A Cruise on Friesland 'Broads.'

Preface

. My readers (if I ever have any) may wonder why this book does not contain elaborate descriptions of Dutch art and Dutch places generally. My reasons for not dealing with such subjects are two fold. Firstly, I know nothing about them, and any flowery descriptions I might have introduced would have infallibly been stolen from wiser writers ; and secondly, that as any handbook of the country gives not only a beautiful catalogue of all the works of art, and an equally beautiful description of the towns, but kindly tells you which you ought to admire, thus saving infinite trouble and hesi tation to the tourist, who either goes to the country to say he has been there, or who really goes as one interested in Dutch art or Dutch things VI

PREFACE.

. generally, it would be useless for me to try and impart further information. The said handbook also tells you at what hours the pictures can be seen, and what they cost to see. I cannot do that, for I do not know. The Dutch art I went to see was the art as depicted by Nature's brush, the galleries of which are always open, and nothing to pay. I have purposely avoided in the body of the book any description of the boats, or any details as regards the best stores to take, or the depth of water in the different canals, but have put all this information — which I hope may be of use to future travellers under simdar circumstances — in the Appendix ; so that any one not wishing to be bothered with such details may be spared the unpleasant process, to the author at any rate, of having to skip. The greater part of this book was written on the spot, at night, after each day's sail, and does not aspire to be in any way a literary work, but

PREFACE.

. VII simply a faithful chronicle of one of the pleasantest cruises and happiest few weeks I have ever experienced. No doubt the book would be more exciting if it contained descriptions of hair-breadth escapes from drowning and the like, and had I been so minded, I could probably have embellished it in this manner ; but, as no such adventures befell me, I prefer to let my log stand upon its own merits, such as they are, and remain a simple record of what befell us in our wanderings without further ornamentation. I believe it is given to very few to have real adventures in their lives. Those that have them don't talk about them. It is generally those that don't have them that do talk about them. No one has time to do both. PAGE 41 CONTENTS.

Chapter I

Sailing under difficulties — The tyrant skipper — How to enjoy oneself without him — Where should we go — An idea — Preparations — Off at last — A miserable night — Close packing — Arrival at Stavoren . . . . 1

Chapter VII

Covetousness — Tjeuke Meer — A good sail — Dinner under difficulties — Lemmer — Dutch perseverance — Anchovies and lies — Hard-worked clerks — Sloten — A damp orator — Balk — Herod out-beroded — In the forest — A hard day

Chapter VIII

An island camp — Washing — A pottering day — Fishing — Fair Friesland — A peaceful night — Riches of the past — Across the Zuider — Trippers — Enkhuizen — Smells — A mare's nest — Dutch music — A salt-water camp

Appendix

. PASS Description of the Boats . . . . . . .175 Cooking Apparatus, Cleaning and Washing Things, etc. 182 Clothes 189 Tents and Beds 191 Stores 194 Expenses . . . . ...... 200 Depth of Water in Canals, etc. ...... MAT of PH I KSI.AND, showing the Une of ROUTE. FRIESLAND "BROADS."

Chapter I

Sailing under difficulties — The tyrant skipper — How to enjoy oneself without him — Where should we go — An idea — Preparations — Off at last — A miserable night — Close packing — Arrival at Stavoren. Are you fond of sailing ? I don't mean sailing at so much a head per hour, or sailing in a 300-ton schooner nominally belonging to yourself or a friend, but really owned and governed by a gold-laced skipper, who will not allow any one, even the noble owner, to interfere or in any way have anything to do with either the management of the ship, or with the hours of starting and stopping, and who will only permit the owner as a great favour to suggest in which direction the ship shall go ; who, when snugly moored in congenial waters, resents any attempt to get under weigh, and B talks about the " nasty sea " there is (or probably isn't) outside; to whom the tides are as willing slaves, being always wrong when he wishes to re main at his moorings, and always right when he wishes to get under weigh.

