A visit to Terschelling

I left Harlingen rather early in the morning to get most of the tide with me. Alas, the wind was not, that one was right in my face and reefing-worthy. There wasn't much space at first and some big traffic (ferries, barges, etc) so I had to motor for a good bit until there was an option to start going close-hauled. It was a bit strange to feel like not moving fast (because my engine against the wind-induced waves wasn't doing much) but still moving quite fast when looking at the ground… I noticed a few issues with the sounder and the auto-helm. It was coming from the battery that didn't hold the charge properly any more…

Once arrived in Terschelling, I met with a friend from school. We had a nice time, but I got a sunstroke from the 2 hours we spent talking at a café. I did not notice directly though, and I went to get a new battery and had some problems to install it. The battery cable had been cut to the centimetre for the old battery, which obviously wasn't the same side as the new one… I had to find some plywood to raise the battery and gain those precious centimetres back. After some toiling, it finally worked!

I was getting ready to leave in the morning but, overnight, the sunstroke really started to work its number on me, and I had a blinding headache when I woke up. Coupled with the strong winds forecasted for the afternoon/night, I decided to stay in Terschelling one more night. I was a bit squeamish to face 5-6bft for my first night sail of the season… Not all bad though, it allowed me to walk a bit on the island in the afternoon once the headache subsided a bit.

The Klipper Isis sailing toward Harlingen.

As I was approaching Terschelling, and as the tide was slowing down, the water got a bit busier. A lot of people started to head towards Harlingen.

The Emmalis

Terschelling is one of the rare places where a piece of natural landscape is left in the Netherlands.

A full full harbour though!