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Today there was a northeasterly force 5. I had cycled to Oostmahorn to meet up with sailmaker Frank van Zoest (http://oarandsail.nl) and sail with Hatseflats. Since Frank had made the sail I wanted to know what he thought about the rig and the boat.

I met Frank in the marina. We strolled down the dock to Hatseflats we ran into Marten Jan and Everdine as they prepared their Chebacco 'Alskar' for an afternoon sail.
Marten Jan (https://oarsensail.nl) is Franks new partner in crime for the square sails business. Together they have built quadrilateral sails for 40 years for sails and oars boats and traditional Dutch boats.

After coffee at the Raadsel van de Wadden we got under way with Hatseflats. Marten Jan and Everdine were already out sailing.
Once we left the protection of the harbour it became a wet and blustery ride. We had plenty of speed with two reefs. At the helm, Frank liked the responsiveness of Hatseflats. We sailed upwind for a while. Every once in a while we crashed into a wave, but everything was under control. Frank was quite pleased with the upwind speed. Once we got to the Hoek van de Bant we bore away to a very broad reach. Frank asked me to sit on the floorboards to make the boat more stable. As a dinghy sailor I am used to sit on top of the boat instead of inside. It worked well and soon we passed the harbour of Oostmahorn where we found Marten and Everdine with their Chebacco enjoying the stiff breeze. We headed up for another beat towards the Hoek van de Bant.

A friend of Frank took photos of Hatseflats and Alskar while heading north. I like the photos as they show how Hatseflats was sailing happily and in full control in the blustery conditions. After the sail, Frank and I had another drink and then it was time for my 1-hour cycling trip back to Dokkum.