Motor Boat & Yachting - July 2018

by Vollenhove, the home of Royal
Huisman, who build many of the
world’s large super sailing yachts.
Blokzijl, like many similar towns,
was originally by the sea and was
a walled Hanseatic town. When the
Zuider Zee was damned becoming
the IJsselmeer, these towns became
landlocked. We entered through
a small opening in the original wall
and moored up in the centre. The
fees, including water, rubbish disposal
and beautiful clean showers, are just
€20 per night. This seems to be
fairly common throughout Holland,
where the infrastructure for boating
is outstanding. The town has a
number of smallish shops, an art
gallery, quaint pub, two restaurants
overlooking the marina and a very
good ice cream shop.
You leave the town through a small
lock, which attracts many onlookers
hoping for a mishap. Heading north,
you pass up a most beautiful narrow
canal bordered by many lovely houses
with well-kept gardens.
Turning east and travelling through
the countryside, you arrive back at
Steenwijk. The church dates from
1500 and we were lucky enough
to visit on its annual market day.
The central square is the place
to watch the world go by and the
Bovenmeester restaurant is top
class without being over expensive.
This round trip can be carried
out in six to eight days without

rushing and is just one example of the

attractions available throughout the

Netherlands. Another big advantage

of boating here is that it is non-tidal,

and not particularly weather or wind

dependant. Locks and bridges are

manned from April 1 to the end of

October and most people below

50 years of age speak very good

English. Prices are similar to the

UK, the people courteous and

friendly, the beer good and the wine

cheap. What more can you want?

Early this April, we moved

Symphony from the factory at

Steenwijk to her summer home

in Sneek, Friesland. Luckily for

us, it was the week that spring

arrived after a very cold winter.

Indeed, this past winter in Holland,

we skated on the canals for the

first time in seven years.

On this journey, we had the

opportunity to check our fuel

consumption figures and were

amazed to discover that we use just

5 litres of diesel per hour at 5 knots,

or to put it another way, 4.5 miles per

bow, and they found that she cut

through the waves rather than

bouncing over them, reducing the

pitching motion but making for a fairly

wet ride. The captain said he preferred

her to my previous vessel, which

was a Category A 20m conventional

semi-displacement ship. We were

also informed that her sister ship

was clocked at over 30 knots.

For 2018, we shall be based in the

north of the Netherlands in Friesland.

It is the only district in the country

which allows you to stay for three

nights in various rural locations for

the price of purchasing a small burgee,

which must be displayed. There are

no facilities except a large refuse bin,

and peace and quiet abound.

We have rented a 15m indoor

berth in the area with electric door,

electrical hookup, water and a garage

for the car at a cost of €6000 a year.

We can’t wait to see what this season

brings for us and our new pride and

joy. Peter Chester

gallon at Holland’s cruising speed.

The hull was designed by Vripack

to be efficient at slow speed with

less wash, but also able to perform

well at faster speeds in a seaway.

On the delivery trip to Dover in

October, this was well and truly tested.

The wind speed was Force 5-6 on the

The doors either side of

the saloon give direct

access to the canal banks

Sheilagh and

Symphony

enjoy the sun

Moored on

the town quay

inside Meppel

The bright

and spacious

master cabin

Picture-perfect

Giethoorn

BOAT MASTER OURBOATS