[Jeroen]

Sirion Maiden Voyage Day 1:

We brought Sirion home!

Last Sunday afternoon, Mrs D. and I set off for the marina which has been Sirion's home port for the last 13 years. We had decided to stay on board Sirion the evening before her maiden trip.

We had to cast off, really early and we wanted to get settled in and put all our gear away. In the end, this turned out to be a good decision. Because this was the first time we would sleep, eat, and live on Sirion for some 60 hours. So we had plenty of time on Sunday evening to unpack all our stuff, store provisions, figure out some stuff, etc.

We were pleasantly surprised by how well Sirion's heater works. Very simple, a diesel heater. But it worked well and we were cosy, tied up in the Marina with rain falling on our cabin.

We got up at around 06.00 AM and got ready to depart. The first thing is to put to flag out of course. Weather was a bit wet and grey, but was supposed to improve considerably. Very little wind.



Navigation lights on, Green on starboard, Red on port, white forward/rearwards



I had waited till about 06.30 to cast off, Sun rise was 06.45 so we had sufficient light by then. I did not want to leave and manoeuvre through the marina in the dark.

As I showed in the previous post, I had spend hours and hours planning this trip. Pouring over various charts, maps and of course the Almanac.

Because we were so early in the season, several of the bridges on our route were not operational yet. You need to call ahead, 24 hours in advance, to agree on a timeslot when you will be there and they will open the bridge for you.

But it also means you need to show up at the agreed time. Our first agreed bridge opening was 14.00 hours. Somewhere along the river Vecht. I had figured we needed to reach the lock in Muiden, entry to the Vecht, by 11.30 latest. The speed at the Vecht is limited at 9 km/h and some stretches only 6 km/h.

Which all meant casting off early and running Sirion at an average of 12,5 km/h for the first 3,5- 4 hours. Only one lock, within 10 km of us leaving the marina.

I called the lock operator on our VHF radio. As you can see the lights are still red here. He readied the lock for us right away.



Green lights in we go!!



Mate Mrs D. handling the lines like a pro! Notice the life jacket. We wear them all the time on large waters, lakes, rivers and in locks! Safety first, always!



A little later we encountered our first couple of sailing vessels. They also had AIS. I was keeping Sirion inside the channel of Buyos, starboard side. Which meant the sailing boats had to give us right of way. These are very wide waters, but they have very shallow parts and lots of weeds. So I stick to being between the buyos, no matter what!





Some very sporty types, out in the rain and cold on their rowing boat!



There are two entries into Muiden. Both have buyos all the way, but the shortest route takes you across some shallows. According to my channel water depth could be as low as 1,3m. Sirion's draught is 90 cm!! Still, we went ahead because the other entry would have taken 45 minutes extra. So we slowed down, to a very sedate 4-5 km/h and watched our depth gauge continuously. We never saw less than 2 meters in depth.

So here we are entering Muiden at 10.50. Ahead of schedule!! I called the lock. This lock is known as the "large Sea Lock". More than a century ago, this water was known as the Zuiderzee, (Southern Sea) with an open connection to the North Sea. The "afsluitdijk" was completed in 1932, which meant this sea turned into a lake. Subsequently, the Dutch put lots more dikes up and pumped out the water and reclaimed a lot of land from the former sea.

As far as I know, this is the only inland sea lock in the Netherlands.




We passed our very first lock with no incidents, all went very smoothly. Sky was still a bit grey and dull. We passed this old steam pumping station. It is not used anymore, it has been turned into a museum. Believe it or not, we still have an operational steam pump station up in the province of Friesland. Every year during the winter it is used to help pump water into the IJsselmeer.



This is how the steering stand looks like during these trips. Paper chart at the ready. My iPad has the wonderful planning app Waterkaarten (nautical chart), I keep track of our progress separately in my log and I also have the Almanac ready.



Raymarine radar and chart plotter are on of course.



Sky beginning to clear



Time for a cappuccino for the crew and skipper!



We passed some interesting towns, marinas and other landmarks. Look at this. These new buildings have been modelled on old traditional Dutch warehouses.



I mentioned before to always run the radar, irrespective of the weather and our visibility. I have figured out all the basic functionalities but still lots more to discover on how I can optimize this electronic kit.



Everywhere in the Netherlands, you will find ferries or pontjes as we call them. The larger ones will take cars as well. But there are hundreds of what we call voet/fietsveren. (pedestrian/cyclist ferries).

