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Naturfreunde Jugend Braunschweig - Sailing in the Netherlands 2008

Day 1

From July 20th to August 1st, a group of 4 teenagers and two teamers started from Braunschweig in a sailing trip to the Netherlands. After 4 hours by car, we arrived at 18 o'clock to Heeg. We immediately inspected the two boats which sould serve as our new home for the next 12 days.
To ensure that the equipment is complete, we tested the provided tents and checked for missing parts. As usual there were some missing parts. This inspection also served as a good exercise on how to build a tent to get shelter for the night and during heavy rain. This exercise was a good investment as the upcoming days proved.

Lots of stuff had to be loaded onto the two small ships.

First onboard meeting.

Day 2

Unlike on the first day, it wasn't raining anymore, but still somewhat wet and a little bit cold.

Ropes clear and ready for leaving the harbor.

One ship was equipped with a motor. It was pulling both boats out of the harbor.

First glimpse on open water.

Strong wind and waves on the first day. What luck for a sailor!

As the wind turned into a storm, we entered a small harbor at the south east coast of the Heeg sea.

As the wind was still strong, we had to improvise to get a quiet place for our lunch.

Day 3

Although the wind is weaker, the waves are still high. But this is no reason for these two kids not to sail in their Optimist.

Ideal weather for our poly-falcons.

A school of Optimists, small sailing boats for kids, looks like swimming flowers.

In a narrow canal, the man on the rudder has to be very careful.

What a futuristic design.

Were are we? - Let me just have a look at our portable GPS.

Why to lay down the mast?.

Because of these bridges.

Here we found a lovely place to cook, right next to the boats.

Day 4

In the Netherlands, there are lots of small islands were you can park your ship for a while.

Sophie and Leonie enjoy walking in the grass.

You can see lots of poly-falcons at this time of year in the Netherlands.

Can you believe this? It even has a flag mast!

When we arrived in Lemmer, the sun was already about to set.

But we found a very quiet place near the center of the city.

Day 5

Lemmer under the morning sun.

The ships to see are getting bigger this day.

Somebody wants an ice?

Sailing is a way of life in the Netherlands.

This was our most expensive harbor. It cost us 30,- EUR per night and was not quiet at all!

Sometimes it's hard for a photographer to find the best angle.

Day 6

This boat has nearly all equipments you can think of!

A lot of bridges in the Netherlands.

A house and a boat

Some boats even have their own parking lots

Welcome to the yacht harbor of Lemmer!

We found a very nice place inside. Just were everybody walked along, but anyway.

Day 7

This day started so hot, that the cheese melted away even in the shadow.

We bought two small blue Marekritten flags for 7,- EUR each. These flags allow us to stay on several small islands for up to three days without any extra fee.

No wind today, so we prepared some pan-cakes, hmm really tasty.

The end is coming, at least the end of good weather.

A sudden storm with heavy rain kept us on the island.

After a dramatic travel through several thunder storms, we arrived at Sloten at 10 O'clock in the night. Of course every restaurant was close (sloten as they say in the Netherlands). So we cooked sausages and potato cream on our boats.