There is something in the air today! – On the board at the harbour exit is the wind direction, southwest, and the wind force, 6 Beaufort. All the sailors stay in the marina, the motorboats anyway. But I look at the waves and the swell, see the fishing boats combing the Wadden Sea with huge trawl nets – and decide to sail to the next island. Now is the opportunity! Because if I now sail through the Wadden Sea, which is about three metres above the ground at high tide, it doesn’t throw up any waves in here, but with this wind it does throw up a nice swell (these are ‘waves’ above the wave, but they don’t exist here in the Wadden Sea). This promises to be a new experience, awesome from a watersports point of view.
The preparation is exactly the same as always, except that I don’t have an hour-long trip with the autopilot ahead of me, but only go about 50 km, steer myself, and use the buoyed waterways despite the high water level. An exercise, so to speak, in which I test myself and the boat ‘without risk’.
The harbour exit is already a bit tingly, because leaving the sheltered harbour, where the children are playing, to sail out into the roaring Wadden Sea, wakes me up… But I don’t let myself or the ArgoFram be passively slapped by the water; I immediately step on the gas and steer my wonderful boat directly into the tide. It splashes and rumbles like a joy. At the same time I look out for the buoys, the ‘guard rails’ of navigation here. I compare their position with the data on the plotter – everything is correct: The GPS works reliably, now we can start.
I drive, turn, let myself swing and dart with the ArgoFram from buoy to buoy, past fishing boats (which fill their nets in specially marked zones), also past oncoming sailors, in slalom towards Texel, another Dutch island. In between, I am forced to pay the utmost attention by short showers and passing fog fields, but I am driving without radar. Everything is very clear; the journey (or my perception of it) may look more adventurous than it is.
Arriving at the Waddelhaven near the village of Oudeschild on Texel, I am soaking wet! Showered from top to bottom with spray and rain, and battered by the wind. But the wind doesn’t really bother me or the boat; I ride with helmet and goggles and in my ski gear, wind and wetness hardly ever bother me. Especially not over this short distance. The only thing I’m not wearing today is shoes, at most my Teva. The water just runs past them; it’s still summer here and the air and water are still surprisingly warm.
The harbour here is a professional-looking fishing port. But in fact, there are more converted former fishing boats and a few custom-built boats here to take tourists out on the water and show them the Wadden Sea. Seals can sometimes be spotted, which is very attractive for many onlookers. Next to the harbour, there are some fish processing companies that also operate a kind of takeaway gastronomy. With fresh fish (and the obligatory chips). It’s a welcome change in my diet – I leave the giant portions of mayo sauce that come with it untouched.
Here it’s time to refuel again. Check the boat again. And have lots of conversations. I am still or rather always amazed at the questions and feelings this ArgoFram triggers, mostly in men. They seem to understand me and my motivation very well… So I might be travelling on behalf of some of them – that’s very special.