Many people use a bicycle to go to work, kids go to school on their bicycles. Getting across a river or a canal by bridge might mean large detours. So we have lots of these little "pontjes". They come in all sorts of sizes and shapes.



Although you do need proper charts when sailing the Dutch waters, some of the waterway intersections have signs for directions.



Did I mention this trip will get us through 46 bridges? The Waterkaart app and the almanac will tell us if we fit underneath, maybe have to put our mast down, or the bridge might have to open for us. This one, I don't need to look it up, we can fit underneath, and it's mast up easily!!



Apart from being the first mate, Mrs. D is only in charge of the food and the galley. Yes, I know very traditional, but that is just how things are in our marriage. Which has lasted, well over 40 very happy years!

Hot water comes from our boiler. It can be heated electrically by 220 VAC or by the engine cooling water.



Still a bit gloomy the weather as we came across our very first barge. This is a fairly small one. I pick them up on my radar/chart plotter as all of these ships have AIS.



It is fully loaded. People are often amazed at how deep these vessels are in the water. But that is just normal.

[Jeroen]

When you enter Muiden harbour, the first thing you will notice is a very large castle. It might come as a surprise to some, but we have quite a number of castles in the Netherlands. This is probably one of the best-known castles. It has been featured in some movies too.

It is known as the Muiderslot https://muiderslot.nl/en/

If you ever find yourself nearby, do visit it, quite fascinating.



I noticed this Grand Bank Yacht moored in one of the marinas. Earlier on in this thread, there were some questions about different kinds of yachts. The Grand Bank series is one of the best-known Trawler types. American company, great ships!!



Muiden is a beehive of yachting activities. Several marinas, yacht dealers, brokers, yacht repair etc.



There are also dozens of these old traditional Dutch sailing barges. These traditional sailing vessels are commonly referred to as the "bruine vloot". The brown fleet, as the old sails tended to be brown.



I had called the sea lock Muiden by phone. for some reason they don't have VHF radio. They readied the lock for us right away. We had to wait a couple of minutes.

Until a few years ago, these locks were still operated manually. Now the door locks and floodgates are operated by electrical motors. You can still see the old wooden winches with the large spike handles that they used to open and close the lock doors. There are several cafe's along this lock with their terraces overlooking the locks. Great place during the summer. This is a very busy lock during the summer months with dozens and dozens of yachts passing through both ways!



Inside the lock,



Leaving the locks more Bruine Vloot ships!



We are now on the river the Vecht. One of the prettiest rivers in the Netherlands. Very popular for boating. During the summer it gets extremely busy.

De Vecht is known for its fantastic estates along the river.



And lots of houseboats too!





And of course, endless boats too. You can spot just any type of boat here.



And yet another bridge!



And another bridge. On the Vecht you will encounter many bridges. Most had to open for us.



Here you see Sirion right in front of one of the many traditional draw bridges we passed. The lights are showing red/green which means they are getting the bridge ready for you. This was one of the bridges we had to request 24 hours in advance and we arrived 20 minutes early.



The operator who opened the bridge for us, jumped back in his car after we passed and drove along the Vecht for 3 kilometers to open the next bridge for us. Many bridges are operated remotely these days. However, some of these bridges are owned by the respective council. Council bridges are rarely remotely operated.

Of course, this being the Netherlands more windmills than you can shake a stick at. There are places in the Netherlands where you see traditional windmills no matter where you point your camera.





And some more nice-looking estates. Mrs D knows all of these estates. She keeps an eye on all of them. She knows when they were for sale and what the asking price is. She visits some of these estates for sale too. As she puts it; just in case we win the lottery I want to be prepared!





My app and my Almanac will tell me whether we will fit underneath a particular bridge. In theory, it is a bit more complicated. Because bridge height is given against a so-called "reference level" of the river. So you need to look up the reference level, calculate the difference and so on.

Sirion's height is 4 meters with her mast up:



Sirion with her mast down is only 2,5 meters. It takes me about 15 - 20 seconds to take the mast down or up!



By now the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Look at this, us gliding along at 9 km/h hour after hour.



Birdie enjoying the sun rays!



Some folks doing a bit of exercise on their rowing boat, well actually this is more like a skiff.



Plenty more images and stories to come later today or tomorrow. I need to catch a train all the way back to Marina Strand Horst to pick up my Jeep we parked there last Sunday evening!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Wonderful, Jeroen! An absolute dream,

Locks are dangerous places. I remember one or two hairy moments when sailing with my friend on his yacht, in your country.

