Well sorry everyone not many pictures in Amsterdam, most of the girls have a “No Photo” sticker in the window and we just wandered around the shops and bars etc. Steve, Di and Hollie did lots of cultural things like the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank house. It was really warm almost 20 in the cockpit, but had a cold northerly wind that meant you needed a jacket to walk out in, but once in town again, it was very warm, so we had to sit and drink beer and watch people go by – some very strange sights. One afternoon we all met for afternoon tea at the Pulitzer Hotel, which is where Di usually stays when she is working here.

Six Haven marina is a little tired although the facilities aren’t bad, but I think in summer as it is so small it would be hard to find a place to berth. To get into the city you just cross two locks, walk 400 metres (they don’t have yards here) and ride the FREE ferry to Central Station

Our final evening we had some rain but Suzanne and I went for a last trip into the Red Light area and as we got back the lifting bridge into the Marina almost killed us – as we stepped of the end a guy with a moped rode onto it and it flew up just missing our backs by half a pace and throwing him down with his moped on the other side. From the groans he made he was in a lot of pain, but we couldn’t get back to help him, but some Dutch people came out to look after him.

We rocked up on Kaikoura and Suzanne had a brandy before we knocked off for the day