Den Helder, North Holland 52:57.771N 004:46.868E
Pelagia
Frans & Sarah Toonen
Thu 11 May 2017 19:00
Thursday 11 May 2017. 21.3nm. 4.8 engine hours. Unexpectedly the bulb fields continued as we approached Den Helder and went through the last lock into the KMJC (royal yacht club) marina within the vast, predominately naval, harbour of Den Helder. The navy have been here for centuries and have Napoleon to thank for building it here on this strategic point. Due to the size of the harbour, the town is some distance away so we decided to spend the afternoon close to the boat at yet another place in Holland Frans has never been, the Navy museum. This impressive complex of buildings, ships and a submarine kept us busy for a few hours and we were delighted to see that one of the few references to the UK was to RAF Leuchars (where Mum was born and Dad worked when they met) where a Dutch squadron was based during WW2 when most of the Dutch navy had escaped to Blighty in advance of the German occupation. The Dutch submarines operated from Dundee, just across the Tay from Leuchars. Our journey through the Dutch canals and rivers from Veere to Den Helder totalled 71 opening bridges and 8 locks, dread to think how many cars we delayed. With only an afternoon at leisure there was no time for further exploration and we were keen to move on to Terschelling tomorrow and see how much the grandbaby has grown since we saw him 6 weeks ago. Windmills.  Tulips and dunes.  |