Leisure Owners Association 1982-2026

L17 Sailing The Dutch Waddenzee

Sailing the Dutch Waddenzee

124 nm, 10 Day, Solo Trip in Leisure 17 “Tiny SeaRider”

It finally happened in June this year: I sailed the Dutch Waddenzee with my faithful Leisure 17. The L17 turned out to be a true “pocket-sized warrior” at sea and it was fun pushing her through the waves.

After a thoughtful planning for several months, I left home close to the village of Varel / Germany and was heading to the Dutch Marina “Lunegat”, which is located approx. 30 Min. north of Groningen at the Lauwersmeer and the start of the Staanding Mastroute.

Staande Mastroute

The Staande Mastroute is a waterway in the Netherlands which allows sailing boats and yachts to sail inshore on the canals with erected mast.

My L17 was strapped to its trailer, and we made the distance in about 3 hours. The harbour master was informed about my arrival and craned my boat into the water.

Weeks prior to the voyage I had designed a new “two-legged dead man”, which allows me to raise and lay down the mast easily without the assistance of any other person.

You can see my red L17 in the background moored at the pier.

The Marina Lunegat is a very quiet place with a friendly and helpful staff.

I like coming here and getting my boat in and out of the water whenever I am sailing in the Netherlands.

The Staande Mastroute is a convenient way to travel inshore the Netherlands.

Locks and bridges open quite fast, soon after you have established contact by VHF radio.

If you do not have any radio, simply wait in front of the bridge, or ring the bell.

Just after I have completed the rigging, I started the first short track to the Dutch village of “Ee”.

Passing the first lock, entrance to the Staande Mastroute and two drawbridges, I arrived in Ee and met a good friend of mine who is a former volunteer of the KNRM, the Dutch Maritime Search And Rescue Organization and I spent the night there.

I have found a berth just behind the Museum Lifeboat “Cornelius Zwaan”.

June 03rd, 2026

It turned out that I had bad luck with the weather during the entire time of the voyage. It was rainy, cold and windy from the west and I could enjoy the sun just a few times.

Lifting bridge on the Standing Mastroute

However, I am a “Nordic Guy“, who was born and grew up by the beastly North Sea in Germany ;)

I sailed the next leg from Ee to the city of Leeuwarden on the Standing Mastroute, which took me about five to six hours.

Unfortunately, with some rain showers there was a constant strong wind from the West, the direction I was heading…

Leeuwarden is not really my favorite place to stay, because it is difficult, sometimes even impossible to find

the harbour master. So, I did not get the access code to the shower and bathrooms, which are located quite far away from the berth anyways.

June 04th, 2026 Leeuwarden:

However, the berth was in the middle of the city, not far away from downtown, where you can find great restaurants.

A Leisure 17 fits into the tiniest spaces….

After I have enjoyed a hearty breakfast, I proceeded from Leeuwarden to Harlingen. Passing three lifting bridges in Leeuwarden in heavy rain showers did not lift my spirits, but I needed to go on.

Later that day I experienced strong winds on “the nose” when I could only make 2.5 knots (instead of the usual 4.5kts).

However, with a delay of two hours I finally arrived at the Marina “Jachthaven HWSV Harlingen”. I was surprised that the harbour master remembered me immediately.

I was a guest there two years ago and I said “I do know my berth”. This berth was directly in front of the harbour master’s office, and I was happy I could stay there for two nights before proceeding to the islands.

But, an hour later, he asked me to go to another berth and I happily agreed; it was just five meters away!

Harlingen is a very picturesque and nice town and I always enjoy my time here.

You can reach the town center within 10 minutes walking from the marina.

Fresh seafood can be found almost everywhere as well as other Dutch cuisines.

The harbour master in the Marina is very friendly and helpful and whenever I stay in Harlingen, I always make new friends.

I like the old house and the canals (called “gracht”) between the streets are very nice to watch.