Even in the city! A few years ago I was crossing the bridge at Camden Lock in London, and watching a boat pass through. There was a couple on board. They were going down, so the water was draining. Soon the woman was screaming! The stern of the boat was falling, but the bow had become caught on the step that extends into the lock inside the gate. Big panic! The guy onshore had to rush and close the small sluices (I've forgotten the right word, and then open to let water back in. Potentially a very dangerous situation, which I had heard of but never saw before. Those are small, urban canal locks, all manual work.

[Jeroen]

Maiden Voyage Day 1 continued:

Did I mention the Vecht has lots of impressive, gorgeous estates?





And also just a nice old farmhouse. Folks relaxing in front of their home, enjoying the sun and the boats passing by!



Another little pedestrian/cyclist ferry (pontje)



Look at this fabulous bridge! It is for bicycles (and pedestrians). Only in the Netherlands would you see such fancy pieces of construction art for bicycles only!



Another houseboat and a very nice classic tugboat. I love these old tugs. I will be taking Sirion to various tugboat events this year. Stay tuned for more.



Yet another dedicated bicycle bridge.



I cycle along the Vecht quite often. I take my bicycle on the train to Amsterdam Central Station. From there I cycle to Muiden and pick up the bicycle route along the Vecht. This particular spot is just a few hundred meters from the famous Austin Healey Museum. Believe it or not, it is the only Austin Healey museum in the world apparently. And it is located in the Netherlands, on the river Vecht!

https://www.healeymuseum.nl/en/

Can you imagine living in one of these houses? The houses themselves are nothing special. Pretty regular for the Netherlands, but the location is of course what determines the price!



Some more classic vessels, another tugboat:



This is known as a classic Saloon boot. (Lounge boat is the nearest I can make of it). these days they tend to take small parties for a trip across the river whilst having some fabulous food and drinks. Many years ago, we rented one for my mum's 65 birthday. She loved it1



The next vessel we passed was a bit of a treat. I vaguely remember reading about it, but I must admit I don't know the details. I believe this is some replica. As we passed them they were putting the mast, rigging and sails back onto her.







Yet another draw bridge being readied for Sirion to pass through.



Almost all bridges and locks operate free of charge. There are still some locks and bridges where you might have to pay, but on this trip there were no lock or bridge fees at all!

Here we are tied up to another yacht, whilst waiting for another bridge to open. When you tie up like this, you tend to have a little chat with the owners. Also, good time to exchange some information, do they have any tips, are they familiar in the area, what is a good marina, where can you get fuel and so on.

People on boats tend to be very friendly and outgoing to other boat-folks.



Another bridge!



A bit of a sad-looking windmill. This one seems to have lost its sails. Most of the traditional windmills in the Netherlands are monuments. They are well looked after. And we have a real (wind) miller academy where you can learn to become an official miller!



A few more estates, we are nearly at Breukelen where we will tie up for the night.





And then there are houses like this, with elephant sculptures in their garden. Don't even ask. I have no idea what makes these people tick.



Here we come across a so-called "slope". These are relatively simple open boats. Usually between 5-12 meters. No cabin, completely open. Very popular around these parts. Very nice for day cruising. There are several dedicated Sloep-routes" across tiny little canals and rivers.



Finally. After eight hours of sailing, we moor in Breukelen. We have come some 72 kilometres and have used about 25 liters of fuel. Because we sailed fast for the first 3,5 hours our average hourly fuel consumption is a bit higher than what I expect our regular average to be.



These moorings are owned and operated by the council of Breukelen. Great location, but very few facilities. I tried to get shore power going, but it was broken.



You do need to pay mooring fees. Most of these places use an app. It knows your location and you simply check in and check out whenever you are ready to leave. You will get billed, usually per 24 hours. Fees tend to be based on ship length. You might have to pay extra for electricity, toilets and so on. Access is all through the app. Very simple, and very convenient.



Breukelen is a nice small little town. We wandered around a bit. Made it across a little draw bridge so I could take a good image of Sirion



We had a lovely meal. Our kids are all foodies. Whereever we travel we ask them for recommendations. When we said we will be overnighting in Breukelen they all said: Go to Loekje, you can't get a better steak!!



When we were having dinner my mobile rang. It was the guy with whom I had been in touch about organising the opening of various bridges. We had arranged with him that the drawbridge in Breukelen, about 200 meters south of where we were moored would open at 09.00 on Tuesday morning. He apologized, he had some staffing issues, so they could not help us till 09.40. No problem, we will just sleep in!

