Easter Sailing on a Flat-bottomed Boat

На русском. 🇷🇺

Last year we went on a sailing trip in the Wadden Sea on a small boat. After that, Dima came up with the idea of sailing on a large flat-bottomed boat in the Netherlands.

This time he decided to take a break from his captain duties and focus on organizing leisure activities for a larger than usual group. There were 30 of us, including children, plus the captain and first mate who handled the ship.

Several people were on the organizing committee, so during the voyage we always had something to do and something delicious to eat.

Team members arrived at the boat from different cities by various means of transport. I was lucky with transportation - Sasha was driving from Berlin, so we went there and back in her electric car.

It was nice to meet old friends and get to know new people. In the evening we boarded the boat, had dinner, and met the captain Klaas and the first mate Sam.

In the morning Sam conducted a briefing and told us a bit about our boat. Despite being about 120 years old, the boat is in excellent technical condition with a comfortable interior. It used to be a fishing vessel and has now been renovated for tourism.

We left Harlingen marina heading towards the western part of Terschelling island. On the way we set the sails and sailed with a rather strong heel, which feels especially noticeable on a large boat.

In the evening the active "search for cursed gold coins" program and fun tasks prepared by our organizing committee (mainly Polina and Nastya) continued on board.

After dinner the team scattered to explore the island.

The next day was planned to be free from sailing.

For extra fun, we announced a photo contest with abstract tasks:

Find an object that looks like a letter of the alphabet or a number.
Find the strangest (preferably scary!) shadow you can discover.
Photograph an object/scene that creates symmetry.
Photograph an object/scene in a reflection.
Take a photo of an object that resembles a face or figure.

Many team members took it seriously and discovered their inner composition master. In the end, we were flooded with photos and it was hard to choose the winners!

People split into interest-based groups and went off to explore Terschelling.

I joined the cycling group with the teenagers. We rented bikes and rode almost the entire island, 39.7км. The eastern part of the island, almost past the geographic middle, is regularly flooded and therefore has no roads. A pleasant asphalt bike path runs along the western part.

First we visited the bunker museum from World War II. It was supposedly closed that day, but the local caretaker kindly agreed to give us a tour.

Then we rode to the sandy dunes by the shore. We had lunch at a beach café and headed back.

On the boat we were greeted by freshly gathered local oysters, which some team members found dubious. I took the risk, ate one with lemon, and it was delicious — I survived with no consequences.

The weather was excellent, and the day ended in the golden rays of the setting sun.

Canon EOS R8 EF50mm f/1.2L USM @ 50mm 1/125s f/1.2 iso12800

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In the morning we had breakfast and received metal mugs for commemorative painting. Pasha, who turned out to be talented in every artistic way (musically, visually, and probably in many others...), helped other team members with the decoration.

Then we headed to the sandbank Richel to settle on the Wadden flats during low tide.

By around three o’clock in the afternoon the water had receded so much that we could walk on the seabed. Many had brought rubber boots, while I carefully jumped over puddles in sneakers. The team went off to explore the exposed seabed and catch crabs.

Around five o’clock the tide began to come in, and soon the water rose enough for us to sail further.

This time we spent the night not in a marina, but at anchor at sea. For dinner we had homemade pelmeni (the kids’ ones took on especially creative shapes) and a movie screening about naval battles ("Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World").

The boys liked the net at the bow of the ship so much that they decided to sleep in it. But it started raining at night, so they had to wake up and move inside. 🙈

The next morning we sailed to Texel island and arrived there around noon.

The island also has an interesting museum of fishing village life. You can take a pleasant walk around the area.

In the evening we had mussels collected on the shallows by our captain.

Canon EOS R8 RF28mm F2.8 STM @ 28mm 1/125s f/3.2 iso1250

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The next day concluded our short journey. We sailed back to Harlingen.

All the cursed gold coins were collected, all challenges and contests completed. With a sense of satisfaction we received commemorative souvenirs, baked our painted mugs, and enjoyed the final solyanka!

Dima filled in the sea logbooks for those who had them, and Captain Klaas signed them.

In the afternoon we headed home, and by night I was already back in Berlin.

It turned out to be a wonderful, eventful sea adventure with great people on a historic boat!

Easter Sailing on a Flat-bottomed Boat

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