On our way

23 May 2015

After a successful trial run we were ready to depart! At 10 o’clock the guests came aboard for the trip to Aberdeen. After the usual welcome we quickly departed. The lock at IJmuiden went pretty smoothly, so we were between de piers early. We set the first sails right away. It took a while before we switched off the engine. Not because it was necessary, but because we were so happy to have a working motor that we didn’t really want to switch it off. But our sailors-hearts won so the Deere could go to sleep.
The North Sea also seemed happy to see us, the sea was calm and flat with a nice breeze. It started with a small 3 Bft from WSW, which meant that we could sail in a straight line to Aberdeen. This lasted until midnight, then the wind cleared to the north. At 1 am we had to tack to continue our way. The wind increased to a firm 4 Bft, great for some fast sailing! Now the wind is decreasing again and we are zigzagging between the drilling platforms. We try to get as high as possible, because according to the forecast the wind today will continue to slowly decrease and eventually die down completely. But the same forecast also says that the wind is coming back from SW. We hope that this will be true.