Back in the water. First cruise. 20th October - 25th October 2014.

We were still in a 'holding pattern' chasing one bit of paper but we also had a boat waiting for us. A large and quite expensive boat sitting on a cradle, out of the water at Elburg Jachtcenter.  So we arranged with jachtcenter to put her back in the water by 17th October, and we would head over there for some cruising.  We booked a cabin on the overnight ferry to Hoek van Holland and arrived early on Monday 20th October. Raining, but we unloaded off the ferry quickly and had an efficient, speedy journey through Dutch customs as well. 

A detour via IKEA in Amersfoot for breakfast (good, and good value) plus a whizz around the store for more bits of kit to purchase.  Duvets, covers, pillows etc, etc before heading to Nunspeet for food and drink shopping. 

I couldn't see Pirramimma in the water when we arrived, so I got out of the car to walk around the yard to find her. I stood staring in disbelief to find her still on a cradle, still out of the water. Told the guys at the yard that we weren't going to hang around, that we were off to Kampen and the boat was to be back in the water by the time we returned in a couple of hours.  And happily, it was.

Loaded our kit onboard, packed it all away - which took some time. We decided on a snack type meal onboard, with a cold bottle of Prosecco to wash it down, and ate our meal on the aft deck, watching the sun go down. What a delight it was to be onboard our own boat at last. We savoured every moment until finally, the cold drove us below deck.

View from our aft deck.

As we should have known, it took us far more time/days than expected to sort out all the kit onboard to how we wanted it, to decide on what other bits and pieces we needed and where to source those bits and pieces. Things such as additional lines and fenders, cleaning kit, galley kit and a myriad of other bits and pieces which suddenly seemed so essential. 

Meantime, it appears we have a coolant leak from the engine. Richard investigates. After lunch, I head over to Elburg Yachting to have a chat about paperwork whilst Richard returns to the engine room.  I am relieved beyond words to find the paperwork issue is no longer an 'issue' and will be available soon. Back in the engine room, Richard finds a couple of loose nuts n bolts and tightens them.  End of engine coolant leak.

Celebrations onboard  with a delicious meal of cardamom chicken served with basmati rice, Asian spicy coleslaw and homemade chutneys. 

The next day, Richard decides we should take a mini cruise for a few hours to run the engine, check everything else is running smoothly and to make sure there is no further coolant leak.  Engine on at 1230 and we slowly make our way out of the harbour. The water was like glass. I take the helm and turn south, under the Elburg bridge and we head to the fuel berth just south of the bridge.  Then we spin around and head north again where we pull into a nature mooring, 'Kleine Zwaan' and enjoy lunch on deck.

Kleine Zwaan, Drontermeer.

Back again in our berth at Elburg, we enjoy a supper of sautéed potatoes, onions, tomatoes and herbs cooked in the pressure cooker, served with pan fried, prime fillets of salmon.  Plus a bottle of Champagne to celebrate our very first cruise on Pirramimma.  We are absolutely delighted with Pirramimma and how she handled, albeit on a very short cruise.  And we know we still have a lot to learn about her.   

Evening view down to Elburg town haven taken from our side deck.

We had hoped to be able to keep Pirramimma in the little haven at Elburg Jachtcenter for summer 2015 but sadly discover the haven is already booked out. Our friend at Elburg Yachting kindly suggests a couple of places to look and inquire at.  We consider those options and choose to head to Lemmer in Friesland to see what we can get there.  We ask at several havens but only one has space for us. We decide to take it and will move Pirramimma there in early Spring 2015.  But that, as they say, is another story for another blog post.

Vxx