The last evening in Ramsgate we met Ross, a talkative Brit living aboard his catamaran, in the sole company of 30 whisky bottles.
Following Ross’s expert recommendations we sailed up the river Orwell where we moored at Pin Mill, looking forward to a pint at the “Butt and Oyster”. However, when you go to a restaurant by dinghy you have to consider the tides: unfortunately we found the dinghy parking under water and could not disembark without sinking in mud up to the knees. We did enjoy the sunset from off Sunriser.
Time to cross back to the Netherlands. This time it took us exactly 24 hours to do the 140 miles to IJmuiden. It was a very pleasant, relaxed crossing with strong winds the first half, followed by almost no wind the second half. This second half was excellent for testing out the watermaker as we had some doubts if everything was connected well and (high pressure) water tight. Long story short, it is a miracle to make good drinkingwater from the sea with the energy from the solarcells. We did a blind test of water tasting and decided that the water from the watermaker tasted the best. Another step in making this a very sustainable boat.
Via the Noordzeekanaal we reached Amsterdam. Seeing Amsterdam from off the water level gives a very different perspective: no traffic, no bycicles, no people, no shops…all the city’s buzz remains above on land level while you glide through the water together with birds, waterplants and boat houses.
and now, “We liggen voor Pampus”, as the Dutch people call it (We lay in front of Pampus). Pampus is an island on the Ijsselmeer, next to Amsterdam where sailors used to rest waiting for the high tide to enter the city. So, for us it is time for maintenance, baking and swimming.