Navigating Giethoorn, sunny summer 2016

An other fun thing we did was 

Navigating Giethoorn.

Again a first for us, as in our previous life 

we had never been to this charm.

Happy we finally did it.

The Crew?

Marijke, Sisters Marleen, Sjakkelien & Hessel,

Bro Loek and Leo.

The Float?

A sturdy bullet proof all aluminium & electric carrier.

What to say...

.....we just enjoyed the Scenery and this Touristic Fun-do.

Who was lucky with the weather....?

And yes, after a few hours cruise 

we could toast to a successful completion of

the boat-ride.

Salute.

Staphorst

Continuing our  

On the Move report, summer 2016.

This time we went into the deep: 

to the town called Staphorst

Sister Hessel was asked to look after.... 

....Sophie 

and her aunties.

Lucky us, the "job" came with " a roof " for 

All Mulders and Co.

Nope, not this farmhouse, 

Sophie's house was a bit more modest.

Staphorst is loaded with well manicured dwellings and yards. 

All groomed and trimmed on Saturdays, so it is a pleasure to run-around in the early hours of Sunday Morning and

enjoy the local real estate.

Main street Staphorst.

6 AM, Sunday Morning.

Peace on Earth.

The Town and its surroundings is famous for its traditions.

The main tradition is the Power of the Church,

Beside Sophie and her Aunties,

there was also a School of Fish to be fed.

Talking about fish...

Due to our Sunday Mornings Fish-market job in Fukuoka,

i always like looking around fish-shops.

See here the display of such a store in Holland.

Indeed not showing much fish.

Luckily they did have some Hollandse Nieuwe.

(raw hearing...yummy).

 Back to Staphorst.

As said, it is a pleasure to Run and Explore the neighbourhood. 

This time going Out of Town....

...and never have to worry about getting lost 

Some wildlife.

Magic country for Running.

More wildlife: Yes those are Storks.

(Marijke All Happy...haha, but a few weeks later in Portugal we spotted Storks by the Hundreds).

Famous Dutch Skies,

flat land and no mountains.

After a week it was time to Move on Again.

Thank you Staphorst.

We take wonderful memories back to Japan.

Salute.

Gone fishing for the day.

Gone Fishing for the Day

If not on board of Alishan,

or Shogun,

you might find me at Sumie Maru.

The fishing boat that belongs to the Nishijima family, 

OUR family here in Meinohama, Fukuoka.

It's hard work, veryyy noisy but also tremendous exciting.

These recordings were taken when heading back to port.

 It doesn't show the actual fishing in action..that will come in a next tuby.

A delivery to Hiroshima

Owner Jens of catamaran ESCAPADE 

asked me to come along for a ride from Fukuoka to Hiroshima.

As only a few days ago a typhoon had passed Kyushu

 and hence the sails had been removed from the boat for safety reasons

 and as weather forecast was for zero to little wind...

....it could be a motoring trip.

No worries...being on the water is the Goal.

Under sail or motoring.

It became a quick trip.

Quick and Hot as there was indeed no wind to cool us down with this blazing sun.

We had left Fukuoka at 3 PM, got over the top of Kyushu

 by 9 pm and anchored for the night just to the east, north shore, of the 

Kanmon Kaikyo.

Perfect.

The bridge at Murotsu.

Jens had to do some internet search to find out the height of the bridge and length of the mast... 

No worries...

but it looked a close call.

An other bridge, by now Jens got confident.

Sunset near Iwakuni on day 2.

Escapade anchored for the second night right in front of the famous tori at Miyajima.

Too bad the light was not opt for a good picture.

 

sy ESCAPADE in Kanon Marina, Hiroshima.

A banner/poster at Kanon Marina...

  

...showing a picture taken of the 3 Nordhavns that visited Hiroshima in 2010.

All of them we had seen in Miyakoshima when we cruised down there,

and One of them, mv Sans Souci, we met again in 2015 in Monaco!!

Read more here.

Salute.

         

Amersfoort: Old Time Cruisers Meet-up Summer 2016

 Amersfoort.

A First for both of us.

What a charming city to visit, especially with this awesome summer weather.

Corry the Camper had zoeffed us trouble-free from Maassluis to Amersfoort.

With the help of Google Maps we only got lost a little bit ;-)

..... remember we used to live in Holland in our previous life.

Amerfoort is a walled city. 

Many buildings telling a rich history.

It was a pleasure to go for an early morning stroll in town..thou i was surprised about the late-sleepers. The Saturday Morning market wouldn't start until 9 AM or so. Half the day Gone!! Then again, it created a special mood, with the tower carillon ringing for me all alone.

 But there was a very important reason to visit Amersfoort.

See that mast-less float in the middle...?

Could that be Derek's wear drying in the wind?

Marijke...are you sure we know these people?

Yep, it's mv KUAH.

Ownded by long-time cruising friends

Nick and Jan  &

Gill and Derek.

We first met Jan and Nick from sy YAWARA in 1995 in Fukuoka.

(...but we had seen them "already" in '89).

Derek and Gill...we had met in Panama,1985, 

when they sailed around on sy MAKORI.

...we did the Panama Canal Thing together...

Later we were marina neighbours in Auckland, NZ 

when they owned sy GINSENG.

It took less than 1 minute and we were back in 

Pacific Cruising Mood.

Derek trying to take his fist selfie or so...

Here we are All HappyTogether.

Miles away from palm trees, coral beaches and high seas. 

But loaded with warm cruising-friends-feelings.

That was amazing to catch-up with you guys.

Thanx a Zillion!

Have to owe this to true-bond-cruisers-spirit 

with a bit of help from Facebook for the contact ease.

Hope to join you for a Lowland River Cruise one day soon!

Salute.