Cold trip with a motorboat

A few weeks ago I made a wonderfull trip with a motorboat from Dordrecht to Leeuwarden.
It took us four days. There was a lot of ice.
This "vlet" was bought by the son of my friend Piet Bos.
The motor worked well and we have seen a lot of Holland in winter.



In Aalsmeer we bought this very tasty smoked eel:



We had moored the boat in one of the canals of Amsterdam to buy some food and have a meal in a greek restaurant.
When we returned after two hours the boat had disappeared!!
We went to the police and were told they had towed the boat away, because it was not allowed to moor there. There had been a sign somewhere that we did not see.
We took a taxi to where they had towed the boat and after paying a huge fine we could sleep on the boat again. Here a photo of these police men and women with Piet:



In Enkhuizen we were stopped by a lot of ice. So we had to go to Lelystad to cross the dyke.

Nice and warm in the cabin. Luckily the heating was very good.

So easy to travel with a motorboat instead of sailing in inland waters.

Presentation at the Yacht Club

Last saturday evening I gave a presentation of my solo sailing journey with my catamaran
"We Two Are One" at my yacht club in Ouddorp.
Many members were gathered in the beautifull clubhouse to listen to the stories and see the photo's of my adventures during my three year trip.
I presented 270 photo's of all the countries I have visited.
To my surprise they listened for two times one hour without making noise!
In the pause there was a delicious fish soup and afterwards a wonderfull salad with roasted ribs and bread. Of course the turnover of the bar was very good.
It was fun to see all the old friends again and share my stories with them.



Here I received a present from the youngest member of our Yacht Club.

Falcon 44: Job

My friend Piet Bos has built this beautifull sailing boat in 2,5 years!
Its design is from Cees v.d. Stadt from Sattelite Design.
Type of the boat: Falcon 44, with a retractable keel.
He is now on a world wide sailing trip with his wife Tine.
At the moment on the hard in Portimao, Portugal.
He has an ambitieus sailing plan: Madeira, Canary Islands, Cabo Verde, Brasil, Argentina,
Antartica, Chili, French Polynesie, Hawai to Alaska!
I hope to join him on this trip for some time in the next winter.
These photo's are from her try-outs.
Afterwards he made a wonderfull doghouse on the boat.