Sailing the Netherlands: The Next Adventure

It's time to introduce the next adventure. We arrived quite late to the north. Just like everyone else who had plans for 2020, ours had to change too. Our plan had been to spend the whole summer sailing from the Netherlands to Denmark to Sweden into the Baltic and beyond. But now there were only a few weeks of summer left and we had to decide what to do with the last of the good weather. Rush onwards to the Baltic or stop and smell the tulips. Considering that our motto is around the world as slowly as possible, I think you know what we chose. It is full summer here now and there's lots to visit and a lot of maritime history. Probably some of the most interesting boats in the world. Netherlands is just fascinating what they do. Especially steel boats. But yeah, all kinds of boats because they've been in this for centuries. So I'm quite excited. The Netherlands is quite literally built for boats. Large sections of the country are actually below sea level so water is never far away. Canals and rivers crisscross the landscape. An entire lake was even made from what was once a continuation of the sea. Bridges open to allow boats to pass and on warm summer days or early fall afternoons it seems like everyone is out sailing just for the joy of it. So we decided to stay for a while and get to know this country. It is, after all, where my ancestors come from but I had never been much outside of Amsterdam before. The city where most of my family still lives. So with COVID still insidiously sweeping over Europe we decided to slow down our travel and get to know the Netherlands. One beautiful old town. One giant harbour. One idyllic sail at a time. The Netherlands has a rich and varied maritime history but the Dutch love for sailing isn't just a memory. It's still very much in the present. One sailor who we met here explained that there's no mandatory sailing license in the Netherlands because there's such a strong culture of just learning to sail as a small child on your parents' little boat and passing the knowledge on from person to person. Sailing is simply part of the national identity. Does that mean we're in trouble? Oh no! So we set out to discover the Netherlands. The country where my heritage is from. Perhaps it'll explain why exactly I became so attached to boats. Perhaps it'll explain why I like small living spaces. Perhaps all that flat wet scenery will drive me mad. But whatever happens, you'll be along for the ride. Welcome to Magic Carpet in the Netherlands. The journey will start in Kampen where we arrived after successfully finishing our voyage north through the continent. From Kampen, we'll head down towards Amsterdam to say hi to my family and see what Amsterdam is like from the water before then exploring some more of the Markermeer and the interesting places it contains. From there, we'll cross the dike to explore the Netherlands' most iconic sailing grounds a huge inland lake that was once part of the sea. The IJsselmeer is always covered with sails no matter the weather and even though it's a lake, it can still get pretty choppy. But the beauty of its towns make you instantly forget any lingering seasickness. From the IJsselmeer, we switched boats for a day and explored Friesland an inland boater's paradise where a shallow draft is king. And then up to the north to the Wadden Sea where the water finally tastes salty and the tides play all sorts of tricks on the unsuspecting sailor. Along the way, we enjoy some of the best sailing we've had on Magic Carpet. We make new friends we bask in the northern sunlight and of course, we film the whole journey. Welcome to the Netherlands. New episode every Friday. Ready for adventure. Indeed. On to greater discoveries.