Jeff Wrinch is seduced by the old-world charm on offer around the IJsselmeer and Markermeer.
Just 130 miles from Suffolk, hidden behind the expanses of sand along the north-west European coast, lies a cruising gem, home to the graceful Dutch barge, and all but undiscovered by the majority of cruising yachtsmen. The magnificent inland sea, known now as the IJsselmeer (formerly the Zuiderzee), was created by the dykes built in the 1920s to keep out the sea. Now, due to the rivers that flow in from the land, the ‘sea’ is a fresh water lake.
I discovered this wonderful inland sea on my way to visit Amsterdam, returning south from a two-month Baltic cruise aboard Moondance, my Southerly 135. At only 60 miles long and 30 miles wide, the IJsselmeer and the adjoining Markermeer make a fabulous little cruising ground. Distances are small, navigation is easy and character oozes out of every inlet of what was once the coast of the Netherlands. My introduction to the IJsselmeer, however, was a baptism of fire.
An embarrassing start
Denne historien er fra May 2017-utgaven av Yachting Monthly.
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Denne historien er fra May 2017-utgaven av Yachting Monthly.
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Midsummer on Hanö
This wonderful little island in the south-east of Sweden is a real gem off the beaten track
ADVENTURE SAILING TO HAITI
After spending two months in the Dominican Republic, Andy Brown sails west to Haïti bringing medical and school supplies to the town of Mole Saint Nicholas
In celebration of bad sailing
New owner Monty Halls tests his sailing skills with his family aboard their Colvic 34 ketch, Sobek. A recently qualified Day Skipper, Monty faces a few unexpected challenges...
Winter brings excitement and opportunity
Oddity’s double glazing, insulation and heating create a warm, homely environment as I bash out this column.
ADVENTURE MAISIE GOES TO GOES
To depart or not to depart? That is the question. Is it safer to stay, or suffer the wind and weather of a rough North Sea?
'MAYDAY, GRANDAD OVERBOARD!'
When David Richards and his grandson Henry went out racing from lowey, they didn't expect their sail to end with a lifeboat rescue
VERTUE
For a 25-footer, the Vertue has a huge reputation and has conquered every ocean. So what makes this little boat quite such an enduring success? Nic Compton finds out
Sailing siblings
Mabel Stock, her brother Ralph, a friend Steve and an unnamed paying passenger passed through the Panama Canal in December 1919 on the sturdy Norwegian cutter Ogre. They were towed to a quiet anchorage in Balboa away from the boat traffic but within rowing distance of the shore.
TECHNICAL MAINSAIL MODIFICATIONS
Safety and performance improved hugely when Mike Reynolds reduced the size of his mainsail and re-configured the systems controlling it
PILOTAGE DONE PROPERLY
Chartplotters are an amazing aid, but can detract from your real-world pilotage if not used with caution, says Justin Morton