[Jeroen]

Maiden Voyage Day 2:

At around 0400 am we were awoken by endless sirens. So I checked the 112 website. Sure enough, big fire in Breukelen. We tried to get back to sleep, but it was a bit difficult.

By daylight, I wandered back into the centre. Next door to the restaurant we had dined was a huge farmhouse with a thatched roof. They were not quite sure what happened, but it appeared a fire started in one of the waste containers between the two buildings.

I counted more than 20 fire trucks, and endless police and council cars and trucks. The fire brigade was still busy pulling the roof apart. These thatched roofs are very difficult to put out. A fire might smoulder inside it, for hours, sometimes days. Fire brigades here have special teams that know how to take the thatched roof off to try and locate any ongoing smouldering.



I called my guy from the bridges. Told him all of Breukelen was shut off to all traffic and pointed out that the only way into the centre would be to follow the other side of the Vecht from Vreeland onwards. Caused a bit of a delay.



Here you can see the little drawbridge. The first bridge of the day! Eventually, we passed around 10.00 am. Not too bad.



Here is a somewhat different house. There is an even narrower house on the canals in Amsterdam! Imagine living in such a narrow home!



Local rowing club. Quite impressive equipment they have!



About 10 km later and several more bridges we entered the town of Maarsen.



We had to make a tight turn into a narrow lock (permanently open) and sail into the Amsterdam Rijn Kanaal. One of the main north/south waterways in the Netherlands. Lots, and I mean lots of barges, tugboats, cruise ships and so on.



I was very glad we had AIS as it allowed me to time my entry into the canal and subsequent crossing it perfectly.



Again, many bridges, but none had to open for us. We passed several motorway bridges.



The water on this canal can be pretty rough. Because there is so much shipping traffic, in both directions, there is considerable wave action. Also, the canal sides are made of either concrete or metal plates. This means all these waves also bounce off the walls!

Battling it out with the big boys!! Notice the bicycle bridge !



Catching up with us and overtaking



Powering through!!



We had about 3-4 meters clearing on our starboard side and about 5-6 meters on port with this barge. We were going flat out, 17,5 km/h and he was doing about 25 km/h. At the same time, from the opposite site a massive tanker barge was powering North also doing about 25 km/h whilst overtaking a push barge doing about 10 km/h. Very busy, requiring some fancy hand steering. You have waves, but also suction from the vessels in between and the canal shore.

This monstrosity is a canal river cruise boat. They are enormous, sometimes over 200 meters in length and move fast!



This barge shows a very common wheelhouse configuration. The complete wheelhouse can be moved up and down by hydraulics. So they sit high when they can and lower it to pass underneath bridges. They have cameras at the bow too.

and yes, that is Ikea in Utrecht if you are interested. (Mrs. D can make her way blindfolded through any Ikea)



More and more barges



This is an interesting object. Known in Dutch as "plof-sluis". Not sure how to translate it. Something like boom-lock. What you are large concrete container suspended over what used to be the canal. The containers had all kinds of heavy materials in it, stones, rocks metal and so on. The army could blow out the concrete bottom and all this stuff would fall into the canal, blocking it. This contraption was part of the Waterliene. The Dutch defence line is made out of all kinds of nautical and water-related traps



The idea was to block the main rivers and canals and flood all the land nearby so an attacking army would be blocked.

Here we are nearing the Princess Beatrix locks. The capacity of these locks has doubled in the last couple of years. These locks operate 24/7 365 days of a year. These barges never stop.

Notice those massive lock doors that move vertically up and down!



The lock operator directed us to the most western lock, behind a small barge and one other pleasure craft.

Even though it is the smallest, it is still big!!
We tied up in about the middle

View from the stern:



View from the bow;



From the Princess Beatrix locks we sailed onto the river Lek. Busy with lots of traffic. But only for a few hundred meters, where we left the Lek and sailed toward another lock, the start of the Merwede kanaal.



I called the lock operator on my VHF radio and was told they had a barge in the lock and they would be ready for us in about 10 minutes. So we tied up to wait.



Very large lock for a small pleasure craft!



We left the lock and entered the Merwede kanaal. This is our home stretch so to speak. About 17 km to go to our Marina on the Linge. Still, a number of bridges needed to open for us: Back and forth on the radio and mobile phone talking to various operators.



The weather was gorgeous. We know this area very well of course. We have lived here for almost 7 years. I have cycled along the Merwede canal more often than I can recall.



But being on the water, in your own boat, creates a very different feeling.

Almost home, this is where the Linge intersect with the Merwede Canal.



