Cruising in The Netherlands
The short video below has some images of our time in Holland. This was before we thought of having a You Tube Channel so sorry for the lack of moving pictures.
The ports and anchorages button will have information on the best places to drop anchor or tie up. These spots will be clearly marked on the map below.
Our experience of sailing the area and of things to see and do are on the other two buttons.
These are our favourite places in Holland, all marked on the map below.
You will see from the map that all the really nice towns are on the West bank. This is because the East is all reclaimed land and there are no historic towns.
We stayed in Monnickendam in the far South. This has two marinas right next to each other in the heart of the beautiful village. There is a narrow dredged channel that gets you in but in winter this wasn't quite deep enough for our 2 meter draw. They were dredging while we were there though, something that is done every 3-5 years.
It takes half an hour to motor out from Monnickendam as the channel stretches all the way to Volendam. This is quite a nice town too. It has a marina with a fuel dock (the only one in the Markermeer!) and a chandlers, which seem to be few and far between in Holland. Strange as they have so many boats.
Next port North is Hoorn, which Cape Horn was named after. At some point it was anglicised and dropped the double O. There's none of the sailing hazard of the Southern Cape here though. Just a lovely town on a quiet bit of coastline. There is a nice marina but we liked anchoring out in the sheltered area just outside the harbour. You can anchor anywhere in the Markermeer but being so shallow a bit of wind can set up a short sharp chop that might make this uncomfortable. We didn't suffer too much in our solid 26 ton boat but a lighter vessel could. Anchoring out you can have fun motoring into town and exploring the canals going inland.
Next up going North is Enkhuizen and the first lock. The locks here are big and can get busy (see the video) There is a waiting area to starboard as you enter but at busy times it's rafted several boats deep. The locks are free to use.
The marina is to the North of the Lock but there is a service area to the South with a 100 ton crane, this is where we lifted for our survey. Slightly further North there is a big marina at Medemblik which is well worth the visit.
Having spent many years in my youth sailing the East Coast of England I’m surprised I didn't know anything about the delights of sailing the Zuiderzee.
It's a really lovely little sailing playground and only a short overnighter from the East Coast.
The area is split into what are really now two freshwater lakes the Markermeer to the South, stretching down almost to Amsterdam and the IJsselmeer in the North opening out into the North Sea.
You could easily spend a summer exploring the area. We actually spent a winter which has some challenges, but also some really good points.
Sailing wise you're challenged for depth especially in the winter when they drop the water level to protect Amsterdam. We draw 2 meters and spent a lot of time ploughing though the soft mud! The whole area is freakishly shallow. You can easily be out of sight of land in 4 meters of water or less!
It's a nice safe area to sail, but obviously not particularly challenging. The real joy of the area is visiting the really lovely towns on the West Coast. You will see from the ports and anchorages section that all our favourite places are on that coast. That's because the East coast is all reclaimed land and therefore doesn't have the 16th & 17th century architecture and charm of the towns on the West Coast.
As well as getting into the area from the North, it is possible to enter through the canals through Amsterdam. They have a mast up route that can be used by yachts in convoy at night.
If you end up being there in winter, as we were, be prepared for some biting winds blasting through the completely flat landscape and for getting iced in for a month. With fresh shallow water it's common that it freezes and our harbour master was getting very excited at one point that the ice would be thick enough for ice sailing, something that hadn't happened for 7 years. They also run a mad dawn till dusk ice skating race around the villages. Sadly, we didn't quite get enough ice for it to run.
When you think of Holland you think of Amsterdam and with good reason. It's a great city, loads to see and do, museums and art. Interesting pubs and coffee houses if that's your thing and, of course, the red light district which is unlike anything else you'll find. Great spas, but they're all nude so you'll have to be prepared to go native!
Amsterdam can get busy in summer which is one of the reasons I prefer winter. It's best to avoid weekends, especially if you just want to wander around at night. It's second only to Prague as a stag night destination, so expect rowdiness!
We had the boat in Monnikendam for the winter and one of the really good things about being there is it's a 20 minute bus ride into the city. You can buy a travel card that lets you use all modes of transport very cheaply. Trains, trams and buses and, of course, Schipol airport is just on the Southern end of the city and is one of the biggest hub airports in Europe so you can get flights to anywhere.
There is much more to Holland than Amsterdam, however. The Markermere and the IJsselmeer both have lovely towns on the Western coast. The Eastern coast is all reclaimed land so doesn't have the same architectural interest and charm.
The landscape is flat so it's great for cycling even with our fold-up bikes with little wheels we managed to cycle for miles. You're helped by cycle tracks everywhere and the attitude that the bikes come first; everyone gives way to bikes.
One of the really strange places just across the bay from Monnikendam is Marken. This is a little village that has stood still in time. It's got a real community; schools and churches. It is set up for tourists with people in national dress etc. but it seems to get away with it, at least in winter. I could imagine it looking more like the tourist trap it is in summer. There are no cars allowed. They will charge you a fortune to park in the car park at the end of the causeway. We cycled, but you can take your boat into the small harbour. It was a bit shallow for us in winter with the water level down so we didn't do that. From Marken there is a ferry across to Hoorn so you could take your bike on board and cycle a circuit.
Tulip season is a must see in Holland too. There was a time that certain bulbs were more expensive than gold and fortunes were made and lost in Holland breeding ever more flamboyant varieties of tulip. Now they are grown by the field full, serving flower markets all over Europe and it makes a great sight as you travel around the countryside. There are also gardens where they host collections of the thousands of species available.
I can't finish talking about Holland without mentioning beer! Ordinarily I'm not a fan of bottled beer as being a Brit I've been spoiled with the best beer in the world! You can't bottle 'Real Ale' because it's live and has to be treated carefully with lift pumps to pull it from the cellar to the glass. But if you're going to drink bottled beer then they have some great ones in Holland. To be fair, most of them are actually Belgium beers. My favourites are Leffe and Affligem Double but there's loads to try. Worth going to Holland just for that!
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