20240929

DCA Meeting on Lauwersmeer 28-29 Sept

Attendees:

• Jan with Chester Yawl 'Nessie' on Saturday
• Onno and Anneke with Macwester 27 'Zeeroos' on Saturday
• Hubert and Klarie with norwegian pram 'Hatseflats' on Sunday
• Vincent with Ilur 'Aries' on Sunday
• Albert and Rene with Post Boat 'Sassy Lassie' on Sunday

Friday 27 September

Friday was miserable with rain and gale warnings. Hurricane 'Helene' was tearing chunks out of Florida and heavy rains were drowning parts of Central Europe. Compared to the real disasters elsewhere, the DCA meeting on the Lauwersmeer was but of minor importance. The predictions for Saturday were bad so we assembled at De Lantaarn in Dokkum to consider our options.
Joost had decided to stay home to recover from the flu. But Jan, Marten-Jan, Hubert and Klarie and Rene and Monique met at the cafe and were joined by holiday makers Koos and Bert.
Sailing on Saturday looked very improbable but Sunday was looking good. We enjoyed some drinks and good food (they do a killer chicken satay) so we left in good spirits.

Saturday 28 September

The prediction was for NW5 gusting to 6. Nevertheless Klarie and I towed Hatseflats to Jachthaven Lauwersmeer and paid for the use of the slip and a box in the marina. It was raining hard. We left Hatseflats under cover and went to the restaurant 'Raadsel van de Wadden' overlooking the Lauwersmeer. Klarie made out the tiny sail of Jan's Chester Yawl in the distance. As we arrived at Omaho beach I helped Jan putting his boat on the beach. Despite his sail having been rolled up to the size of a hand-kerchief the gusts had been too much to handle. Jan already had other plans for the Sunday so he decided to return home.
Since I wanted to buy some new racing burgees we drove to the chandlery in Lauwersoog and decided to have a coffee at the Booze Wijf. It was nice enough in the dry spells but in the rain squalls you could hardly see more than 100m. No sailing today!

Sunday 29 September

A sunny day, dry with a gentle SW3. Vincent and I agreed to meet on the water near Oostmahorn around 1030 hours. Albert and Rene were on their way from Lauwersgat and would join around 1100 hours with 'Sassy Lassie'.
Klarie and I launched Hatseflats in good time, left the marina and reached Oostmahorn around 1000 hours. Klarie spotted Vincent in the distance sailing towards us. The southerly wind was perfect for a leisurely beam-reach east to the Booze Wijf some 6 miles away. However Albert and Rene were still far away, so we decided to add a counter-clockwise loop round the Schoenerbult island and wait for them at a little landing place at its north-east corner.
We landed at the lunch spot (known as 'Mai Tai' to Raid Extreme sailors) and sat in the grass with coffee and sandwiches. It was nice enough in the sun but we were glad with our sailing trousers. After lunch we hoisted sail again and met Albert and Rene sailing towards us. We continued with our little fleet of three boats to the Booze Wijf for cappucinos and beer.
Anneke had seen us arriving and joined us on the terrace. After the drinks we admired the Macwester 27 'Zeeroos' that Anneke and Onno had bought to cruise on the nearby Wadden Sea.
Soon it was time to go before it was getting chilly. Albert and Rene were hauling 'Sassy Lassie' out of the water for winter storage, Anneke was tidying up 'Zeeroos' and taking the bus home. Vincent on 'Aries' and Klarie and I on 'Hatseflats' headed back towards Oostmahorn. The wind was dropping but it was still nice in the afternoon sun. Probably our last sail of a rather short season but not bad!