MV Dirona travel digest for Amsterdam, Winter 2018


Show Amsterdam, Winter 2018 travel log map Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.

On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at //mvdirona.com/maps/LocationCurrent.html.


   

11/1/2018: Traffic
Heavy traffic in the shipping channel into Amsterdam as we approach at 7:30am on morning run from Hoorn.
11/1/2018: Typhoon
The barge Typhoon passing us heading north. Since the barges operate only in sheltered, inland waters, they don't need much freeboard.
11/1/2018: Amsterdam View
Our first view of Amsterdam, about ten miles away.
11/1/2018: Overtaking
The water outside the lanes was too shallow, so we tucked just inside. This overtaking barge gave us as much room as was available, but it was still pretty close.
11/1/2018: Rush Hour
Rush-hour traffic heading in and out of a tunnel under the waterway just past 9am.
11/1/2018: Four Rudders
This canal barge has four rudders for more control in close-quarters.
11/1/2018: Schellingwoude Bridge
A sailing canal barge passing through the Schellingwoude Bridge eastbound.
11/1/2018: Green Light
Once the sailing canal barge passed through, we got a green light to proceed through the open Schellingwoude Bridge.
11/1/2018: Oranjesluizen
Entering Oranjesluizen, our final lock on the journey from Denmark to Amsterdam. A large commercial barge is on the left and we'll tuck in behind the pleasure craft on the right.
11/1/2018: Swan
Swan looking for handouts in Oranjesluizen. We're right up against the lock wall on the starboard side and there's not much space to port. We're lucky we fit.
11/1/2018: Locking Through
Locking through westbound, with the lock chamber to the left filling with eastbound vessels.
11/1/2018: IJ River
We're now on the IJ River, Amsterdam's waterfront, where Dirona will be for the next four months. The long buildings in the distance are Amsterdam Station. (IJ is a digraph pronounced roughly 'ay', like the first letter in the English alphabet.)
11/1/2018: Ferries
There are lots and lots of ferries in the IJ River.
11/1/2018: Pedestrian Bridge
The Oranjesluizen was our final lock, but we still have one more bridge to pass under before we're officially in our winter home.
11/1/2018: Tight Moorage
Backing into our berth was challenging. We were inches off a boat to port, were nearly touching the bridge itself, and our bow pulpit completely overlapped the bridge channel pilings with only inches to spare there as well. Here Jennifer is checking the clearance off the second set of bridge pilings, not visible under our pulpit.
11/1/2018: Moored
Moored at City Marina IJDok in Amsterdam for the winter. Our dual shorepower system, that we designed specifically for spending the winter in this marina, is working like a champ.
11/1/2018: City Marina IJDok
Looking across City Marina IJDok from the pedestrian bridge we just passed under. The marina is quite small—we were lucky to get a winter berth in such an awesome location right in downtown Amsterdam.
11/1/2018: Bicycle Storage
This double-layer bicycle storage rack outside Amsterdam Station contained thousands of bikes.
11/1/2018: Unloading
When the passenger ferries unload, you don't want to be in the way. When the gate opens, pedestrians, cyclists and scooters shoot off the ferry like the start of a horse race.
11/1/2018: More Bicycle Storage
Another huge bicycle storage area on the other side of Amsterdam Station.
11/1/2018: Brew Pub
Our first meal in our new temporary home, Amsterdam, at the Brouwerij de Prael microbrewery.
11/1/2018: Canal Boat
One of the dozens of tour boats that ply Amsterdam's canals. Waterways run throughout the city, giving it a real Venice feel.
11/1/2018: Garbage
Garbage dredged up from the canals in this scow intrigued us. A lot of bicycles met their end in the water.
11/1/2018: Basilica of Saint Nicholas
Looking down another Amsterdam canal to the spires of the Basilica of St. Nicholas.
11/1/2018: National Monument
The National Monument, a World War II memorial erected in 1956 in Amsterdam's Dam Square.
11/1/2018: Royal Palace
The 17th century Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam was initially built as a city hall and is one of three palaces at the disposal of the Dutch monarchy.
11/1/2018: Wax
We plan to wax off that brown "Kiel Canal moustache" tomorrow, so are getting our boat wax ready (we're using 3M Marine Cleaner and Wax). Unfortunately the wax had settled out after sitting around for a few years and no amount of shaking would loosen it up. Also, one of the two one-gallon containers had cracked.

We were able to get the wax flowing well again by warming the containers in boiling water. We then transferred it from the one-gallon containers into more manageable and durable squeeze bottles. We use the squeeze bottles to apply the wax and we found if they're filled no more than two-thirds full, vigorous shaking will get the wax flowing again.
11/2/2018: Micro-Tender
James waxing off that brown "Kiel Canal moustache". We used the micro-tender a lot in the South Pacific through Australia, where it was ideal for surf landings or long, shallow beaches without enough water to float the big tender. We haven't seen those conditions for years, so it hasn't been used since Cumberland Island in Georgia in early 2017.

The dock we're on doesn't extend all the way down the hull, so the micro-tender is our best option reach the bow. Waxing the boat is one of the few jobs we typically hire out, but we want to get rid of that brown stain on the bow right away. Arranging for someone else to do it, particularly on short notice, always is a hassle in a new city.
11/2/2018: Wyers
A relaxing meal at Wyers on Nieuwendijk after a long, tiring day of waxing the boat.
11/2/2018: IJ River
Evening view to the Amsterdam waterfront as we return to the boat after dinner. The brightly-lit tower on the left is the A'DAM Tower, a converted former Royal Dutch Shell oil company office building that is one of Amsterdam's newest attractions with bars, nightclubs, a revolving restaurant and a four-person swing that extends out over the edge of the building.
11/3/2018: Sunrise
Beautiful pink sunrise looking over the pedestrian bridge from our berth at IJDok City Marina in downtown Amsterdam.
11/4/2018: Brow
James waxing the brow suspended from a climbing harness bolted to our bimini mounts. Waxing the boat is a big job, and is why we normally hire it out. But the quality of the work is quite variable and it can be difficult to arrange quickly in a new city.

We weren't able to find anyone to wax the boat in Kinsale, Ireland after our Atlantic crossing and ended up waxing the stack ourselves. And the last wax we had done early this year only got about half the boat done and, at that point, had already wound up a £4,000 bill. At that price, we decided to take a run at it ourselves.
11/4/2018: Looking Better
Local Ruud Nederveen sent us a photo he took of us at work waxing. The job is tiring but rewarding—Dirona is looking so much better now.
11/4/2018: Los Pilones
An excellent meal, after another big day of waxing, at Los Pilones mexican restaurant in Amsterdam. We'll be back.
11/5/2018: Washing Machine
We had a moment of concern when the washer went into a fault mode where it just dumped water down the drain rather than fill—both the drain and the fill were open at the same time. We thought of all kinds of mitigations, including using the marina laundry facilities, picking up a replacement part in Seattle since we'd be there soon, or even having a new one shipped sea freight to Amsterdam as we'd be there long enough.

But it appeared to be a control systems bug where if you restart a cycle at just the right moment, or rapidly rotate the mechanical control, the drain valve close isn't triggered and it stays open. After restarting the cycle it appears to be operating correctly now and we suspect it will continue to operate fine. Essentially, it's a design bug rather than a worn mechanical control system part.
11/5/2018: Spitfire
Spitfire out on the boat deck having a look at his new home.
11/5/2018: Power Washer
Our power washer, that we find super-useful for cleaning the boat, stopped working. James found a faulty RCD and it's now back operational.
11/5/2018: New Berth
Today we moved the boat because we were offered a berth that is more sheltered from the weather with a bit better view of town, has less boat traffic in the area, and is a more secure place to tie off to. It's great to see and Dirona looking all clean and shiny again with that brown "Kiel Canal moustache" gone.
11/5/2018: Pallet
The pallet that we shipped to The Netherlands from Seattle this summer just arrived. Intervracht handled the transport efficiently and cost-effectively, including storing the shipment at their warehouse in Rotterdam for several weeks until we arrived in Amsterdam.
11/5/2018: Folding Cart
Amazingly, we were able to fit the entire pallet contents into our folding cart for transport to the boat. That cart has proved invaluable on many occasions, as many of the marinas we've stayed in throughout the world don't supply carts. And it's incredibly strong and durable—it had no trouble carrying the nearly 200lb (90kg) pallet contents all the way down a flight of stairs. (Perhaps the only negative of City Marina is there's no approach from the street that doesn't have stairs).
11/5/2018: Bare Stidd
One of the items in our pallet was replacement upholstery kit for our Stidd helm chair that was worn through to the foam in many places. This is what the chair looks like without upholstery.
11/5/2018: Not As Comfortable
James trying out the bare-metal Stidd chair. Definitely not as comfortable.
11/5/2018: Installing New Upholstery
The old upholstery came off easily and the new went back on quickly. The job was complete in under a half hour.
11/5/2018: Stidd Chair
Our Stidd chair is effectively brand new again. Stidd had the original ulraleather color on record and ordering the replacement upholstery kit was an easy process. With the excellent job Mike Homer did in Southampton of reupholstering the settee, the pilot house is looking pretty spiffy again.
11/5/2018: Craning
The heaviest item in the pallet was the second new Accu-Steer HPU 200-24 steering pump. As we did when the first pump arrived air freight to Trondheim, we craned the 88lb (40kg) box onto the swimstep where we pry-barred the crate open, unbolted the new pump, and together carried it down to the lazarette.
11/5/2018: Accu-Steer HPU 200-24
Undoing the bolts that hold the steering pump to the crate. The primary Accu-Steer HPU 200-24 has run well since we installed it in Trondheim and we're looking forward to having the back-up in place as well.
11/5/2018: Haarlemmerdijk
Looking down beautiful Haarlemmerdijk on our way to dinner. We had a busy day unloading and stowing the pallet contents, but not as tiring a day as waxing.

We're enjoying what we call the "Hawaii lifestyle" in Amsterdam. We both were working full-time when we were living in Honolulu, so we'd work aboard all day and then walk somewhere for a relaxing evening and dinner.
11/5/2018: No Cash
In contrast with Germany, where most restaurants were cash-only, De Pizzabakkers doesn't even accept cash (top right).
11/5/2018: De Pizzabakkers
We had exceptional pizza dinner and a great experience at tiny De Pizzabakkers. The restaurant has only about ten tables and they were full almost the entire time we were there. We'll be back for sure.
11/6/2018: Waxing Stack
Jennifer, secured with a climbing harness, waxing the top of the stack. We spent much of our of our fourth day of waxing doing the stack and portions of the flybridge. We have one more day to complete the entire job, so it's basically a five-day job for us. We figure if we could allocate one day a month, or twelve days a year, to do a section of the boat, we could keep it well-waxed. Or, we could pay someone to do it. We'll see if temptation wins. :)
11/6/2018: Andre Verhoek
Blog reader Andre Verhoek stopped by for a visit and a tour of Dirona today. He and his wife Annemarie live aboard Liberty, a beautiful steel Stentor motoryacht moored near Amsterdam. They have cruised Liberty through Denmark and up the Swedish west coast up to Oslo and have been sending us lots of helpful advice and recommendations as we travelled south from Norway to Amsterdam. It was great to finally meet in person.
11/6/2018: IJ River
Looking east along the IJ River as we walk out in the evening for dinner. Amsterdam sure is beautiful—we're just loving it here.
11/6/2018: De Gouden Reael
We didn't have a particular destination in mind for dinner and were just out walking until something caught our fancy. The warmly-lit De Gouden Reael with canal-view tables was just the ticket. We enjoyed talking with the proprietor over a pre-dinner drink.
11/6/2018: Mmmm ... Chicken
The specialty of De Gouden Reael is rotisserie-roasted chicken. We hardly had to look at the menu to decide what we wanted for dinner.
11/6/2018: Dinner
After our pre-dinner drink on the main level, we had a delicious meal upstairs at De Gouden Reael with a view across the canal to the river beyond. We suspect we'll be back.
11/7/2018: Sunrise
Another great sunrise from our berth at IJDok City Marina in Amsterdam.
11/7/2018: Dutch Customs
Dutch Customs came by today with a few more questions about the boat's VAT status. We suspect our American flag will "capture" a few more Dutch officials before our visit is done.
11/9/2018: De Kledingspecialist
At De Kledingspecialist to drop off a dress for alteration.
11/9/2018: Like a Local
Jennifer shopping by bicycle like a local. Well, not exactly. Hardly anyone wears a bicycle helmet here and panniers such as our yellow Ortliebs are pretty rare too. And our bicycles definitely aren't the sturdy Dutch standard. But other than that, just like a local. :)
11/9/2018: Deluge
James made a two-day work trip to Dublin and a major storm delayed his return flight. Rain fell so hard at Dublin airport that it was pouring inside some parts of the terminal.
11/10/2018: Multilingual
Spitfire can be a picky eater, so we left London with enough cat food to get us to Amsterdam to avoid the hassle of having to test and purchase food for him in Norway. Now that we're in Amsterdam, we have more time to try out various foods to see what he likes. This one is translated into an impressive twenty-five languages.
11/10/2018: Canal Boats
Amsterdam has more canals than Venice. We don't know if it has more canal boats, but there sure are a lot out there based on the AIS targets.
11/11/2018: Grey Water Sensor
The gray water tank sensor was clogged with hair, causing rapid cycling at the control panel the past few days.
11/11/2018: Bickers aan de Werf
The weather has generally been clear and sunny most of time we've been in Amsterdam so far. But that storm James encountered in Dublin seemed to arrive here yesterday. We managed to time our 15-minute walk to and from Bickers aan de Werf between several torrential rain storms. The restaurant is situated canal-side with an outdoor patio that must be wonderful in dry weather.
11/11/2018: Peri Peri Shrimp
A delicious Peri Peri shrimp appetizer before dinner at Bickers aan de Werf.
11/11/2018: St. Martin's Day
As we walked to dinner, the street scene reminded us of Halloween. Young children, carrying what looked like goody bags, were out with their parents and stopping in at houses and businesses along the way. November 11th is St. Martin's Day, in honour of St. Martin of Tours, a fourth-century French bishop. St. Martin's Day is celebrated in differing ways throughout Europe—in the Netherlands, children walk door-to-door and are rewarded with candy for singing songs. Several groups earned candy at Bickers aan de Werf while we were there.
11/12/2018: Garbage
Several times we've seen people deposit garbage into a mailbox-sized container mounted in the sidewalk and wondered how the system worked. Today we learnt how when a truck came by opposite the marina to empty several. In the photo, all that normally is visible from the street is the smaller grey box on top. The driver lifted that box with a crane and out came the much larger silver box below, normally invisible under the street. The whole works was emptied into the truck and replaced street-side. This is a nice design in that, at street level, a garbage can not big enough to serve a single-family swelling can hold an entire apartment building's garbage.
11/12/2018: Fresh from the Stream
After a heavy rain, Spitfire love to get outside for some "fresh from the stream" water. Here he is licking the pilot house hatch dry. He much prefers "wild" water to bowl water.
11/12/2018: Peter and Steve
Peter Hayden (centre), who is building Nordhavn 6837, and marine consultant Steve D'Antonio, were in town for METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show) this week and stopped by for a visit. We last saw Peter and his wife Laurie in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2016 and haven't seen Steve since before we left Seattle in 2012. We had a great time talking boats, travelling and technology, first on Dirona and later over dinner.
11/13/2018: Speculoos
Blog reader Christopher Hylarides recommended we try Speculoos, popular in The Netherlands and Belgium. The spicy spread has a caramelized, gingerbread flavour and is quite tasty.
11/13/2018: Metro
Riding the newly-opened North-South line from Central Station to METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show) at the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre.
11/13/2018: METS
METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show), held annually in Amsterdam, is the largest trade exhibition of marine equipment, materials and systems in the world. This was our first time attending and we were amazed at the scale, with hundreds of exhibitors from across the globe. Over two busy days we didn't come close to seeing it all.
11/13/2018: Propeller
A beautiful, and huge, propeller by Italian manufacturer Sonica at METS.
11/13/2018: Fender
Now that's a strong fender.
11/13/2018: Gangway
Carbon gangways by Exit Carbon. We have an aluminum passerelle that we've used only in Papeete, so it seems a little crazy to replace it, but the lightweight and easily managed carbon alternative is really appealing.
11/13/2018: Yamaha
A nicely-done cutout of a Yamaha 425, V8 5.6L outboard.
11/13/2018: Tinostone
Italian Tinostone had an intriguing product on display at METS made from thin layers of natural stone over an aluminum honeycomb. The result is large sheets of stone that are quite strong and very light.
11/13/2018: DelStar
This DelStar beast of an alternator at Canadian Dixie Electric's METS booth can produce 550A.
11/14/2018: Piening Propeller
Beautiful seven-blade propeller at booth of German company Piening Propeller.
11/14/2018: Phoenix Marine Solutions
We were impressed with the custom stainless steel work done by UK-based Phoenix Marine Solutions. They use computer numerically controlled cutters and do excellent welding work for functional and eye-catching designs.
11/14/2018: Integrel Marine
James speaking with Will Godfrey of Integrel Marine, a Triskel Marine company. Near the center of the picture you can just see Nigel Calder, a well-known marine engineering expert and author of many excellent boating books, who is a Director of Triskel Marine.

Integrel Marine was the overall winner of the prestigious METS DAME Design Award for their super-product interesting where they put a 9kW alternator on the main engine. This is similar to what we have done in Dirona but Integrel is taking on the far more difficult challenge of putting a high-output alternator on a smaller sailboat main engine. They have to work with space constraints and limited power output.

