This will be a long and special day to sail. It’s the 4th of May, the day we remember all who have died during Second World War or peacekeeping missions later. My initial plans were to have the journey counter clockwise, start in Den Helder, via IJmuiden, with a stop in Amsterdam exactly today. The wind directions forced this route. Talking about the wind, yesterday she came from the south, last night she faded out and today the wind is North / North-East. That is perfect, my course will be mostly 130 degrees (south-east) for about 20 miles on the IJsselmeer.

I have a normal breakfast, not in a hurry. At 12:00 the tide will turn in Den Oever. That is 10 NM away, so a 10:00 leave. On the VHF, I hear that at 9:00 the port will be closed, because a deep‑draft Navy vessel needs to make a 180-degree turn. This will happen again at 10:00. I ask permission to leave the Royal Netherlands Navy Yacht Club at 9:50. Permission granted and after I have left the Navy port it is closed. Impressive to see those vessels.

The current is still strong (with me) and the first track I need to head into the wind, about 4 Bft. Some people think that sailing on the Northsea is difficult or dangerous. I disagree. The Waddenzee is far more complicated to sail, especially solo. I have the paper map outside, you need to know exactly where you are. It is like a labyrinth with shallow waters. Also the current, usually between 1 and 2 knots (with or against) makes it very easy to get some drifted. At the Balgzand I set sail (only genua). I should change course a little to get the wind into the sail. A quick look at the map tells me that is possible. This is nice, to sail again. Just before I turn off the engine, I see the log 1.70. First I think: that is slow. But it is the depth, not the speed. For one second, I don’t understand. But on my port side I see a motor vessel, on a far distance I would not expect. Now I realise that I didn’t look right on the map. The engine is still standby fortunately, so I steer hard port site, north. Back to the fairway. Afterwards it turns that I had confused 2 creeks. I can just blame myself. A mirror plotter in the cockpit would help, another thing for the wish-list. In the logbook, I write “9:50 Almost on the ground. Balgzand. Green-red along above.” On calm water it is so easy to debate. That makes sense, when you come from sea, the red buoys are on your heart’s side. So greed-red (green for main fairway on your righthand side. A Dutch (?) sailers whisdom: “A sailor leaves the sea with a bleeding heart, hence the buoys are to port.” The next buoy I can finally alter the course, set sail and turn off the engine. I have entered the visjagersgaatje.

The lock Stevinsluizen  was a fairly quick pass, with only 5 other boats. I love this small lock. You don’t realise that the motorway A7 is shutdown when you sail through the bridge just before the lock. The Stevinsluizen are named after Hendrik Stevin (1613-1669), the first engineer know that talked about the plan to close the Zuiderzee and the Waddenzee from the Northsea and prevent the storms and disasters. Fortunately the Waddenzee never got closed.

Now back on the IJsselmeer, it will be a 5 – 6 hour sail back to Lelystad. No bridges, no locks and no unknown harbour. Also no bad weather expected, only little increase of wind and change more to the east. I can truly relax and do. The genua is enough: 4,5 knots, the sun is back, I don’t complain. At 16:30 I pass Enkhuizen, with almost no other ships around.

At 19:00 I have passed my own well-know waypoint EZ (EnkhuizerZand). In the meantime I have made a good dinner, it’s great to be able to cook in the middle of a trip and enjoy on deck.

At 8pm two minutes of silence are observed throughout the country to commemorate Dutch victims of war. What should I do. With this speed, I enter exactly my harbour. The solution is to reduce sail, to stay on the water till 8:15. In the end I furl all sails, because with a downwind course and increased wind it is possible to keep track. I try to find out what the flag protocol is for ships. That is not easy to interpret. Lower the flag half-mast? My flag is on the stern, like most ships. The mast is almost the same size as the flag. My solution: take away the flag from the stern and rise the Netherlands ensign half-way under the crosstrees, on (of course) starboard side.

When I pass sector light Houtribdijk (where the dike Lelystad-Enkhuizen makes a turn and you enter the bay Van Eesteren), I notice something strange. A motorvessel is not moving for a while on my starboard side. Also it looks like I see a windsurfer along side. That is strange. Now, this day, this time, this location? With binoculars I try to see better. It is not clear. Are they in trouble or not? In the end I decide to turn around. The wind had increased and the engine does it’s labour. It takes me 10 minutes to get there. After I while I see this is not a motorvessel. It’s a 21 feet sailingyacht with a broken mast. The windsurfer is the sail of the sailingyacht. The crew is calm, they have dropped anchor. I keep a little distance, because of possible lines in the water and with the waves it is difficult to keep head into the wind of Folly. They tell me that they have already called KNRM (Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution) and ask what they should do in the meantime. I do have experience with broken mast a couple of years a go with my 14 feet sailboat in autumn. My advise it to try to leave the sheets and halyard to lower the sails, even in the water and to get the mast parallel to the ship. I stay in the proximity of them, just in case somethings happens like a hit from the mast resulting in a hole in the hull. Soon the Marinus Cornelis from station Urk arrives. And also Trudy Bakhuis from station Lelystad and even Kapiteins Hazewinkel (Urk). I believe it’s policy to send two lifeboats always, but can’t find it on the KNRM website as publication. And is this (even 3 lifeboats) not a waste of volunteerstime and money from donors for fuel and maintenance? After Trudy Bakhuis arrived, greet the crew and continue my journey. On the VHF I hear the handling. They managed to get the mast on deck and even sail on their own, with Trudy Bakhuis side by side to the Lelystad Marina.

Before 8pm I turn off the engine. I am at the bay Van Eesteren, no ships around. Wind from behind. A special remembrance. I think about all the sailors who where on sea during the war. Far from home. Lost their lives. This is intense. Finally, I reach my box in the harbour at 20:30. The wind has increased. A beautiful finish of a perfect 4 day journey. At 0:00 I am back in my hometown.

• Departure: 04-05-2026 09:50 (Den Helder)
  Arrival: 04-05-2026 20:30 (Lelystad)
• Sailing time: 8 h
• Engine time: 2.7 h
• Sailing distance: 44 NM