Last week I came aboard our new Koopmans 45 in Hinderloopen N.L and began preparations for our first expedition from the North Sea to the Mediterranean by way of the canal system.
The beauty of a Koopmans 45, apart from her stunning lines and solid 6mm Aluminium construction is that she has internal ballast and lifting centerboard so with centerboard up we only draw 1.2m, and with the rig down we can squeeze through the canal system. Bernard Moitessier would have been very jealous of our selection of yachts!
On the 27th October 2021 the previous owner Peter (80 years young) who has owned the yacht for the past 27 years joined me for a handover and to prepaid for our journey.
On the 28th October we sailed from Hinderloopen to Lelystad where Emilie and our children Issy (5) and Max (4) joined onboard as Crew.
This morning it was all go and we lowered the rigs to the newly constructed deck supports, then at 1400 we waved goodbye to the friendly club members at WVL yacht club and entered our first lock of the passage before motoring to the start of the canals in Muiden N.L
We arrived in Muiden to find a regatta of traditional fishing boats filling the Harbour. Full of spirits (and some schnapps) we tied up next to an old fishing ship, put the newly installed Wabasto heater on and settled into the evening.
Stay tuned for more adventures
Photo 1. Hewson family on the dock at Lelystad before departure. You can see the crane in the background taking out their second rig of the day
Photo 2. Arrival in Muiden N.L
Photo 3. Traditional Dutch fishing boats
Hey mate. Well done. Exactly the type yacht i been looking to purchase e for the last 12 months. Have a grest trip through the canals. Sounds awsome. Let me kniw if you come across any similar bosts for sale Cheers Davo
Sent from my mobile phone using fat thumbs on a tiny screen. Please excuse my brevity and any errors.