Settling in to our new Jachthaven. Looking around. A new name for the dinghy.

Oh, how good it was to wake up onboard Pirramimma and know we were in our new jachthaven! The first morning started off quite cool and grey but the clouds began to break up around 0830 hours, allowing the sun to shine and warm the aft deck enough for us to sit outside with our cups of coffee. 

Our view to 'our'  little town on our first morning at the new jachthaven.  Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

And this was the view I woke up to on the next morning. Taken at 0728 hours, whilst somewhat perilously hanging off the ladder down to the bathing platform, wearing PJs and balancing both the iPad and me as best I could without falling OB... pretty idyllic, isn't it.

Looking in the other direction, down channel towards Lemmer in the far, unseen distance.  Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

We spent that first day pottering around the boat, doing a few minor chores plus a sortie into town for fresh provisions before relaxing onboard and taking things easy. We were entranced by the view, entranced by the peace and quiet, entranced by the friendliness of the folk around us. Even Pirramimma looked happy to be here.  We caught up with emails, news and social media. Sitting outside on one of the benches here makes for a pretty good 'office'. 

Late afternoon sunshine for the Skipper as he catches up on the news and emails.  Photo credit:  Veronica Hayes

 

That's better! Sunshine on our girl but that cold, northern wind is still blowing.  Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

Despite the sunshine, the wind was still pretty strong and consequently the temperatures were pretty low.  Any thoughts of barbecuing and enjoying our evening meals outside were quickly put onto the back burner. 

Wind forecasts had taken a turn for the worse too. So over the next few days, we turned our attention to a multitude of chores that needed doing, and that so far, we'd managed to ignore.  Towards the end of our time in our marina in Lemmer last year, the starboard side teak decks were beginning to look a little green as they received the least amount of sunshine due to our position relative to the sun. And now when I looked closely at the port side and forward decks, I realised I could no longer put off the day of cleaning. Or days as they turned out to be. Everything seemed to be dirty again. The windows were filthy, the cream cabin tops had grey/black streaks from the rain and weather, the stainless steel railings and fittings were dull from the winter storage and the blue hull was coated with muck from both the journey here and various 'gifts' from birds flying overhead. There was a list of engine maintenance chores for the skipper to complete. And on my list for this trip was sanding down and re-varnishing the companion way door into the saloon from the aft deck. Both sides need work but the external varnish was my prime concern at this time. It was heavily worn in some places and I don't think had ever received any care or maintenance in the past.

It wasn't all work - there was plenty of time to enjoy the view, to chat to other folk at the jachthaven, to drink coffee and to enjoy the view a little more. We had some spectacular sunsets, even more spectacular storms pass by and over, a lot of rain and on a couple of mornings, some pretty heavy ice on deck.  Skipper tied a whole bunch of signal flags together in order to dress Pirramimma overall for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth's 90th Birthday, and we re-used them a couple of days later for Koningsdag which is King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands' birthday.  

I can't imagine ever tiring of this view from our aft deck. New, green reeds were growing up through the old by the time we left for home again. But I love this soft, golden colour of the old reeds even more than the fresh green.

Our view from the aft deck looking to the right. Nothing's as close as this as I'm using the long distance camera lens.

And the 'middle' view, as it were. Again using the long distance lens.

Finally, to the 'left' and again with long distance lens. All photo credits: Veronica Hayes

Pirramimma dressed overall to celebrate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth's birthday.  Photo credit: Richard Hayes.

The first spectacular sunset we enjoyed in our new jachthaven. Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

Early mornings also provide some special images to treasure.  I took this pic from the open side porthole of our aft cabin at 0645 hours. Again, using the long distance lens on my camera. 

Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

Some mornings were bitterly cold. On sunny mornings before breakfast, I usually dry off the cream topsides, windows, railings and as much of the hull as I can reach. It's a job I love to do. But this time I had to retreat when I slipped on the icy teak decks. Brrrrrr! Ah well; some other day.

The ice on the cabin top is plain to see but the ice on the teak just looked like normal wet decking. Zing! went the Crew!!

One of the tasks we'd planned before we'd left home was to re-name the dinghy.  We both wanted to 'somehow' have our beloved little dog join us on all our future journeys with Pirramimma. So we decided to re-name the dinghy in her honour.  But we also knew we'd have a tough time emotionally, if we called the dinghy 'Minnie'.  She was always Minnie, we called her by that name, she knew that was her name; others knew her by that name. But when we talked about her between ourselves, we had always referred to her as "The Minn".  The Minn was always given first consideration when we made plans. So we decided we would give that new name to the dinghy; The Minn.  

The sun was shining on the Thursday after we arrived. The wind had dropped away and it seemed like the perfect day to re-launch the dinghy. We had a very low key and emotional re-naming ceremony.  Crew couldn't speak at all and so the Skipper had to carry out the task.

Skipper removes the old name stickers and prepares new ones. Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

 

New name complete. Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

Re-launch.  Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

May God bless The Minn, keep her and all who travel in her namesake, safe and sound. 

A little later in the week, the Galley Slave experimented with making fresh cheese in the microwave. It was deemed a success and we enjoyed it for lunch in various guises over the following days. 

From fresh, organic/bio milk to luscious fresh cheese for lunch! Photo credit Veronica Hayes.

Sadly, the weather decided to take a turn for the worse. We retreated to carrying out some of the 'indoor' chores which included engine maintenance for the Skipper and sanding that wretched companion way door for the Crew. 

Skipper changes the oil filters in the Perkins engine. Photo credit Veronica Hayes

Looking at the image above, you may well ask what all those empty plastic bottles in the background are for... containers that will be needed when Skipper comes to replace the engine coolant.  Perkins state this should be done on a mimimum 2 yearly basis if using other than their own branded coolant or 3 years if using their own brand. I think most folk don't ever bother to change engine coolant.  And it's likely they'll get away it with it too.  But it's worth reading what happens to coolant and the various 'preventative' additives it contains over the passing years....

Crew, meantime, was on the aft deck sanding the door down. The security lock/handle on the door is a wonderful thing but too complicated for this little black duck to remove, so it was masked up to prevent any scratches whilst sanding took place.  More sanding needed first.

Beautiful wood makes sanding a pleasure.  Photo credit: Veronica Hayes

In the end, the handle was too complicated for anyone to remove so it stayed in place and was freshly masked for each and every application of varnish and in-between sanding.  A little something to look forward to when it comes time to sand and varnish the internal aspect of the door! Hopefully, the door will look almost as lovely as the wooden hatch handle above it, which was one of last year's little projects. 

Good friends called to visit soon after these tasks were completed, so we gladly put the working day aside to chat to them over cups of coffee and tea. As always, it was good to catch up and hear their news and plans for the coming cruising season.  

Meanwhile, we too were trying to make plans to get some cruising in for this trip. So far the weather had been too windy, stormy or just plain awful for most of the time.  We were also having further issues with a coolant leak from the Webasto heating system. We'd had the unit fully serviced, plus two separate repairs to this same wretched leak whilst the boat had been laid up over the winter.  It seemed that despite this, nothing had really been solved, or fixed.  We decided to take the boat back to source, the De Boarnstream boatyard, at the first opportunity.  Weather forecasts for mid to late in the coming week were looking fairly good. Navigator began her planning.  

Vxx