After flying into Amsterdam in Holland, Andrew and I have been living for a week on Andrew's racing yacht, Intention*, which is berthed in Drimmelen harbour.

Drimmelen is an extremely picturesque village alongside a large river estuary, that leads out into the North Sea and the English Channel, which we estimate will take a full day's sail to reach.

We have spent the week since we arrived equipping the boat and having the engine, rigging and sails checked.  I am pleased to report all have passed with flying colours.

Below: The Intention is the boat in the foreground.

When you are sailing in busy shipping lanes and the Atlantic Ocean, safety is of paramount importance.  We have been given a list of safety equipment to purchase by the Yacht Master, Tony, who will be joining us on the trip as far as Gibraltar.

Our stay in Drimmelen has been very enjoyable.  A first impression of the Dutch countryside would be of very flat featureless landscape, but the way in which the Dutch maintain their farms and houses turns it into a landscape which is very pleasing on the eye.

We have found the Dutch people to be extremely generous with their advice and hospitality and have met Hans, a Dutch yachtsman, who has sailed to the Channel islands, where he said he found Elvis singing in a bar alive and well.

[Editor: Thanks for that world exclusive Barry.  Last time I heard, he was running a mini-cab business in south Wales.]

The cleanliness and neat appearance of the surrounding villages has made us keen to explore the surrounding countryside, despite the very cold conditions here, compared with sunny Kalkan.

The local villages have street markets that are full of meat, fish and vegetables of the highest quality, and we have been sampling such delights as pickled herring and kibbling and chips.

The Yacht Master arrives on the 14th of May.  He will check the boat and complete a safety check, and hopefully we have done a good job, and should be underway at first light on the 15th of May, on the first leg of our journey.

We plan to sail down the estuary, out into the North Sea and then across the Channel to the port of Ramsgate, where we hope to get cod and chips with a pint of warm English beer.

We will be sailing the boat for the first time in open sea. By doing this short hop over the channel to Ramsgate, we can ensure we have a safe harbour in which to repair any minor faults we find with the boat, before travelling on down the south coast of England, and into the Bay of Biscay, for what we hope will be about a four day crossing to Corunna, in Spain.

You can use Google Earth to follow our journey.  We will give you place names, and our impressions of what we have seen and experienced, in our various reports along the way.

Regards Barry & Andrew

[Editor: Bon voyage guys.  All at Kalkan Turkish Local News wish you a safe journey.]

* N.B. In our preview article, we referred to the boat as the Contessa 33.  This is the type of boat, rather than the name of the boat.