Today a storm has been promised again, and now also over IJmuiden where we are. Shortly after midnight, it started to blow, and it became a rocky and rather sleepless night despite the fact that we are in a safe harbor. It thundered a lot and the rain poured down.

The next day we wanted to watch the sea and went to the beach. But the sand stuck like needles in the eyes, and we realized that it was not worth going out on it, it simply hurt too much in the eyes. Instead, we took shelter in a beach cafe and watched in fascination as the wind blew up sand and the waves that broke several hundred meters out.

Suddenly the sky opened and the downpour came. No chance to get back to the boat, so it was just to enter the cafe.

While we were sitting there, there were still some who enjoyed the wind.

These 20-year-olds passed us later. Full of adrenaline, straight-backed and proud as roosters, they smiled at us and went to change. After came some middle-aged men in rainwear, probably their fathers. Maybe even they were proud, but they looked less amused by having to stand on the beach today and watch their sons dare the life while kite-surfing in the storm winds and the hysterical waves.

We had the anemometer on and it was blowing 40-50 knots all day inside our harbor, and only calmed down later in the evening. The next day it looked like this at the outdoor furniture. The staff has some digging work to do if they want guests 🙂

We also had some work getting Sally clean of all the sand and salt that lay like a blanket over her the next day. Really need to sew our winch covers soon, because the sand in them is not good.

For those of you who like Cornelis Wreswijk, it can be fun to know that he was born here, and has both places named after him and this bust here by the beach. But I would never have recognized him if I had not read on the sign that it was him.