We began the year in Falmouth, UK and will end it in Amsterdam, NL. The cities are only 399 miles apart, yet we travelled 4,403 miles between them and have now covered 70,123 miles in Dirona. This year we also crossed the Arctic Circle and reached our farthest point north yet in Dirona, to 69°39’N…
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Downtown Dubai
Dubai is a city of superlatives—the biggest this, the tallest that—and of explosive growth. When James visited over a decade ago, new skyscrapers were springing up everywhere. And the same was true when we visited in late November as part of a trip to the United Arab Emirates to watch the final Formula 1 race…
METS 2018
METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show), held annually in Amsterdam, is the largest trade exhibition of marine equipment, materials and systems in the world. This was our first time attending and we were amazed at the scale, with over 1,500 exhibitors from across the globe. Over two busy days we didn’t come close to seeing it…
First Two Weeks in Amsterdam
During our first two weeks in Amsterdam, we did what most newcomers to the city do: we waxed the boat :). Waxing the boat is one of the few jobs we typically hire out, but we want to get rid of that brown “Kiel Canal moustache” on the bow right away. Arranging for someone else…
Steering Pump Shipment
In May of this year, while cruising Arctic Norway, we ordered two new Accu-Steer HPU 200-24 steering pumps from Emerald Harbour Marine in Seattle after our Accu-Steer HPU212 steering pump developed serious bearing noise. This actually was our secondary pump that we’d switched to when the primary started leaking. Both pumps were still fully-operational, but…
Amsterdam Arrival
Way back in March of this year, while still in London, we booked a berth for the winter at City Marina Amsterdam starting November 1st. We’d had an incredible summer cruising Norway, but were now looking forward to spending some time exploring the Netherlands capital. We arrived into Amsterdam on November 1st after a 26-mile…
TV Lift Problems
We have an Inca TV Lift on Dirona and we’re generally very happy with it. The lift is powerful, so it doesn’t get stuck when friction on the slide surfaces increases over time, as it invariably does. It’s built from heavy parts, so it keeps working even in the high vibration environment of a boat….
Edam in Edam
Cheese has been a major economy in Edam since the town’s cheese market began in the 16th century—at peak times 250,000 rounds of cheese were sold annually. An enjoyable one-hour bicycle ride brought us from Hoorn to Edam, where we toured the scenic town and sampled the product it’s famous for. Below are trip highlights…
Black Water Level Sensor Take Four
Reliable black water levels make the boat easier to operate and lower costs by reducing the number of pump-outs required. We have sufficient black water tankage to go for two weeks in normal use and, with some care, we can go much more than a month between pump outs. However, when using inaccurate level sensors,…
Hoorn
Hoorn was the birthplace of Dutch explorer Willem Schoutens, who in 1616 named South America’s Cape Horn after his home town. Also born in Hoorn was Jan Pieterszoon Coen, an officer of the Dutch East India Company and a two-time Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Not surprisingly, Hoorn was a major Dutch East India…
