20251019

DCA Meeting Lauwersmeer 18-19 October

Attendees:

• Hubert and Joost with Norwegian Pram 'Hatseflats'
• Albert and Rene with Post Boat 'Sassy Lassie'
• Koos (sans boat)
• Marcel with Acorn Skiff
• Henk and Heike with Arctic Tern 'Magnes'
• Nomdo with Zeeg 480 'Grote Optimist'

Saturday 18 October

Blue skies and a SE3 promised some fine sailing on Saturday. Koos was a bit under the weather and stayed at home. Hubert and Joost arrived around 0930 at Jachthaven Lauwersmeer and met up with early birds Henk and Heike who had sailed over from an island on the Schoenerbult where they had camped on board Magnes. Locals Albert and Rene were on their way from Lauwersgat near Lauwersoog. Marcel launched his beautifully built Acorn Skiff from Omaho beach while Nomdo launched his alloy dinghy from the public trailer slip at nearby Esonstad.

It was quite chilly, We agreed to sail to the Booze Wijf for a coffee break and then sail back to the Schoenerbult island to eat our packed lunches. It was glorious sailing in the sunshine without having to reef. Hatseflats was quick with Joost at the helm. New DCA member Marcel enjoyed the best wind of the season on his Acorn Skiff. It was also the first DCA event for Henk and Heike and Nomdo.

After the coffee break at the Booze Wijf we sailed back to the Schoenerbult. On the upwind leg Joost showed how to sail lower and faster with the lug rig, which was an eye opener for Hubert. Albert and Rene trailed the fleet for some time and returned to Lauwersgat. The other boats assembled at the Schoenerbult for a late lunch. After lunch we made it back to Oostmahorn. Marcel went to have dinner in nearby Kollum while the rest went to Hubert and Klarie for drinks. We walked over to 'de Lantaarn' in Dokkum (famous for their killer 'kipsate') where we met Bert and Koos (sans boat). As a veteran of all the DCA meetings in the Netherlands, Koos did not want to miss out. We had a great dinner.

Sunday 19 October

It was cloudy and chilly but it would be a sin not to make the most of the SE4. Unfortunately, Marcel had caught a cold or the flue and went home to recover. Albert and Rene decided to sail around on the 'Schoolplein' before putting Sassy Lassie into winter storage. Hubert, Joost and Nomdo decided to sail to Zoutkamp. Despite our two reefs it was a quick upwind ride across the Lauwersmeer on Hatseflats. With Joost at the helm and Hubert on the rail Hatseflats kicked up a lot of spray in the waves. Henk and Heike sailed with us for a while and returned to Esonstad. Nomdo left us a little later to look up his friends Onno and Anneke sailing on their yacht 'Zeeroos'. Hatseflats now remained the only boat sailing up the channel to Zoutkamp.

Hubert short-tacked along the channel trying to sail low and fast with the lug rig. For older racing sailors it is counter-intuitive to sail low and fast. If you are used to sail with the boom on the centerline, it feels strange if you leave the boom at the gunwale. Pointing towards a fixed object like a buoy or radio mast looks efficient even if we are slipping sideways as we try to pinch to windward. Throwing the old habits overboard took a lot of confidence but after a while Hubert started to get the hang of it.

After three hours beating to windward, Hubert and Joost left Hatseflats in the marina at Hunzegat and walked to restaurant ZK86 overlooking the Reitdiep. After a nice hot lunch they hoisted sail on Hatseflats and spent the next 90 minutes blasting back to Esonstad. It was now quite cold but it had been a very nice trip to end the sailing season.