Amsterdam and Sixhaven Marina

At 3 PM we arrived at Sixhaven Marina, our sea base during our three night stay in Amsterdam (pop. 840.000). Our marina is very nice and clean. All necessary facilities are available close to our floating home. A few minutes way from the marina is the free ferry service for crossing the river Ij.

After a quick shower it was nice to relax on Jennifer's sundeck with a cold beer. Suddenly the view changed for a few minutes; "Brilliance of the Seas" passed by on the river, very close to Sixhaven Marina. From my viewing position she looked really huge, 292 m long and 12 stories high. She can carry 2.500 passengers with a crew of 850. Her cruising speed is 25 knots (46 km/h).

I prefer Jennifer's more modest length of 15 m with a crew and a passenger total of 8-9 souls. Her speed is also more modest, 2.5 knots in heavy head wind and a top speed of 12 knots (seldom!).

Amsterdam in sight

At 12 noon LT today we left the English Channel at Ijmunden (pop. 30.160), a port city located at the mouth of the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam. We had to wait for a few minutes for the canal lock to open. Once the lock had been opened, the lock master gave Lasse permission to enter together with a Dutch river barge. 

After exiting the lock Lasse pointed Jennifer's nose towards Amsterdam's main railway station on the South side of River Ij. Our marina is located just opposite this railway station on the North side of this river. A free ferry service (photo below) is available day and night to connect the city's North and South side.

"No Milk Today"...

...was a hit by British pop group Herman Hermit's in 1966. Today, 53 years later, it is true also onboard Jennifer.

We strongly believe that one of our fellow crew members consume milk like a newborn calf! When we left Cowes 3 days ago we had 10 UK pints (5.68 L) of fresh milk in the refrigerator. Yesterday at lunch time, I noticed that we only had less than half a pint of milk left...Who is our heavy milk user?

Only 3 members add a few drops to their coffee. In addition only Tore, Lasse and I use a limited amount of milk with our morning porridge. 

In order to save a few precious drops of milk for today's breakfast I secretly filled a small ex juice bottle from the big container for use in a game of "hide and seek". By now I now Jennifer's refrigerator like the palm of my hand and this little game helped me to save milk and our Sunday morning mood.

The Great Milk Mystery on the English Channel has yet to be solved!l