Our marina is only about 400 meters from this intersection.

Here we are: Sirion moored for the first time in what is now her home port.



Today we sailed only 42 km, but it took us 6 hours! And we used about 15 liters of diesel. So only 2,5 liters of diesel per hour.

All in all, we were very happy with this first adventure on Sirion. Mrs. D. really enjoyed it, except she was not too happy on the Amsterdam Rijn Kanaal. Apart from being fairly hectic the scenery is very boring. So you just power through.

We were very happy with how Sirion performed. Very happy with how we managed to live, eat, drink and sleep onboard. Some small things we still need to do and get.

Getting ready for a much longer trip next week. Stay tuned for more!!

Jeroen

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Locks are dangerous places. I remember one or two hairy moments when sailing with my friend on his yacht, in your country.

Even in the city! A few years ago I was crossing the bridge at Camden Lock in London, and watching a boat pass through. There was a couple on board. They were going down, so the water was draining. Soon the woman was screaming! The stern of the boat was falling, but the bow had become caught on the step that extends into the lock inside the gate. Big panic! The guy onshore had to rush and close the small sluices (I've forgotten the right word, and then open to let water back in. Potentially a very dangerous situation, which I had heard of but never saw before. Those are small, urban canal locks, all manual work.

Yes, you really need to pay attention all the time when passing through a lock. The biggest mistake is people tying down their lines and the water rising or dropping and subsequently the boat will get lifted or dragged down.

Never tie the lines permanently. We stay on deck and hold the lines tight, but never tie them down. And I have a very large and very sharp knife nearby, just in case!!

Jeroen

[dragon_booster]

Sailing looks fantastic! You seem to be enjoying life to the fullest. Wishing you a joyful time on the waters.

[dileepcm]

What a write up Jeroen! Fantastic and looks like you are going to have a ton of fun this summer.
Hopefully we will see more articles pouring in.
I have always been following tons of over landers, pilots and ship officers / captains in You tube as its very interesting to know how the 'life' works in these sort of areas and looks like I have a new kitchen to look into - thanks a lot for that.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Maiden Voyage Day 2:

and yes, that is Ikea in Utrecht if you are interested.

I guess I might have seen you passing by from my office desk Its a bit foggy today, but that's Ikea Utrecht and Rijkswaterstaat building next to it with Galecopperbrug behind Ikea.

Waiting for the next one.

[Nempuguru]

Yet again a very inspiring writeup, Jeroen, with beautiful photos! Thanks so much for sharing!

How tough is it to memorize and remember all the controls of old/modern cars, aircraft and now the yacht?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Yes, you really need to pay attention all the time when passing through a lock. The biggest mistake is people tying down their lines and the water rising or dropping and subsequently the boat will get lifted or dragged down.

Another problem is sudden powerful currents. I think that the inlets/outlets may sometimes be at the sides of the locks? Horribly easy to end up pushed onto or away from the wall, or even end up adrift across the lock

Originally Posted by Nempuguru

How tough is it to memorize and remember all the controls of old/modern cars, aircraft and now the yacht?

The basic controls of a single-prop motorboat are simple: One lever for forwards/backwards plus speed, and a wheel to steer.

But that is only the beginning. The actual control and manoeuvring is very different to a car. This is a matter of practice, more than memory. Add other factors such as wind and current. Imagine driving on a road that itself is moving. It may be forwards or backwards. Or sideways. Or any angle. Learning this stuff is never-ending --- and great fun. I love making a boat move sideways across a current: imagine being able to park a car like that!

Over and above all that is a vast world of learning: of navigation and seamanship. Whether one's vessel is small or huge, there is much that must be mastered. Even on inland waters. And almost all of the modern electronics are unknown to me.

Some of the places Jeroen has been describing are very challenging: I would have been really afraid on that stretch where he was coping with large, fast traffic, both overtaking and oncoming.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by dileepcm

I guess I might have seen you passing by from my office desk Its a bit foggy today, but that's Ikea Utrecht and Rijkswaterstaat building next to it with Galecopperbrug behind Ikea.
.

I will waive next time we pass!

Originally Posted by Nempuguru

How tough is it to memorize and remember all the controls of old/modern cars, aircraft and now the yacht?

Thad gave some excellent pointers already. The basics are all pretty simple and straightforward. But it would be best if you got a feeling for the handling. That takes some time and experience.

Also, remembering the intricacies of the various electronic systems is about lots of studying and trying it out.

