October

2006

We have lived on TENAYA for 6 months now!! And it seems like it went very quickly, but then it seems like we have be doing this for a long time. When I stopped working everyone seemed sure I would miss working and would find another business challenge. And that was a reasonable thought since I really do enjoy working and the jobs I have had. Every project I have worked on, from starting a company and completing a public stock offering to reorganizing JanSport and my favorite times with the European acquisitions and integrations of Eastpak and Kipling has been very enjoyable for me. I know that most people do not believe me when I say that I really thrive on complicated projects and problems but I do. I had fun doing all these things with the only stress coming from areas that I did not control. As long as I could evaluate a problem and create a plan to fix it and then carry out that plan I enjoyed every minute.

But after 6 months I am still totally absorbed with this current challenge. Just learning the different systems and electronics on Tenaya is a full time project. Then learning about the diesel engine. And the generator. And the heater. And the marine toilet. And the butane stove, the auto pilot, radar, etc.. And those are only the hardware items. Learning about navigation, charts, and passage planning. And sail trim. And how to turn a 40 foot boat in a channel that is 42 feet wide with boats coming up the channel. Then the things that I just need to do enough to feel comfortable doing, like going into a lock with huge barges or being in a narrow channel surrounded with container ships, or being in a major shipping route with poor visibility. Then the things that I hope we do not do again, like hitting bottom...more than once!

So, right now I think I have one of the biggest challenges I have every had. I'm excited about it and still a little scared sometimes. During this year we sailed about 100 days and 1250 miles and I am really looking forward to next year when we travel to new and exciting places.

During October we completed a circle of the northern Netherlands and visited a number of great towns and villages. Starting from Amsterdam we sailed north to Volendam, visiting Markem and Edam, then to Hoorn (the tip of South America was discovered by a man from this town and he named it after his home, Cape Horn. From there we sailed to Enkhuizen and visited a recreated Dutch fishing town from earlier centuries. From there we sailed north through the IJsselmeer to Den Oever and through the lock to the Waddenzee. We then sailed to the island of Texel and docked in a small fishing town and enjoyed a couple of days exploring the island. Then across to another lock entering the Isselmeer on the east and stayed in the town of Makkum, visiting a pottery company that has been owned by the same family since 1594. We took the North Sea route north to Amsterdam and the return trip through the channels and bridges (37 bridges! Some we had to wait hours to open and a couple we waited overnight). A highlight of the return trip was the town of Haarlem. We found it and it's many museums and sights to much to see in one day so we stayed a couple of nights. Our final night before returning to Bruinisse was in Willemstad, a fortress town built in the 16th century to guard the entrance to Hollands Diep and Dordrecht.

We have some ideas where we will travel next year but until we start we really don't have any firm plan. But one thing I think we have learned this month is that we really enjoy stopping in towns and villages and exploring them, visiting the sights and the museums, and trying the food and drink. We took almost a month to explore the northern part of the Netherlands and still feel we missed many places we would have liked to have seen. So while we are not yet sure where Tenaya will take us in 2007 I am sure it will be very slow and with many stops in new and interesting places.

On October 1 we sailed Tenaya to Zierikzee so we could get an early start on the 3rd. We left Zierikzee on October 3 at 4:45 AM to reach the lock at Roompot when they opened at 6 AM. There is a 18 meter fixed bridge over the lock and for our 19.5 meter (65 feet) mast we need to pass at low tide. By 8 AM we were sailing with the wind from the west at Force 4-5. When the wind was about 20 knots we hit our fastest speed, 9.7 knots (actually we recorded a high speed of 10.5 knots, but that was surfing down a wave). At 5 PM we reached the port of IJmuiden after sailing 82 miles. This was our first experience in the North Sea. The next day we followed the North Sea Canal 15 miles to Amsterdam, the first stop on our tour.

Katie and Tenaya in Volendam

Tenaya passed the 1000 nautical mile mark in the IJsselmeer

Follow our October route

Go to November 2006

Video - Sailing on the Ijsselmeer