Cherished and sad at the same time | Step 25

Departure Monnickendam: 7.15am (Saturday, July 8) Distance covered: 55 miles Wind: O/NO 17 kts later 4 kts Weather: ?? 30 degrees Crew: Ro, Pat, Rob, Danillo, Gaffel We left Monnickendam with a nice breeze. To get to Enkhuizen sailing. We first made a small turn towards the horse of Marken and then in a nice straight line to Enkhuizen. All sails up and we're doing just under 7 knots. The lock went fine and we wanted to wave to Marcel and Astrid, but we were looking at the wrong shore side?. Meanwhile, they took a nice picture of the WJ. The sun was already burning briskly and it was busy on the water. Not surprisingly, of course. We have a lovely chill sailing day, but just before Medemblik we do adjust the engine to make some more speed. The wind is already dropping and our speed proportionally to 3.5 kts. With quite a few miles to go to Den Helder and the Stevin lock in between, we want to speed up a bit. Unfortunately, on arrival at Stevin, the lock turns out to be out of order. Oops. We put the WJ on the brakes and take a refreshing dip. Just under 45 minutes later, the problem is solved and, after the outward and return trip, we can go along. In the lock, all sorts of things happened. Among them was a boat with a German couple that got stuck sideways. The skipper tried to avoid a collision course, which almost succeeded, and ended up next to another ship. His wife had not yet realised this and was still trying to get lines ashore. 'Rina, du darfst an die andere seite sein'. And so things worked out after all. After sailing out, we arrived on a tight tidal sea. The wind was completely gone. So everything on the engine. We spotted a porpoise and 2 seals during a lovely sail. At the KMJC, we were already awaited and after another splash and a drink, we had dinner at the Naval Yacht Club. The boys then disembarked. A lovely start to the holiday.