Date: Sunday 25 July 2021
Position: 53° 10.535’ N 5° 24.999’ E
Location: Harlingen
Distance Sailed during the week: 223 NM
Distance Sailed total: 800 NM
Weather: 
, 18°, 10kn SW
Most popular on the menu: Taco 
Animals spotted: Seal, crabs, dolphin
Comment of the week: “Look! I can hold a crab!”
We were a little bit nervous, but also excited to leave the Kiel canal. But it was nothing to be nervous about. The second part of the Kiel canal, entering Elbe and the North Sea went smooth. The first stop was Cuxhaven, where we decided to fill up both food and diesel as well as energy to make a rather long leg to Vlieland, the Netherlands.
Vlieland, what a great start in the Netherlands! We were so glad to find a spot in the crowded harbour, after 26 h sailing and 150 nm. Even the super tight entrance to the harbour with 4 knots of side current went smoothly. We really enjoyed some lazy days and spent a lot of time at the sand dunes on the beach. We even got to explore the sand islands outside Vlieland that are only revealed during low tide.
A lot of animal surprises! The first morning in Cuxhaven, three seals were laying on the dock, enjoying the sun, right nearby. The second surprise when sailing from Cuxhaven to Vlieland, a dolphin was swimming right beside us and playing under our stern. All five of us were so excited, so no one had the time to take a photo. And then the crab paradise Vlieland! Atle was really enjoying catching all the crabs and even got a special net for catching crabs.
A lot to learn for us regarding tide, bridges, locks and floodgates on our way to the next harbor Harlingen. Just leaving Vlieland, we had almost 4 knots against the current but after a while we had a nice ride with 2-3 knots with the current. In the north harbor, which is located right in the middle of the beautiful city of Harlingen, you can dock both to pontoons that adapt to tides or to the guay edge. We explored how it worked to dock directly to the guay. A little bit nervous, both for the depth (our instrument showed 1,9 m) and that some lines would get stuck. But luckily we got a nice experience even though we learned that lines on “sliders” doesn’t always slide…
Everything on the boat works well, so far we do not miss anything. But it’s a game of Tetris to store everything every time we have bought groceries or are getting ready to sail again.
Next week we look forward to seeing Amsterdam!
Written by Susanna Edholm, edited by Hanna Ericksson
Liv Sailing 