Wadden Sea - July/Aug 2019

Ahoy mede-ontdekkers (fellow explorers)!

As first-time acting captain on this trip together with fellow acting captain Rowena, here is my first captain's report.

It's been several days now since our expedition on the Dutch Wadden Sea ended, it's becoming hard to remember all the things we experienced, so I better write quick.

Organizing sailing trips on the Wadden Sea, is one of my now almost yearly joys. Adventuring with the Explorers Guild is another. Imagine my excitement when we discovered signs of an ancient troupe in the Netherlands, Troupe 031, who explored the Wadden Sea around 500 years ago. Taking fellow explorers to continue this tradition was going to be a blast. And so it was.

Our story began on Sunday the 29th of July when our group convened at the piano in Amsterdam Centraal Station. After some brief words of welcome and distribution of expedition materials (field guides, maps, compasses, etc...), we embarked on the three-hour train journey to the harbour in Harlingen. There we boarded the ship, hoisted the Explorers Guild flag, and loaded our hold with enough supplies for a week of adventure.

On Monday the 30th of July, we set sail with 11 explorers (all also members of Troupe 001): Myself, Rowena, Dr. Professor, Tybeck, Deprong Mori, Kinnabari, Nova, Ben, Byzatium, Griffith, and Paul. Also accompanying us on the journey were the ship's captain, Govert, the ship's mate, Menno, and the mate’s dog Tara.

On day one, the weather was fair and we set sail to one of the nearest islands, Terschelling. Here we learned about the Dutch explorer Willem Barrentz, who discovered the island of Spitzbergen (aka Svalbard) near the North Pole. We explored bits of the town and got a few more supplies, including our first (but certainly not the last!) bottle of aged jenever, a Dutch whisky-like spirit. After a brief stop at the local lighthouse to mail a few postcards, we took to roaming the nearby dunes. These provided good views of the area and opportunities for jaunty pictures. On the way back to the harbour, trees where climbed and the beach explored. Some explorers tasted zeekraal, an edible succulent, growing on the beach, and in the evening we were treated to the performance of a floating orchestra.

On day two, we set a course for the easternmost island, 'Schiermonnikoog', where we hoped to shelter from the next day’s coming storm. We set sail north-east in the morning, but after a short sail, we found ourselves witnessing one of the great wonders of the Wadden Sea: certain parts of it tend to disappear entirely at low tide. Just before lunchtime, our ship ran aground (intentionally) on the sandy bottom. We took the opportunity to swim in waist-deep waters, which rapidly became hip-deep, knee-deep, and ankle-deep. When the sea was reduced to mere puddles, we had some time to explore the seabed by foot, and find interesting life, such as the rare and beautiful four-armed Explorer’s Starfish. More jaunty pictures and flux photography ensued. Tara, the dog had great fun running over the wet sands with us. When the tide returned we continue our journey northward, and finally laid anchor for a night at sea off the south coast of Ameland, approximately halfway between Terschelling and Schiermonnikoog.

Early the next morning we reach Schiermonnikoog, or “Gray Monk Island”, where the weather is lovely albeit a bit rainy at times. The expected storm largely stayed south of us. On Schiermonnikoog there were hikes to the beach, swimming in the North Sea, more lighthouses to visit, and many games played (as most days) in our common space on the ship. In the evening the winds brought the sound of sea shanties to our ears, all the way from the other side of the island.

On day 4 we set sail south, as the wind and tide decided. We passed through the locks to 'Lauwersoog', a freshwater lake on the mainland coast, which resulted in a fun trip through heavy rain and wind where some explorers got quite wet. At the Lauwersoog harbour more exploring was done, and this was the first time the troupe encountered the 'Blob', a large bouncy entity found at certain Dutch children’s play areas. A midnight expedition was held to defeat it and failed. Luckily, no explorers were seriously injured, merely winded from exertion and laughter. We briefly consider changing course and pursuing an inland route through the canals, but the call of the sea is too strong.

Day 5, the wind was weak but favourable and we set sail west, to the island of Ameland. The trip was calm, games were played and the sun enjoyed on deck. On Ameland, we spontaneously initiated a bike trip to the lighthouse 10km away. This proved an adventure on its own for at least one explorer, Ben, who navigated this quite successfully in the end, huzza! After climbing the 55 meter-tall lighthouse, the crew sampled the local delicacies including beers, poffertjes, and fries with peanut sauce. At the snack-place, another blob was encountered, but also here the explorers were unable to defeat it. Instead, they brokered a peace accord with all blob kind and took a group photo. After returning to the ship, it was time for dinner. As usual, the dinner was amazing and prepared by fellow explorers. At night, after the sunset, a small group of explorers decided on an exploration trip in the dark. We visited the north sea, enjoying the disappearing light from the already set sun and cycled through the dunes in the dark, with only our bike lights to guide us.

Day 6, the end is coming near but we have still one more island we can visit, Vlieland, the smallest of the inhabited islands of the Dutch Wadden-Sea. As usual, an expedition to the lighthouse was a high priority. This island sports the smallest lighthouse on the tallest dune of the region. On the approach, an artifact of troupe 031 was found and used to detect hints of the existence of the elusive (but loud) roaring duck.

Day 7, the day of our return to shore, and for some, the start of the journey home. The sun was lovely, but the wind sparse. As we slowly drifted back with few currents or wind, we had a ceremony, awarding explorers for their new-found skills, their sense of adventure and crossing new lines in the sand. All through the trip's days, many explorers were working to improve their knot-tying skills, and by the end of the week, everyone earned their Knotter’s badge. Dr. Professor, as captain of Troupe 001, proudly bestowed upon Rowena and myself the role of Captains of the reinstated Troupe 031, which allowed us to declare all the explorers of this expedition (and our ship’s mate), honorary members of Troupe 031. In the harbour after a spirited cleaning of our ship, our journey back to Amsterdam began. There we had one last meal before we parted our ways until we meet once again.

It was my sincere pleasure to organize this expedition with Rowena, and we hope it is the first of many more stories to come.

Semper Explorandum.

Sebastian and Rowena

Should you find yourself in that neck of the woods we'll be sure to list their upcoming expeditions as they're made available. Beyond the honor of Captain being granted to Rowena and Sebastian, we had a number of other badges earned. The most notable is that all aboard earned our newest skill, the Knotters badge. This one focuses on some of the basics of knot tying and we all got a chance to practice and master them in the context of sailing.

Knotter: Paul, Ben, Nova, Sebastian, Rowena, Byzantium, Kinnabari, Deprong Mori, Griffith, Dr. Professor, Tybeck and Menno
Voyager: Deprong Mori, Kinnabari, Sebastian, Rowena, Nova, Griffith and Paul.
Navigator: Rowena and Sebastian
Culinarian: Rowena and Sebastian
Stellar historian: Rowena
Discoverer: Sebastian
Redshirt: Rowena and Sebastian
Light Guardian: Kinnabari, Deprong Mori, Sebastian and Rowena