June 06th, 2026

Today is the day to tackle the leg from Harlingen to the island of Terschelling. Sailing in these tidal waters requires a sharp calculation of distance, current, wind and weather.

All those calculations had been made days before, together with a good passage of navigation and all other necessary preparations.

Leaving the port of Harlingen requires one to navigate a designated small boat channel. The main fairway is occupied by the fast ferryboats between Harlingen and the islands of Terschelling and Vlieland.

Also, you need to follow the rules and maintain a watch on channel VHF 10 and closer to the island, VHF 2, as the so called “block channels”.

The Dutch authorities urge every sailor to monitor those channels closely and be on standby to be called if necessary.

The area between the shore and the islands is called the “Waddenzee” (muddy shallows) and is considered an “inshore area”. Here you need to monitor VHF 10 and switch the radio to ATIS mode.

Westerly winds force 5, waves of about 0.75m and with only the foresail raised, allowed me to sail with an average speed of 6.5 kts over ground - with the help of the ebbing tide.

On my way to Terschelling

I needed to navigate between sandbanks and narrow fairways to the port of Terschelling, but it was fun and I was delighted that all my tidal calculations and passage planning proved to be correct.

I made the passage to Terschelling in about five hours and enjoyed a very delicious meal after my arrival.

The town on this island was invaded by tourists and it was difficult to find any calm spot

Cruising through the Waddenzee

June 07th, 2026

After a stormy and very rainy night, I prepared to proceed to the island of Ameland.

Now for the next challenge, sailing in the Waddenzee. This means precise calculation of the tide and crucially when to pass shallow spots of the narrow tidal channels.

The locals call those shallow spots “wantij”, which are shallow ridges in the channels.

To pass those wantijs safely without running aground, you must calculate the time of passing, the height of the water and your draft, in relation to the local tidal times.

It is challenging, but rewarding and fun!

Port of Ameland

However, the strong wind (almost west F5-7, permanently) and tidal current was pushing my L17 with an average speed of 5.5 to 7 kts through the tidal channels.

I made the passage to Ameland in about 5.5 hours and experienced quite some difficulties berthing in the port due to the strong wind and sailing single handed.

Here on the island of Ameland I have met some friends from the KNRM (the Dutch Maritime SAR Organization) and it was fun talking to them again after such a long time.

Even the harbour master is a voluntary rescue man on the Dutch lifeboat. I stayed for two nights visiting the tiny village of Nes. Delicious food, friendly people ensured that I enjoyed my time on this island.

My tiny home for the time sailing in the Waddenzee

June 09th, 2026

Another rainy night on board made me wonder, why am I doing this?

I don’t know why..., but it is fun, exploring the Waddenzee, visiting islands, and making new friends.

Sailing for several days or weeks with a L17 is a kind of “hardcore camping”, especially when the weather is not pleasant.

No space to dry wet and damp clothes etc, but…I am healthy and who knows what the future will bring .

I did not remotely suspect that today would turn out to be a “special one”.

Departing from Ameland around noon due to tidal times, I set course to the south-east, passing a sandbank and navigated my way to the tidal channel leading to the island of Schiermonnikoog.

Running Aground!

The wind was westerly, force F5-7. Shortly after entering the tidal channel, I ran aground!

I was following the buoys, but somehow I got stuck on the shallow side on lee shore. The boat immediately turned 90 degrees to the current and the waves broke on the side of the hull, making me and the paper chart, soaking wet within seconds.

No chance to struggle free with outboard engine and sail. Now my experience as a professional member of the German Maritime Search And Rescue Service came into use.

I dropped the anchor with a chain and long line immediately, to prevent the boat being pushed further onto the sandbank.

After a few minutes, as the tide rose, the L17 turned her bow into the waves and water stopped splashing into the cockpit.

Anhored and Not in Distress!

When I came back into the cockpit, I saw a fast boat heading towards me. It was a small, fast boat of a commercial salvage company on Ameland .