They manage the space constraints by using a single very high output 9kW alternator, but the most interesting part of their work is the control system. When taking this much power from an often fairly small auxiliary sailboat engine, there wouldn't be enough power left to operate the boat. The Integrel Marine control system samples current engine RPM and adjusts alternator load to essentially stay out of the way. They take excess power from the engine when it is available but still leave the operator with full engine output for maneuvering or when needed.
11/14/2018: Bistrot Neuf
A delicious meal at Michelin Bib Gourmand Bistrot Neuf following our day at METS.
11/15/2018: Halloween Room
Spitfire, just visible at the back, checking out the Halloween room at Kat & Ko boarding cattery. This will be his temporary home for a couple of weeks while we're travelling.
11/16/2018: Dubai
A first view of Dubai from our hotel room at 1:30am shortly after we arrived. We'll be spending a few days in Dubai before attending the Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi next week.
11/16/2018: Breakfast
Breakfast on the patio of our room at the Damac Maison Dubai Mall Street looking northeast towards Dubai Creek.
11/16/2018: Construction
Dubai seems perpetually under construction in all directions, with cranes filling the skyline. The building partly showing on the left is being built, with another going up on the right.
11/16/2018: Dubai Mall
We started our tour of Dubai at the Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world by land area when it in 2008 with 12,100,000 sq ft (1,124,000 m sq) of total floor space. (The New Century Global Center in Chengdu, China took that title in 2013 with 18,000,000 sq ft (1,700,000 m sq) total floor space.) Biggest or not, the mall still is vast and near-impossible to capture in a single picture. An estimated 80,000,000 people visit annually, making it the most popular retail destination in the country.
11/16/2018: Downtown Dubai
The Dubai Mall was built as part of the 20 billion USD Downtown Dubai complex that covers an area of 0.77 square miles (2 km sq). This photograph shows early construction in 2004.
11/16/2018: Burj Khalifa
The Downtown Dubai complex also includes the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, with a roof height of 2,717 ft (828 m) and a total height with antenna of 2,722 ft (829.8 m). Here we are at the topmost observation deck 1,821 ft (555 m) up on the 148th floor.
11/16/2018: At The Top
Looking down to Burj Khalifa Lake from the Burj Khalifa outdoor deck called At the Top at 1,821 ft (555 m). This was the highest outdoor observation deck in the world until the 2016 when the Shanghai Tower deck opened at 1,840ft (561 m). The circular structures in the lake near the bottom of the photo are the Dubai Fountain.
11/16/2018: Dubai Mall From Above
The vantage from the Burj Khalifa observation deck gives a better feel for the size of the 12,100,000 sq ft (1,124,000 m sq) Dubai Mall, taking up the bottom left quarter of the photo.
11/16/2018: Dusk
We'd booked a 4pm entry to the Burj Khalifa in order to be at the top when the sun set at 5:30. This is the view at dusk.
11/16/2018: Night
The views across Dubai from the Burj Khalifa is impressive during the day, but spectacular at night as the lights come up. This is looking north towards the financial district.
11/16/2018: Dubai Fountain
The Dubai Fountain, designed by the same company that did the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, is the largest choreographed fountain system in the world. Every half-hour in the evening and a few times during the day, a display set to light and music is performed. We can't hear the music from the Burj Khalifa deck, but have a great overhead view to the display.
11/16/2018: Queues
The Burj Khalifa is an extremely popular destination, with long queues to ride the elevators up and down. We'd purchased an upgraded ticket that allowed us to visit the topmost decks, and also gave us a fast-track through the queues, saving a lot of time.
11/16/2018: Fountain Show
After seeing the fountains from above, we got a ground-level view to the fountain show and could enjoy the accompanying music shortly after exiting the Burj Khalifa. The water jets make the fountain seem to dance like snakes being charmed to the accompanying Arabian music. The group of spectators on the right gives a feel for the size and scale of the fountains.
11/16/2018: Bice Mare
Dinner on the terrace at Bice Mare overlooking Burj Khalifa Lake. The blue lights in the background are a spectacular light show on the Burj Khalifa that played every half hour while we were there. This is the main reason we booked the table—to watch the light show and the Dubai Fountain show. The meal was excellent too.
11/16/2018: Fountains from Bice Mare
We loved the view to the Dubai Fountain from the Bice Mare terrace. The fountains throw an impressive amount of water and can shoot up to 500 ft (152.4 m) in the air.
11/17/2018: Burj Khalifa
A view to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, as we head into the Dubai Mall. The roof height is 2,717 ft (828 m) and the total height with antenna is 2,722 ft (829.8 m).
11/17/2018: Dubai Aquarium
Looking into the 157ft (48m) tunnel through the 2.6M gallon (10M L) tank at the Dubai Aquarium. Located inside the Dubai Mall, the tank is one of the largest suspended aquariums in the world and contains more than 140 different species, including 300 sharks and rays and the world's largest collections of Sand Tiger Sharks.
11/17/2018: Croc
One of two very large crocodiles at the Dubai Underwater Zoo.
11/17/2018: Jellyfish
We love jellyfish and the Dubai Underwater Zoo had some impressive displays.
11/17/2018: Penguins
We also are quite partial to penguins, and enjoyed seeing these Humboldt Penguins at the Dubai Underwater Zoo.
11/17/2018: Fashion Avenue
Earlier this year, the Dubai Mall opened an extension called Fashion Avenue with 150 luxury brand stores. You can spend a lot of money here in a hurry. James picked up the pace and we escaped without mishap.
11/17/2018: Todd English Food Hall
Another Dubai Fountain view, this time in daylight, over a great lunch on the terrace at Todd English Food Hall.
11/17/2018: Desert Safari
We really wanted to see the desert so booked a desert safari with Platinum Heritage. Here we are nearing our destination of the Dubai Desert Conservation Area.
11/17/2018: Ghutra
Our guide Saeed tying a ghutra, a traditional Arab head scarf, for James prior to our tour. The ghutra protects against sun, dust and sandstorms and is commonly worn by men in the UAE.
11/17/2018: Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
The 87 sq mi (225 sq km) Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, established in 2003, is the UAE's first national park.
11/17/2018: Vintage Land Rovers
Our tour would be in a modern, enclosed Land Rover but Platinum Heritage also has a fleet of 1950s-era Series 1 Land Rovers used on some of their other tours.
11/17/2018: Camels
A group of camels walking through the dunes. We'll be taking a ride later in the day.
11/17/2018: Tire Pressure
Lowering the tire pressure in the Land Rovers before we shift from pavement to sand.
11/17/2018: Arabian Oryx
One of several groups of Arabian Oryx we passed while touring the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve.
11/17/2018: Dune
Sharp-edged sand dune formed from the constantly-blowing winds. The desert scenery was fabulous.
11/17/2018: Arabian Gazelle
Arabian Gazelle eyeing us from behind the foliage.
11/17/2018: Sand Gazelle
The elegant curved horns of a male sand gazelle.
11/17/2018: Oryx and Dunes
A herd of Arabian Oryx with dunes extending beyond.
11/17/2018: Lake
A man-made lake within the reserve, built with the hopes of attracting migratory birds.
11/17/2018: Majlis
After driving through the reserve, the vehicles arrived at a desert majlis ("place of sitting") for refreshments and to watch a falconry demonstration.
11/17/2018: Falcon
James stroking a falcon prior to the demonstration. Falcons are the fastest animals in flight and the Bedouin nomadic Arab hunted with them.
11/17/2018: Falconry Demonstration
A falconer explained how the Bedouin trained the falcons for hunting and demonstrated using a quail-feather decoy swung in the air. The demonstration is at 1:22 in the video https://youtu.be/9rP78zYCUEI. After the demonstration, the falcon is rewarded with quail meat.
11/17/2018: Panting
After the demonstration, the falcon can be seen actually panting from the exertion of flying swiftly after the decoy. The small blue capsule on its back is a GPS locater. Should the falcon not return, the falconer can hopefully locate it with a "Find Your Falcon"-type smartphone app.
11/17/2018: Camel Ride
Following the falconry display, we took a short camel ride to a small oasis area where we would have dinner. Jennifer has been wanting to ride a camel since becoming interested in Ancient Egypt as a child.
11/17/2018: Dinner
After our camel ride, we had a an exceptional six-course meal in a private cabana overlooking a small oasis.
11/17/2018: Fire Show
We topped off the evening with an Arabian fire show. The performer, dressed all in black, is nearly invisible as the sparks fly.
11/17/2018: Dubai Desert Safari
We had a fabulous time on the desert safari and really enjoyed the entire experience. This is the video from our trip, showing some of the desert wildlife, Bedouin falcon training techniques, travelling between oases in a 4x4, a camel ride, and native foods with fire-dancing at the end of the evening.
11/18/2018: Metro
Alighting from the Dubai Metro that we took from the Dubai Mall to the Mall of the Emirates. When we arrived at the Dubai Mall station, the train was there so we jumped right on board. We soon noticed everyone giving us sidelong glances and that James was the only adult male in sight. We'd inadvertently boarded a car for women and children only, so quickly changed cars at the next station.
11/18/2018: Ski Dubai
We remember reading the news reports when Ski Dubai opened in 2005. An indoor ski resort in the middle of the desert is so over-the-top that we had to check it out. The 242,187 sq ft (22,500 sq m) facility at the Mall of the Emirates is the world's largest indoor snow park and and features the world's first indoor black diamond run. Pretty bizarre.
11/18/2018: Courtesy Policy
Most Dubai malls post a courtesy policy, not universally followed by foreigners, stipulating that shoulders and and knees be covered in particular. We generally followed this policy when out in public, away from the hotels and resorts.
11/18/2018: Madinet Jumeirah
At Madinet Jumeirah for lunch. The five-star three-resort complex is the largest in the country. The facility is built to resemble an Arabian village and has over 40 restaurants and bars spread across 98 acres (40 hectares), all linked with 3.3 miles (5.4km) of waterways complete with water taxis. Just visible in the background is the iconic sailboat-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel.
11/18/2018: Burj Al Arab
A decadent lunch surf-side at Shimmers in Madinet Jumeirah with an excellent view to the Burj Al Arab. The opulent hotel, fashioned after the sail of a dhow (traditional Eastern Arabian sailing vessel), has been a symbol of modern Dubai since its completion in 1999.
11/18/2018: Rescue
Fair-sized waves were breaking against the beach and the many lifeguards on duty were keeping people in the safer areas. One swimmer strayed into the breakers and called for a lifeguard, who responded instantly. You can just barely see the lifeguard swimming out towing a red float, halfway between shore and the person with their hand up having troubles. Our waiter told us it was the second time that day the same person had to be rescued.
11/18/2018: Abra
Riding a traditional wooden water taxi, called an abra, through the Madinet Jumeirah waterways toward the entrance.
11/18/2018: Souk
Built into the center of Madinet Jumeirah is replica of a souk, a traditional Arab marketplace with wood-framed walkways.
11/18/2018: INTERPOL General Assembly
Security was high in the area due to the INTERPOL General Assembly that kicked off today at the Madinet Jumeirah Conference Centre. Two of the countries we visited while crossing the Pacific, Kiribati and Vanuatu, became INTERPOL country members at the conference.
11/18/2018: Atlantis
Our next stop for the day was the Atlantis The Palm resort to visit the Lost Chambers aquarium. This is looking at the resort's two accommodation wings, linked by The Royal Bridge Suite (available for USD $27,000 a night). The resort is on the tip of Palm Jumeirah, a massive man-made island built in the shape of a palm tree.
11/18/2018: Breakwater
The size of the breakwater along the seaward edge of Palm Jumeirah gives an indication of the sea conditions in rough weather.
11/18/2018: Jellyfish
An excellent jellyfish tank at Lost Chambers aquarium in the Atlantis The Palm resort on Palm Jumeirah.
11/18/2018: Eel
The Lost Chambers aquarium is designed around a theme of the Lost City of Atlantis and is particularly effective for this Honeycomb Moray Eel display.
11/18/2018: Ambassador Lagoon
The highlight of the Lost Chambers aquarium is the 2.9 million-gallon (11 million liter) Ambassador Lagoon, one of the top ten largest aquariums in the world and home to over 65,000 marine animals. The aquarium has multiple viewing windows, some accessible only to hotel guests—we spent ages taking in the display.
11/18/2018: Lemon Mint
Mint Lemonade is a popular and delicious drink in Dubai. We've drunk gallons of it since arriving and purchased a couple of Starbucks-branded bottles at the Atlantis.
11/18/2018: Monorail
Waiting for the monorail that will carry us down the trunk of Palm Jumeirah and back to the mainland.
11/18/2018: Frond
Looking down one of the residence-packed fronds of Palm Jumeirah.
11/18/2018: Tram
Riding the city tram south from Palm Jumeirah to Dubai Marina Mall.
11/18/2018: Marina Mall
Marina Mall is a development south of downtown Dubai built around a man-made marina. The design was inspired by that of Concorde Pacific Place at False Creek in Vancouver, Canada. Almost all of these towers were being built at the same time when James visited here over a decade ago on a recruiting trip. The area now bristles with high-rises, but many more are being built.
11/18/2018: Dubai Eye
Sunset off the 689 ft (210 m) Dubai Eye. When completed, it will of course be the largest Ferris Wheel in the world.
11/18/2018: Rooftop Terrace
One of the things we'd wanted to do, but couldn't quite fit into our itinerary, was to have a drink or a meal on a rooftop terrace in Dubai. But we ended up scoring a great rooftop seat at Soul in the Movenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach hotel as we were walking around Marina Mall looking for a place for dinner.
11/19/2018: Construction
Construction workers on somewhat precarious-looking scaffolding opposite our Dubai hotel balcony. We often get a wave from them while we're having breakfast outside.
11/19/2018: Dubai Frame
The 492 ft (150m) by 344 ft (105m) Dubai Frame, the largest frame in the world, viewed en route to the Dubai Creek area by taxi. It is positioned so that looking south through the frame gives a view to modern Dubai and historic Dubai is visible when looking north.
11/19/2018: Al Fahidi
Traditional wind-tower architecture at Al Fahidi historic district along the south side of Dubai Creek. The wind towers provide natural air-conditioning by pulling air down a central shaft into the room below, cooling it via convection. The Al Fahidi district is a restored heritage area originally formed in the early 1900s to house pearl and textile merchants. It felt a bit touristy, but we enjoyed the architecture and walking through the narrow, winding lanes within.
11/19/2018: Wall of Old Dubai
A restored portion of the Wall of Old Dubai, originally built around 1800 AD, and Al Fahidi Fort. The fort, built in 1799, is the oldest surviving structure in town.
11/19/2018: MAKE Art Cafe
Lunch at MAKE Art Cafe in the Al Fahidi historic district with freshly-made mint lemonade. A beer would have been very nice on this hot day, but Dubai is alcohol-free with exceptions of hotels and a few other private venues.
11/19/2018: Dubai Museum
After lunch we visited the Dubai Museum, housed in and underneath Al Fahidi Fort. We were particularly interested in seeing the multimedia presentation showing Dubai's rise from desert village to world-class city, but it wasn't operating that day. The entry charge was a surprisingly low 6 Dirham (about USD $1.60), cash only.
11/19/2018: Skeleton
The Dubai Museum had a wide range of displays, including several from nearby archaeological digs. This skeleton is from a burial site dating from the 1st millennium BC.
11/19/2018: Bur Dubai Souq
After visiting the museum we walked through historic Bur Dubai Souq, housed under an ornate carved wooden canopy. We enjoyed the market scene, but the vendors were so pushy we couldn't linger long.
11/19/2018: Spices
Colorful spices on display at Bur Dubai Souq.
11/19/2018: Fish Boat
An long disused three-outboard boat on Dubai Creek. The vessel was thick with sand and even the dock it was moored to was peeling apart.
11/19/2018: Dubai Creek
Modern catamaran ferry and wooden abras on busy Dubai Creek, with the Deira district in the background. Abras are the traditional water taxi used to cross the creek.
11/19/2018: Shift Change
Dozens of buses carry construction workers to and from the work site at shift change time near our Dubai hotel. In Dubai there usually many buildings under construction at the same time, and they run 3 massive shifts of construction crew 24 hours a day.
11/19/2018: Downtown Dubai
A last look at the Downtown Dubai skyline as we depart Dubai for Abu Dhabi. The Burj Khalifa is visible at the right of the picture.
11/19/2018: Power Lines
High voltage lines leading from the Jebel Ali Power Plant and Desalination Complex, the largest in the UAE, with a current total capacity of 2,185MW of electricity and 140 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day.
11/19/2018: Sunset
Sunset en route by road from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. The drive is just over an hour, so is cheaper and faster by taxi than by plane.
11/20/2018: Beirut Beer
A refreshing Beirut beer before dinner on the patio at Barouk Lebanese restaurant in the Yas Island Crown Plaza.
11/21/2018: Website Blocked
We were surprised to learn that the Google Voice website was blocked in the UAE.
11/21/2018: Rain
Abhu Dhabi only gets 3 inches (75 mm) of rain a year, so the brief shower this morning was a rare event. This is the view from our room at the Crown Plaza Yas Island, where we're staying for the F1 race. The top of a section of Yas Marina Circuit grandstands are just visible between the two hotels in the distance.
11/21/2018: Grande Mosque
At the magnificent Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque, one of the few regional mosques open to visitors. Sheikh Zayed, the first president of the UAE, built the mosque to encourage communication and tolerance. Completed in 2007, it is the third largest mosque in the world and was built from the Sheikh's private funds at an estimated cost of $545 million USD.
11/21/2018: Etiquette
Mosque etiquette requires men to cover their knees and shoulders and for women to wear long, loose-fitting, ankle-length trousers or skirts and a headscarf.
11/21/2018: Abeyya
If an outfit doesn't pass muster for entry to the mosque, an abeyya is supplied. Jennifer was told she needed to be wearing ankle-covering pants under her skirt and was issued one. The abeyya didn't actually cover any more than Jennifer's original outfit, but was lightweight and not a hassle to wear.
11/21/2018: Courtyard
The mosque was built with over 100,000 tons of white marble and is absolutely spectacular. The courtyard is 180,000 sq ft (17,000 m sq) and likely the largest example of marble mosaic in the world.
11/21/2018: Worshippers
It's hard to get a feel for the scale of the mosque, but this picture of the courtyard full of worshippers gives an idea. The mosque can accommodate 40,000 worshippers.
11/21/2018: Pillars
Over 1,000 pillars, inlaid with precious stones and delicate floral patterns, hold up the mosque roof.
11/21/2018: Prayer Hall
We took an informative guided tour through the Grande Mosque that provided information on the Islam religion and construction details of the mosque. The interior prayer hall can hold 7,000 worshippers and is as spectacular as the building exterior. The carpet, made in Iran, weighs 35 tons and is the largest hand-sewn carpet in the world. It was cut into nine piece and transported in two planes, then re-sewn in place. The gold-inlaid, Swarovski crystal chandelier visible beyond the tour group is another 'largest in the world' and weighs 12 tons.
11/21/2018: Yas Marina Circuit
After visiting the Grand Mosque, we returned to the hotel for lunch and a clothes change, then walked past the Yas Marina Circuit to the Ferrari World theme park on Yas Island. We're super-excited to be here for the race and will be at the track tomorrow.
11/21/2018: Ferrari World
A map of the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island. Our hotel is at the upper left and the Ferrari World theme park is the large three-pronged red building directly right of the track. Ferrari World is the largest space frame structure in the world and the first Ferrari theme park.
11/21/2018: F1
An previous-generation Formula 1 car on display at Ferrari World.
11/21/2018: 488 Spider
A 488 Ferrari Spider. Powered with a 3.9L twin-turbocharged V8, the car can reach 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in 3.0 seconds.
11/21/2018: LaFerrari
La Ferrari reference model on display at Ferrari World, along with a few other models. We had a fun afternoon, but were hoping to learn more about Ferrari and see more cars. Ferrari World really is just a theme park that was named after the car manufacturer.
11/21/2018: Flying Aces
We took several rides at Ferrari World. The first roller coast was Flying Aces, designed to mimic the movement and figures of a bi-plane. It features the world's steepest and fastest cable lift, at 51 degrees and 20mph (30 km/h), and the world's tallest non-inverted loop, climbing 180 ft (52 m). The ride has more than 10 zero-gravity moments, a maximum vertical acceleration of 4.8G and speeds of up to 75mph (120 km/h). The unusual thing about this roller coast is the two outside seats hang beyond the track in open air, mimicking the feeling of flying. James rode one of the front-most outside seats and said it was completely different than any roller coaster he'd ever been on. We enjoyed the ride and were a little wobbly after it.
11/21/2018: Formula Rossa
The Formula Rossa roller coaster at Ferrari World is the fastest in the world and accelerates from 0 to 150 mph (240 km/h) in a blistering 5 seconds using a hydraulic catapult system. All the focus on this ride is on acceleration—the car is rolled slowly out to the launch platform, a few clicks are heard as the catapult hooks up, and less than 5 seconds later you're travelling at 150 mph (240 km/h). It's about as close as you'll get to Formula 1 acceleration without a FIA Super License.
11/22/2018: Security
The local hotels have increased security for the Grand Prix. An X-Ray machine and metal detector were installed in the lobby of our hotel yesterday—anyone entering must first pass through security.
11/22/2018: Driver's Seat
James in the driver's seat of an F1 demonstration car just inside the entrance on the first day of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
11/22/2018: On the Track
On the track for day one of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Thursday is usually the most interesting day as it is less crowded and we generally have more access to the facility and the drivers, teams and cars.
11/22/2018: Pirelli
Pirelli tires color-coded by softness ranging from hardest at the front to softest at the far end.
11/22/2018: McLaren
Beautiful McLarens street cars being prepared for on-track events.
11/22/2018: Tire Balancing
Pirelli personnel balancing tires. At the start of the weekend, all Formula 1 teams bring their wheels to the Pirelli garage to get their allocation of new tires for the weekend.
11/22/2018: Monitors
The teams were just setting up as we walked down pit lane. Here the Mercedes AMG Petronas team is readying their car communications and monitoring station.
11/22/2018: Lenses
Sporting events like these bring out the big lenses.
11/22/2018: Tire Delivery
Tires being delivered after the balancing we watched earlier. Each team's race weekend tire allocation consists of 13 sets of dry-weather tires, 4 sets of intermediate tires and 3 sets of wet tires. Pirelli offers three tire hardness levels at each track that the teams can select from.
11/22/2018: Red Bull 3
The Red Bull team setting up Daniel Ricciardo's ride.
11/22/2018: Mercedes 44
Lewis Hamilton's car number 44 in the Mercedes garage being prepared for practice tomorrow.
11/22/2018: Wheel
The left front wheel hub, break and suspension assembly on Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. Note the carbon fiber brake disk and brake pads, the elaborate ducting to cool the brake assembly, and the single central wheel bolt that allows under-two-second pit stops.
11/22/2018: Ferrari 7
Jennifer, at the right side of the frame, standing back to allow Kimi Raikkonen's crew to bring his Ferrari down the pit lane to scrutineering.
11/22/2018: Scrutineering
James in front of Brendan Hartley's Toro Rosso car number 28, with the crew beyond getting ready for a voluntary scrutineering check prior to practice tomorrow. Behind the Toro Rosso car is Kimi Raikkonen's number 7 Ferarri with Sergio Perez's Force India car number 11 to the left.
11/22/2018: Carbon Fiber
Close-up to Sergio Perez's Force India car number 11. Modern Formula 1 cars are the product of hundreds if not thousands of hours in the wind tunnel. Every year the fins and ducting get more complex.
11/22/2018: Air Gun
The air guns used to remove and replace the wheels in under two seconds.
11/22/2018: Yas Marina
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix track circles around Yas Marina, pictured here with the W Hotel in the background. The hotel actually straddles the track—cars will pass under the bridge connecting the two parts of the building and continue to the right between the hotel and the marina.
11/22/2018: George Russell
Formula 2 champion George Russell, who was the GP3 champion last year, at a driver press event. Russell will be driving for the Williams team in the 2019 Formula 1 season.
11/22/2018: Lewis Hamilton
Five-time and current Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton interviewing with the press.
11/22/2018: Fernando Alonso
Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, talking to the press. He will be retiring after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the 2018 season. We're hopeful he either goes Indy car racing or changes his mind and returns to Formula 1. In the interview, one of the questions he was asked is "Might he return?" And he said if he really missed racing, he might.
11/22/2018: Daniel Ricciardo
Ever-ebullient Daniel Ricciardo track-side. The Australian-native was hugely popular at the Melbourne Grand Prix we attended in 2015.
11/22/2018: Team Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari's end-of-season team photo with former Formula 1 champions Kimi Raikkonen on the left and Sebastian Vettel on the right.
11/22/2018: Helmet Toss
While the Red Bull team was gathering for their end-of-season photo, ever-playful Daniel Ricciardo was tossing his helmet around and lobbed it over to this person arranging the photograph.
11/22/2018: Helmet OK
Unsurprisingly, there eventually was a slip and Daniel Ricciardo's helmet hit the tarmac. Team-mate Max Verstappen, far left, and the rest of the Red Bull team are concerned while Daniel shows his helmet only has minor scratches.
11/22/2018: Team Red Bull
Team Red Bull's end-of-season photo with Daniel Ricciardo on the left and Max Verstappen on the right.
11/22/2018: Pit Stop Practice
Team Sauber practicing pit stops on Thursday evening. It's not often you can be this close to a Formula 1 team practicing pit stops. Here's a video of one of their many practice stops: https://youtu.be/coIFil773X8.
11/22/2018: Pit Lane
All quiet on pit lane at the end of the day.
11/22/2018: Bridge over Track
Yas Marina on the left and the W Hotel on the right, viewed from a bridge over the track as we return back to our hotel after the first day of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

It was a big day for us. We arrived when the track opened and didn't leave until it closed. We spent most of the day in the pit and paddock area close to the cars, enjoying the opportunity to see in detail how these cars are prepared for a race weekend. The rest of the weekend is going to be much more crowded, so we really appreciated our chance to see all the details without the crush of the big crowds.
11/23/2018: Sacha Fenestraz
We stopped off at the GP3 and Formula 2 paddocks on our way to the track for day two at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Here Sacha Fenestraz in car number 15 and the rest of the Renault Sport Academy are being belted in before the first GP3 practice session on Friday.
11/23/2018: Charouz 21
Antonio Fuocco's Charouz Racing Systems Formula 2 car in paddock area about 90 minutes before their first practice session. You can see a Formula 2 car bears a lot of similarity to a Formula 1 car. It's not an accident—many current Formula 1 drivers proved their skills in this series. Formula 2 has a standard car, engine, and tire, so differences in driver skill are not hidden by mechanical technology differences.
11/23/2018: Anthoine Hubert
This year's GP3 champion Anthoine Hubert in car number 2 leads the rest of the ART Grand Prix GP3 team onto the track for practice. The cars are likely travelling at their pit-road-limited speeds, but when they're this close they sure go by fast. Hubert is the final GP3 champion, as the series will be merged with the Formula 3 European Championship in 2019 to form the Formula 3 Championship series.
11/23/2018: Elf Racing Fuel
The Formula 2 and GP3 series both use Elf LMS 102 RON racing fuel.
11/23/2018: Mint Lemonade
Jennifer getting some mint lemonade from the lounge behind our seats. This was the first day the grandstands were open and we were pretty much the first to arrive at our section each day.
11/23/2018: Robotic Camera
While we were in Abu Dhabi we got a chance to meet with the Formula 1 broadcasting team. They are responsible for capturing all telemetry from every car all way way around the track, delivering the appropriate telemetry to each racing team, the timing loops under the racing surface all around the track, and capturing the video from two cameras on every car and the manned video cameras all around the track. The technology employed is impressed and a great example of it is this robotic camera that runs above the track at the start-finish line. This camera gets great race start footage and can show cars entering the pits or even track a car from the entrance of the straight all the way down to the next corner, hundreds of feet down the track.
11/23/2018: Standing Start
One of our favourite aspects of Formula 1, Formula 2 and GP3 is the races are begun from a standing start. As the start lights come on, all cars rev up to their rev limiters and the entire field is just screaming. When the lights go out, they launch, heading towards what is usually the most dangerous part of an open wheel race: the first corner. Too much wheel spin and they'll be passed. Too little wheel spin and they risk stalling and again will be passed.

Here two Formula 2 driver are practicing starts, both with slightly too much wheel spin, which is slightly slower, but perhaps more exciting.
11/23/2018: Vettel
Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari number 5 during the first F1 practice session of the weekend.
11/23/2018: Catch Fence
Between practice sessions we walked around the Yas Marine Circuit a bit. This is a catch fence at the end of the Yas Drag Racing Circuit so cars don't land in Yas Marina.
11/23/2018: Fire Trucks
A number of fire trucks and emergency vehicles were standing by at the circuit.
11/23/2018: Steering Wheel
As we returned to our seats along the pit lane, the Renault team brought out a steering wheel to show a spectator. for spectators to take a photo. This is a backstage view into an aspect of driving complexity that you just don't see when watching the cars from a distance. Through the wheel, the driver has control over break balance, energy recovery settings, hydraulic settings, control for DRS (Drag Reduction System), pit lane speed limit, short-term extra power for overtaking, different engine power/fuel consumption mappings, and even even deliver a drink inside the helmet. And all this while trying to fight off Lewis Hamilton in a high-speed corner.
11/23/2018: F1 Practice
Watching the second F1 practice from the lounge above our seats with a view to the F1 garages. The session runs from 5pm to 6:30pm, and by 6pm it's already getting dark. More spectators arrive when the F1 cars are on the track, but its only Friday, so still not very busy.
11/23/2018: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen's car number 33 on the track for practice. The Dutch driver became the youngest Grand Prix winner when he won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix at age 18 in his debut with Red Bull racing. Max has had an incredible season, where he started the year as an extremely promising driver and is visibly growing into becoming one of the stars of the sport.
11/23/2018: McLaren Racing
Outside the McLaren Racing paddock at the end of the practice session.
11/23/2018: McLaren Racing Paddock
Here we are inside the McLaren Racing Formula 1 paddock area a few minutes before the cars arrive. While inside the paddock area we can't take pictures of the cars once the body work is off, and it will be quickly. The team has extensive changes planned for both cars prior to qualifying for the final race of the year tomorrow.
11/23/2018: Mark Norris
James with Mark Norris, Race Operations Director for McLaren Racing, in front Alonso Fernando's partially-disassembled F1 car. The McLaren team is busying changing engines Friday night for practice and qualifying tomorrow.
11/23/2018: Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Magnussen, driver of Haas car number 20, being interviewed behind their garage.
11/23/2018: Renault
Renault drivers Carlos Sainz, left, and Nico Hulkenberg interview with the press after practice.
11/23/2018: Evening
Looking across Yas Marina under the evening lights to the grandstands above the paddock as we return back to the hotel area.
11/23/2018: Yas Marina
The Yas Marina Formula 1 track actually wraps all the way around Yas Marina, making it a pretty exotic place from which to watch the race. It's Friday night before the big race weekend and the marina is starting to get crowded.
11/23/2018: Amerigos
Dinner on the patio at Amerigos Mexican restaurant in the Park Inn hotel near our Abu Dhabi hotel.
11/24/2018: Telemetry
The telmetry from ART Grand Prix car number 4, viewed in the support paddock Saturday morning before the first GP3 race. The primary race mechanic tool has now become the laptop computer. Here you can see the engine is in race mode and idling at 2916 RPM.
11/24/2018: Engine Cowlings
Engine cowlings removed from the Arden GP3 cars for service access.
11/24/2018: Transporting
It's Saturday morning, about half an hour before the first GP3 race. The teams are focused and each is loading up a multi-trailer train of parts, tires and tools to tow to the main Formula 1 pit area that the GP3 cars will be using during the race.
11/24/2018: McLaren Racing
We had a great opportunity Saturday morning to meet with McLaren Racing Director of Strategy Randeep Singh (left) and Nick Martin, Director of Partnership Development. Here Randeep, James, and Nick are standing in front of Fernando Alonso's paddock.

