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2 July 2000
After three days there, it was still very windy and generally an annoying
weather with winds from different directions every day. Because of this, I
went to Delfzijl on July 9, 2000, from where I entered the Dutch canals.
At this point already feeling like a circumnavigator of the world.
At present, the boat of my dreams (on a small budget) would be an approx.
30 ft, 35 hp INBOARD engine and then a few separate wishes, e.g. enough
room to stand up straight. (That would be so nice).
The journey down through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France was
annoying. Constant southwest winds and crosswinds every day. My boat is
jibing pretty poorly. I'm doing 2-3½ knots and don't feel like I'm getting
anywhere. And if you happen to notice the small display on the GPS called
SMG (speed made good) - that's the part of your speed heading in the right
direction - it's going all wrong. Especially if it tells you that you're
doing less than 1,5 knots. Then I'm ready to drop anchor or head to shore,
since continuing would be a waste of time. In light of this, I went for
the Dutch canals. It was a great experience "gliding" through the
landscape. And I had a good feeling, when finally I was able to sail every
day, or at least when I wanted to.
From Delfzijl I went on through Groningen, Dokkum, Harlingen and Stavoren
and reached Amsterdam on July 16, 2000. I visited several World War II
battlegrounds. I also went to museums in Dunkirk, Calais, Dieppe and
Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
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