the Netherlands outwardbound
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On the 23rd of April the time had finally come.
The Orm was in the water, rigged, fully packed, and the voyage could begin. With great interest, family, friends, local population and the press gathered at the dock to say goodbye. Holland is the land of bridges and locks. The first bridge was encountered already after 100 meters, so the mast had to be taken down. For the people gathered, this was nice because they could see more of the Orm. |
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At dinnertime the Orm arrived in Middenmeer where Yvonne and Henri had their last snack together.
After that the sailing continued to the lock of Medemblik where a quiet spot was found to have a well-deserved rest after an emotional day. |
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24/4 In the vicinity of Medemblik a few bridges and locks have to be taken before the first part on open waters, the IJsselmeer.
There was a hard wind, 6 Beaufort, but the Orm reached Stavoren in two hours time. Some interviews were given and arrangements were made with the TV producers to do a day’s filming. 25/4 On this day the Orm had to be sailed through Friesland, en route to Bergum. Because the merchant ships also use this waterway, there were no delaying bridges, except the railway bridge of Grouw. After arrival in Bergum, Henri put the tent up and discovered upon un-rolling the sleeping bag that it was uncomfortably damp from condensation of the body heat trapped during the previous night’s sleep. This could not go on for the whole trip. The lesson learned from this was to dry the sleeping bag first thing in the morning. This was not easy because the time needed for washing, dressing, eating and making coffee, was inadequate to dry the sleeping bag. |
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26/4 The TV crew was scheduled to film the Orm sailing on the lake of Bergum.
They rented a motor vessel to accomplish this. There was a wind blowing of NE 5 that day and the Orm was sailing so fast that they could not keep up. Henri used the outboard engine to allow them to do some filming. The route of this day was through Groningen with more then one bridge and lock. Because of all the publicity received during the previous few days, they all opened very quickly. At the end of the afternoon, the Orm reached Delfzijl where the last piece of safety equipment was taken on board, the life raft ( Nautische Unie ). |
[ last updated : 9-5-2021 ]
© Copyright H.A. Houben