McLaren Racing is impressively deeply invested in data analytics, machine learning and simulation. Prior to a race, they simulate different strategic situations that might arise and model the best response. During the race, Randeep will be sitting on the left side of the McLaren pit wall and will be communicating in real-time to a team of more than sixty people at McLaren Racing headquarters in Woking, England. Their job is to make the right call within seconds of something big changing in the race, such as Mercedes pitting early.
11/24/2018: GP3 Standing Start
The GP3 cars lined up in starting order prior to the formation lap for the first GP3 race of the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend. One of the most exciting parts of the weekend's Formula 1, Formula 2 and GP3 races is the standing start. After the formation lap, all cars roll up to their respective starting positions and when the last car is in place and the safety car arrives at the back of the grid, the starting lights begin. First one light comes on, then a second later two, and eventually all the lights are on and all cars on the grid are sitting at full RPM with the drivers ready to launch, staring at the row of lights. When the lights go out, they all launch.

If you've never seen a standing start to an automotive race, it's worth checking out this 73-second video: https://youtu.be/OS7vbxsMaNs
11/24/2018: GP3 Race 1
The GP3 cars exiting corner 21 towards the start-finish line about to complete the first lap of the race. It was an exciting event with several lead changes between pole-sitter and title-contender Nikita Mazepin and second place qualifier Leonardo Pulcini.
11/24/2018: GP3 Podium
Leonardo Pulcini (first), David Beckmann (second), and Anthoine Hubert (third) on the podium following the first GP3 race. Hubert lost second place to Beckmann on the final lap, but took the GP3 title with his third place finish.
11/24/2018: Tow Cars
Because the Formula 2 and GP3 cars use a paddock that is quite a long way from the pit area on the front straight, three cars are set out to tow back the first, second and third place cars after the podium celebration.
11/24/2018: Swarm
A swarm of people around Lewis Hamilton's number 44 as the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team readies the car for the upcoming practice session. This is a busy time for the team. This afternooon the three qualifiying sessions will be held to set the grid order for the race tomorrow.
11/24/2018: Safety Car
The 2018 F1 safety car: a 585HP Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R. These cars handle well, stop even better and aren't quite up to Formula 1 acceleration, but are still impressive. And the safety car drivers are excellent.
11/24/2018: Mercedes 44
Jennifer in front of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas garage 45 minutes before qualifying. It's close to game time and the work is mostly done, with the teams finishing the remaining preparation for qualification at a relaxed pass.
11/24/2018: Al Fursan
The UAE Air Force acrobatic stunt team, Al Fursan ('The Knights'), performing an air show. The team flies Italian Aermacchi MB-339s fighter jets with a maximum speed of 557mph (898 km/h). There are seven planes, one for each state in the UAE.
11/24/2018: Red Bull 3
The Red Bull team preparing Daniel Ricciardo's car for the upcoming qualifying session.
11/24/2018: Air Show
Another display by the UAE Air Force acrobatic stunt team, Al Fursan. Green, black, white and red are the colors of the UAE flag.
11/24/2018: Ferrari 7
Kimi Raikkonen's number 7 Ferrari coming into the pit during qualifying. Because the tires used for qualifying have relatively limited optimum tire life, the teams are careful to send the car out at exactly the right moment to get a good-sized gap in front of them. And they bring them in frequently to make adjustments or change tires. Because the teams are limited in the number of tires they're allowed to use over the course of a weekend, they only spend the time on the track that they need.
11/24/2018: Sunset
Sunset at 5:10pm, ten minutes into the F1 qualifying session. The stands are quite full compared to the GP3 race earlier today.
11/24/2018: Dusk over Yas Marina
Perhaps the best viewing position in the Paddock Club, opposite the track from our seats, where the balcony stretches out towards the track with a clear view past the start-finish line. What looks like the track stretching behind is actually an image on a massive TV screen behind.
11/24/2018: Hamilton on Pole
Lewis Hamilton celebrates taking the pole at Ahu Dhabi for the final race of the 2018 Formula 1 season.
11/24/2018: Formula 2 Race 1
Cars lined up on the starting grid ten minutes before the start of the first Formula 2 race of the weekend. Each car is surrounded by its crew with a trailer-load of tires and tools in case something goes wrong. Most crews and drivers are tensely waiting for the start, but a few are busy with a last-minute problem.
11/24/2018: Minutes from Race Time
It's now four minutes before the start of the race and the Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing has the engine cowling off Nyck de Vries car number 4 and a laptop plugged in, working under a tight deadline.
11/24/2018: Formula 2 Start
The standing start is super-exciting and the only downside is if one of the cars near the front doesn't start, there isn't much time to avoid it. It's not that common for a car to stall, but in the first Formula 2 race at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, when the lights went out, three cars didn't move. One of the cars, Alexander Albon's, was near the front of the pack, where the closing speed from cars that were near the back of the grid will be 120-150 mph (195-240 km/h).

Car after car just barely dodged Albon in the last second, but Nicholas Latifi didn't make it and the two cars exploded into a cloud of carbon fiber. Albon's car was tossed a couple of car lengths forward and Latifi's car came to rest about a few hundred feet down the track. Fortunately both drivers were unhurt and Albon even managed to re-enter the race and finish 14th.

When all cars get off the line in a standing start, they're all accelerating at around the same speed, so the rate of acceleration doesn't look that extraordinary. But when there's a stationary car on the track, the massive acceleration is more obvious.

Here's a 48-second video from the lights going out, through all the close calls, through the massive contact between Albon and Latifi: https://youtu.be/n729XkhEEfc.
11/25/2018: GP3 Race 2
It's the beginning of the Sunday racing day, less than ten minutes before the start of the second GP3 race. The grid for the race is decided by the results of the first race, with the top eight being reversed so that the winner of the race, Leonardo Pulcini, starts in eighth and pole goes to the eight place finisher. This made for a very exciting race with lots of passing as the stronger cars from yesterday worked toward the front.
11/25/2018: GP3 Podium
Second place Jake Hughes (left) and third place Simo Laaksonen applaud as GP3 race 2 winner Nikita Mazepin takes the podium for the last ever GP3 race. The series will merge with the Formula 3 European Championship in 2019 to form the Formula 3 Championship series.
11/25/2018: F2 Race 2
One minute until the formation lap for the Formula 2 race. As with GP3, the starting order for the second Formula 2 race is based on the first race results with the top eight positions reversed, making for a more exciting race.
11/25/2018: Lando Norris
Applause for Lando Norris who places second in the second Formula 2 race behind Antonio Fuoco, whose car number 21 we saw in the paddock on Friday.
11/25/2018: Renault Team Photo
Nico Hulkenberg, center in yellow cap, poses with his Renault F1 team for a photograph outside their paddock.
11/25/2018: Will Smith
Actor Will Smith (left) walking with driver Lewis Hamilton on the red carpet laid out for the starting grid presentations.
11/25/2018: Pre-Race
It's a half-hour before the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As the sun gets low in the sky, the cars are being wheeled into place on the starting grid, surrounded by crew, media and officials.
11/25/2018: Jackie Stewart
Three-time Formula 1 champion Jackie Stewart, wearing his traditional attire of tartan pants and matching flat cap.
11/25/2018: Anthem
Drivers lined up for the playing of the UAE national anthem.
11/25/2018: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
At our seats ten minutes before the start of the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. When we purchased our tickets months ago we debated between being at the end of one of the corners where the passing would be better, or here at the start-finish line with a view to the paddocks. We're very happy with our choice—it was super-interesting to watch all the pre-race activity, pit stops, and of course see the standing starts.
11/25/2018: Teams
For those interested in seeing the pre-race circus in the last minute before the cars are released on the formation lap: https://youtu.be/Woa2Z8wNiZw. After hours of waiting, this last minute before the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is an extremely busy time for the crews as remove the tire warmers from the tires, unplug the batteries and back away from the cars. Each driver is going to leave the line as though it were the start, to heat the track and put down some rubber in preparation for the start of the race in one lap. As the cars clear at speed, a sea of crew member run back to their pit positions to be ready in case of problems on the first lap.
11/25/2018: Flipped
Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean collided in the first lap and Hulkenberg car was launched into the air, spinning and hitting the cement barriers upside-down and hard enough to move the barriers several inches. This one looked bad. It was even worse for the crews as they could hear the trapped Hulkenberg on the radio saying "Get me out! There's a fire! There's a fire!" The fire is reported to have burned for three minutes before marshals put out the flames and were able to roll the car back over to allow Hulkenberg to escape. The new Formula 1 halo driver crash protection device quite likely saved his life. Nico emerged unscathed—it's impressive how safe these cars have become.
11/25/2018: Restart
The second place Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas ahead of the two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen shortly after the restart following Nico Hulkenberg's crash. Lewis Hamilton is leading just ahead of this group.
11/25/2018: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen leaving the pits after a two-second pit stop for the Red Bull Team. Verstappen went on to place third.
11/25/2018: Donuts
A video of three Formula 1 drivers, each of whom has won multiple world championships, doing synchronized donuts after the race: https://youtu.be/n472HbQAEAw. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Vettel were celebrating their first and second place race finishes, while Fernando Alonso would be retiring this year. You can see the rubber left behind in this picture as the crews roll the cars off the track.
11/25/2018: Fans
Once the cars were off the track, a gate north of our grandstand was opened and fans poured onto the track to watch the podium presentations.
11/25/2018: Podium
First place finisher Lewis Hamilton (5-time World Champion), left in white cap, second place finisher Sebastian Vettel (4-time World Champion), center wearing Ferrari red, and third place finisher Max Verstappen (based in this year's performance, his first World Championship isn't far away) at right celebrate their results with the traditional drinking and spraying of champagne.
11/25/2018: Guns N' Roses Concert
One of our favorite bands, Guns N' Roses, were playing nearby after the race. This venue is standing-room only and, with the race nearby, a lot of people are here. We got a great location with the sound board directly behind us, dead-center in front of the stage. It's hard to be in a better location than right at the sound and light board, and it has the additional advantage that there's a fence behind us that we can both lean against and it's not as crowded.
11/25/2018: Not In This Lifetime
The Guns N' Roses tour name comes from lead singer Axl Rose's answer to a reporter a few years back about whether Guns N' Roses might reunite.
11/25/2018: Audience
Looking behind us to the regular general admission section, packed with tens of thousands of people crowded against the barrier with the elevated VIP sections along the left.
11/25/2018: Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses has a reputation for showing up hours late, so we weren't sure if it would be a Sunday night or a Monday morning concert. But the music started at 9:20pm and then ran until around 11:15pm. The tour included three of the original band members: Axl Rose (singing left of center), Duff McKagan (directly left of Axl) and Slash (right of drummer).
11/25/2018: Axl Rose
Axl Rose at the front of the stage.
11/25/2018: Slash
We'd seen Slash perform live with his band Slash's Snakepit in Toronto years ago. We were a little disappointed that he didn't have many guitar solos, and the show was good, but unremarkable. Not so for the Abu Dhabi concert. The whole show was fabulous and an excellent way to bring the weekend to a close.
11/27/2018: Las Vegas
Early morning in Las Vegas for the 2018 AWS re:Invent conference. We arrived last night after a 14:40 flight from Abu Dhabi to New York, and another 6:05 flight to Las Vegas. The timezone here is exactly 12 hours different from the UAE, so pretty much the worse possible from a jet-lag perspective.
11/28/2018: Andy Jassy
Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy at the start of his re:Invent 2018 keynote. I (James) have always found information processing infrastructure incredibly interesting and that's just about all I've done at work for for the last nearly 30 years, so no big surprises there. What I do find surprising is that more than 50,000 people would find their way to Las Vegas to learn more about Amazon Web Services and what we are doing in cloud computing. Infrastructure still isn't quite "cool", but this is as close as I've ever seen it :-).
11/28/2018: Ross Brawn
Ross Brawn is a legend in the motorsports world. He's been team principle of many Formula 1 team including Ferrari, Honda, Brawn, and Mercedes. His teams have won eight Formula 1 Constructors Championships and they have won the World Driving Championship eight times. He is now Formula 1 Managing Director of Motorsports and we're honored to have him and the rest of the Formula 1 organization as customers of Amazon Web Services.
11/28/2018: re:Invent House Band
The re:Invent house band. You know you are at the right conference when the keynote speech has it's own band :-). And it's a pretty good one too.
11/29/2018: Zach Person
Austin-based Zach Person put on an awesome performance at re:Play, the re:Invent after-party.
11/29/2018: Skrillex
DJ Skrillex headlining at re:Play, the re:Invent after-party.
11/30/2018: Bookstore
An evening drink at the Bookstore Bar in our Seattle hotel, Kimpton Alexis. We flew in from Las Vegas this morning to pick up all the packages we had delivered to our mailbox at the local UPS store, see some friends, and go to an NFL football game.
12/1/2018: Luggage Scale
One of the many Amazon orders we picked up included a portable, digital luggage scale. With all the boat parts we bring back, we're often near the airline checked bag weight limit. This will allow us to weigh the bags in our room and make sure none are over the limit.
12/1/2018: New Devices
We only go shopping three or four times a year, so when we arrive into Seattle, it's like Christmas. Here we're setting up two new Pixel 3 phones and an Amazon Kindle tablet.
12/1/2018: Mike Dilley
Lunch at the Old Stove Brewing company with longtime friend Mike Dilley, President and Director of the Eugene International Film Festival, who'd come up from Eugene, OR to spend the day with us.

When we say "longtime friend" it particularly applies here. I (James) first met Mike back more than 50 years ago when I was six years old. My father and Mike were in chemistry class together at the University of Oregon. They became friends and I used to see Mike fairly frequently during that period. He spent enormous amounts of time with me showing his music equipment and other gadgets. I particularly enjoyed using his giant Sony 777 reel-to-reel tape recorder. Mike had owned a recording studio in the not too-distant-past and, as consequence, had lots of interesting music equipment and had the patience to explain it all to me in detail.

Over the years I have stayed in contact with Mike. In the late 70s and early 80s history repeated and Mike again was running a recording studio and he was again explaining to me all the details of making music and how all the equipment worked. I spent nearly a week at Producers Studio in Eugene with sound engineer Steve Diamond. Over the years, I've always had a great time with Mike, we always enjoy talking, and 50 years later it's still great fun to see him.
12/1/2018: Seattle Underground Tour
Following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 that destroyed 31 blocks, Seattle officials decreed that the reconstructed streets be regraded one or two stories higher than the current street level, as the city originally was build on flood-prone tidelands. This would also ensure that new gravity-fed flush toilets wouldn't back up at high tide. The ground floors of the surviving buildings eventually were enclosed by sidewalks and became the Seattle Underground. Businesses continued to operate in the Underground until 1907 when the city shut it down fearing a bubonic plague outbreak. Apparently the rats loved it, and probably still do.
12/1/2018: Pavement Lights
Many of the sidewalks in and around Pioneer Square in Seattle contain small panes of purple glass block. These are pavement lights, a form of walk-on skylight, that were installed over gaps in the sidewalks previously used by customers to access the Seattle Underground businesses below street level during the regrading project. Here we are looking up to one of the pavement lights from below street level.
12/2/2018: Seahawks
The last live NFL game we saw was the Seattle Seahawks vs the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco in 2017. Here, a year later in Seattle, we co-incidentally are watching the same two teams. The Seahawks won both games.
12/2/2018: Holiday Lights
Holiday lights along Occidental Avenue as we follow the crowds out of the Seahawks game.
12/2/2018: Sunset
Fabulous sunset over Elliott Bay with the Seattle Wheel on the left, viewed from outside the Four Seasons Hotel.
12/2/2018: Toronto Friends
Dinner at the Pike Place Brewery with long-time friends we worked with at the IBM Toronto Software lab in the late 1980s and 1990s. James, Lubor, Steve and Al (clockwise from left) worked together on the IBM DB2 database product and Don (far right) was on the C++ compiler team with Jennifer. We all later moved to Seattle to work for Microsoft at around the same time.
12/3/2018: Elevator Service
The elevator in our hotel apart for service. Fortunately there is a second one—we have a lot of luggage to move today.
12/3/2018: Airport
Checking in our luggage at the Seattle airport. We're checking four large suitcases full of spares, each weighing over 60lbs, and the long cardboard box leaning against the counter containing several antennas. The small rolling suitcase on the right contains any valuables that we'll carry on.
12/3/2018: Cockpit
James got a chance before taking off from Seattle to chat with the flight crew and have them explain some of the features of the Airbus A330-300 that we would be taking non-stop to Amsterdam. The A330-300 is part of the new breed of wide-bodies focused more on fuel efficiency rather than just getting bigger.

The monsters of the wide body fleet, the 747-400s and A380s, are not selling all that well right now but the slightly smaller, two-engine planes are doing unusually well with deep sales backlogs. The A330-300, in the longer-range variants, can reach out to 7,250 nautical miles and have a passenger capacity of up to 335 passenger, so they are considerably smaller than the biggest wide bodies they are competing against.
12/5/2018: Lost Luggage
Our four big suitcases made it to Amsterdam yesterday morning, but our cardboard box with the antennas didn't. We weren't particularly hopeful of ever seeing it again, but we received the package this morning in good condition.
12/6/2018: Laurens van Zijp
Laurens van Zijp stopped by to interview us for Netherlands-based Motorboot magazine. We enjoyed meeting him and describing our travels and how we've setup Dirona. Laurens knows boats well and we had a great discussion.
12/7/2018: TV Lift Problems
Last night the TV lift developed a new problem. It would wind down normally, but would barely wind up. The motor barely had the power to wind the assembly up and, each time I tried it, it wound more slowly in the up direction. Read more ...
12/7/2018: Air Intake Covers
When we're moored for a while where the weather is cold, we cover the engine room air intakes with custom canvas covers to keep the boat a little warmer.
12/8/2018: Wing Tank Leak
James noticed a tiny whiff of diesel smell in the engine room and found a couple of drips on top of the wing/gen start batteries underneath the wing engine fuel tank. It was easy to fix: the lower sight-guage O-Ring on the wing engine fuel tank had failed.
12/8/2018: Black Water Level Sensor
Removing the third generation black water sensor to move to the fourth. Read more ...
12/8/2018: Christmas Tree
In Amsterdam, people carry everything from large families to Christmas trees on their bikes.
12/9/2018: Politie
The police make a pass through the marine every week or so. With our foreign ensign, it's rare that any police make an inspection of a marina and don't stop by and check on Dirona. Perhaps it's because of the the three visits the Dutch authorities have already made.
12/9/2018: Triskel Marine
An excellent evening on Dirona and later over dinner at De Gouden Reael with Triskel Marine directors Ken and Allison Wittamore (on either side of us) and their friends Pete and Ali. We met Ken and Allison at their METS booth and their boat Armorel, a Hallberg Rassy 42, is moored for the winter near us in Amsterdam City Marina.
12/10/2018: Diesel
This is why we'd prefer to use electricity rather than diesel to power the boat: getting fuel on-board can be a real pain.
12/10/2018: Veterinary Clinic
Spitfire developed an upper respiratory infection and has been coughing a lot since we returned to Amsterdam. Dierenkliniek Westerpark saw him within a couple of hours of our calling and Dr. Elleke Frumau recognized the problem immediately and quickly had him doing much better. Ten days later he seemed fully recovered and back to his normal energetic self. Small illnesses start to get very dangerous quickly when a cat is as old as Spitfire is at 15 years.
12/12/2018: Transmission
Transmission is one of 29 displays in the the 7th edition of the Amsterdam Light Festival. The displays are mostly along the interior canals and designed to be viewed from the water as well as the shore. This year's theme is based on the famous quote by Canadian scientist Marshall McLuhan: "The Medium is the Message". The Transmission display evokes modern telecommunications through 19 wave-shaped tubes programmed to make the light appear to be moving through the air.
12/12/2018: O.T. 976
Stefan Reiss's Amsterdam Light Festival display O.T. 976 was inspired by string theory. But unlike string theory, this work is enjoyable evey when restricted to three dimensions. The work consists of three large planes folding over Eenhoornsluis bridge. Each plane containing dozens of cables onto which ever-changing colored geometric patterns are displayed. O.T. stands for Ohne Titel, ('without title') and 976 refers to the fact that this is Reiss' 976th artwork.
12/12/2018: De Pizzabakkers
Back at De Pizzabakkers for another excellent meal. The food is delicious and we love the view over the balcony to the lower level and street.
12/13/2018: Desire
Lighted lips in the Desire entry in the Amsterdam Light Festival, the only one on the IJ River rather than inside the canals. When viewed from the side, the lips morph into heartbeats.
12/14/2018: Window Washing
This scaffolding to clean the windows has been out for a few days. Note the steadying post is unsecured over the water. The post is designed to ensure the scaffold doesn't tip over, in this case into the water and onto our boat beyond. The system is made more interesting by being on roller wheels only one foot from the edge. Who says window cleaning is boring?
12/14/2018: Long Reach
This looks like a safer way to work than the window washing. These vehicles are remarkebly efficient, where both the passenger bucket can be raised and lowered from the bucket itself, but also the entire vehicle can be driven from there, even stretched out that far.
12/15/2018: Albert Heijn
A grocery delivery from Albert Heijn. Paying for the order was a bit of a challenge—they only accept local Maestro debit cards on delivery. None of our debit cards or credit cards would work and they don't take cash. Eventually their customer-service person suggested the delivery person pay with his personal card and we pay him back in cash as a way to resolve it. Impressive commitment to customer service—we didn't think we were going to get that one resolved.
12/15/2018: Matua
We much prefer box wines when a decent one is available, as they are so much lighter and more space-economic. Matua, a New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that we quite like, is available here in 1.5L boxes that consume half the space of two standard 750 mL bottles.
12/15/2018: Snow
The temperature was near-freezing overnight and we woke up to a beautiful snowy scene this morning.
12/16/2018: Swans
Hopeful swans looking for a handout.
12/17/2018: DHL Bicycle
We've seen a lot of different DHL delivery methods while in Amsterdam, so we starting to collect pictures of them.
12/18/2018: DHL Canal Boat
As part of our continuing collection of innovative DHL delivery vehicles, here is a DHL canal boat that moors at our marina.
12/18/2018: Steering Pump
Today we started the job of installing the second Accu-Steer HPU 200-24 steering pump, that arrived in our sea freight pallet. Here, the old Accu-Steer HPU212 pump is partially removed. We'll blog the details.
12/18/2018: Kema Meat
At Kema Meat to pickup a turkey for Christmas dinner. They have an excellent selection of good-quality meats.
12/18/2018: Westerkerk
Westerkerk Protestant church, completed in 1631. The ornate 286 ft (87 m) tower, Westertoren ("Western tower"), is the highest church tower in Amsterdam.
12/18/2018: Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank House, famous world-wide as the house where Anne Frank hid with her family during the World War II German Occupation of the Netherlands. We plan to take the popular tour while we're in Amsterdam.
12/18/2018: Dirty Chicken Club
Yummy beer-can-roasted chicken at the Dirty Chicken Club on restaurant-lined Warmoesstraat.
12/19/2018: Cafe Kobalt
Dinner at perpetually-packed Cafe Kobalt, a short walk from our marina.
12/20/2018: Broken Connector
While transiting the Kiel Canal, we had issues with our davit that we eventually traced down to the pendant. At this time, we changed pendants and were back in business. It's a bit hard to believe, but that third never-been-used pendant that costs just under $1000, had a broken connector, probably due to aging plastic or perhaps it was broken since new. The good news is that it worked and it's the only one of the three that still does. The connector is permanently installed on the end of the cable, so we decided to repair it by gluing it up rather than replacing it. This worked out remarkably well as you can see in the picture.
12/20/2018: Kar-Tech Davit Remote
We've had three pendants fail on our Steelhead crane over the last 9 years. They cost just under $1000 each, so we really need a different solution. Steelhead does sell a remote-control for this crane, but it was sufficiently expensive that we decided to do what we did with the TV Lift: adapt a commodity remote control to drive the equipment. The remote control we are using on TV lift is working well, but the crane is more complex with 8 different motions, and its remote also needs to be sealed against weather.