If any owner could get the tides and winds as much under his command as can the said gold-laced skipper, he would be happy indeed. It is not in this class of so-called sailing that I want you to take an interest ; for surely if this is the sort of thing that amuses you, the cruise I am going to try and describe will bore you to extinction. The sailing I mean is that which a man gets when he is owner, skipper, and crew of his boat, free to go at any hour of the day or nio-ht, anywhere, anyhow, free to stay at his moorings as long or as short a time as he pleases, who can leave his boat anywhere, and go rio-ht away from her should he get bored, without the horrid feeling that skipper and crew are eating their heads off all the time at his expense. A man thus happily circumstanced is never idle ; there is always a job to be done, always some new gear to fit, or old gear to alter; and a man who is never idle is more nearly always happy than any being I have yet met.

Nothing does a man so much good physically and morally as a cruise under these conditions. He is his own and only servant, and must perforce do everything for himself or leave it undone. He must not over-eat himself at dinner, or he will be too lazy to wash up and put the things away. He cannot lie in bed too long in the morning, or he would never get started — for if a man takes any pride in his boat — and no man who really loves the sort of life I am going to describe can help taking this pride — several hours of pretty hard work must intervene between the moment when he makes the final effort and gets up, and when he lets go his moorings and starts off on his day's sail. For several years past, I and my excellent friend R had been in the habit of taking short cruises together, mostly in the Norfolk broads and thereabouts ; but last winter we B agreed that always going over the same ground was rather a bore, and that we wanted a wider field and a new country, and many were the dis cussions as to where this field was to be found.

Time went on, and we had settled nothing, when suddenly one of those brilliant flashes that come to a man once in a lifetime shot through R 's brain. I was feeling particularly low and down in my luck that day ; it was in February, and there was a nice comfortable fog, and it was beastly cold, and I was hesitating whether I should go to bed and stay there, or whether I should sit over a roaring fire and drink cherry brandy, or some other impossible intoxicant, till I could drink no more, when I got a terse telegram from R , saying: "Why not take our boats over to Friesland on a steamer, and sail there for a week or two ? " All thoughts of bed and cherry brandy disappeared, and I bolted off and wired: "Excellent; will come down to see you to-morrow." I spent the remainder of the afternoon rushing about London and getting every available book on Holland and Friesland, and sat up till the small hours poring over them and a map, at the end of which time I had arrived at two conclusions : the first that Friesland looked perfection for small boat sailing ; the second, that the books taught one nothing.

Scarcely any one seemed to have been there, and those that had had gone by rail, and said (they probably knew) nothing about the canals and meers. The only book that threw any light on the subject at all was " Through Friesland in a Norfolk Wherry," and even that book, excellent though it was in other respects, only told one vaguely the most necessary details of how to go, and how to get there. A wherry with a pilot on board who knows the country, could naturally get all over the place; but, unfortunately, such a craft left no well-defined track for smaller and less ambitious boats to follow. Moreover, we could neither of us speak a word of Dutch, nor could we carry a pilot even had we been inclined to do so, unless we towed him astern. Finding that we could get no information about the country, we decided that the best thing to do was to go over and see for ourselves, and take our chance of finding our way about.

One thing was quite apparent, which was, that special boats would have to be designed and built for the purpose — boats in which we could sleep comfortably at night, and be altogether independent of inns and other external hospitality. We decided to iimit the length of the boats to fourteen feet, as, although we should trust entirely to our sails as a means of locomotion, times might arise when we should have to row, and therefore, it was advisable to have the boats as small and light as possible. Suffice it to say that, after spoiling much good paper, a design was hit upon which seemed to be as nearly perfect as possible, and the drawings were put in the hands of Messrs. Abbott, of Rochester, with instructions to complete the boats in some thing less than no time. How is it that although one may consider weeks of thought in designing as well spent, the moment the design is pronounced complete one grudges every day that is necessary for its carrying out ?

At last, after what seemed an eternity, the boats were finished and sent to Maidenhead, there to receive the final up-river finish, which salt water builders seem incapable of putting on to small boats, and to have their masts, sails, and gear fitted to our satisfaction. This last was sure to be right as we did it ourselves, and, therefore, no matter how wrong the fittings might have turned out, we could have no one to swear at in the future. A solemn christening of the boats took place, at which ceremony R 's boat was named Panther, and mine Sheila. May 18th saw the boats packed off on a carriage truck to Yarmouth, and on the following day, loaded with a minimum of clothes and what seemed an infinity of stores, we started, feeling for the first time that there was at all events a possibility of the much talked of cruise coming off at last.

