Eurotrip '09 - Day 15

This morning we packed for a full day of sailing from Enkhuizen aboard the Pallieter. The weather report was not optimal so we hung around and drank tea and coffee to see how things would shape up and learned a little bit about our ship. The Pallieter is a Dutch tjalk style ship, built in 1899, with 1 mast, and 3 sails. She was renovated a few years ago, and everything looked modern and well appointed inside, and well restored on the outside. Laura's friend Bram, our captain, told us the sails were in bad shape, and would be replaced soon. Max and Midas joined to help sail, making us 6 in all. Considering there were 13 beds on board, there was plenty of room for everyone. All we needed to do now was wait for the crew to figure out how the rigging worked on this particular vessel. A little head scratching followed.
After getting the report of up to 45 knot winds with rain, and the OK from us that we still wanted to sail, Bram cast off and our journey began. Our first mission was to sail out to an island, where Bram and the crew were going to stage a protest by putting up a scarecrow. Plan A was aborted after we completed our first tack in the high winds. Bram announced that he was sailing back because he was afraid the jib might not survive the trip. As we got closer to the shore, the winds relaxed a bit, and the crew managed to tighten up the rigging enough to continue sailing. Plan B involved sailing upwind along the coast, through some spots of heavy rain, to a small village called Medeblink were we had dinner and fair weather. I tried mustard soup for an appetizer, and it was different. In a good way. The roast pork in mushroom sauce was prepared perfectly, and two large bowls of outstanding French fried potatoes for the table were impossible to stop eating.
The sun was getting low in the sky, and the wind and sea were much calmer for the downwind run back home. Complete with rainbows, spectacular clouds, and the sun setting over a horizon spotted with distant windmills and a lighthouse, the cruise back home was icing on the cake. We couldn't believe it was 11:30PM when we finally stepped back on land. The sun stays out so late here, that I always lose track of how late it is.
Tomorrow will be be our only full day in Amsterdam to walk around, so we plan to hit the museums and Heineken brewery if it is raining, and tour the Red Light District if the weather is dry. Either way, I plan to make many food stops. I'm not leaving until I try maatjesharing, a raw "soused" herring. And Super Lemon Haze, 2008 cup winner.