We've not yet figured the entire thing out, but here we're associating the Kar-Tech Proportional Mini GUIDER wireless remote with its base station and testing to make sure the assembly is working. This project will require some warm, non-rainy weather to complete and it's far from figured out at this point. But we're optimistic and, succeed or fail, we will blog the details and show how the system can be integrated easily by others.

Update 02/24/2019: We've described the install at Steelhead Wireless Remote.
12/20/2018: Bistrot Neuf
We were planning to have dinner somewhere new in one of the many restaurants along Haarmlemstraat, but everything that appealed to us was packed even though it was only 6:30pm. We must be into the Christmas restaurant rush. In the end, we reached Michelin Bib Gourmand Bistrot Neuf and opted for another excellent meal there. Here we are sharing a delicious Beef Rib with a bottle of Bordeaux.
12/22/2018: My Version of a TV Lift
Just after we sat down to dinner at Bistrot Neuf, we received an email from Chris Allard, CEO of Metal Shark Boats and ex-owner of Nordhavn 62 Pendana. Chris had read the post describing our TV lift problems and sent us a video response titled "My Version of a TV Lift", where he showed a highly-reliable TV lift design that's he's using on his boat. We both laughed so uproariously that everyone in the restaurant was looking.
12/23/2018: Stainless Steel Fabricator
Update 12/25/2018: Solved problem. It's great to be hanging out in a nation of people willing to help others with even fairly obscure challenges. Thanks to Daniel Boekel of ShipCraft Engineering and Jan Pieterse, we'll get the brackets in early January. Thanks!

To replace one of our failed side flood lights, we're moving to a slightly higher output light and that requires a larger support bracket. The support bracket that comes with the lights (pictured) is painted steel and won't last more than a few months in a marine environment before rusting. We need a stainless steel fabricator in the Amsterdam area to build a few of these brackets for us. Does anyone have any experience with fabricators in the Amsterdam area?
12/23/2018: Happy Holidays
Wishing you all a Happy Holidays and that the New Year brings you plenty of success and fresh tuna.
12/24/2018: Reverse-Engineering Davit
Today we started on installing a Kar-Tech Davit Remote. We don't have a wiring diagram for the existing crane controls, so the first step is to determine the functionality of each of the twelve wires. We'll need to find power, ground, proportional, pump, boom extend/retract, boom swing left/right, boom up/down and line extend/retract.
12/25/2018: Christmas Breakfast
Fresh-made waffles with whipped cream and berries for Christmas breakfast.
12/25/2018: Whipped Cream
Spitfire enjoying a little whipped cream from our Christmas breakfast.
12/25/2018: Walking Tours
About a hundred people appeared on the street across the marina, possibly a cruise ship load out for a Christmas walking tour.
12/25/2018: Davit Remote
We got our new davit remote working today, just in time for a Christmas run through the canals in the tender. Read more ...
12/25/2018: Corroded Pin
Good thing we got the new davit control working—the leftmost pin in the pendant connector has corroded away and none of our existing pendants work anymore.
12/25/2018: City Marina
Dirona moored at City Marina IJDok as we head out for a tour of the canals.
12/25/2018: Houseboat
One of many, many houseboats moored along Amsterdam's canals.
12/25/2018: Anne Frank House
Anne Frank House, directly right of the house with the red roof, always has a crowd in front.
12/25/2018: Prinsengracht
Looking north along Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal) the longest and outermost of Amsterdam's three main canals, completed in the early 1600s. Westerkirk is prominent in the distance.
12/25/2018: Turning
The canal boats that run tours through the canals are too long to make some of the 90-degree corners from one bridge to the next. Instead, they must go back and forth in the same spot in the marine equivalent of a three-point turn.
12/25/2018: Keizersgracht
Bicycles locked to the Keizersgracht bridge over Leidsegracht.
12/25/2018: Sunk
We saw a few sunken boats along the canal, and many more that looked nearly in that state.
12/25/2018: One-Way
Many of the Amsterdam canals are one way.
12/25/2018: Two Lamps
One of two huge lamps in Jeroen Henneman's aptly-named Two Lamps display in the Amsterdam Light Festival.
12/25/2018: Ode Aan De Mol
Part of the Ode Aan De Mol Amsterdam Light Festival display. The complete work displays the words decided on by the US Department of Energy's Futures Panel to warn those in the distant future who might stumble across a nuclear waste storage site because it was felt the standard nuclear radiation warning symbol might not be understood. The three visible panels read "The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours. The danger is to the body, and it can kill. The form of the danger is an emanation of energy." The complete text is at This Place is not A Place of Honor.
12/25/2018: Having Fun
Enjoying the ride through the canals.
12/25/2018: Barely Fits
Some of the canal tour boats barely fit through the tunnels.
12/25/2018: Smoke Boat
The Smoke Boat, trailing a pungent aroma of marijuana.
12/25/2018: Montelbaanstoren
The tower Montelbaanstoren was built in 1516 as a defensive tower in the Wall of Amsterdam.
12/25/2018: Cranes
Cranes dominate the skyline alongside the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, an academy of music.
12/25/2018: NEMO Science Museum
The NEMO Science Museum was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano who also designed The Shard in London and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The science center building, originally built for the New Metropolis Museum, resembles the hull of a huge ship.
12/25/2018: Sea Palace
The multi-story pagoda-styled Sea Palace Chinese restaurant has great views over the Amsterdam canals.
12/25/2018: Night Vision
The Night Vision display at the Amsterdam Lights Festival. Boats passing through represent light entering the eye.
12/25/2018: Central Station
Amsterdam Central Station, opened in 1889, aglow in the afternoon sun.
12/25/2018: Lovers
The section of the canal we're in now is full of canal boats and their docks and booking offices. During the Amsterdam Light Festival, non-commercial craft are prohibited in the basin after 4:30pm, presumably due to the number of boats underway.
12/25/2018: Bicycles
A water view to that bicycle storage rack we saw on our first day here.
12/25/2018: EYE Film Museum
The distinctive EYE Film Museum, left, and the A'DAM Tower, a converted former Royal Dutch Shell oil company office building.
12/25/2018: Palace of Justice
Looking northwest between the two Palace of Justice buildings with City Marina IJDok on the left.
12/25/2018: Christmas Dinner
After smelling the turkey cooking for several hours, everyone is ready for Christmas dinner. Spitfire sat down at the open place setting.
12/26/2018: Wolf
Wolf restaurant near our marina is built on an old swing bridge.
12/26/2018: Canal and Bikes
Ever-present bicycles locked to a bridge overlooking Keizersgracht (Emperor's Canal), one of the three canals built during Amsterdam's 17th-century expansion.
12/26/2018: Hotel Nadia
Hotel Nadia wraps along the bending road.
12/26/2018: Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum art and history museum was founded in 1800 in the Hague and moved to the current location in 1885. It's the largest and most visited museum in the Netherlands and annually sees over 2 million visitors.
12/26/2018: Musicians
The fast-paced style of this street orchestra playing underneath the Rijksmuseum reminded us of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
12/26/2018: Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum near the Rijksmuseum opened in 1973 and is dedicated to the Dutch painter and his contemporaries in the Netherlands.
12/26/2018: Ice Rink
Outdoor ice skating is very popular in Amsterdam and a number of rinks are setup around the city in the winter. This is the Ice Festival between the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum.
12/26/2018: Christmas Market
A Christmas market beside the ice rink sells food, drink and gift items.
12/26/2018: Fried Potato Sticks
Fried potato sticks were a popular item at the Christmas market—everyone seemed to have one and the purchase line-up was at least 20 people deep.
12/26/2018: Rinkside
Rinkside at the Museumplein Ice Festival enjoying a local microbrew from the Christmas Market .
12/26/2018: Zamboni
We've never seen a Zamboni clean the ice without first clearing the ice of people. The driver was able to work through the crowd without mishap.
12/26/2018: Lijnbaansgracht
Lighted trees reflecting into the Lijnbaansgracht canal near the Rijksmuseum.
12/26/2018: Korte Leidsedwarsstraat
Holiday lights looking northwest along Korte Leidsedwarsstraat.
12/26/2018: Nieuwe Spieglestraat
Nieuwe Spieglestraat lit for the holiday season. It seems that every street in Amsterdam has a unique decoration.
12/26/2018: Bloemenmarkt
Amsterdam's famous flower market, Bloemenmarkt, reflecting onto the Singel canal on the right. The Singel name derives from Dutch word "to surround". It is the innermost of Amsterdam's canal rings and was a moat surrounding the medieval city until 1585.
12/26/2018: Nespresso
Nespresso coffee stores often have eye-catching displays. One in Westfield Stratford City mall outside London caught our attention as well.
12/26/2018: Beetle Sphere
Beetle Sphere sculpture by Japanese artist https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/an-interview-with-ichwan-noor/ at Kalvertoren mall. The sculpture is of cast aluminum augmented with original parts.
12/26/2018: Two Lamps
We walked back home along Herengracht canal to view parts of the Amsterdam Light Festival. On our tender tour through the canal yesterday we saw the Two Lamps Amsterdam Light Festival display, and this evening got a chance to see them lit.
12/26/2018: Starry Night
The Amsterdam Light Festival display Starry Night was inspired by Van Gogh's painting of the same name.
12/26/2018: Canal Alley
Looking down narrow Beulingsloot canal that connects the Herengracht (Lord's Canal) and Singel canals.
12/26/2018: Midnight Summer Dream
Inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream play, the Amsterdam Light Festival Midnight Summer Dream is an example of 'upcycling' where disused object are turned into something new of higher quality or value. In this case the lanterns of the display are made from discarded washing machine tubs.
12/26/2018: Proeflokaal A. van Wees
Chilly weather doesn't discourage people from sitting outside in Amsterdam. The heated patio at distillery-turned-pub Proeflokaal A. van Wees was packed.
12/26/2018: Waiting...
The Amsterdam Light Festival display Waiting... depicts a life-sized version of the symbol we shown while a computer operation is completing, with the lines in the wheel lighting up one after the other.
12/26/2018: Phone
When the wheel in Waiting... stops turning, different images show inside. This one is of a person on the phone. Others are of people looking out the window or painting. We didn't see any repeats over several minutes.
12/26/2018: A.N.N.
A.N.N. (Artificial Neural Network) at the Amsterdam Light Festival is designed to visualize the process of brain activity.
12/26/2018: Strangers in the Light
Inspired by Frank Sinatra's song Strangers in the Night, the 6m-tall figures in the Amsterdam Light Festival display Strangers in the Light have "escaped" the pedestrian light signal and have an opportunity to meet for the first time.
12/26/2018: Bartolotti House
Bartolotti House, curving along the street bend, was one of the largest merchant houses in the city when built in 1620.
12/26/2018: Light a Wish
The twenty pieces in Light a Wish visualize the wish made while blowing dandelion seeds blown into the air.
12/26/2018: Smart Roadster
We noticed this Smart car parked alongside the canal. We'd not seen a roadster before. Smart GmbH produced them starting in 2003, but ceased production in 2005 due to high warranty claims.
12/26/2018: ARCHEStextures: PORTAM CIVITATIS
ARCHEStextures: PORTAM CIVITATIS in the Amsterdam Light Festival evokes the European Gothic churches built in the 12th-15th centuries.
12/26/2018: O.T. 976
Another view of Stefan Reiss's string-theory inspired Amsterdam Light Festival display O.T. 976
12/26/2018: Transmission
Nearly back to Dirona with another view to the Amsterdam Light Festival display Transmission.
12/26/2018: A'DAM Tower
The A'DAM Tower, a converted former Royal Dutch Shell oil company office building, across the IJ River from our marina.
12/26/2018: Desire
The last Amsterdam Light Festival display of the evening, Desire, viewed from a distance at the marina bridge.
12/27/2018: Up the Stack
James, wearing a climbing harness, lifting himself up the stack by crane to drill a hole for a new aft-facing camera. The current bullet camera under the winglet gets bumped too easily and as a consequence its hinge will no longer secure it in place. It's also too close to the courtesy flag.
12/27/2018: New Camera
The new dome camera in place near the top of the stack as James lowers himself back down.
12/27/2018: Aurora
The cruise ship Aurora docked at Amsterdam's cruise terminal. Those big ships really fill the waterway when they go by.
12/27/2018: Omerta
The barge Omerta was carrying two cars, a tender and a lot of containers.
12/27/2018: Crowds
Holiday crowds along Damrak street.
12/27/2018: Manneken Pis
At least forty people were in line for Dutch Fries at legendary Mannekin Pis, "Voted No. 1 Holland Fries", with many more enjoying the fruits of their wait. The line extends to the awning in the distance—best or not, that's a long wait just for fries.
12/27/2018: Nieuwe Kerk
Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) on DAM square dates back to 1408. That may seem pretty old, but it's a century newer than Oude Kerk (Old Church). The traditional place for Dutch royal weddings and coronations, the building now functions as an exhibit gallery.
12/27/2018: Choir Screen
The spectacular 17th-century choir screen in Nieuwe Kerk was the first to be made entirely of brass.
12/27/2018: Organ
The panelled main organ in Nieuwe Kerk is lavishly decorated with gilding, paintings and statuary. Dating from 1645, it is the largest historic pipe organ in the Netherlands.
12/27/2018: Pulpit
The ornately-carved pulpit in Nieuwe Kerk is 13m high. The main organ is just visible behind on the left.
12/27/2018: Memorial
Some of the great Dutch naval heroes are buried in Nieuwe Kerk. This is a memorial to Michiel de Ruyter, considered the greatest of them all. The museum is currently holding a exhibition on Buddha, part of which is visible in the foreground.
12/27/2018: Three Mounds
Yoko Ono's Three Mounds work in Nieuwe Kerk represents violence against women with dirt taken from countries where suffering has occurred. It really is just three piles of dirt.
12/27/2018: Below the Surface
Centuries of artifacts were uncovered during the nine-year excavation along the Amstel River for the new North-South Metro line. The web site Below the Surface features some 19,000 of the more than more than 700,000 items discovered, and a subset of these have been put in display beside the two escalators at Rokin Station, not far from DAM square.
12/27/2018: Temple Bar
Irish pints, a Guinness and a Kilkenny, at the Irish pub Temple Bar. The establishment likely names after Dublin's popular Temple Bar district.
12/27/2018: Bull
Bull statue outside Euronext Amsterdam, formed from the merger in 2000 of the Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris stock exchanges.
12/27/2018: Virtual Fairground
Jennifer perched on Virtual Fairground in the Amsterdam Light Festival. The display evokes amusement park images and refers to how the city can feel a bit like a fairground with all the tourists and crowds.
12/27/2018: All the Light You See
All the Light You See Is From The Past states this Amsterdam Light Festival display. The sign sometimes turns off as a reflection on morality and a reminder that we too will belong to the past.
12/27/2018: DAM Square
The annual Amsterdam Christmas tree in DAM Square, with the 17th-century Royal Palace behind.
12/27/2018: Lucius Visrestaurant
An excellent seafood meal at Lucius Visrestaurant with their beautiful saltwater aquarium in the background.
12/28/2018: Paul van Meegen
Coffee with Paul van Meegen, whose boat is moored just down the dock from ours. Paul is a retired barge captain who lives aboard a converted German survey vessel from which he runs his company Copula Promotions. He's retrofitted his boat to fit through the French canals and added some commercial features rather unique in a pleasure craft, such as legs that telescope down and allow the boat to effectively "park" anywhere he wants as long as the water isn't too deep.
12/29/2018: Replacing Outlet
When we installed the dual power system, we didn't have a male outlet on board, so we're using a female outlet with an adapter (blue cord at right). Here James is building the mounting base for the new male outlet.
12/29/2018: Disassembling Pigtail
With the new male outlet mounted (visible at the right of the picture), James is dissembling the female-female pigtail we no longer need.
12/29/2018: Maestro Card
After being unable to pay for delivered groceries using a foreign card, we opened a Netherlands bank account. We just received our Maestro card, the main debit card accepted in the Netherlands. We typically open a local bank account when we are going to be in a country for a while anyway, as it also simplifies online payments to local vendors.
12/29/2018: Museum Cards
We also just received our Museum Cards, which give us free or discounted entry to about 400 Netherlands museums.
12/30/2018: Radio for Tender
One of the items we brought back from our trip to the US was a VHF radio for the tender. We always carry a hand-held VHF radio when out in the tender, but having a permanent one means we don't have to remember and will always have a radio with us.
12/30/2018: Vesper Marine AIS
We believe an AIS is one of the most important safety devices. We use it constantly on Dirona and have decided to install one on our tender as well. Here James is installing a Vesper Marine XB-8000 AIS (small blue box visible in the top left of the locker). The tender now broadcasts AIS.
12/31/2018: Corroded Pin
The most recent crane pendant failure was caused by a corroded electrical pin. The bad news is that without the power pin, the crane is inoperative. The slightly worse news is that with the corroded pin stuck in the pendant socket, you can't even use that pendant once the pin has been replaced. We used a needle to slowly work the pin to the top of the hole and a small pair of tweezers to remove it.
12/31/2018: Deb and Jan
In Zaandam with Jan Pieterse and Deb Richardson. They live part time in the US and the rest of the time on board their canal barge Jan-kees (it's a clever name, pronounced "Yankees"). Jan has been giving us all sorts of useful advice for the Netherlands and beyond and it was wonderful to finally meet in person.
12/31/2018: Daniel Boekel
Daniel Boekel, owner of ShipCraft Engineering in Alkmaar. Daniel is an unusually talented engineer, here holding open an electric car battery that he's recycling. Daniel buys the batteries from wrecked cars and uses them in boat propulsion systems and energy storage supporting solar power deployments.
12/31/2018: New Bracket
Daniel Boekel of ShipCraft Engineering was able to get us new mounting brackets for our side floodlights. His work in lithium ion energy storage has him frequently ordering fabricated parts. Our brackets were added to his order last week and its already all done and ready to go. The new stainless steel brackets not only won't rust, but also are much beefier than the painted steel originals so won't rattle as much.
12/31/2018: Happy New Year
The Dutch LOVE their fireworks. The city literally erupted for several hours before and after midnight on New Year’s Eve. The main show didn't exceed others we've seen, but the breadth of the displays was absolutely unrivaled. We walked more than five miles throughout town enjoying and taking pictures of the celebrations and fireworks leading up to midnight, and the main display. More on both: Amsterdam Fireworks
12/31/2018: Firenado
Massive bonfires are popular in the Netherlands on New Year's. Jan Pieterse sent us a link to one that got out of control this year, sending off a "firenado", captured on video, that sparked multiple fires.
1/1/2019: Old and New Pin
On the bottom is the corroded pin we removed from the pendant socket and above is a new pin (TE Connectivity CPC Series 1) that we plan to install in the outlet.
1/1/2019: Pin Replaced
The new CPC Series 1 connector pin installed on the side of the crane (bottom left).
1/1/2019: Testing Connector
Testing the crane after replacing the corroded pin in the socket. The pendant now is fully functional again.
1/1/2019: Debugging Pendant
Once the pin was replaced in the outlet, and the rusted out pin was removed from the pendant, that pendant worked fine. Our second pendant was found to have a failed fuse, and the third has a broken wire somewhere between the pendant and the connector. If we had nothing else that worked, we probably could make this one work, so we'll save it.
1/2/2019: Tapping
After we replaced the wing engine exhaust elbow due to a pinhole leak, blog reader Steve Coleman suggested we drill, tap and plug it. Steve says this is a technique used in the past on cast iron boilers where a casting imperfection causes a small pinhole leak in an otherwise un-damaged part that would last for years if not decades.
1/2/2019: Exhaust Elbow
The completed exhaust elbow with a stainless steel screw plug.
1/2/2019: Power Outage
The marina staff needed to turn off the power at the shore pedestal briefly today for some maintenance. As soon as the power went off, our automation system responded by disabling turning off the HVAC and water heater (A/C and W/H indicators are black) since they would rapidly discharge the batteries without a power source. It also shut off both chargers (Chg#1 and Chg#2 are black) so there isn't an immediate draw when the power comes back. The system will reverse the process when power is restored, first turning on both chargers and then bringing the loads back online. While the shore power is unavailable, both shorepower indicators (Shr#1 and Shr#1) show in black. You can see the difference between the area outlined in red at the bottom of the screenshot compared to normal operation mode.
1/3/2019: Specsavers
We rode our bikes to Specsavers to buy some new glasses—we'd each lost a pair of the two we'd both purchased in London last winter. This is the third country where we've purchased glasses from Specsavers: Australia, England and now the Netherlands.
1/3/2019: La Oliva
A wide range of delicious tapas to choose from at La Oliva Spanish tapas restaurant on restaurant-packed Tweede Anjeliersdwarsstraat. We had a great meal over a bottle of Roija.
1/4/2019: 2018 Timeline
James received a Google Maps 2018 Timeline summary email this morning, with a map showing all the places he had visited over 2018. One of the more interesting pieces of data included was that he'd visited ten countries last year. This was a lot more than we would have guessed, but added up when we counted them all. In order of first visited these were the UK, France, the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the UAE. We did even more travelling than usual last year.
1/5/2019: Satellite Problem Solved
Our KVH V7hts satellite system has been producing progressively more frequent errors over the past few months. Some of these were kind of scary: "ERROR 218: SKEW MOTOR ASSY", "ERROR 206: AZ MOTOR ASSY", "ERROR 100: ANTENNA POWER OPEN" and "ERROR 400: OUTSIDE COVERAGE".

It was beginning to look like we may have a hardware issue. We got lucky this morning though, and James found a loose connection at the antenna ICM (Integrated Combox Modem). Here James has the connection apart for service. It was relatively easy to fix and is now error-free. It also seems to be hooking up more quickly.
1/5/2019: Howard Rosenberg
Blog reader Howard Rosenberg was in Amsterdam for a few days and stopped by for a visit and a tour of Dirona. We had a great time talking boats and in particular learning more about the company he founded, B-Stock Solutions, that provides an online marketplace for inventory liquidation.
1/5/2019: Nico and Nely
Nico and Nely Vendrig just arrived at the marina in their Grand Banks Widestars III and stopped by to say hello. We've corresponded a bit with Nico, who is interested in Nordhavns and has been following our blog.
1/6/2019: Anne Frank Statue
Statue of Anne Frank near the building where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years during World War II in German-occupied Netherlands. They eventually were captured and only Anne's father survived the concentration camps, but her story lives on through the diary she kept that has been translated to over 60 languages.
1/6/2019: Anne Frank House
At the Anne Frank House Museum for a tour. Tickets are difficult to get and often sell out weeks in advance.
1/6/2019: Introductory Program
Prior to our self-guided tour of the museum, we attended an excellent introductory program that provided historical context World War II events and and their impact on the Frank family.
1/6/2019: Secret Annex
Drawing showing the Secret Annex where Anne's family and another hid for two years behind her father Otto's former business. The annex was accessible only through an access passage on the third floor, hidden behind a bookcase (circled in yellow—click image for a larger view). Anne's family lived directly behind and another Jewish family in hiding lived above. Several people who had worked with Otto Frank helped hide them and brought them provisions, books and other items.
1/6/2019: Secret Annex Aerial
Aerial photo showing the Secret Annex, (circled in yellow roughly at center—click image for a larger view), and the Anne Frank statue at the bottom right. Dutch buildings tended to be narrow and deep because they were taxed based on their street width. Annexes such as the one Anne hid in were commonly built behind to provide more space and often were not visible from the street as they were completely enclosed by buildings on all sides. The annexes are sometimes connected to the building in front of them, but might only be connected to one of the buildings on the side.
1/6/2019: Diary Replica
We really enjoyed our visit to Anne Frank House. The museum is excellent and it was a sobering experience to pass behind the bookcase into the Secret Annex and view pages from Anne's diary. Photos aren't allowed in the museum—this is a replica of the real diary that we saw open in the museum.
1/6/2019: Prinsengracht
Looking south along Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal) after our museum visit. Anne Frank House is the brightly-lit building on the left above the canal boats.
1/6/2019: De Reiger
The resident cat enjoying a nap at De Reiger beside our table. We had a great meal of their rib specialty with craft beer.
1/7/2019: Shore Power Soft Start
Isolating shore power from on-board electrical systems is important to avoid excess corrosion and, even more importantly, to avoid risk of shock in and around the boat. Two common approaches to isolation are galvanic isolators and isolation transformers. Isolation transformers have many advantages and often are installed in Nordhavns, but have one potential downside though: when first plugged in, a substantial but very short current in-rush can occur that can trip shore breakers. It's no big deal, in ten plug-in attempts, it may only cause a problem once or twice with a 16A connection and it's never a problem when plugged into higher-rated shore power connections. Many boaters will never plug in an isolation-equipped boat to 16A or less and, for those that do, it only rarely trips a breaker and a simple reset will clear it. Here's James is testing part of a resistor-based soft start system that we will eventually install and blog.