I spent about 6 hours today on Sirion, tied to the dock. Doing nothing else than to go through the Raymarine Manuals and check and try out all the various settings, parameters, and features. I have about 1000 pages of manuals!!



Good fun, but it does make my brain hurt after a while. It is really important to know exactly how to operate this equipment, how to get best use of it, Needs to become second nature, without a manual!

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Another problem is sudden powerful currents. I think that the inlets/outlets may sometimes be at the sides of the locks. Horribly easy to end up pushed onto or away from the wall, or even end up adrift across the lock

Yes, when they open the gates in the doorlocks you might get a lot of current. On some locks they open them in stages, to prevent that.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Some of the places Jeroen has been describing are very challenging: I would have been really afraid on that stretch where he was coping with large, fast traffic, both overtaking and oncoming.

Thanks, Thad,
Stand by for the next BIG trip. Well over 400 km in six days, all on the largest rivers in the Netherlands. Should be fun!! And I will be doing it solo. My sister will join me on the 3rd and 4th day, but she is in her 70s and has a wonky hip. So she won't be doing any line handling!

Got all my paper charts ready at long last!



Last week I turned 65! The kids gave me a proper Skipper hat/cap.



Here you see it in its designated spot on Sirion, when not on my head. Notice that little plaque? It has the ship and ship owners' details. It is a mandatory requirement to have it fitted with the correct details. So I took down the old one and had this one made.



Mrs. D is still getting more and more stuff for the boat as well. Nothing nautical, but apparently we can't do without a draining cloth and a proper metal, double-skinned, teapot. I am not complaining though. Very happy she is so enthusiastic as well



Earlier this week I did a few other little jobs.

You will be proud of me Thad. I made new mooring lines, cut them to length and tied them off properly!!



As I mentioned earlier, my shore power connector did not fit properly. So I got a new connector, took the old one off and put the new one on.

Nice job, in the sun, on our aft deck/cockpit. The old connector when opened did not look all that great. Just cut it off, stripped the wires before putting the new one on.







We are not at our permanent mooring yet. I did some measuring. I had done it before to check my shore power cable is long enough. I seem to recall I thought it would fit easily. But I have rechecked and I am about 10 meters short. I could moor Sirion stern to the main jetty. But I prefer this way, bow in first. because it means our deck/cockpit is facing south. Nice to sit on our boat in our marina having a drink!

So I need to look into an extension, or a complete new 25 meter long shore power cable.

My eldest son Luc might come round this Sunday and we will take Sirion for a spin on the river Waal for a few hours. Hopefully, we can fill up with Diesel too. If not I will need to do so Monday or Tuesday, before setting off early Wednesday morning.

Jeroen

[Thad E Ginathom]

Nice whipping, Jeroen

[dragracer567]

Love the sights Jeroen, the Netherlands is such a beautiful country as is but it looks even more beautiful from the water!

I'd noticed that the Netherlands & Belgium have a very good in-land water transportation infrastructure, perhaps due to their importance historically. There were even these salmon ladders that allowed salmon to swim upstream for spawning.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Nempuguru

How tough is it to memorize and remember all the controls of old/modern cars, aircraft and now the yacht?

A couple more basic points...

1. Yes, you have one lever, one wheel. No gears or clutch.

2. You also don't have brakes.



Boats are quite heavy. Sailing boats even more so, due to the basic requirement of a lot of weight in the keel to stop them falling over from the pressure on the sails. I don't know what is the heaviest I've sailed, but 12 tons comes to mind. It is surprisingly easy to get a floating 12 tons moving --- and surprisingly hard to stop it!

Of course, when moving ahead, you put the engine astern. But nothing happens like a car brake.

And you have to learn to handle your boat with lines from the shore.

You have to learn... a lot!

(Jeroen, you probably gave all the vital statistics near the beginning of the thread: can you remind us how long she is and what is the displacement? )

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

!

I'd noticed that the Netherlands & Belgium have a very good in-land water transportation infrastructure, perhaps due to their importance historically. There were even these salmon ladders that allowed salmon to swim upstream for spawning.

Yes, our history is very much interwoven with everything to do with water. The Netherlands and Belgium are western Europe estuary. Just about all major river water ends up passing through these two tiny countries before spilling into the Northsea.

A lot of trade into Europe comes via Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp. A lot of it makes it further into the country and past the borders by river barges. It is a very economical way of moving goods as long as you are not in a hurry.

The Netherlands in particular is mostly below sea level and a lot of our land is claimed land from the sea and or rivers. Digging canals, building dikes and so on has been going on for centuries.

Jeroen