boat this time than last time, and we really liked it—plenty of space, and the boat handled great. Aartje really got the hang of boating, too.
Tuesday morning wasn’t too bad—the sun was shining nicely, and we set course for Stavoren. There, the boat drifted away while we were mooring, and I had to jump onto the stern. That little mishap cost me a flip-flop, which fell into the water, but the boat was saved. Luckily, I had a spare pair with me. The next day we headed to Lemmer, a very charming town with a beautiful downtown where there’s plenty to do. We stayed there for a day and enjoyed walking around.
We went shopping for a bit, had a nice meal on a sidewalk terrace, and in the evening had a nightcap at some bar where the atmosphere was really cozy with Dutch music and all that.
On Friday, we sailed to Joure via the Tjeukemeer. The weather was bad as we passed under the A6 and out onto the lake—lots of wind and rain—but that had its good side, too. Just put on some nice music, switch off your brain, crank the heater to life-threatening levels, go full throttle, and then plow right into the waves. It was amazing—the waves were splashing against the window.
Finally, I visited Eernewoude, where it’s wonderful to cruise around that area. On Sunday, I took the back roads as much as possible on my way to Terherne—that’s also a beautiful route with plenty of nature, narrow locks, and charming little towns along the way.
All in all, we had another great boating vacation!
Dates: May 3–May 10, 2010
Route: Terherne, Stavoren, Lemmer, Joure, Eernewoude, Terherne.
Boat: Aquanaut 950 Mistral
Gijs and Aartje van Bloemendaal.