Update 01/20/2019:We've described the install at Soft Start.
1/7/2019: Antifreeze
Taking delivery of an order of antifreeze. We've been struggling a bit with shipping heavier items to the boat, as the marina doesn't have an office and their address isn't registered with the local postal service. The adjacent hotel will accept letters and smaller packages for us, but we don't want to hassle them with something this heavy. After the local courier couldn't find the address to deliver this jug of antifreeze, Jeff van der Jagt (behind James) of Filtersystemen Nederland offered to deliver it in person. Impressive service.
1/8/2019: Swiss Tiara
The river boat docks recently installed near are marina are seeing heavy use. The 110m Swiss Tiara cruises Holland and Belgium, and the Danube, Rhine and Main rivers.
1/8/2019: Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum art and history museum was founded in 1800 in the Hague and moved to the current location in 1885. It's the largest and most visited museum in the Netherlands and annually sees over 2 million visitors. We'll add two to the 2019 numbers today.
1/8/2019: Atrium
The light-filled atrium at the Rijksmuseum entrance.
1/8/2019: Gallery of Honour
The Gallery of Honour contains the Rijksmuseum's treasures: Golden Age masterpieces by Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen. This room contains Rembrandt's, from left to right, Self Portrait as the Apostle Paul, Rembrandt's Son Titus in a Monk's Habit, The Syndics, and The Jewish Bride.
1/8/2019: Still Life with Cheese
Floris Claesz van Dijck was considered one of the pioneers of Dutch still-life painting. He painted the incredibly realistic Still Life with Cheese around 1615.
1/8/2019: The Last Judgement
Lucas van Leydon was the most famous 16th-century Dutch painter and his masterpiece, The Last Judgement, is temporarily on display at the Rijksmuseum during the renovation of the Museum de Lakenhal in Leiden.
1/8/2019: Merry Drinker
The Merry Drinker, painted between 1628-1630, shows Frans Hal's pioneering loose brushstroke technique.
1/8/2019: Still Life with a Gilt Cup
Willem Claesz Heda produced an impressive array of grey shades in his 1635 painting Still Life with a Gilt Cup.
1/8/2019: Militia Company of District VIII
Bartholomeus van der Helst's 24ft-wide (7.5m) Militia Company of District VIII under the Command of Captain Roelof Bicker, painted in the 1640s is amazingly detailed and three-dimensional. Even the uniform buttons seem to extend out from the painting.
1/8/2019: Night Watch
Rembrandt's masterpiece Night Watch, painted in 1642, is one of the most famous paintings of the Dutch Golden Age and the jewel of the Rijksmuseum. The notable features of the painting are his dramatic use of light and shadow, the perception of motion, and painting's size at 11.91x14.34 ft (3.63x4.37m). This copy of Night Watch, painted between 1642-1655, shows that the original was even larger and was cut down to fit in a new display location.
1/8/2019: Model of the William Rex
A richly-detailed model of the Dutch warship William Rex, roughly a twelfth the size of the original, was made in the same shipyard where the real warships were built.
1/8/2019: Delftware
Delftware is a Dutch pottery created in the 16th-century to reproduce the Chinese porcelain that was in high demand in Europe at the time.
1/8/2019: Dollhouse
One of several incredible dollhouses in the Rijksmuseum's collection. The detailed display, created in approximately 1676, is 6.5 hight by 4.9ft wide (2 x 1.50m).
1/8/2019: Cupyers Library
The second floor viewing balcony over Cupyers Library, one of the finest art libraries in the world.
1/8/2019: Chess Set
A Nazi chess set in the Rijksmuseum's 20th-century collection glorifies Germany's World War II territorial ambitions. The pieces are shaped like war weapons and the sides of the board list the countries attacked in 1939-1940.
1/8/2019: Facial Casts
Facial casts of Indonesian Nias Island residents in the Rijksmuseum's 20th-century collection. Dutch anthropologist J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan created the casts in the early 1900s during his research into physical characteristics of ethnic groups.
1/8/2019: FK 23 Bantam
The World War I fighter plane FK 23 Bantam in the Rijksmuseum's 20th-century collection. The plane was developed by Dutchman Frederick Koolhoven while working for the English aircraft manufacturer BAT (British Aerial Transport Company) and could reach a record 136mph (200km/h).
1/8/2019: Ice Rink
The ice rink behind the Rijksmuseum has a lot less people on it than last time we were here.
1/8/2019: Ramses Shaffy
Portrait of Ramses Shaffy, interwoven with map lines of the Metro, at Vijzelgracht station on the new Metro 52 line. The popular Dutch singer lived in the neighbourhood of the station.
1/8/2019: Cafe Sonneveld
Escaping a downpour on our way home Rijksmuseum at Cafe Sonneveld, a bruin cafe (brown cafe; traditional Dutch pub) in the vibrant Jordaan district. Bruin cafes are snug and cosy establishments with candle-topped tables, wooden floors and often a house cat. They are named for their wood panelling and walls once stained by smoke.
1/9/2019: Groceries
An early-morning delivery from Albert Heijn grocery store. You can tell we're aways north—sunrise isn't until 8:45am. The delivery went much more smoothly than the first. With our new Maestro debit card, the payment was processed without issue.
1/9/2019: Engine Oil
We'd ordered some engine oil from Amazon Germany a few weeks back, and the local courier failed to deliver it yesterday. We'd already had two orders returned to the shipper when the local courier was unable to deliver to the marina and were expecting this too would fail, but amazingly, the four 5-gallon (20L) pails arrived today.

We really wanted this particular oil Shell RIMULA R4L for several reasons: 1) the circular pails fit well in our oil storage area, 2) it's a high-quality ACEA-E9 oil and 3) the price is excellent at EUR 84.09 per 20L pail. Obtaining the circular pails is getting harder in many geographies, where each company is using their own proprietary-shaped 20L container. We need secure storage when we're in rough waters, so it's far easier for us to use a standard shape.
1/9/2019: Soft Start Control Box
In Shore Power SoftStart, we described how transformers and other high-capacitance on-board electrical accessories have potentially large inrush currents. The problem is intermittent in that it depends where in the shore power sine wave the power is applied to the boat. If power is applied to the boat near the zero-crossing of the utility sine wave, there is no problem. But, if applied further away from the zero-crossing, the inrush currents can be very high and shore power breakers can trip. These inrush currents are short—far less than a second—but they can be up over 100A. In the old days of low-quality breakers, the short-duration high-current draw went unnoticed. But, with modern circuit protection devices, they will trip on even short duration inrush currents. The solution is a soft start and many very nice commercial solutions to this common problem are available.

Pictured is what we built to install on Dirona. It's a fairly simple device that puts a 40 ohm resistor in circuit for a half second to slow the inrush from a maximum of up over 100A to no more than 6-8A. After a half second, the resistor is taken back out of the circuit for efficiency.
1/9/2019: Soft Start Install
At the location where shore power is brought into a boat, there needs to be an overload and fault-protecting breaker immediately before the power is routed to any other electrical device. A well-designed system also includes a residual current protection device (RCD) at this point as well. In this picture you can see the soft start installed just above the shore power on boat breakers. The power flows from the shore power pedestal, to the boat, through the shore power breaker and the RCD, and then through the soft start before heading to the on-board power distribution and breaker panel.

Looking left to right in the lower junction box, you can see the breaker and RCD for each of the three shore power systems supported on Dirona: 1) the 30A @ 120V shore power system, 2) the 16A at 240V secondary shore power system, and 3) the 50A at 240V primary shore power system. The soft start is connected between the right-hand breaker and RCD on the 50A primary shore power feed and the power distribution and breaker panel. The top junction box is the soft start system that puts a 40 ohm resistor in series with the shore power for 500 msec (half second) and then the soft start system switches the resistor back out of circuit. If you look closely you'll see the wires in and out of the soft start are unusually large. These are 6 gauge conductors (nearly 1/6 of an inch in diameter) with heavy insulation. This seems needlessly large, but the circuit is rated to carry up to 50A and can support loads of 12KW so the conductors need to be substantial to avoid excessive voltage loss and heating.
1/9/2019: Battery Problem
We planned to head out in the tender to view the Amsterdam Light Festivalthe way they are best viewed: from the water. But the tender battery was flat. We'll investigate the cause of the problem tomorrow but, for now, we just want to get underway. We keep a spare battery on our tender so that we won't be stranded by a circuit left on or a failing battery. We quickly connected it up and found that the off/on switch on the battery jumper system had failed. Again, we'll solve that problem tomorrow but, for now, we just want to get underway. We keep tools on board the tender so that we can deal with simply mechanical problems like this one. So, I switched to the spare battery we keep on board, started the engine, and we headed out to see the lights of Amsterdam.

The picture shows our current setup with the spare battery on the left (normally kept in a plastic box) and the black battery box of our primary tender battery on the right.
1/9/2019: Desire
The lighted lips in the Amsterdam Light Festival display Desire near our marina. We've seen many of the displays from the road, but are now out in the tender to view them from the water.
1/9/2019: Mr. J.J. van der Veldebrug
Artist Peter Vink used in the pedestrian bridge Mr. J.J. van der Veldebrug for his display of the same name. Vink traced the triangles of the bridge with bright white light, extending them out above and below the bridge.
1/9/2019: Sea Palace
The multi-story pagoda-styled Sea Palace Chinese restaurant lit up at night. It's not officially a part of the Amsterdam Light Festival, but it looks great at night against the Amsterdam skyline.
1/9/2019: Night Vision
Boats passing through the Night Vision display represent light entering the eye.
1/9/2019: NEMO Science Museum
Looking up at the NEMO Science Museum, designed in the shape of a ship's hull.
1/9/2019: Shadow Scapes
Silhouettes based on the Maritime Museum's collection projected onto the museum's building in the Shadow Scapes display.
1/9/2019: Nieuwe Herengracht
Entering Nieuwe Herengracht, a 1658 extension to the Herengracht canal that was dug in 1612.
1/9/2019: Natuurlijk Licht
In Natuurlijk Licht, artist Meke Vrienten uses household appliances such as refrigerators to demonstrate that light always surrounds us, day and night, from devices not intended as lamps.
1/9/2019: Continuum
Using filters and reflected light, the colors in Continuum change depending on the viewing angle.
1/9/2019: Parabolic Lightcloud
The shape of Parabolic Lightcloud is based on the the mathematical figure the Fibonacci spiral.
1/9/2019: Neighbours
Short animations projected in light onto the quay of the Schippersgracht in Neighbours.
1/9/2019: Walter Suskind Bridge
The double-drawbridge Walter Suskind Bridge over the Nieuwe Herengracht where it connects to the Amstel River. The bridge's namesake helped Jews escape from the Nazis during World War II.
1/9/2019: Blauwbrug
Canal boat passing under the historic Blauwbrug over the Amstel River, built in 1883 following the design of bridges over the Seine River in Paris.
1/9/2019: Magere Brug
Looking south to the Magere Brug ("skinny bridge") over the Amstel River. The bridge has been rebuilt several times, but was originally called Kerkstraatbrug . Locals called it the "skinny bridge" because it is so narrow and the name stuck.
1/9/2019: Code
The letters and numbers in Code are the address of an online wallet, in a reference to how cryptocurrency has become one of the 'languages' of the digital age.
1/9/2019: Spider on the Bridge
Spider on the Bridge is made up of 80 smaller spiders using tubes of LED light programmed so that the creatures appear to actually crawl.
1/9/2019: Ode Aan De Mol
Ode Aan De Mol reproduces the words chosen by the US Department of Energy's Futures Panel to warn those in the distant future who might stumble across a nuclear waste storage site because it was felt the standard nuclear radiation warning symbol might not be understood. The first three visible panels read "This place is a message… and part of a system of messages… pay attention to it!" The complete text is at This Place is not A Place of Honor.
1/9/2019: Two Lamps
The two huge lamps in Jeroen Henneman's Two Lamps display.
1/9/2019: Starry Night
Starry Night was inspired by Van Gogh's painting of the same name.
1/9/2019: Midnight Summer Dream
Inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream play, the Midnight Summer Dream is an example of 'upcycling' where unused object are turned into something new of higher quality or value. In this case the lanterns of the display are made from washing machine tubs.
1/9/2019: Waiting
Waiting... depicts a life-sized version of the symbol we're shown while a computer operation is completing, with the lines in the wheel lighting up one after the other.
1/9/2019: A.N.N.
About to pass under A.N.N. (Artificial Neural Network), a display designed to visualize the process of brain activity
1/9/2019: Strangers in the Light
Inspired by Frank Sinatra's song Strangers in the Night, the 6m-tall figures in Strangers in the Light have "escaped" the pedestrian light signal and have an opportunity to meet for the first time.
1/9/2019: Light a wish
Underneath one of the twenty pieces in Light a Wish that visualize the wish made while blowing dandelion seeds blown into the air.
1/9/2019: ARCHEStextures: PORTAM CIVITATIS
ARCHEStextures: PORTAM CIVITATIS evokes the European Gothic churches built in the 12th-15th centuries.
1/9/2019: O.T. 976
Stefan Reiss's string-theory inspired Amsterdam Light Festival display O.T. 976.
1/9/2019: Transmission
Close to our marina at Transmission that evokes modern telecommunications through wave-shaped tubes programmed to make the light appear to be moving through the air.
1/10/2019: Battery Problem
The battery was flat on the tender last night. We switched to the on-board spare and continued the trip. This morning we're charging up the flat battery and testing it. After charging, it tested out as still having 183 CCA (cold cranking amps) which is close to normal. It looks we can continue to use this battery but, each time a battery is fully discharged, it's life is substantially reduced.

Investigating the cause of the battery discharge, the problem was operator error—we had left on an accessory switch. We'll need to put that accessory switch on ignition-switched power or be more careful in the future. We'll likely make the change to avoid the problem in the future. Since we have a backup battery on-board, this problem wasn't a big issue and didn't slow us down much.
1/10/2019: Backup Battery System
The second problem we had last night is when attaching the backup battery jumper cables and turning on the switch, the motor still wouldn't start. We installed the spare battery without investigating the problem so we could get underway. But, in checking this morning on the problem, we found the off/on switch had failed.

The history of our tender backup battery system is a long one. We originally purchased a commercial battery boost system and it worked well for a couple of years before its battery needed replacement. We took apart the commercial boost system and replaced the battery and it again worked for another couple of years, but the battery is a very small battery and it really can only be used once or twice. So, we took the jumper cables and switch off the commercial battery boost system and put them directly on a second battery exactly the same as the one used on the tender. This worked far better and has been the system we've been using for nearly four years. But the last remnants of that commercial battery boost system have now failed. The off/on switch is no longer operative. We'll replace them with direct wiring without a switch.
1/10/2019: Tender Battery Connectors
One of the reason we liked the old battery boost system is we could just connect the jumpers, turn on the switch, and start the engine. When not in use the switch was off and there was no risk of the terminals touching together. But, predictably the switch failed.

For the new system we've gone with an even simpler design where each battery has 12-gauge wires with connectors on the end. We have dummy connectors installed on each to keep the water out and to prevent shorting. When needed, we simply remove the dummy plugs, attach the two wires together and we are in "jumped" mode. Another nice feature of this approach is we can charge or test both the primary and the backup batteries without taking the batteries out of their enclosures.
1/10/2019: Soft Start Installation
Here we are installing the primary shore power soft start system. At this point, the soft start junction box is installed just above the existing shore breaker junction box. The six 6-gauge wires are hanging down below and to the right of the soft start system but are not yet installed. The next step is to bring down the shore power and run the boat on batteries while the final wiring is completed.
1/10/2019: Soft Start Complete
The soft start system is complete. In this picture you can see the soft start installed above the shore power breaker box. This marina is a particularly good place to test the efficacy of the soft start systems since the shore pedestal main breaker releases whenever we apply power. Once it's powered up, it'll run fine for weeks but during power up it just about always pops the breaker.

Fortunately the power here is reliable, but there was one day where some electrical service was done in the marina and shore power was shut down and re-enabled and each cycle caused the pedestal main breaker to release. We can now plug in and unplug at will, the power can be turned off and on repeatedly, and everything just works. Wonderful!

Update 01/20/2019:We've described the install at Soft Start.
1/11/2019: Container Risk
After sinking and fire, the threat of hitting things at sea is probably our next largest concern. Fortunately, the oceans are big and there really isn't much in the water. Having crossed all oceans and the Atlantic twice, we have seen lots of fishing gear, buoys, and parts of docks destroyed by storms but generally we don't see much floating debris offshore and what we have seen isn't a threat to hull integrity. In this category, the biggest concern is shipping containers lost at sea. These are plenty big and heavy enough to sink a boat so the risk is a real one. And on average, 1,390 containers are lost at sea every year. Again, the oceans are really big so this is spread over a vast amount of space and we suspect that the odds of loosing a boat to a meteorite strike is around the same probability. But 1,390 is still a very big number.

On January 2nd, the MSC Zoe lost 250 containers off the north coast of the Netherlands. We were just there a few months back, so the pictures of the containers washing up on shore from this loss seem particularly attention-grabbing.
1/11/2019: Friends
After chasing his toy mouse all over the pilot house berth, an exhausted Spitfire promptly fell asleep holding it.
1/12/2019: River Cruise Boats
A half-dozen river cruise boats moored just east of Amsterdam Central Station.
1/12/2019: Bicycle Lane
Amsterdam is full of two-way bicycle lanes such as this one along De Ruijerkade that runs between the IJ River and Amsterdam Central Station. The lane continues past our marina and and is constantly full of cyclists and scooter riders. Riding a bicycle here is much like driving a car: you need to wait for a gap in traffic to enter the lanes, be aware of potentially passing traffic if you pull out to pass and exit the lanes with care so you don't get run over.

Bicyclists expect right-of-way and as a pedestrian, it's often easier to cross the road than the bicycle lanes. We saw an accident the other night where a pedestrian stepped out in front of a bicyclist, who warned him with a bell, but kept coming. When the pedestrian didn't move, the two collided.
1/12/2019: Wagamama
A light meal at Wagamama at Amsterdam Central Station before taking the train out to Middenmeer to watch a 6pm ice hockey game.
1/12/2019: Sprinter
At platform 13a in Amsterdam Central Station to take our first Sprinter train to Middenmeer. The Sprinter service is the slower of the two types of intercity train services in Netherlands, making more stops en route.
1/12/2019: Jaap Eden Skating Rink
The Jaap Eden skating rink, named after the famous Dutch speed skater Jaap Eden, is the largest in the Netherlands with a 1312ft (400m) lane and was pretty full at 5:30pm on a Saturday night. We were surprised to see that every person we saw was wearing speed skates and that the rink had two marked lanes running in opposite directions.
1/12/2019: Jaap Edenhal
Inside Jaap Edenhal, home of the Amsterdam Tigers semi-professional ice hockey team. The seats were mostly empty 25 minutes before game time, so we weren't expecting much of a crowd. But the stands were close to two thirds full by the time the game was underway.
1/12/2019: WM Ice Technics
We rarely see anything other than a Zamboni cleaning an ice surface, but Jaap Edenhal has an electric WM Ice Technics machine from Italy.
1/12/2019: Puck Drop
Ceremonial puck drop at the start of the game with the Amsterdam Tigers lined up on the left and the visiting Belgian Bulldogs Liege on the right.
1/12/2019: Action
Action near the visiting Bulldogs' net. We hadn't seen a live ice hockey game since attending a San Jose Sharks match a years ago and had a great time at the Tigers game.
1/12/2019: Tiger Goal
The Tigers scoring one of their four goals. Unfortunately for the home team, the visitors scored nine. It was a thirteen-point hockey game, so we got our money's worth.
1/12/2019: Station
At Amsterdam Science Park train station waiting for the Sprinter back to the city center.
1/12/2019: Queue
Saturday night is popular for canal cruises—a queue of over a hundred were waiting to board at Lovers Canal Cruises.
1/12/2019: Antenna Sud
Amsterdam Light Festival display Antenna Sud is modelled after the radio antennas that once filled urban landscapes before cable television and radio became prevalent.
1/12/2019: Harlem Soul Food
We shared a delicious jerk chicken post-game meal at tiny Harlem Soul Food on our way back to Dirona.
1/14/2019: Bicycle Turn Lanes
We'd mentioned earlier that biking in Amsterdam's dedicated bicyle lanes is much like driving a car. This picture gives another example, and a sense of how busy the bicycle lanes can be. Here you can see separate right and left turn lanes for the bicyles.
1/14/2019: The Waag
This castle-like building is the oldest surviving non-religious buildling in the city. It was originally built in the 15th-century as a gate in the wall surrounding medieval Amsterdam and in the 17th-century was used as a waag ('weigh house').
1/14/2019: Amazing Oriental
Picking up some provisions at the well-stocked Amazing Oriental Asian grocery store.
1/14/2019: Dunkin' Donuts
We haven't had a real Boston Creme donut since consuming the last of our Newport donuts during our 2017 Atlantic crossing and were happy to find a Dunkin' Donuts nearby in Amsterdam.
1/14/2019: Rene's Croissants
At Rene's Croissants to pickup some pastries. Amsterdam has wonderful baked goods.
1/14/2019: Full Load
Jennifer returning back from grocery shopping with a full load.
1/14/2019: Replacing Sidelights
James installing new mounting brackets for the slightly larger side lights that we're upgrading to. Here he's hanging from the crane, since that's the only way to access the aft side of the lights.

