skip sunny and hazy
04/25/2010, Den Helder

Great to at last have a fair wind to help us sail Emerald. We both had a big smile as we switched off 'Victor'
the volvo and Emerald took off like a race horse. 8.5 knots (with the tide) and we didn't even deploy the secret weapon...
the staysail... The sun was shining, there was nothing off-lying to worry about and for the first time in a while we
properly relaxed and enjoyed the ride! wOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Then we got to Den Helder and realised we don't have VHF channel 31 on our set (it is particular to Holland?!!) so had to
try and find the telephone number for the marina (the Dutch Naval yacht club), who could not have been more helpful,helping us alongside
and making sure we had maps of the city and giving us directions where to go, and making sure we had access through the military part of the docks,
Brilliant.
We went for a stroll into Den Helder, only to discover like Ijmuiden it was deserted at 7pm on a Saturday night! Where do all the
Dutch people go in the evenings.
Then it was back on board to decide whether to keep moving or spend another day at Den Helder, as the wind was fair to get further
North East we decide to leave at about 10.30 local time next day to catch the tide north.
slainte skip

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skip sunny calm now!!
04/24/2010, SeaPort Marina Ijmuiden Holland

Well we must remember that forecasts and Emerald do not agree. Forecast F3-4 from the northwest
for at least 24hrs for the crossing, with sea state smooth to slight. Perfect.......
What happened? F7 on the nose at 1am, with 2~3metres seas on the beam with them just
starting to break. So we sailed for about 6 hours then had to motor the rest of the way across.
Closing in on the Dutch coast we think every big ship in the world decided to come close to our course!!

Needless to say there wasn't much sleep! However we surfed into the harbour and made it safely into
the marina. We were all geared up to moor alonside a pontoon, only to discover it was mini pontoons and posts.
Eek! we'd not done this before on Emerald, but hit nothing, and just about got tied up. Sorted ourselves out
and promptly had a snooze!
We're off to Den Helder today, having spent yesterday admiring the sights of amsterdam......
slainte
skip

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skip blustery/cold
04/24/2010, Suffolk Yacht Harbour

Well we made it as far as the river where I learnt to sail. It is interesting that
I've now sailed all three of my boats passed the Felixstowe docks in the photo. We had a good trip
after a lazy day at anchor in the Roach. We also passed another milestone on Emerald,
that we've now sailed her 1000nm since we bought her with just the two of us as crew.

Once we picked up a mooring outside Suffolk Yacht Harbour we had to get the dinghy in the water
in double quick time to get across to the fuel dock and top off our tanks before they closed.
We made it with 2 minutes to spare! 80 litres of cheap diesel later I was back on board.

Nichola was busy getting everything ready for our 'big' passage to Holland, of approx.
27 hours, and 130nm (our longest trip to date) whilst I topped off the fuel tanks and generally fretted and
fettled Emerald. A final check on the weather and we set our alarms for 5.30 am for a 6am start.

We were off in the morning!

slainte skip

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