Mid-day during the Delta Lloyd 24 uurs Zeilrace, we ventured onto the Ijsselmeer to join the action.  Six-hundred sailboats were racing on the Ijsselmeer, Markermeer, and North Sea and countless others were observing the event.  Once again we'd picked our end destination while en-route.  The benefit of day sailing without a home base is that you really can go wherever the wind takes you.  That evening, we docked at Natuurhaven de Kreupe; a man-made, bird sanctuary island in the northwestern Ijsselmeer. From Natuurhaven de Kreupe we had 360-degrees of sail-lined views as the racing boats descended upon Medemblik.   A touring Dutch barge arrived for some sunset birding photos.  As passengers swarmed the docks with their tri-pods and ginormous lenses, we settled in the cockpit for the evening's cocktail and one of Brian's favorite views, an Amsterdam brewed IPA.    *Brian's editorial note - "This is actually my favorite view.  It is good beer, though."  As a special treat, the rising of a full moon not only a great ending to a fantastic day but also a gentle reminder...how long have we been here?  Where were we for the last full moon?  And we're still trying to figure that out!

1. From Stephanie Grandjean on Sep 20, 2015
   BIG SMILES!!

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2. From Grey McGown on Sep 17, 2015
   Hoo Ray...the rig's back up...

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