We're moving to a slightly higher output light and that requires a larger support bracket. In the picture he's got the bracket fully installed and the new light temporarily in place (rightmost) while he checks the wire length.
1/15/2019: IJ River
View to the IJ River from the marina complex as we head out to Amsterdam Central station to catch a morning train to Haarlem.
1/15/2019: Amsterdam Central
On the platform at Amsterdam Central waiting for our train to Haarlem. This is our first high-speed Intercity train—the 12-mile (20km) run will take only 15 minutes with just one stop.
1/15/2019: Intercity Train
On the upper deck of the double-decker Intercity train to Haarlem. The train felt modern and new, and was very quiet.
1/15/2019: Haarlem Station
We felt like we'd hardly gotten on the train before we arrived at Haarlem. This is our train at Haarlem station—it has at least a half-dozen double-decker cars.
1/15/2019: Town Hall
Looking west across Grote Markt, Haarlem's central square, to the city's ornate 14th-century town hall.
1/15/2019: Spaarne River
A bridge across the Spaarne River. The partially canalized river connects the ring canal around the Haarlemmermeer polder (reclaimed land) to the North Sea Canal.
1/15/2019: Entrance
Jennifer looking down from the second floor of spectacular entrance hall to Teyler's Museum of Wonder. The museum, opened in 1784, is the oldest in the Netherlands. It was funded to foster an interest in arts and sciences both through research and sharing discoveries with the public.
1/15/2019: Arsinoitherium
Reproduction of a twin-horned Arsinoitherium skull in Teyler's large fossil collection. When the fossil wing opened in 1885, it was an ultra-modern gallery in an age when the origin of the species was being researched and hotly debated.
1/15/2019: Oval Room
The Oval Room was the first gallery in the museum to open in 1784 and has been preserved largely intact. It feels a bit like stepping back into the 18th century.
1/15/2019: Mont Blanc
Europe's highest peak, 15,781-ft (4,808 m) Mont Blanc, got slightly lower in 1787 after Swiss geologist Horace Benedict De Saussure chiseled off the tip, shown at upper left of this display case. Haarlem, at only 2 meters above sea level, was an unexpected location to get a view down onto the top of Mont Blanc.
1/15/2019: Electrostatic Generator
The pride of Teyler's Museum Of Wonder is this electrostatic generator, originally on display in the oval room when it opened in 1784. The machine can generate 300,000 volts—Teyler's museum director, Martin van Marum, designed the machine to explore the properties and uses of high-voltate electricity.
1/15/2019: Da Vinci
Facsimiles of human anatomy drawings by Leonardo da Vinci on display at Teyler's Museum of Wonder.
1/15/2019: Bavo Church
The massive Bavo Church, built between 1370 and 1538, dominates the eastern side of Grote Markt opposite the town hall.
1/15/2019: Steeple
This photograph inside the Bavo Church shows how the structure, with it's 164-ft-high (50m) steeple, towers over the buildings in the area.
1/15/2019: Organ
The spectacular organ in Bavo Church has 5,086 pipes and stands 98 ft (30m) high.
1/15/2019: Choir
The copper choir screen in Bavo Church dates from 1517 and is considered a masterpiece of medieval craftsmanship. The entire floor of the church is gravestones, around 1,500, some dating back to the 15th century. Dutch painter Frans Hals is buried just inside the choir screen.
1/15/2019: Lunch
A delicious lunch at Restaurant ML in Haarlem with a view to Bavo Church through the window.
1/15/2019: Vleeshal
The Vleeshal (meat hall), dating from 1603, was the only place in Haarlem until the 18th-century where fresh meat was sold.
1/15/2019: Bus
On the city bus to visit the Cruquius Museum south of Haarlem. The 4.5m (7.3km) ride takes less than a half-hour, with buses running roughly every eight minutes.
1/15/2019: Cruquius Museum
The Cruquius Museum houses the world's largest steam engine, and was one of three pumphouse built in the 1840s to drain Haarlem Lake. The lake had been progressively growing in size over the centuries and was a flood danger to major cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Visible on the left of the pumphouse is the Ringvaart (Ring Canal) built to carry the drained water away and provide a means of navigation for traffic that previously used the lake. The canal is 38m long (61km) and enclosed over 69 sq mi (180 sq km). On the right is the Spaarne River, 30 ft (9m) below the Ringvaart. Over the course of three years, the pumphouses raised eight million tons of water up to the Ringvaart and completely drained Haarlem Lake.
1/15/2019: Cruquius Diagram
Diagram inside the Cruquius Museum showing how the water was lifted 30 ft (9m) from the Spaarne River up to the Ringvaart. Pump buckets are suspended from chains at the end of balance beams (rocker arms). During the upstroke, the bucket valve (piston) is closed and all the water from the pump barrel is lifted up to the Ringvaart. During this time, the foot valve at the bottom is open, allowing the pump barrel to refill. At the start of the downstroke, the foot valve closes, the bucket valve opens, and the bucket moves to the bottom of the pump barrel, ready to life another load.
1/15/2019: Steam Engine In Action
The pride of the Cruquius museum is the working pump machinery. Once powered by steam boilers, the pump now is electricity driven for demonstration purposes. The engine is an amazing feat of engineering for the time and we loved seeing it in action. The video Cruquius Pump shows how the engine moved the balance beams up and down, while the valves are opened and closed with each stroke.
1/15/2019: Groot Heiligland
Back in Haarlem along historic Groot Heiligland street to visit the Frans Hals museum. The street contains 18 entries in the national monuments register.
1/15/2019: Frans Hals Museum
16th-century Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, known for his broad brush strokes and lively images, lived and worked in Haarlem. The Frans Hals Museum was running an exhibit describing how the painter had been "re-discovered" by 19th-century painters such as Van Gogh and Monet, who had flocked to Haarlem to view Hals' work. We too appreciated Hals' paintings, made more interesting through the exhibit comparing styles and attitudes between the 16th-century painter and his 19th-century admirers.
1/15/2019: Dollhouse
An eighteenth-century dollhouse, containing 997 items of furniture and household effects at a 1:10 scale, on display at the Frans Hals museum. Such dollhouses were not children's toys, rather they were the expensive hobbies of wealthy women who designed them as an art cabinet or miniature museum.
1/15/2019: Grote Houtstraat
The Haarlem winter lights coming to life at dusk along Grote Houtstraat. The displays farther down the street include an outline of the town with Bavo Church steeple prominent.
1/15/2019: Dirona Security Cameras
All of Dirona's monitoring, alerting and video cameras are also available remotely. Here you can see the six video cameras in use on Dirona in Amsterdam, viewed from Tierney's Irish Pub in Haarlem.
1/15/2019: El Pincho
We finished off our Haarlem visit with an excellent meal at El Pincho tapas restaurant, center in distance, with a view to Klokhuisplein street and Bavo Church.
1/16/2019: Thruster Wash
To avoid growth build-up, we run the hydraulic thrusters monthly. This the wash the forward thrusters throw underneath the dock and over to the marina wall, about ten feet away from the boat.
1/16/2019: Tram
Taking the streetcar to pickup our new glasses from Specsavers. This the fourth form of public transit we've taken in Amsterdam. The others were the Metro subway, and the Sprinter and Intercity trains.
1/16/2019: Haarlemmerbuurt
Looking down Haarlemmerbuurt from the west end after we'd gotten off the streetcar after picking up our glasses at Specsavers. We returned to De Pizzabakkers for another delicious meal.
1/17/2019: Hoek van Holland Beach
At the Hoek van Holland ('Hook of Holland') Beach on a day-trip to Delft near The Hague. The winds are only blowing about 20 knots, but fair-sized waves are pounding into shore. Not a great day to be out boating in the North Sea.
1/17/2019: Pilot Boats
Pilot boats moored at the mouth of the New Waterway shipping canal leading to the port of Rotterdam.
1/17/2019: Maeslantkering
The shore-side attachment point (left) for one arm of the Maeslantkering storm surge barrier, with the other arm visible in the distance on the opposite shore. The Maeslantkering is designed to keep the New Waterway shipping canal clear for traffic to and from the busy port of Rotterdam, but will automatically close in the event of a storm surge to protect against flooding. It's a very different design, but similar in purpose to, the Thames Tidal Control Barrier that we passed through en route to and from London.
1/17/2019: Barrier Closed
An aerial photograph at the Maeslantkering visitor center showing the storm surge barrier in the closed position. The gates are stored in dry docks on shore that are flooded prior to the gates closing. This allows the gates to be floated into the closed position and then sunk to lie on the bottom of the waterway. As the barrier slowly sinks towards the bottom, the water speed underneath increases dramatically. This scours all of the sand and sendiment out from underneath, ensuring a good seal against the concrete base.

The barrier is one of the largest moving structures in the world and is considered a marvel of modern engineering. The ball-shaped joints that allows the gates to move freely under the influence of wind, waves and water is the largest in the world at 32ft (10m) in diameter, each weighing 680 tons.
1/17/2019: Delta Project
The Maeslantkering storm surge barrier (topmost) is part of the Delta Works, a major project to protect Rotterdam and the surrounding area from flooding. The project was in response to the disastrous North Sea Flood of 1953 when 67 are dikes were breached, resulting in flooding over 527 sq mi (1,365 sq km), covering 9% of Dutch farmland.. 1,835 people died, 30,000 animals drowned, 47,300 buildings were damaged and 10,000 of those were completely destroyed.
1/17/2019: Greenhouses
The area north of the New Waterway shipping canal to the The Hague is packed with massive greenhouses, visible on the satellite imagery, devoted to the flower market.
1/17/2019: Molslaan
Molslaan canal in the center of picturesque Delft.
1/17/2019: Swans
Swans gliding through downtown Delft.
1/17/2019: Bulbs
Pots and pots of sprouting bulbs for sale street-side in Delft.
1/17/2019: Canal Door
Most of the Delft canal-side buildings have doors right at the water level for taking deliveries and entering and leaving by boat.
1/17/2019: City Hall
Delft City Hall was built in the early 1600s around a belfry (just visible with the clock at top center) that dates to the 1300s.
1/17/2019: Scheve Jan
The tower Scheve Jan ('Leaning Jan') of Oude Kerk (Old Church), founded in 1246. The 246ft (75m) tower leans about 2m from vertical due to ground subsidence.
1/17/2019: Gemeenlandshuis
The ornate face of Gemeenlandshuis, built in 1505 and the headquarters for the Delfland Water Board since 1645.
1/17/2019: Nieuwe Kerk
Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) was built between 1381 and 1655. We'd hoped to climb to the top of the tower for a view, but it was already closed by the time we arrived.
1/17/2019: Vermeer
Renowned Dutch master painter Johannes Vermeer was born, lived and worked in Delft and his famous painting Girl With a Pearl Earring is reproduced throughout the city. He lived for a time in this canal-side house across from Nieuwe Kerk, partially visible on the left.
1/17/2019: Dusk
Dusk looking down Hippolytusbuurt in Delft.
1/17/2019: Eastern Gate
Eastern Gate, built around 1400, is the only town gate remaining from the wall that once surrounded the medieval Delft.
1/17/2019: Klaeuwshofje
The Klaeuwshofje courtyard in Delft was built in 1605 as a residence for Roman Catholic spinsters and widows. The walls block out much of the city noise, making the courtyard unexpectedly tranquil and calm.
1/17/2019: Beesten Markt
Animals were bought and sold well into the 20th-century in Delft's Beesten Markt (Animal Market). In the summer the outdoor seating in plaza is lively with patrons. Even in near-freezing temperatures, we often see people sitting outside in the Netherlands, so were a little surprised that all the seats empty. Of course, it could have been due to the pouring rain that has just shifted to snow. :)
1/17/2019: Spijshuis De Dis
We completed the day over an exceptional meal at Spijshuis De Dis overlooking Plaza del Mercado de Animales with Jan Pieterse and Deb Richardson. Jan, who grew up in Delft, took us out for a tour of the area and has known the chef at Spijshuis De Dis for years. We both had a wonderful time and really appreciated having the benefit of so much local knowledge.
1/18/2019: Installing Lights
Earlier in the week we installed the new mounting brackets, now James is installing the slightly larger side lights that we're upgrading to. Here he's working on the wiring through a pie-eye at the base of the winglet that supports the lights.
1/18/2019: New Side Light
The new side light in place, with the older style they are replacing still in use for the aft-facing lights.
1/18/2019: Flood lights On
Testing the side and aft facing lights. The new side lights are a little larger than the aft-facing ones, but are double the wattage at 150 watts versus 70. We did a quick test at night and the side lights could easily illuminate the street several hundred feet away.
1/19/2019: Armorel
Ken and Ali Wittamore invited us over to Armorel to see their Integrel Marine charging system in use. This innovative charging system won the prestigious DAME Design Award at METS in 2018. We met Ken and Ali through Nigel Calder and we were really impressed with the Integrel advanced generator replacement so we jumped on the chance to see one in use.

The system combines a 9kW output engine-driven generator with a fairly large lead-acid battery bank and an advanced control system. The system will run well on any boat, but their target market is small to mid-sized sailboats where a generator takes up considerable valuable space. By installing a 9kW main engine driven alternator, they eliminate the need for the generator but, on smaller boats, this load represents a considerable portion of the full output of a small engine.

The real secret of the design is the control system that monitors current prop power draw and max engine output at the current RPM. The system takes whatever power is left over after driving the boat, ensuring that propulsion requirements are met unchanged and only the unused available engine power is used to charge the batteries. This takes available engine power to drive heavy loads that would normally have required a generator while, at the same time, ensuring full engine output is always available on demand.

The control system makes load decisions ten times per second to ensure the system is always running at maximum efficiency, the engine is never pushed into overload, and full engine output is always available for the prop on demand. The idea is innovative and it's a very professionally-engineered solution.
1/20/2019: Detecting Autostart
Whenever an autostart engine is worked upon, the autostart must be shut off. There is a possibility that it might accidentally be left off, so some additional protection is afforded by warning when autostart is not currently on. Here James is installing the autostart detect circuit in our Northern Lights Wavenet (very similar to the current North Lights TSC).
1/19/2019: LCD and keypad
Over the nine months, we have continued to add more and more functionality to the pilot house display and keypad. From this pair, we can do or show the following:
  1. Boiler off/on
  2. HVAC off/on
  3. Set water heater temp to: off, 120F, or 136F
  4. Defrost off/on
  5. Generator off/on
  6. Generator run time limit setting
  7. Battery charger #1 off/on
  8. Battery charger #2 off/on
  9. Display current and next three songs playing on audio system
  10. Display current & next three bands playing on audio system
  11. Display all boat temperatures (20 sensors throughout boat)
  12. Display all fuel, F/W, B/W, & G/W levels
  13. Display kWhr consumed from Shore#1, Shore#2, & Generator
  14. Display voltage and amperage output from chargers & inverters
  15. Display RPM, Temperature, and Oil Pressure for Main, Wing, & Generator
  16. Display short form of last 4 warnings or alerts from the boat control systems
  17. Display time of last 4 warnings or alerts from the boat control systems
  18. Display long form of last 4 warnings or alerts from the boat control systems
  19. Boat music: pause/play
  20. Boat music: previous song
  21. Boat music: next song
  22. Display off/on
This system has been so useful that we wanted to add another keypad and display for the engine room. The first step of this project is assembling of a control box to house the 4x20 character LCD display and the 4x4 Matrix keypad. This is the finished product.
1/19/2019: Running Wires
James running wires from the lazarette Raspberry Pi to the engine room control system display and keypad. The display requires 4 wires (5V+, 5V-, and 2 i2c signalling lines) and the keypad requires 8 signaling lines.
1/20/2019: I2C
James testing the i2c signalling that will be used to run the engine room control system and 2 devices each providing 8 pins of digital I/O. He normally tests using a spare Raspberry Pi before installing the final solution in a more difficult to access location.
1/20/2019: ER Keypad and Display
The new engine room remote control display and keypad box mounted with wiring roughed in but not yet connected.
1/20/2019: Junction Box
A junction box with roughed in wiring above the generator that will house an i2c to 8 channel digital I/O converter and allow access to all signaling wires between the lazerette Raspberry Pi and the engine room display and keypad.
1/21/2019: Wasahamnen Guest Harbour
We've been researching some of our stops for this summer's Baltic cruise and are planning to spend a few weeks in July at Wasahamnen Guest Harbour in Stockholm.
1/22/2019: Dawn
A beautiful pink dawn viewed from our berth at City Marina in Amsterdam.
1/22/2019: Snow
The temperature is just below freezing and snow is falling in Amsterdam. This is our second snowfall since arriving.
1/22/2019: Junction Box
The completed junction box open with final wiring complete.
1/22/2019: ER Keypad and Display
The completed engine room remote control keypad and display mounted. We can now control remotely control our automation systems from the engine room and also view the various status displays.
1/22/2019: Haarlemmerplein
A layer of snow on Haarlemmerplein, where we walked out to pickup some groceries at the Albert Heijn there.
1/22/2019: Buiten Brouwersstraat
Beautiful snowy scene along Buiten Brouwersstraat as we walked back to the marina from grocery shopping.
1/22/2019: Dirona
A snow-covered Dirona at City Marina in downtown Amsterdam.
1/23/2019: Betty's Kattenhotel
Spitfire checking out his room at Betty's Kattenhotel where he'll be staying for a week or so while we return to Seattle.
1/23/2019: Common Area
Spitfire has a private room at Betty's Kattenhotel, but another option is their common area. It's beautifully built, with walkways at ceiling level and lots of places for the cat's to tuck into.
1/24/2019: Central Station
At Amsterdam Central Station on a chilly morning to take the train to Schiphol Airport for our flight to Seattle. The large bag on the right contains only another bag, both of which we'll fill with parts and supplies when we pickup our mail in Seattle. The train to the airport was super-convenient: we left Dirona about 6:20am, were on a direct train to the airport by 6:40am, and arrived right underneath the airport terminal before 7am.
1/24/2019: KLM International Lounge
At KLM's striking multi-level international lounge in Schiphol airport prior to our flight to Seattle. This is our first direct flight out of Amsterdam with KLM, so our first time in their Schiphol lounge.
1/24/2019: Connectivity
This is Maretron N2kView running on our navigation computer on Dirona in Amsterdam, viewed via the VNC (Virtual Network Computing) remote desktop package from the air just east of Iceland. We actually have access to this data directly on our smart phones running the Maretron N2kView mobile app.

What makes this picture above interesting is that it's full windows desktop access to our onboard navigation computer and all applications are available via this channel. Through this connection we have full access to internal boat control systems through a secure encrypted channel. We don't expect to ever need this direct access to the boat computing systems but it's a good safety backup for when we are off the boat. Should we experience a non-recoverable system problem, this allows us to log in and recover it.

For day-to-day access to boat telemetry data, we use Maretron N2kview running on my laptop and on all of our phones. If the navigation computer has an application fault, software watch dogs will detect and restart the application. If the system experiences an unrecoverable application problem or an operating system fault, the control system external to the computer will cycle its power forcing a reboot and recovery. But, if all that fails, we now have the ability to log in remotely.
1/24/2019: Packages
At the UPS store in Seattle to pickup our packages. We were just back in Seattle in December so don't have quite as many packages as usual, but we will fill two large suitcases.
1/25/2019: Seattle Boat Show
At the opening day of the Seattle Boat Show. We've not been in town in January since we left Seattle in 2012 and ran into a surprising number of people we knew or who were blog readers.
1/25/2019: Cruising the Secret Coast
Jennifer with a copy of our book, Cruising the Secret Coast, at one of the Seattle Boat Show booths.
1/25/2019: KVH
At the Seattle Boat Show booth of our one of our favourite companies, KVH, the supplier of our V7hts mini-VSAT satellite system.
1/26/2019: Lake Union
A beautiful sunny morning at Lake Union for the floating portion of the Seattle Boat Show.
1/26/2019: Seven Marine
If you want a high-output outboard motor, Seven Marine takes it to a completely different level with 627 hp per engine. These engines start their life in a General Motors engine plant where the Chevrolet LSA is built for the Camaro ZL1 and the Cadillac CTS-V. These are all-aluminum GM small block engines where "small" is a bit of a relative word. These engines are actually 6.2 liters, so far from small, and when GM boxes them up at the end of the engine production line in Silao Mexico, they can deliver 556 hp.

Seven Marine does further performance work to extract 627 hp and then deliver this HP through a ZF transmission to the dual prop down below. We've seen up to 4 Seven Marine outboard motors on the back of a center console in Florida. That's 4 Chevrolet V8s on a center console! Here's a Seven Marine engine at the Seattle Boat Show with the cowling open to see the high-performance V8 that powers this engine.
1/26/2019: Owners Gathering
At our first Nordhavn owners gathering since leaving Seattle in 2012. We had a fabulous evening seeing old friends and making new ones, many of whom we'd corresponded with over the years but had never met in person.

During the evening, PAE president Dan Streech presented us with two special pennants: one for having covered 70,000 miles in Dirona and an Extreme Latitudes pennant for crossing the Arctic Circle and beyond last summer. A write-up of the event is at Opening Weekend in Seattle.
1/29/2019: Amazon Spheres
Inside one of the three glass domes making up the Amazon Spheres on the company headquarters campus in downtown Seattle. The spheres contain 40,000 plants from 50 different countries, including a 55-ft fig tree. The humidity is so high inside it's almost raining.
1/30/2019: Canvas Supply
Picking up a few parts at Canvas Supply Company in Seattle, who did all the canvas on our boat including the flybridge bimini and the eyebrow bimini off the boat deck. They do quality work. In New Zealand we passed through a sudden, brief squall with the flybridge bimini open. The boat sounded like it was exploding as winds spiked from 15kts to 110kts. We didn't expect to find anything left of the bimini, but it survived with only a slightly bent pole.
2/1/2019: Sushi Kappo Tamura
Beautifully-presented plate at Sushi Kappo Tamura in Seattle. It tasted as delicious at it looked.
2/1/2019: Friends
With Sushi Kappo Tamura Executive Chef and owner Taichi Kitamura (center) and our friends Kimanh Moreau and Peter DeSantis. We had an exceptional evening.
2/2/2019: Tunnel Walk
Over 100,000 people walked along the old Seattle viaduct and through the new tunnel today as part of the grand opening of the SR 99 redevelopment. Hundreds were lined up in either direction to access the viaduct at 1st and Seneca.
2/2/2019: Occidental Avenue
Trees lit up along Occidental Avenue as we return from another day at the Seattle Boat Show.
2/4/2019: On the Train
We'd scheduled an Uber for this morning's trip to the airport, but the car didn't show up due to a snowfall this morning and no taxis were available. So we eventually dragged our three heavy bags through the snow to the LRT station and got a train instead. This delayed us by a bit more than an hour and we were lucky to arrive at the airport counter within a minute of their shutting off bag check-in for our flight.
2/4/2019: Snow
The snowy scene outside our train en route to the airport. Snow is pretty rare in Seattle.
2/4/2019: De-Icing
This may look like a scene from the Chicago airport, but it's actually our plane being de-iced in Seattle. We took off an hour late, but at least we got in the air. So far 62 flights have been cancelled and 124 delayed.
2/4/2019: Mountains
Snow-covered mountains en route from Seattle to Chicago.
2/4/2019: Chicago
We made it into Chicago an hour late for our connecting flight to Amsterdam. But we had a three-hour layover, so had plenty of time. This is the view from the KLM lounge to our plane being readied for departure. We weren't thrilled about connecting through Chicago in the winter, but it was the best option we could find. And who would have guessed that Seattle would be the one with the winter storm issue?
2/5/2019: KLM Travel Clinic
At the KLM Travel Clinic to get the first of two vaccination shots for tick-borne encephalitis, prevalent in Sweden, Finland and eastern Europe. We'd initially planned to get the vaccination while back in the US, but it isn't available there. We'll still have to take precautions against ticks because Lyme disease also is a risk and no vaccination is available for that.
2/5/2019: Luggage
Back home with our roughly 175 pounds of luggage in three bags. Everything made it through no problem this time, and nothing was missing or damaged. The TSA had opened several of our packages for inspection, but they always repack well. We wouldn't have even noticed were it not for tag they leave to indicate they'd inspected the luggage and the special tape they use to reseal a package.
2/6/2019: Nordhavn Charter
While we were in Southampton UK last winter, we met Mika Naatula and Katri Rosenberg of Nordhavn 64 Sweet Hope. They are great people who have boated in Finland, Sweden, and the Baltic Sea area for many years. We have heard so many great things about Finland and Sweden that we intend to spend next summer cruising the area and have been getting advice from Mika and Katri.

If you are also interested in the area, end up getting interested, or if you just want to spend some time learning about a Nordhavn, Sweet Hope is available for charter. It's a great boat and it's hard to get more knowledgeable hosts than Mika and Katri. More information at https://sweethope.fi/.
2/6/2019: Deliveroo
Amsterdam has a number of on-line food delivery services supporting dozens of restaurants. We've been particularly enjoying the roast chicken from Rotisserie Amsterdam and find the Deliveroo app rather entertaining. Once an order is placed, an animated skillet tossing food indicates the order is being prepared. When the rider is underway, the animation changes to a peddling cyclist and we can watch their progress on a map in the app. As the rider approaches, the animation changes to an impatient diner banging their fist-held knife and fork.
2/7/2019: High Winds
A major storm system passed through the area, bringing gusts to nearly 40 knots and knocking over parked bicycles throughout Amsterdam.
2/7/2019: Johan Cruijff ArenA
Passing Johan Cruijff ArenA, home of the Dutch professional football (soccer) club Ajax, en route to an appointment.
2/7/2019: Stadsloket Zuidoost
Waiting at Amsterdam Stadsloket Zuidoost (City Desk Southeast) to register as a temporary resident to obtain a BSN (burgerservicenummer), a Citizen Service Number similar to a Social Security Number in the US. It turned out that we needed one to keep our local Bunq bank account active.
2/7/2019: Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA
At the Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA station, about 15 minutes from Central Station, to return into the city after obtaining our BSN.
2/9/2019: Windy
The high winds blew our large forward inflatable fender from the water up and onto the boat. We've since secured it with a line to a dock cleat. Our heavy Polyform F8 fenders didn't budge.
2/12/2019: Replacing Line
The line supporting our Nordhavn pennant had frayed to barely a thread, so we replaced it today.
2/12/2019: New Parts
A common problem determination technique is to replace a suspected bad component and, if the problem is corrected, then you know that component was at fault. But this technique is not perfect—sometimes new parts are bad. Six months back water was leaking out of our hot water heater so we replaced the Temperature and Pressure (T&P) valve. It continued to leak so "obviously" it wasn't a T&P Valve problem. Many recommended that we add an accumultator tank to the system. This seemed quite logical to us, so we got to work on adding this component.

We spent a bit of time choosing an appropriate accumulator, figured what fittings we would need to install it, and found a location in the boat where we would just barely be able to fit the fairly large tank. We were very near to installing the new equipment but just kept thinking that the fault mode sure looked like a failing T&P valve. Because it was easy and cheap, we replaced the T&P Valve valve a second time and the problem was completely solved. The original problem was a failed T&P valve, the new one was also faulty, and the second new one solved the problem. We wasted some time on this one and it's an example that "try a new part", although often a good quick diagnosis technique, is not perfect. The new part could be bad as well.
2/12/2019: N62 Gray Matter
We first met Mark Mohler and Christine Guo of Nordhavn 62 Gray Matter just north of Seattle in the San Juan Islands. We celebrated New Year's Eve with them that year in Victoria, Canada, later spent some with them on the Columbia River, and moored at the same marina in San Francisco. We frequently shared anchorages with them throughout the South Pacific and moored with them again for several months in Brisbane.

