2011 Trip trough the province Noord-Holland
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This became a special year.
A third grandchild would be born, then you can not go sailing as a grandfather.
However, the ship could be prepared to leave after birth, so it started in May.
On the day of the birth of a new grandson, Henri’s wife Yvonne broke her wrist.
Yvonne had a lot of pain and her wrist had to be in plaster.
The cruise had to be postponed because Henri could not leave his wife alone.
A Viking ship has a large turning circle and requires a longitudinal side berth because one can not go up or down before or after it.
Normally the months of July and August are the holiday months and it is busy on the water.
Except for events, this holiday period is usually not used by Henri to make a trip, but this year it could not be any different.
On 17/7 the bunches could only be thrown out.
And that’s where it started. Rain !
Because of the many fixed bridges, the mast had to be flat, so that the freedom of movement on the ship was very limited.
In the afternoon the marina of Nieuwe Niedorp walked in, still rain.
Next to the marina is restaurant De Rijd located where Henri could warm up and enjoy a nice time.
Just a short explanation about the "household" on an open Viking ship.
To keep everything as dry as possible, everything is packed in large plastic bags.
Before being able to go to sleep, the cover plates must be removed, the plastic bags packed, cover plates replaced and the tent set up on the front deck.
Remove sleeping bag, pajamas and toiletries from the plastic bags and prepare them.
In the morning of course everything in reverse order.
To keep everything dry it will be clear that the front deck must be dry and it does not rain, unfortunately this was not the case.
During the night the rain changed into a real downpour.
Every half hour there had to be drawn and hit the tent because of the torrential rains, everything became wet.
The next day it continued to rain.
Staying in the harbor was the most obvious option, here was some form of comfort.
The restaurant De Rijd was kind enough to put the wet sleeping bag in the dryer, it was gratefully used, but at night he got wet again.
19/7 Via the Braaksluis to Kolhorn.
It was planned to stay overnight in this beautiful village, but because it was still raining and the facilities there were less, Henri decided to continue.
At 12.00 Den Helder was reached, still rain.
After a telephone call the Van Kinsbergen bridge turned quickly and a miracle happened, it became dry and the sun was shining.
The Orm moored in Willemsoord, the new marina in Den Helder.
The mast could be set up, the ra hoisted, the sail down and everything could go dry.
The rigged Viking ship apparently attracted attention because in no time the ship was visited by the Helderse Courant and sailed round the boat of the Royal Dutch Rescue Society.
The tent and sleeping bag were hung over the fence of the quay.
A plastic bag was placed over each post on the jetty, in short everything was dried.
20/7 Wonderful sunny weather.
Was it still summer ?
Henri continued to enjoy the beautiful weather in Willemsoord.
After his stay in Willemsoord, Henri wondered whether Willemsoord would become Den Helder’s next debacle.
After all, the port was almost empty during his visit.
In order to improve this, Henri wrote a letter to the director-director of Willemsooord and the alderman of the municipality of Den Helder.
Both have not bothered to respond to this.
21/7 Another beautiful day.
The Viking island of Wieringen was approached and lunched in Haukes.
The Orm sailed to Middenmeer where just a spot was free to moor.
22/7 The weather was over again, rain.
Continue to Medemblik.
The first lock went smoothly but the second gave a lot of delay which was not pleasant due to the strong wind.
Moored in the Pekelharinghaven, where the friendly harbor master pointed out a good berth, near the harbor office, shower, toilet and restaurant.
Henri used to work on the IJsselmeer with laying the first two gas pipes.
The base with the Noes was at that time Medemblik.
To this Henri has left several friends, whom he could visit again.
It kept raining and the weather forecast for the coming days was the same, cold, rain and wind.
Before the trip to Oslo in 1985, when four people slept on board, Henri had made a kind of a shovel tent around the mast.
In order to come through more comfortably in the coming days, this tent was set up again.
Now Henri could, besides lying down, also get some protection against rain and wind.
After a few visits to the harbor master’s office to warm up a bit, he offered a much better place to sleep, thank you for that !
As a surprise, Henri’s daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren came to visit.
26/7 Still rain but less wind.
The Orm left the city of Radboud to look for better weather.
The Compagnieshaven in Enkhuizen is a large commercial port.
The harbor is apparently very popular because between noon and 4 o’clock in the afternoon there is traffic jam for a berth.
The price is considerable but there are many excellent facilities and friendly harbor master that give you the impression of being welcome.
Here too the Orm got a good berth on the other side of the reporting dock.
But still no good weather.
27/7 Still further south to Hoorn.
