Blog 14 – Lake IJsselmeer, Netherlands: A peaceful, warm sail & anchorage

As we were still catching the indian summer by the coattails, we sailed into the hazy blue horizon, looking forward to a lazy sail in light winds. A lot of sailboats were traveling back to the mainland directly across from Vlieland Island to Harlingen, but we headed to the Kornwerderzand lock to get past the dam and into Lake IJsselmeer, a fresh-water lake leading to the canals of Amsterdam.

It was such a smooth sail that Liv got the chance to practice tacking single-handedly using the auto-tack system on the autopilot. So nice to practice in easy conditions!

Navigating was simple, yet there were narrow quarters getting over to the lock. It was very shallow outside of the markers. The current was also moving against us along the way, but we had time to spare. 🙂  

When we got through the lock (which we made through just as it opened up), we arrived the large fresh-water lake just before a gorgeous sunset. Anchoring is our preference & the boys take every opportunity to take advantage of it to go swimming! A beautiful way to round off a beautiful day!