Vlieland - 53° 18′ 00″ N, 05° 04′ 00″ E

The BLUE dot is Chinook.

After a glorious night (despite having to motor) with a sky sparkling with stars and the sea filled with phosphoresence,  we wiggled through the narrow channels and arrived in Vlieland, The Netherlands.  Vlieland is one of the barrier islands separating the North Sea from the Wadden Sea and is a popular place to visit during the summer.  

The Netherlands!

Being a beautiful, sunshiny day, we pulled out the bikes and went for a ride.  Only residents are allowed to have cars on the island so most people travel by bike.  

Saying g'day to the locals

Flat and car-free riding - just gorgeous

Windswept dunes and wide, sandy beaches

Oost-Vlieland is the only village on the island

A perfect way to take in the view and people watch

Next to us in the harbour was a Grand Banks 46 owned by the charming Peter.  With armloads of charts, he came aboard and gave us lots of local insights. He kindly left us with his chart book of the IJsselmere marked with all his favourite places, including the best places to hide from the coming tempest.  

So no time for much dilly-dallying, Storm Amy was on her way and we needed to get to the safety of the IJsselmeer before she arrived.