And now they are in exactly the same slip we moored at three years ago in Boston. Here's you can see it's cold enough that ice is starting for form around Gray Matter in Charleston Marina.
2/13/2019: Amazon Prime
Amazon doesn't have a Netherlends site, but the UK and German sites will deliver many products here. And quickly too—we ordered these two 400V plugs from Amazon Germany and they arrived in two days with standard shipping.
2/13/2019: 16A 400V
To give us more flexibility in shorepower sources, we built a pigtail that will produce two single-phase 16A connections from a single 3-phase 16-amp 400V source.
2/13/2019: 32A 400V
This second pigtail produces a single-phase 32-amp 200V connection from a three-phase 32-amp 400V source.
2/13/2019: Daniel, Deb and Jan
Daniel Boekel of ShipCraft Engineering, and Deb Richardson and Jan Pieterse came by for a visit. We had a great time discussing topics ranging control systems to Brexit, first over drinks on Dirona and later at dinner in a nearby restaurant.
2/14/2019: Car on Ferry
When the Amsterdam ferries open for boarding, pedestrians and bikers pour on. Even this small car scooted on amongst all the people at the last minute. We're still a little surprised to see these little cars treated effectively like bicycles in Amsterdam. These low-speed vehicles, and scooters, are allowed to use extensive network of bicycle lanes and are allowed directly on the ferries.
2/14/2019: NDSM Ferry
Waiting with the crowds to board our ferry to NDSM wharf across the IJ River. We're taking advantage of the beautiful sunny weather for a trip to Amsterdam Noord across the river.
2/14/2019: Houthaven
Houthaven means lumber port in Dutch. The once-commercial area has recently been revitalized with dramatic modern architecture.
2/14/2019: Submarine B80
The Russian Zulu class submarine B-80 moored off the ferry dock at NDSM wharf. The vessel was brought to the Netherlands by submarine enthusiasts and later sold as a party boat. Even with the interior stripped out to make more space, an old Russian submarine wouldn't be our first venue choice for a big party.
2/14/2019: IJ Kantine
The NDSM wharf area was once home of the NDSM (Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij) shipyard until the 1980s and is in the process of revitalization. We had a great lunch in sun-filled IJ Kantine, in the building where the NDSM shipyard canteen was located.
2/14/2019: Kraanspoor
Kraanspoor means craneway in Dutch. The striking three-floor glass-encased office building was built on a craneway in the former NDSM shipyard.
2/14/2019: Amsterdam Marina
Amsterdam Marina is a large, modern marina in the revitalized NDSM wharf area.
2/14/2019: The Curve
Creative sector companies are particularly attracted to buildings such as The Curve in the revitalized NDSM wharf area.
2/14/2019: Common Area
Art in the common area in front of the Viacom International Media Networks Northern Europe (formerly MTV Networks) headquarters building in the NDSM district.
2/14/2019: Kunststad
Kunststad is a former shipbuilding warehouse filled with artists studios on three levels.
2/14/2019: Metal Roller
The Kunststad building still had many remains from its shipbuilding heritage including crane, hoists and this large metal roller.
2/14/2019: Crane Hotel Faralda
The fantastic three-room Crane Hotel Faralda built into a crane on the former NDSM shipyard.
2/14/2019: Cafe Noorderlicht
Greenhouse-encased Cafe Noorderlicht often features live music. In the night photos we've seen, the building glows wonderfully lit from within.
2/14/2019: Stretch Hummer
A few people were out exploring the area in this stretched Hummer.
2/14/2019: Shell Technology Center
The Shell Technology Center is one of three major Shell research centers worldwide.
2/14/2019: IJ River
Jennifer enjoying the view to the IJ River from the ramp up to the Eye Film Institute opposite the river from our marina.
2/14/2019: A'DAM Tower
The A'DAM Tower was the former home of the Shell Technology Center Amsterdam and has been renovated to include a public lookout and bar on the top with fabulous views.
2/14/2019: EYE Film Institute
The dramatic EYE Film Institute building along the IJ River.
2/14/2019: Cafe De Pont
Enjoying a drink on the patio at Cafe De Pont—amazing for mid-February in Amsterdam. People where outside everywhere enjoying the 50-degree weather. We particularly enjoyed this spot with a view to the constant ferry traffic nearby.
2/14/2019: Bicycle
We've seen a lot of unusual bicycles in Amsterdam, but not one like this.
2/14/2019: Willemsluis
The Willemsluis lock was built in 1824 and appears much as it did back then. It was the first double-lock in the Netherlands, with separate basins for large and small ships.
2/14/2019: IJplein
Waiting to board the ferry at the IJplein dock.
2/14/2019: Crossing
The view east down the IJ River as we cross back to Amsterdam Central Station.
2/14/2019: Buiksloterweg
Looking across the IJ River from Central Station to the Buiksloterweg ferry terminal with the A'DAM Tower and the EYE Film Institute buildings prominent.
2/14/2019: Building
This spectacular building was the former home of the Noord Braband Waalwijk life insurance company.
2/14/2019: Bistrot Neuf
We finished the day with a exceptional Valentine's Day dinner at Bistrot Neuf.
2/15/2019: Pollux
The Port of Amsterdam firefighting tugboat Pollux moored near Central Station. The tug was built in 2013 in Damen Shipyard, near the NDSM wharf district we visited yesterday.
2/15/2019: Feadship
Feadship's Royal Van Lent Shipyard, viewed on the train to Zaandam. The superyacht builder Feadship is headquartered in Haarlem and is constructing this fourth Netherlands yard just west of Amsterdam. The new yard will be capable of building yachts up to 160m long.
2/15/2019: Inntel Hotel
The Inntel Hotel in standing above the central canal includes about 70 gables in five varieties. The blue house at the top right is a tribute to the French impressionist painter Claude Monet who spent four months in Zaandam in 1871 and painted a similar-looking house.
2/15/2019: Wilhelminasluis
The small ship lock in the Wilhelminasluis lock system. The locks, built in 1903, are in the process of a major 100-year upgrade, including a widening, deepening and straightening of the larger ship lock.
2/15/2019: Fish Store
Delicious fresh cod and chips for lunch on the patio at the Fish Store with a view north across Zaandam's beautiful city centre.
2/15/2019: Clogs
A fabulous display of clogs decorates the upper deck of this house along Hogendijk in Zaandam.
2/15/2019: Yachthaven Zaandam
Yachthaven Zaandam, where we visited Jan Pieterse and Deb Richardson on their canal boat Jan-kees.
2/15/2019: Tsar Peter House
Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, visited Zaandam in 1697 to learn the shipbuilding trade. The little house he stayed in is one of the oldest wooden houses in the Netherlands and is now encased inside this brick museum. We had a train to catch to Zaanse Schans, so didn't stop in.
2/15/2019: Cocoa
Zaanse Schans is famous for two things: windmills and cocoa. Cocoa beans have been crushed here to make chocolate for over two centuries and the wonderful smell of chocolate is prevalent throughout the town.
2/15/2019: Windmills
Windmills are Zaanse Schans' primary claim to fame. Zaanse Schans is one of the oldest industrial areas in the world and was particularly important in the 18th and 19th centuries. Over 1,000 windmills were built in the area to help produce linseed oil, paint, snuff, mustard, paper and other products.
2/15/2019: Canals
Perfect reflections in Zaanse Schans in a clear and calm day.
2/15/2019: Het Jonge Schaap
Many of windmills in Zaanse Schans are operating and open to the public. This is the Het Jonge Schaap (The Young Sheep) sawmill, built in 2007 as a replica of the original that was constructed in 1680 and demolished in 1942.
2/15/2019: Schematic
The Het Jonge Schaap sawmill visitor center runs a movie showing how the windmill was built using mostly hand tools. It's a pretty impressive feat. These is one page of the detailed schematics they followed, drawn by an engineer from the original mill before it was demolished.
2/15/2019: Sawing
The sawmill is fully operational, producing about half the mill's revenue (the rest is from tourism). They have a niche in being able to work with unusual lengths and sizes of wood, and produce a high-quality product.
2/15/2019: Tour
The workers/volunteers at the sawmill were knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We had a great time touring the mill and learning how it worked.
2/15/2019: Zanferry
Enjoying a beer on the upper deck of the Zanferry that we'll take back to Amsterdam. The weather is spectacular.
2/15/2019: Clearance
The clearance sure looked close as the Zanferry passed under this bridge south of Zaanse Schans.
2/15/2019: Apartments
Fabulous double-height apartments overlooking the Zaan River on the northern outskirts of Zaandam.
2/15/2019: Locking Through
Exiting the large ship lock at Zaandam. The photo we took earlier in the day was of the small ship lock.
2/15/2019: Anta
Watching the barge Anta lock through northbound on a half-hour stop in Zaandam.
2/15/2019: Dam
The restaurants edging Dam square in Zaandam were packed with patrons enjoying the sunny and warm Friday afternoon.
2/15/2019: Car Drop Off
The large river barges often carry a car on their roof that they can lift off by crane to make shore excursions. This practise is so common there even are special signs showing a car loading zone.
2/15/2019: Holland Jachtbouw
Holland Jachtbouw just south of Zaandam specializes large sailing yachts. Their largest to date is the 62m Athos, the largest privately-owned two-masted schooner in the world.
2/15/2019: Damen
Passing the extensive yard of shipbuilder Damen adjacent to Amsterdam Marina at NDSM Wharf.
2/15/2019: Kraanspoor
Another view to Kraanspoor, built on a craneway in the former NDSM shipyard.
2/15/2019: Botel
The Amsterdam Botel, a hotel in a boat, moored at NDSM Wharf.
2/15/2019: Mojo
A delicious dinner at Mojo Japanese Kitchen, just east of Central Station, with a fabulous view over the Oosterdok and the old center of Amsterdam.
2/16/2019: Rob Higgins
Rob Higgins, president of Robinson helicopter leasing company Higgins Leasing, was in town and came by for a visit. We last saw him in Seattle in the summer of 2017. We had a great time talking boats and helicopters, first on Dirona and later over dinner at Bickers aan de Werf.
2/17/2019: Bridge Lifting
We rarely see the bridge to our marina up to allow a boat to enter. There aren't that many boats in the marina to start with, and most either rarely move or can fit under.
2/18/2019: 102 mph
Doing 102 mph (164 kph) on the high-speed train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. The distance between the two cites is 36 miles (58 km) by air, and we'll make the journey in about 40 minutes.
2/18/2019: Topping Up
Topping up our train card on arrival at Rotterdam station. The cards can be topped up at these machines throughout the Netherlands, but only with a Dutch debit card.
2/18/2019: Delft Gate Building
Unlike traditional Amsterdam, most of Rotterdam's buildings were constructed after World War II German bombers destroyed the city. The city was rebuilt in a very modern style and although the traditional buildings visible through much of the Netherlands are beautiful, Rotterdam's contemporary and unusual architecture is quite appealing. We'd taken advantage of another sunny, warm day to do a walking tour through the city. This is the rising sun lighting up the Delft Gate Building adjoining Rotterdam central station.
2/18/2019: UPS Bicycle
A UPS delivery bicycle in downtown Rotterdam.
2/18/2019: Unilever NV
The dramatic Unilever NV headquarters building is constructed in the shape of a cross within a square.
2/18/2019: Weena 200
The Weena 200 office complex consists of three towers connected by a bridge on the upper floors that terminates in a arch.
2/18/2019: Playing Bears
In addition to modern architecture, Rotterdam is full of statues and sculptures—over 150 are in the city center alone. Playing Bears on the Lijnbaan near the intersection with Stadhuisplein was a gift from the Norwegian Ambassador.
2/18/2019: Memorial to the Fallen
Memorial to the Fallen 1940-1945 commemorates the victims of World War II.
2/18/2019: City Hall
Rotterdam's City Hall, completed in 1920, was one of the few buildings to survive the World War II bombing.
2/18/2019: Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk
The Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk church, built between 1449 and 1525, is the only remaining building from medieval Rotterdam. The church was restored after sustaining heavy damage in the Rotterdam Blitz on May 14, 1940.
2/18/2019: Markthal
Markthal Rotterdam is a food hall wrapped in an inverted U-shaped apartment complex. You can see right through from one end to the other.
2/18/2019: Rotterdam Blaak
Dramatic Rotterdam Blaak railway and metro station, with Markthal visible in the background.
2/18/2019: Cube Houses
The Rotterdam Cube Houses are an urban design to maximize space. Each cube is a conventional house tilted to 45 degrees and resting upon a pylon. Each cube represents a tree, and the whole group, a forest.
2/18/2019: Praise of Folly
Geert van de Camp's sculpture celebrates Desiderius Erasmus's work of the same name. The Dutch humanist was born in Rotterdam and Praise of Folly is considered one of the most influential works of Western civilization.
2/18/2019: Jachthaven de Rotterdamsche Admiraliteit
Jachthaven de Rotterdamsche Admiraliteit, at the eastern edge of the city center, is one of a half-dozen marinas in and around the Rotterdam area.
2/18/2019: Haringvliet
Looking west along Haringvliet towards the Rotterdam city centre. Large Dutch barges line both shores.
2/18/2019: Maas River
Looking west down the Maas River with a view to Rotterdam's two bridges. The red-pyloned Wilemsbrug is closest, with the swan-shaped Erasmusbrug (another nod to Rotterdam born Erasmus) visible in the distance.
2/18/2019: Maasbeeld
The sculpture Maasbeeld, strung beneath an the Wilemsbrug and the footing of an old railway bridge. Artist Auke de Vries created the work using elements related to shipping along the Maas River, such as a ring, box, streamer and a hanging ball.
2/18/2019: De Brug
De Brug, the glass-enclosed headquarters of Unilever Nederland Bestfoods Netherlands, a subsidiary of Unilever N.V.
2/18/2019: Ons Park
Looking northeast across Ons Park to the Wilemsbrug spanning the Maas River.
2/18/2019: Slide
Jennifer couldn't resist a ride down the Ons Park slide.
2/18/2019: Rotterdam Marina
Rotterdam Marina is a large and modern facility built within the old shipping canals in the Rotterdam's Noordereiland district.
2/18/2019: Jewish Memorial
The Jewish Memorial at Loods 24 square remembers the thousands of Rotterdam Jewish residents who were deported to concentration camps during World War II. Visible beyond is the 165m-high Maastoren, the tallest building in the Netherlands.
2/18/2019: KPN Telecom
The KPN Telecom headquarters is built on an angle, seemingly supported by the white pole in the foreground.
2/18/2019: Wilhelminaplein
Jennifer standing inside a sculpture in the courtyard behind the Wilhelminaplein Metro station.
2/18/2019: Barge
Watching a barge pass under the Erasmusbrug as we cross over, with the red-pyloned Wilemsbrug visible in the distance.
2/18/2019: De Boeg
The 46m-high De Boeg ("The Bow") is a memorial to those who died at sea during World War II.
2/18/2019: Bike wagon
Rotterdam isn't nearly as busy with bicycles as Amsterdam is, but we're still seeing plenty of bicycles. This Urban Arrow, a modern take on a traditional Netherlands cargo bike, caught our eye. We often see such cargo bikes in Amsterdam, carrying children, pets, groceries and pretty much anything else that will fit. The Urban Arrow includes three-point safety belts for riding children and an optional rain canopy.
2/18/2019: Anchor
Jennifer sitting on a 40,000 lb anchor near the Rotterdam Maritime Museum.
2/18/2019: Low Light
The lower of two leading lights that once were mounted at the Hook of Holland at the sea entrance to Holland. When navigating, boat captains can tell if they are on course when the lower and upper lights line up. The Rotterdam Maritime Museum now uses the light as a small theatre.
2/18/2019: Destroyed City
The Destroyed City sculpture commemorates the May 14, 1940 German bombing of Rotterdam that decimated much of the city's medieval center. The sculpture represents a man without a heart, symbolizing Rotterdam without its historic heart.
2/18/2019: Lunch
A delicious lunch on the upper deck at Let's Wok overlooking Markthal. The windows visible in the mural are of apartments in the U-shaped superstructure.
2/18/2019: Spices
Colorful spices for sale at a stall in Markthal.
2/18/2019: Meat
Legs of ham, complete with hoofs, at Markthal.
2/18/2019: Ode to Marten Toonder
This tribute to Rotterdam cartoonist Marten Toonder includes four famous figures from the Toonder comics beneath a large obelisk.
2/18/2019: The Red Apple
Jennifer crossing a pedestrian bridge over the Wijnhaven beneath the cantilevered Red Apple complex.
2/18/2019: Veerhaven
Veerhaven is one of the few Rotterdam districts to survive the World War II bombing, with many historic, listed buildings.
2/18/2019: Peter the Great
Statue of Czar Peter the Great of Russia along the Maas River waterfront, a gift to the city of Rotterdam from the Russian Federation.
2/18/2019: Euromast
The 185m-tall Euromast tower was built in 1960 as part of an international flower and garden exhibition in the adjacent Het Park. An elevator brings visitors to the 100m-high viewing tower in 30 seconds, the fastest elevator in Europe at the time of construction. The small black donut on the white topmost part of the structure is Euroscoop, a rotating panorama elevator that goes to the 185m top of the tower.
2/18/2019: Erasmusbrug
The swan-shaped Erasmusbrug, an icon of Rotterdam, viewed from the Euromast 100m observation deck. The glass-enclosed De Brug office building is visible beyond.
2/18/2019: View from Euromast
The panoramic view west to Rotterdam from Euromast. Directly to the west is Het Park, the largest park in Rotterdam. At the left in the distance is the city center with Erasmusbrug at center and the Noordereiland district on the right.
2/18/2019: Euroscoop
Euroscoop is rotating elevator that ascends to 185m from the 100m-high viewing Euromast platform. The video looks like we're walking around the ring, but we're sitting in the same place as the elevator ascends and rotates.
2/18/2019: Bistro
Enjoying a glass of wine at the Euromast Brasserie with a view northwest across the Coolhaven canal in Rotterdam's Delfshaven district.
2/18/2019: Het Heerenhuys
Het Heerenhuys in Het Park dates from 1750 and has been the home of a number of prominent Rotterdam families. The city purchased the building in 1875 as part of the creation of Het Park.
2/18/2019: Parqiet
Patrons enjoying the warm sunny weather on the terrace at Parqiet in Het Park.
2/18/2019: Barbecue Zone
Barbecuing at Het Park must get popular in the summer. Barbecues much be 5m from the water, 2m from the trees and 20cm above the ground as they pack them in row by row.
2/18/2019: Natural History Museum
Jennifer with larger-than-life bunny sculptures outside the Rotterdam Natural History Museum.
2/18/2019: Screwarch
The Screwarch sculpture behind Rotterdam's Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Artist Claes Oldenburg was inspired by the many arch bridges in the Netherlands. The dozens of reflective globes in the surrounding lawn were glinting and flashing in the afternoon sun.
2/18/2019: Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen
The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, when completed, will be encased in reflective glass with trees planted on top. The building will hold the vast Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen collection and be the first public art depot in the world. Only 8% currently can be displayed in the museum, and the new storage depot will allow the public to view the entire collection while providing a safer place for storage, conservation and restoration.
2/18/2019: Hew Nieuwe Instituit
The pond and garden on the west side of the Hew Nieuwe Instituit, a center devoted to architecture, design, fashion and digital culture.
2/18/2019: Cascade
Cascade by Joep van Lieshout, one of Rotterdam's most famous artists. The sculpture is made of polyester and features eighteen stacked oil barrels and some twenty human-like figures in various poses.
2/18/2019: Rotterdam Blaak
The corner of a brick building, mounted on wooden planks and supported by wood pilings, is suspended from the ceiling above a platform at Rotterdam Blaak station. Possibly this is sculpture, or perhaps a remnant of the previous station.
2/18/2019: Rail Force One
A Rail Force One engine at Rotterdam station. The company, founded in 2016, moves cargo throughout the Netherlands and Germany.
2/20/2019: Stocking Up
We're still a few weeks away from departing Amsterdam, but are starting to stock up on staples with a delivery from Albert Heijn this morning.
2/20/2019: Via Ferrata
In doing a couple of Via Ferrata climbs this summer, we learned that our standard climbing equipment wasn't ideal for short-distance falls where the rapid decelaration can exceed the rating of normal climbing gear (in mountaineering terms this is called a high fall factor). So we purchased energy-absrobing lanyards to replace the standard climbing equipment we use for safety gear when clipped on to the stack. Besides being safer in a fall, the dual-lanyards means we never have to unclip entirely to reclip, and the automatic-locking carabiners are quick and easy to snap on.
2/20/2019: Jabsco Pump
We've never been thrilled with our Jabsco 34600-0010 bilge pump. These pumps have a few weak points, the most annoying of which is the inlet and outlet valves have ferrous metal rivets that hold the rubber flapper in place. Unsurprisingly, these valves fail and testing annually really isn't sufficiently frequent. But, even if you test them daily, they can still fail an hour later. The only way to trust these pumps is to change the valves frequently. Another problem is the Bakelite pump base can crack if over tightened or if tightened unevenly.

The one feature we like about this pump is that it can self-prime even when the pickup is several feet below. But after the pump failed during our 2017 North Atlantic crossing, we became even less happy with it and decided to replace it. Here's the pump removed from its install point in the starboard engine room alcove.
2/20/2019: Whale Gulper
We replaced the Jabsco 34600-0010 bilge pump with Whale Gulper 320 High Capacity bilge pump. The Gulper is a nice, simple design and looks well-engineered. In testing, it will pull water from several feet below, even into a dry pump. And output volume is quite good.
2/20/2019: Finished Job
We had to cut and move some hoses to install the new Whale Gulper pump, which resulted in having to modify the floorboard slightly, but the job now is complete and we're happy to see that Jabsco 34600-0010 bilge pump off the boat.
2/21/2019: Hold the Boston
Spitfire is a big fan of Boston Creme donuts, "hold the Boston".
2/21/2019: HVAC Dust Screen
We have five Dometic HVAC systems installed on Dirona and each has a dust screen that needs cleaning regularly. Here James is vacuuming off the dust that accumulates surprisingly frequently when they're in heavy use.
2/21/2019: Frozen
The guest stateroom HVAC system wasn't producing heat and on investigation we found it was covered in ice. Some ice is normal for operation, but not this much. The water temperature is 49F which is close to where they struggle. We put the system to 65F and put blew hot air onto it to warm the thermostat to cause the AC to run. We let it run for a minute or so and this de-iced the system after which the heat produced was up over 100F. It appears the system was close to its minimum operating temperature and just froze at startup.
2/22/2019: Radio Position Data
Our new radio on the tender now receives position data from our new Vesper Marine AIS XB-8000. The radio accepted a different baud rate than the AIS transmitted by default, but we were able to change the transmission speed using Vesper's mobile app.
2/23/2019: Testing Battery
Performing the at-least annual battery condition check on the tender main and spare batteries. We've made it much easier to test the batteries, and, because we can now can test them without taking the covers off we tend to do it more frequently.
2/23/2019: Bilge Pump Power
We moved all loads, including the bilge pump, to the switched side of the tender battery switch. This will prevent the bilge pump from clearing the bilge when not in use but we mostly keep it out of the water with the transom plug out. This ensures that the batteries only have to deal with self-discharge.