Making contact on VHF, they asked my whether I needed help. I was confused because I had not called for help.

However, the captain of the ferry boat between Holwerd and Ameland had spotted my “difficulty” and alerted the salvage boat.

I turned down any assistance from the boat and the coxswain seemed to be puzzled. I was on ground, and he assessed that in that situation I needed help.

However, I made clear to him that I did not need any help and he set off back to Ameland.

Soon Afloat Again

Approximately twenty minutes later, I had enough water under the two keels again and I could break free and proceeded on my way to Schiermonnikoog.

Due to wind and current, I was able to push the L17 to a speed of 8 kts over ground

All you need is patience. The tide was rising for the next 4.5 hours, so no need to take any help when nature provides it free! Knowing what to do in such a situation can save a lot of money…

The Tiller Head Has Cracked

Alas, just 30 minutes later I realized that the rudder was not working properly.

It turned out that the tiller head was cracked and could not transfer the force of the tiller to the rudder shaft

I could fix the problem provisionally but needed to continue with an offset of 20° between tiller and rudder.

Coming closer to the island of Schiermonnikoog I needed to make a decision: proceed to the island and get stuck there for three days due to the weather or skip this island and divert to the port of Lauwersoog.

Change of Plan

I decided to head to Lauwersoog and changed course. With a broken tiller head casting, entering Lauwersoog did not immediately ease the situation.

After transiting the lock, I went through heavy rain for the next two hours, sailing through the Lauwersmeer, all the way back to Lunegat.

I arrived in Lunegat, wet, freezing, hungry and exhausted, at about 07:30pm.

After cleaning up, I truly enjoyed a long, very hot shower, hot soup on board and went into my bunk early

June 10th, 2026

Here I have decided to lower the mast, crane the boat on to the trailer and head home.

The weather forecast was not very positive for the following days and I have had enough of the rain and wet conditions.

Once I arrived back home, I repaired the broken tiller head.

Tiny Searider back in her home port of Varel.

Summary:

Although I did experience quite bad weather the week I was sailing in the Waddenzee, it was a most interesting and challenging trip.

I do love to sail in the tidal areas either in Germany where I am living and working in the Maritime Search And Rescue Service, or in the Netherlands.

Since I sail mostly single handed (99% of the time), precise planning and preparation is necessary. Always have a plan B, always assess, and re-assess the situation.

Sailing in the Waddenzee is dynamic. Oh..., never navigate with a chart plotter in the Waddenzee. Use the depth sounder only, because the tidal channels constantly change their shape and course!

The worst part was that the weather turned sunny and warm, the week I was back home...., grrrr

I have added the route and distances below for anybody who might follow my path. Feel free to ask any questions you might have. I am happy to help and provide information.

Many thanks to my faithful Leisure 17, the “Tiny SeaRider”!

She proved to be a very safe and reliable boat and I enjoyed every single moment with her.

Table of Distances:

Lunegat - Leeuwarden 23nm

Leeuwarden - Harlingen 14nm

Harlingen - Terschelling 22nm

Terschelling - Ameland 25nm

Ameland - Lauwersoog 24nm

Lauwersoog - Lunegat 16nm

Total 124nm

Note: all distances are approx. distances!

Addendum

Dear LOA-Members,

Thank you very much for having a peek into this travel report.

I do appreciate your time to read and maybe finding it intriguing to sail this route yourself.

As much as I do love sailing my “Tiny Sea Rider”, taking the ground, drying out, discovering ports and islands, it is very small to spend an extended time on it, especially in poor weather.

Currently I am refurbishing a Leisure 22.

The L22 is more spacious, has a small dinette and pantry and I can build in a dry cabinet to dry wet clothes. Propelled with a 13hp diesel engine it is more reliable as an 8hp outboard motor.

Therefore, I am planning to sell my L17 fully equipped in 2027.

I will enjoy other long-distance voyages with the new L22...., even to the UK.

I will always keep the L17 in my memories ...

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