Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sailing Along - France to the Netherlands

This sail felt pretty short after our Atlantic crossing! We were able to sail some of the way through the English Channel and North Sea but eventually the sails got taken in (I finally got to help furl!) and the engine turned on. These waters were surprisingly calm but busy of course with lots of vessels. The look-out bell got lots of use. We crossed the prime meridian and are now in the Eastern hemisphere. 

As we left on Sunday evening we postponed our Sunday "family dinner" till Monday. Could be the last one of the year as the next two Sunday's we're in port. Speaking of lasts, slapps may have opened for the last time. I bought a couple of chocolate bars (and doubled my bill!) just because I could. 

We had a no power hour on Earth Day. It's light out so late now that although we didn't start till 8:30, it was light the whole time the generator was off. 

The last night before coming into Amsterdam we spent at anchor and the students held a "coffee house" (in the banjer due to rain/thunder/lightning). This is a time they share their talents with each other, mostly musical but a few poetry readings and skits as well. I had planned to do some Irish dancing but there isn't room down in the banjer. Maybe we'll be able to have another one on deck before the end of the year. 

We came in through a lock and canal system and happily the gangway sits almost horizontally, very different to what it was at in France!

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