A flat battery in a remote location could be a really big problem so we carry an entire spare battery everywhere we go. And if we're leaving the tender for an extended period of time, we're also careful to shut off the electrical system so the batteries don't discharge.
2/23/2019: Corroded Padlock
One of the padlocks that we use to secure our scuba tanks to the transom had corroded to the point where the key no longer worked. We had to cut it off with a Dremel cut-off saw.
2/23/2019: Cat Food Delivery
Jennifer returning with an order of cat food that was just delivered. Spitfire has developed kidney problems and now needs to be on a special diet, so we're stocking up on enough food to get us to Stockholm.
2/23/2019: Greasing Windlass
Every year, we dissemble and grease the windlass top end.
2/23/2019: Replacing Windlass Switch
The windlass "up" foot control switch has been failing recently, so we replaced it with a spare.
2/23/2019: Cat Food Stowed
The eleven cases of cat food we had delivered fit nicely under the guest stateroom desk. We placed each stack on a non-skid base and secured each case to the one below with packing tape so they won't slide around. The desk chair locked in place will also help secure the stacks.
2/23/2019: Wolf Atelier
Wolf restaurant, just across the road from our marina, is a beautiful facility built on an old railway bridge with 360-degree views. We've walked past many times and keep meaning to make a dinner reservation, so we jumped at the chance when Ken and Allison Wittamore of Integrel Marine invited us to join them and their son-in-law Kevin Wittamore there for dinner. The meal was exceptional and the Wittamores are always interesting and enjoyable company.
2/24/2019: Vacuum Bag
Dirona has a built-in vacuum cleaner installed in the lazarette. The bags are large and usually take at least a year before they need replacing.
2/24/2019: Hotel Room
We noticed what were obviously tourists in the bridge control tower. Ton, the marina manager at IJDok, saw us looking up at the tower and explained: all these bridges are now remotely managed, and the control rooms have been converted into hotel rooms.
2/24/2019: De Hus Asian Tapas Bar
A delicious meal at De Hus Asian Tapas Bar on Haarlemmerdijk, about a ten minute walk from the boat.
2/25/2019: Albert Heijn
Another big grocery order from Albert Heijn as we stock up for the summer trip.
2/25/2019: Moving
An innovative way to move in and out of upper floor apartments: here a truck extends a ladder up to the seventh-floor apartment window and a platform is powered up and down the ladder, transporting personal effects. Essentially it's a temporary freight elevator for even quite-large furniture.
2/25/2019: Cargo Bike
This isn't the biggest cargo bike we've seen, but it's up there.
2/25/2019: Smoke
The marina filled with smoke this afternoon when a long-cold diesel engine was started.
2/25/2019: Mojo
Another great meal with a fabulous canal view at Mojo Japanese Kitchen. Mojo seems to have the equation right where they have great food at good value and the fairly large restaurant is completely booked every night.
2/25/2019: Piano
The person playing this public piano at Amsterdam Centraal Station was quite good and attracted a crowd.
2/26/2019: Meneer Nieges
On another unseasonably warm February day, we had lunch on the waterside patio at Meneer Nieges a few minute's walk from the marina. We arrived just before the lunch crowd and nearly every table was taken by the time we left.
2/26/2019: La Motte Picquet
The French anti-submarine destroyer La Motte Picquet departed Amsterdam for sea while we were having lunch at Meneer Nieges.
2/26/2019: IJDok
The narrow edge of this apartment complex at IJDok makes it look almost two-dimensional from certain angles.
2/26/2019: Canal
The day was so nice we decided to go for a walk after lunch. This is looking down the canal Linjbaansgracht, built starting in 1612.
2/26/2019: Cafe Sonneveld
We ended up outside Cafe Sonneveld in the vibrant Jordaan district, where we'd escaped a downpour in early January. But this time we sat outside in the sun.
2/26/2019: Sloterdijkerbrug
Looking across canal boats along the river Prinseneilandsgracht to the Sloterdijkerbrug. The bridge looks old, but was built in 1952 in the traditional style.
2/26/2019: Prinseneilandsgracht
The view north along the river Prinseneilandsgracht from the bridge Sloterdijkerbrug.
2/27/2019: Foundation
A new foundation going into a canal house along Hartenstraat that runs between the innermost two canals in Amsterdam's canal ring. In the examples we've seen, what appears to be happening is the structure, held up by pilings and are getting dug out below and basements put in while the structure stands above.
2/27/2019: Singelgracht
Looking north along the Singelgracht. The canal circled medieval Amsterdam and served as a moat for the city until the late 1500s.
2/27/2019: Keesie Dive
At Keesie Dive to shop for scuba gear. The well-stocked store above is only a fraction of their total space. They have large numbers of storage and work areas down below and spreading out across away from the facility.
2/28/2019: Lenses
As well as being a general-purpose dive store, Keesie Dive has one of best corrective lenses stocks in Europe—divers come from all over to get lenses. When goggles are upgraded with corrective lenses, the old previous clear-glass lens the goggles came with is discarded. Here's six months of lens sales at Keesie Dive.
2/27/2019: Morgan en Mees
A great lunch street-side at Morgan en Mees. The weather continues to be unseasonably warm for February, with the temperature in the low 60s F (15C).
2/27/2019: Pet Passport
We got Spitfire an EU Pet Passport in Scotland in 2017. The passport is recognized with the EU and Norway, and has allowed hassle-free travel the past two years with Spitfire on board.

But a UK pet passport no longer will be valid for travel within the EU as of March 30th, 2019 if there is a no-deal Brexit. So while his UK passport still is valid, we got him a Netherlands passport with the vaccination information transcribed from the UK passport.
2/28/2019: Pilings
Another Amsterdam canal house foundation being replaced. The pilings visible on the left likely have supported the house since the 17th century.

Amsterdam canal houses were built on shifting marshland, each supported by roughly eighty Scandinavian pine trees pounded 40-60 feet (12-18m) into the earth. The piles were driven under the waterline, where they would be directly exposed to oxygen and rot, and continue to support many of Amsterdam's canal houses centuries later. They may not have rotted, but the piles have shifted over the centuries, causing some of the structures to list and lean, so it is a reasonably common practice to replace the foundation.
2/28/2019: Moving
A ladder-based moving platform, similar to the one we watched the other day, but this one mounted on a trailer rather than a separate truck. Here you can see the portable freight elevator at work, where furniture is halfway up to being delivered at the second-floor apartment window.
2/28/2019: Orphan Boxes
While walking to the Rokin Metro station, we passed through a courtyard outside the Amsterdam Museum. The museum is built on the site of an old orphanage and the "orphan boxes" visible in the walls are where the boys used to keep their tools. The cupboards now are part of a free-of-charge display detailing the building's history.
2/28/2019: Amsterdam-Zuid
We took the Metro 52 to the southernmost station at Amsterdam-Zuid and stopped for an excellent lunch at Gustavino overlooking a fabulous display of daffodils. James is just visible on the patio at the left. The restaurant was packed inside with a business crowd, but surprisingly, we were the only ones choosing to enjoy eating outside.
2/28/2019: Kamera Express
The reason we'd come to Amsterdam-Zuid was to pickup a spare camera battery, as we couldn't get a Lithium-Ion battery shipped to the Netherlands from outside the country. In fact, we couldn't even get Lithium-Ion batteries shipped from the European mail-order vendors that we tried. We got one at the vast Kamera Express outlet here.
2/28/2019: Vinoly Tower
Escape staircases running along the outside of the distinctive Vinoly Tower in the Zuidas business district, viewed from the Amsterdam-Zuid Metro platform. The district is rapidly developing and the train station here is expected to become the 5th busiest in the Netherlands, with high-speed rail connections to Schiphol airport, Rotterdam, Belgium, France and Germany.
2/28/2019: Wetsuits
Our drysuits are nearly twenty years old. We've replaced the seals many times, but they're now to the point where they just leak everywhere and we've been planning to replace them. We love warm-water diving, but really haven't been doing any recreational cold-weather diving. Over the last five years the only cold-water diving we've done has been to free up a stuck anchor, clean the bottom, or other boat service. It seems crazy to spend upwards of $2,000 on a good-quality drysuit that will only be used in emergency situations.

When our anchor was ensnarled in the Orkney Islands in 2017, James dove the anchor in a 5mm wetsuit in 58F (14C) water. Perhaps because the 5mm wetsuit he was using seals quite well, or because the dive was relatively short at only 35 minutes, but the wetsuit did surprisingly well and he wasn't that cold. An obvious approach is to get a 7mm wetsuit, which would work fine at roughly $250. This would be far less expensive than even a cheap drysuit.

After visiting Keesie Dive yesterday, we decided to take a slightly more flexible approach and returned today with our 5mm full suits to try things on. We bought a hooded 3mm core-body undergarment that can fit underneath the 5mm full suit when more insulation is required. In addition, we got a 5mm shortie that would fit over top of our 5mm full suit.

For colder dives we now have a choice between diving wearing the 5mm alone, or any combination of wearing the 3mm undergarment, the 5mm shortie and the 5mm wetsuit. We were able to add those options at less expense than a 7mm wetsuit and a tiny fraction of the cost of a new drysuit, and it offers a fairly flexible solution.
3/1/2019: iDEAL
Another advantage of having a Dutch bank account is we can make payments using iDEAL, a Netherlands e-commerce system. iDEAL allows real-time online payments without sharing sensitive information such as credit card numbers with the vendor and is used for over 50% of online transactions in the Netherlands. Some vendors we've used here either couldn't process a US credit card, required several days to process transactions other than iDEAL, or the use of other payment methods imposed a surcharge.

When we've used iDEAL, the vendor displays a code, pictured, that we scan using the bank app on our mobile phone. This generates a debit request from the vendor to our account that we approve in the mobile app and that completes the transaction.
3/1/2019: Eetcafe Rosereijn
We've walked past Eetcafe Rosereijn on Haarlemmerdijk many times, but it usually was pretty full. We stopped in for an early meal today and had an excellent evening. The meal was delicious and reasonably-priced.
3/2/2019: KVH V7hts Service
James up the mast replacing the V7hts GPRS modem. This cellular modem isn't mission critical in that it's only used by KVH to get to the V7 for service but it's still worth having it working.
3/2/2019: V7hts GPRS Modem
The failed GPRS Modem removed from the KVH V7hts radome. It appears to have developed a leak and a few ounces of a thin oil leaked out and the modem no longer works.
3/2/2019: Davit Wireless Remote
We'd originally mounted the new davit wireless remote control base on the starboard side of the davit suppport, but the crane partially partially blocked the signal between the remote and the base antenna. So we removed the mounting magnets to minimize the depth of the package and attached it on the swing motor with the antenna up above the heavy metal components.
3/2/2019: Mike Spits
Mike Spits, who owns a classic Feadship, stopped by for a visit. We had a great time talking boats and sharing travel experiences. Mike is from the Netherlands, but currently lives in Thailand and owns Wiseguy Suspenders. We're not much into suspenders, but the product looks edgy and high-quality, and one person who does know is Warren Buffet, who commented that "Charlie and I love them ... These will definitely upgrade our appearance".
3/4/2019: Finding a Wire
Have you ever wanted to find a specific wire in a large wire bundle? Since wires are seldom labeled in the middle, it can be hard to find the one you are looking for. Here James is looking for a specific signal that is carried by one of the wires in this bundle, but which one? Pulling an additional cable would solve the problem but that would take a half day. He had a good idea that worked very quickly.

He disconnected both ends of the wire being searched for, put an alternating voltage on the cable, and then found it using an oscilloscope lead. What's kind of surprising here is the alternating current signal isn't grounded and James is just touching the oscilloscope probe against the insulation on each wire. If the AC current is turned off and on, it's easy to confirm the oscilloscope lead is touch the outside of the right wire. It's a fast solution that we'll definitely use again.
3/6/2019: Jubilee
The 361.22ft (110m) superyacht Jubilee was departing Amsterdam as we walked to the train station. Jubilee was the largest boat ever built in the Netherlands when delivered in 2017. The ship is equipped with two 4,828hp MTU diesel engines and has a top speed of 18.5 knots. That'll be just over 450 gallons (1700L) per hour.
3/6/2019: The Hague
We alighted in The Hague 50 minutes after our train departed Amsterdam station. We're loving the ease of train travel from Amsterdam.
3/6/2019: The Plein
The historic Plein (Dutch for "Square") in The Hague is ringed with restaurants and bars. Despite the cold and soggy weather, when we returned a couple of hours later for lunch many of the heated outdoor patios were packed. We opted for lunch inside, but in the late afternoon had a drink outside under a heater before returning to Amsterdam.
3/6/2019: Mauritshuis
The Mauritshuis museum in The Hague contains a collection of Dutch and Flemish masterpieces, including Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earing. The building was completed in 1640 as a mansion, and housed the royal collection starting in 1822.
3/6/2019: Binnenhof Gate
The ornate east gate at Binnenhof, home of the Dutch Parliament. Built mostly in the 13th century, Binnenhof is the oldest functioning House of Parliament in the world.
3/6/2019: Fountain
Gilded fountain topped with a statue of King Willem II in the Binnenhof courtyard. Behind is the Gothic Ridderzaal ("Hall of Knights"), where visiting knights were sheltered.
3/6/2019: Statenpassage
The glass-covered walkway Statenpassage in the modern home of the House of Representatives runs along the south side of the historic buildings.
3/6/2019: Binnenhof Model
A model of Binnenhof in the visitor's center. The Plein is partly visible at bottom right, Mauritshuis museum is at top right, Ridderzaal is in the center of the courtyard and the King Willem II fountain at the left. The modern home of the House of Representatives is the large building at the bottom.
3/6/2019: The Hofvijver
Looking southeast to Binnenhof across the lake Hofvijver ("Court Pond") with the modern buildings of The Hague in the background.
3/6/2019: Gevangenpoort
The Gevangenpoort ("Prison Gate") once was the entrance gate to the castle of the Counts of Holland. Late it served as a prison for those awaiting punishment and now is a museum documenting crime and punishment across the centuries.
3/6/2019: De Plaats
Many historical events took place at the square De Plaats, next to the former Gate Prison. It now contains an appealing mixture of restaurants, bars and shops.
3/6/2019: De Passage
The light-filled De Passage Shopping Mall is the only remaining Netherlands example of this type of covered shopping street, popular in major European and America cities during the 19th century. Leadenhall Market is an example of one in London.
3/6/2019: KLM Travel Clinic
We planned to visit The Hague anyway, but while here made an appointment to have our second tick-borne encephalitis vaccination. We'd had the first a month earlier at Schiphol Airport when we returned from Seattle.
3/6/2019: Pallet
An outdoor seat made from shipping pallets.
3/6/2019: Escher in the Palace
We spent much of the rest of the afternoon at a museum devoted to famous Dutch graphics artist Maurits Cornelis Escher whose work features mathematical objects and optical illusions. The museum is housed in an 18th-century building that was a royal palace for much of the 20th century.
3/6/2019: Chandelier
Looking up through the light-filled dramatic entrance to the Escher museum with its marvelous chandelier.
3/6/2019: Umbrella
Dutch sculptor Hans van Bentem designed the spectacular and whimsical chandeliers for the royal palace, such as this one shaped like an umbrella.
3/6/2019: Dragon
James has long had an interest in Escher's work. As a teenager he had a poster of Escher's Dragon on his wall and as an adult very much enjoyed reading Douglas Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach that explores the common themes between the works of the mathematician, the artist and the composer. The beast in Dragon appears three-dimensional with its head biting its tail, both projecting through slits in the page that demonstrate its two-dimensional nature.
3/6/2019: Skull
Another unusual royal palace chandelier, this one in the shape of a skull and crossbones.
3/6/2019: Metamorphoses
Escher's three Metamorphoses, produced between 1937 and 1969, are displayed here together for the first time. Jennifer is viewing Metamorphosis I, the 4m-long Metamorphosis II is on the wall to the right and the 6.8m-long Metamorphosis III is partially visible on the left, displayed in the round.
3/6/2019: Big!
Jennifer has always wanted to be big and got her chance at the Escher Room in the museum. The room creates an optical illusion, where the floor and ceiling slope up towards where Jennifer is standing. But our brain straightens the wall and ceiling, making anything on the left appear much larger. Even understanding the illusion we couldn't force ourselves to see the room's real shape.
3/6/2019: Surface with Vibrating Texture
In Surface with Vibrating Texture, artist Getulio Alviani has burnished a flat aluminum surface such that it appears round and three-dimensional.
3/6/2019: Lange Voorhout
Looking west along stately Lange Voorhout outside the Escher museum.
3/6/2019: Royal Theater
The Royal Theater in The Hague was originally built as a palace in the 18th century.
3/6/2019: Ministry of Finance
The Dutch Ministry of Finance building in The Hague.
3/6/2019: Nieuwjaarsduik
Poster in The Hague of a Nieuwjaarsduik ("New Year's Dive"). Over 15,000 people participate in 60 locations across the Netherlands, but the largest is at Scheveningen beach near The Hague, where over 10,000 people dive into the icy water each January.
3/6/2019: De Vegetarische Slager
We loved this post of De Vegetarische Slager ("The Vegetarian Butcher") on a street in The Hague.
3/6/2019: Nieuwe Kerk
The Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague was completed in 1656, replacing the 14th-century Great Church that had become too small.
3/6/2019: Den Haag Centraal
Back at modern Den Haag Centraal for our return trip to Amsterdam.
3/8/2019: Tight Quarters
More than a dozen canal boats moor at City Marina. The boats are quite long for the small marina and the skippers are experts at maneuvering in tight places. Here they are working out of the spot in front of Dirona.
3/9/2019: It's a Head-Banger
These little clips hold in place very large openings in the salon floor for removing the engine. These are well-made little clips, but they do stick down into the engine room and, well, can be a bit of a head-banger. From day one we were planning on removing the tabs and did today. Read more ...
3/9/2019: Heater Hanging
We heard a loud bang today and went aft to find our Heatstrip patio heater hanging by its cord. The mounts had corroded and tore off in a 42-knot gust.. The heater and mounts have lasted incredibly well for the past five years, surviving a salt-water drenching during our 69.1° rollover and countless soakings during several north Atlantic gales, so we have no complaint there. The heater put a slight nick in our patio table as it came down, but otherwise no damage was done. It's a good thing we went with a heavy-duty locking plug and socket, otherwise the damage done by the heavy heater would have been much worse.
3/9/2019: Spare Heater
After installing the Heatstrip patio heater in Brisbane back in 2014, we bought two spares as we weren't optimistic that the heaters would last more than two or three years in the corrosive saltwater environment. But the Heatstrip apparently is built like a tank and today is the first failure we've seen. Here James is transferring the socket from the old heater to the new.
3/9/2019: Chantal & Folkert
Folkert Schoots and his partner Chantal stopped by for a visit and a tour of Dirona. They are considering options for eventually making extensive sailing trips and wanted to learn more about Nordhavn and the boat's operation and maintenance. Folkert works for Feadship, and we had a great time sharing our experiences and learning a little bit more about 100m-plus yachts.
3/10/2019: Replacing Heater
We replaced the patio heater today once the winds settled down for a bit. The failure was caused by a corroded bracket and heavy winds.
3/12/2019: Warning Lights
Whenever we make an operational mistake on the boat, we always look to find ways to automate the task away or alarm or warn on it. Today we installed three new warning lights in the engine room. Read more ...
3/13/2019: Containers Blown Off Dock
We've been having quite a bit of wind where we are in Amsterdam and apparently nearby Antwerp, Belgium is as well. In this video, a stack of 40ft containers blows over in winds reported to be Beaufort 12 (more than 64 kts) winds. Full containers can run 70,000 lbs. Presumably these are empty but, even empty, that's more than 8,000 lbs each. What we find particularly scary is how nicely the container that landed in the water floats away.

The world shipping council might be motivated to under-report containers losses off ships but, even in their estimates, 1,582 containers are lost each year. We've seen estimates as low as 320 and has high as 10,000 but the 1,500 containers per year is a credible data point.

The video shows how well a light container can float. Keep in mind that most cargo is relatively light—far lighter than water—so even relatively heavy containers float distressingly well.
3/14/2019: Weather
We've been watching the weather for the past week in preparation for our departure from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea. After wonderfully warm, clear and calm weather mid-February, storm after storm has rolled through the area over the past few weeks. This screenshot from Windy.com shows the winds at Heligoland, Germany over the next six days. Conditions look pretty miserable in the German Bight short-term, but it looks like the winds will be settling down early next week. When they do, we plan to go to to Heligoland to pickup a load of duty-free fuel and then continue into the Kiel Canal, through Denmark, and north to Sweden.
3/14/2019: Wing Oil Change
The wing engine is due for an oil change every 12 months or 150 hours. Tt's been a light-usage year on the wing engine, with only 68 hours. Our last oil change was in London a year ago.
3/14/2019: Watermaker Filters
The watermaker filters are due for their annual change.
3/15/2019: Fighters Over Amsterdam
Yesterdam afternoon a KLM passenger plane swooped in over the marina with two fighter jets on each wing. They were MUCH lower than any passenger jet normally flys away from an airport, banking harder than they normally would, and on a route they don't normally fly. A jet escort of a commercial plane had last happened in The Netherlands on October 6, 2018 when a KLM passenger plane en route from Dubai became violent.

We couldn't find any air shows scheduled or news reports of why the fighters were scrambled, but this morning found a write-up in the NL Times: Fighter Jets Escort KML Plane Across Amsterdam. It turns out it was an unannounced part of the celebration of 100 years of Dutch Aviation.
3/15/2019: StoneTech Sealer
We have marble counters in the galley and both heads. We have several water marks and the counters are dulling with time. We gave Bulletproof Sealer a try but generally it didn't seem to make a difference. The overall counters weren't shinier and the water marks were still there. Back to the drawing board on that one.
3/15/2019: Waxing
Since the stone sealer wasn’t effective, we decided to take an unusual approach. Our logic is that, over time, lots of microscrath dull the surface of the counter and this is similar to what happens to the outside of a fiberglass boat. We decided to try waxing the counter using 3M One-Step Restorer and Wax. This removed the marks and brought back a nice shine—the counters look better than they have in years. And, now that they are waxed they are much less sensitive to liquids and are much more resistant to marking. This looks like a real win and it's a quick and easy operation.
3/17/2019: Pontsteiger
The dramatic Pontsteiger building in Amsterdam, viewed from the ferry to NDSM Wharf. We decided to head over to the north shore for lunch.
3/17/2019: Hail
Hail started falling just as we were pulling into the dock at NDSM Wharf.
3/17/2019: Submarine B80
The Russian Zulu class submarine B-80 moored off the ferry dock at NDSM wharf as we return back to Amsterdam Centraal. The vessel was brought to the Netherlands by submarine enthusiasts and later sold as a party boat. We liked the idea of a waterfront party, but we're not sure that a small tube with no windows is the right venue.
3/17/2019: De Bijenkorf
We'd walked past de Bijenkorf department store in Amsterdam several times, but had never gone in. The complex is huge, covering multiple floors and selling brands ranging from Swarovski Jewelry to Levis jeans. We went for the jeans. :)
3/17/2019: Formula 1: Drive to Survive
We've been really enjoying the show Formula 1: Drive to Survive, covering the 2018 Formula 1 season. The race footage, interviews, and commentary really bring you into the center of the competition. The final episode covers the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As we watched, we were commenting on how fun it was to be there in Abu Dhabi to see many of the scenes, events and places covered in this episode. We were walking along pit road when the Red Bull team got together for an end-of-season photograph and then posed for a more lighthearted one with departing driver Daniel Ricciardo. We were standing only ten feet behind the camera operator when this scene was shot.
3/17/2019: Hey, that's Us!
After showing the Red Bull team photo on Formula 1: Drive to Survive, the scene backed away from the team and swept across the sea of photographers getting that shot. That's us in the ace viewing position, partway up the stairs to the official's position over the start-finish line.
3/18/2019: Testing LED Lights
We have rope lighting installed behind the teak window valances in the salon. The lighting had become too dim over time, so we're considering replacing it with the LED light strips that we use on the boat exterior. Here we are testing for brightness and color in the dark engine room.
3/18/2019: Damaged Rope Light
It's no wonder the rope lighting was getting dim—it appears to be failing with dark brown overheated sections every six inches along its length. It's definitely time that one came down.
3/18/2019: Investigating Power Source
We know the rope light string runs on 24VDC, but we haven't chased down the source yet.
3/18/2019: Departing City Marina
We plan to depart Amsterdam at 5am tomorrow morning and decided to moor on the other side of the bridge tonight to not waste any time waiting for a bridge opening. The bridge is operated remotely on a central system by dailing a number and supplying the bridge code. After testing the number this morning, we couldn't connect to the system on two different phones and neither could the harbourmaster. He eventually telephoned someone who was able to open the bridge. If that had happened tomorrow morning when we left, our departure would have been delayed for hours.
3/18/2019: Aitana Hotel
After being in Amsterdam for over four months, it's strange to see the Aitana Hotel without Dirona in front of it.
3/18/2019: Outside Mooring
We moored for the night on an outside wall that is part of City Marina. It was a fun place to be, with a great view of the river. With no power, water or security, it's not a good spot for a long-term stay, but it's a pretty awesome place to visit.
3/18/2019: Adrian Van Velsen
California resident Adrian Van Velsen came by for a visit and a tour of Dirona. Adrian is from the Netherlands, but now operates Pacific Yacht Electric, specializing in boat electronic installations. Andrian knows both software and hardware systems well and has worked extensively with many of the system we use on Dirona. We had a fun and wide-ranging discussion.
3/18/2019: Cafe Kobalt
A final dinner in Amsterdam at Cafe Kobalt, with their highly-relaxed resident cat visible behind.
3/18/2019: Amsterdam At Night
Dirona and the city, aglow at dusk, as we return from dinner. What a fabulous berth, and Amsterdam has been an amazing home base over the last four months.