The Grashaven has five longitudinal berths, there were still three free, so a good place for the Orm.
But the most important thing was that the weather had become nice, so all the wet stuff could be dried again.
28/7 Wonderful warm sunny weather.
No wind, so it was not possible to sail, but enjoyed it.
Hoorn is a beautiful city, attracts many visitors ( including ships) and has several ports ).
The Oude Doelenkade was renovated, so fewer berths were available.
As a result, the ships in the city were sometimes stacked four thick.
Nothing for a vulnerable viking ship.
Henri was therefore glad that he was in the Grashaven, although that was further from the center.
There is a small shop on the harbor grounds where the basic necessities can be purchased.
The shopkeeper was recovering from a hip operation but ran the business, supported by a stool, in a friendly cheerful manner.
30/7 On the way to the fishing village of Volendam.
The last time Henri moored there was in the cozy old harbour, but usually there is little berth there.
Now a new Marina has been built on the southwest side of Volendam and of course Henri was curious about this.
When entering the port, the reporting tower with intercom is shown on the starboard side to the harbor master and a map of the harbor.
Very useful for unknown passers-by.
For the first time, Henri saw jetties that were entirely made of concrete.
Unfortunately a bit too high above the water so that the soft skippy ball, used as a pad, disappeared underneath.
A string around the guideline of the adjacent box gave a solution.
Henri was surprised again by the arrival of his daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren.
Together a walk through Volendam was made and in a restaurant a snack and a drink were consumed.
It was still cold, but Henri’s day could not go wrong.
31/7 Get an old history.
In 2009 the Orm visited the De Geuzen wsv in Katwoude.
The court-photographer of this association, Mr. Egbert F. ( a real Frisian surname ) made several photographs.
Now many photographs of the Orm are often taken, but almost no one thinks that the builder of the ship would appreciate it very much to receive it to be placed in the scrapbook.
However, Egbert did that on his own initiative and Henri was very grateful to him for that.
Henri wanted to surprise Egbert and offered to sail on the Orm from Volendam to his home town of Monnickendam and on to De Geuzen on the Purmer Ee.
Egbert did not have to think twice for this invitation, he liked to come along.
Unfortunately, there was no wind this morning so that it could not be sailed, but after the morning fog the sun came out.
To reach the Purmer Ee one must first be shot in the Grafelijkheidssluis and then sail under a fixed bridge.
Both have a lesser draft than the 7 m mast height of the Orm.
So the yard and mast had to go down.
A good berth was found just before the bridge.
It was just press in the small lock but by removing the fenders it worked with three ships.
At De Geuzen the Orm got its old berth again.
There was some peace of mind before the mast was set up again.
In the meantime, Egbert went to pick up his car in Volendam.
After this Henri was invited by Egbert and his wife to enjoy the hot meal at their home.
1/8 Wonderful weather, a person can enjoy, so a rest day.
In the next section there were many fixed bridges, so unfortunately the mast had to be put down again in preparation.
To close his stay with the Geuzen, Henri invited the family F. to go out for dinner together in the evening.
Egbert knew a great opportunity, the Mirror Pavilion at Hemmeland.
It was still beautiful weather and the company could sit outside on the terrace.
2/8 Another nice day.
The trip went to Purmerend.
Choosing a berth there in the morning was a waste of the good weather.
So we sailed to Spijkerboor, known from the "ferry route" on the bike.
Here is a small harbor with about twenty berths, and a cafe-restaurant where it is good to stay with a friendly manager.
3/8 Rain.
It turns out that this "summer" can not be nice weather for more than two days.
On to De Rijp.
This picturesque town has a beautiful marina of the w.s.v Eilandspolder.
It is a true club where everyone knows each other and the atmosphere is very friendly.
Unfortunately, the association is too small to have a club building with canteen that can be run by the members.
For refreshments one has to go to the village where several restaurants can be found.
This does not alter the fact that Henri was offered coffee with a few treats on the port several times.
4/8 Weather rain, strong wind and cold weather.
Now Henri was fed up.
Then also go home in one go.
The wind came from behind so the Orm soon reached the lock in Broek op Langedijk.
After the shackling could be laid on the trusted berth.
Clearing the ship completely took a few days.
Then with the loyal help Hans thr Orm sail to Waarland to put the ship on the trailer and bring it to the garage.
It will have been noticed that Henri often talked about the weather conditions.
Probably that is because also in this viking the years start counting and the limbs become more stiff.
Humidity is also not conducive to rheumatism, which is already rising well.
Also the need to work on the knees is starting to take its toll.
This makes the sailing with bad weather heavier, but can be enjoyed extra nice weather.
