Summer is over, at least when I look at the week. I look back on our summer holiday last August with great pleasure. We stayed in the Netherlands and had 2 wonderful weeks of sailing. Friends of ours bought a boat at the beginning of this year and had planned to go sailing with the boat during the summer holiday. My wife thought that would be a lot of fun and suggested renting a boat and going on a sailing holiday together. We had never sailed before but I thought it would be a lot of fun, so we rented a boat in Friesland. (Friesland is a province in the Netherlands that is known for the Eleven Cities Tour and the many waters).
In the end we ended up with a boat of almost 11 meters, because our oldest and his girlfriend were also coming along and in case of bad weather you want to have some space of course :). I don't know how it is in other countries, but in the Netherlands you don't need a boating license if a boat is smaller than 15 meters and doesn't go faster than 20 kilometers per hour. We felt that we shouldn't just sail unprepared with such a big ship so we booked a 4 hour training so that we at least learned the basics. And in retrospect that was very nice, it is a pretty big boat and in the water you can't steer or brake that fast :)
Both my son and I went sailing and so we sat in the captain's chair during the training :). We had a really nice guy who explained everything to us and let us do it in practice. For example, we had to turn the boat in the canal, moor at the jetty, try to lie still in the canal. All things that you can also encounter in practice.
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands, known for its unique culture, landscape and language. It has a long history as an independent region and is known for its own Frisian language, which is spoken alongside Dutch. Friesland has an extensive coastline along the Wadden Sea and many lakes, which makes water sports such as sailing and skating popular. The Elfstedentocht, a famous skating competition along eleven Frisian cities, is an important cultural symbol.The province has a landscape of green meadows, lakes, and mounds (artificial hills), and the Wadden Islands of Ameland, Terschelling, Schiermonnikoog, and Vlieland are also part of Friesland. Leeuwarden is the capital and an important economic and cultural center.
The Trip
Our rented boat (the Castor 2) was a boat of almost eleven meters, on board there were two bathrooms (with shower and toilet) and two bedrooms. In the middle of the ship you could make a bed for two people from the couch and table. So there was enough space on board.Echtenerbrug
The rental company where we had to pick up the boat is located in Echtenerbrug. Our friends had already sailed from Zutphen to Echtenerbrug with their own boat, we had all agreed to meet there. You can see it there as a bit of a campsite on the water, very cozy.
Echtenerbrug is a village in the province of Friesland, located in the municipality of De Fryske Marren, on the edge of the Tjeukemeer, the largest inland lake in Friesland. The village is located in the south of the province, close to the border with Flevoland and Overijssel. The area is popular for water sports and tourism, especially during the summer months.
Echtenerbrug has a pleasant village centre with a harbour, shops, restaurants and cafés. The village is crossed by the Pier Christiaansloot, a canal that connects the Tjeukemeer with surrounding waterways, which contributes to its appeal for water sports enthusiasts.
Echtenerbrug is also centrally located for exploring other villages and towns in Friesland, and is relatively close to Lemmer and Joure, two other well-known places in the region.
We were very lucky with the weather, we had 2 weeks of beautiful weather, sometimes even too warm (but we are not complaining). At the different villages and towns there are different harbours where you can stay overnight as a passer-by. You pay between 15 and 25 Euro (depending on the popularity of the harbour and village). In those harbours you have showers and toilets, we did not use the showers on board and showered at the harbour.
Every morning we discussed together where we were going to sail, usually we sailed for 4 or 5 hours to the next destination. From village to village. On the way we of course came across several bridges where there are also rules. There is a traffic light that shows whether you are first in line or first the boats from the other side. Some bridges have remote monitoring but often there is a bridge keeper. At most bridges you have to pay a small amount to be allowed to sail through, the bridge keeper then has a clog on a stick that he throws at you in which you can then put the money. That in itself is already a nice happening.
Along the way you will also come across locks, in the Frisian waters there is sometimes a difference in height, which means you have to enter the lock in order to continue sailing. In the locks it is important that you sail very quietly and that there is someone on deck to moor the boat. That was a bit exciting at first, especially with such a large boat, but we actually managed it just fine. In some locks you also had to pay, the lock keeper would then walk by to collect the money.
Along the various canals and waters there were also so-called "nature spots". These were islands with no facilities except a jetty. Here you could moor (maximum 24 hours) and camp wonderfully in nature. We did this a few times, it was so relaxing. Beforehand we would get groceries for a barbecue and then all enjoy the weather and the peace and quiet on an island, nice fishing and chilling.
We had a rubber boat on the back of the boat that was often used by my son and his girlfriend to sail around a bit or to get groceries in a village.
Because you are of course sailing through canals, you also pass places that you normally don't see that quickly or you sail past houses that are located on the water. We saw a number of great houses that made us think "wow, if only you lived here". On the other hand, I don't know if I would like it that much if, in the summer, boats sailed past my garden all day long. You don't have a lot of privacy then, I think. But it was very nice to see.
My son's girlfriend comes from a family where they also sail a lot. Her father has a big sailboat and she is used to it. At one point I said to her "You go and steer for a while", and she did it sublimely. As if she had been doing it for years.
My son has started his own company, content creator for companies. So during the holiday, he just started his company, he had to meet with a number of clients (online). So usually in the morning he sailed for the first hour or so and then I took over so he could meet in the cabin.
I often have my birthday during the holidays, and this year was no exception. My wife had invited my brother and my son's parents-in-law to come and have a nice meal as a surprise. My youngest also came with his girlfriend for two days, they stayed with us on the boat. Before the holiday, the youngest indicated that he didn't like sailing that much, but he quickly changed his mind. Next year, he wants to come along for the entire holiday, together with his girlfriend.
He hadn't been there for 2 hours yet and was already in the rubber boat with his girlfriend to go for a ride :)
All in all we had a great holiday, we have rented a boat again for next year, only a slightly bigger one because there will be six of us :) and I am going to get my boating license this year, if only to know all the rules.
If you ever go on holiday in the Netherlands, definitely go to Friesland. It is so beautiful
Have a great weekend !!
Peter