Another sailor's yacht crosses and comes dangerously close to the "hippopotamus"
Just three weeks on the way, and the designated half-world circumnavigator in Holland has almost met with the first disaster. In Kornwerderzand, there was almost a lot of noise during the locks. Here is an excerpt from the "Hippopotamus" logbook.
"Today we barely escaped a minor disaster. In the Kornwerderzandschleuse - the gate to the IJsselmeer - our neighbor suddenly hits across from the opposite side because he thinks that he can easily hold his ship with his hand in five winds from the front His bow, which is approaching the middle of the ship, quickly convinces him of the opposite, but unfortunately didn’t change his excessive demands. We have to make every effort to keep his bow free of our hull while he thunders and tries again and again with the stern into the lock wall to attach a leash.
After a short time we feel safe. The two of us can hold off the ricochet boat well. A fallacy. Increasingly energetic we suddenly hear loud and clear "Hey Hippopotamus! Your ropes!" Shouts from the yacht in front of us. Damn it! In the excitement we overlooked that the water in the lock is falling so quickly that we urgently need to loosen our lines. Fortunately, Judith can do it quickly, otherwise we would have hung our ship on the quay wall. Meanwhile, I keep the neighbor at a distance, who is still scratching the quay wall with its stern in an uncomfortably audible manner.
We are happy when the lock finally opens and all ships can leave. With all our might we push our neighbor away so that he can drive off. He loosens his makeshift stern line, but for some reason does not accelerate. It only does that when it is already hanging on our side wall again. This time, however, it is correct. At full throttle he shoots past us by a hair's breadth, almost rams the quay wall and then finally leaves the lock. Lucky
Now we are on the IJsselmeer. If we're honest, with conflicting feelings. On the one hand, we're really looking forward to this great inland area. We have planned a week to explore it. Basically a perfect time, at the end of which the fascinating metropolis of Amsterdam is waiting. What more do you want? On the other hand, we have been longing for the great, wide sea for a few days. Deep water, wind and waves, no restrictions and that irresistible smell of salt and algae. Just sail through it for a few days. Even if our fingers itch, we won't let the IJsselmeer take away from us. After that we can still see enough wide seas."
After his trip through the Baltic Sea, which he recorded in the book "Auszeit unter Segeln - Ein Sommer auf der Ostsee" (Delius Klasing), Sönke Röver is now sailing with his wife Judith on the "Hippopotamus", a Gib'Se106, within two Years to New Zealand (we reported in YACHT issue 9/2007). Those interested can find more information and photos about the trip at: www.hippopotamus.de