R was to meet me at Liverpool Street Station in time for the twelve o'clock train, but having several things to get on the way, I left home about ten, and going to the Eastman Company's place in Oxford Street to get some spare rolls of film for my Kodak, ran up against R , who was on a similar mission. Putting all our luggage into one hansom and ourselves into the other, we got to Liverpool Street with twenty-five minutes to spare. Of course, when we got there we found that about a dozen indis pensable things had been forgotten, so we had to fly off and try round some shops, with no result. AVe must get them at Yarmouth, and by the time we get there, we shall probably have remembered another score of things — indispensable, no doubt, but which we could probably do perfectly without. We had chartered a tug at Yarmouth to take us and the boats across, and had determined on Stavoren as our landing-place, which, being situated at the mouth of one of the largest canals leading through Friesland, seemed to be a good place to start from ; and so it was, the only objection to it being, that as far as we then knew, there was no means of getting our boats there, except by special steamer, and it was to that end that we had decided upon chartering one, though it turned out to be an unnecessary expense, as steamers run once or twice a week from Amsterdam to Stavoren, and it would have been cheaper to have taken our boats and selves that way.

This was of course one of the many difficulties we had to contend with in haviug no information as to the best way of getting to Friesland. We were charged twenty pounds for the tug, which sum, considering that the round trip took nearly three days, did not appear excessive, and that the cost of transporting ourselves and multitudinous gear by any other route would have been quite ten or twelve pounds, and, further, would have taken a much longer time, besides the trouble and expense of transhipping the boats at Amsterdam. And was it worth nothing to feel that we were as good as German Princelets, who cannot cross O * the Channel by the ordinary steamers, but must have a special one ? I wish, however, we could have got the long-suffering British taxpayers to have paid for the tug, as they do with more or less good grace for the above - mentioned Princelets !

But we never thought of asking them. Our stores, and what we considered everything, had gone down to Yarmouth the day before, but, nevertheless, our pile of luggage was rather heart breaking, consisting as it did of all the " absolute O' o necessaries " which people from time immemorial have always left to the last moment. A dull and very long journey down, and we arrived at last at Yarmouth, and drove straight to the tug, passing the Panther on the way, and also on a hand-cart. We passed something else on the way in the person of a well-known statesman, who was starring East Anglia (at least, that was what the newspapers called it), and feared that this was an ill omen ; but no particular harm came of it. We had a wild idea of asking him to accompany us, as this would have greatly added to the attractions of the expedition — from a spec tator's point of view, at all events — and, further, there was the possibility of his getting drowned on the journey ; and though, of course, he would have been delighted to have come, on mature consideration we thought he would be rather a bore (moreover, we had no starch with us, so how could the "collars" have been "got up"?) and so we concluded not to ask him.

After what seemed about three weeks, but which was really only half an hour, we got the ■ two boats comfortably stowed on the tug together with all our stores, and then started off to shop in Yarmouth. R had his hair cut, and got real good money's worth, as he had the whole lot taken off for fourpence, and looked exactly as if he had just come out of prison. We then bought a fryingpan (which, strange to say, we had forgotten up till now) and various other necessary things, with all of which we walked through the town not the least ashamed. At last, at ten minutes to seven, we started and steamed out of Yarmouth, and we were really off at last ! The crew of the tug, having spent their last hour on shore in saying good-bye to their friends, came on board not much for drink. but somewhat the worse A lovely night, and a were both thankful, and cold tongue and whisky, of a very close cabin, smooth sea, for which we after a nasty dinner of flavoured with the smell we turned in.

About 12.30 a.m. I was pitched off the narrow locker on which I wTas sleeping, and found the tug dancing about like mad. This went on till about 4 a.m., when we got under the Holland shore and found smoother wTater. I never remember being so thoroughly uncom fortable in my life. The tug was a short and very beamy boat, and the way in which the choppy sea that had got up threw her all over the place was quite incredible. I was rolled off my hard locker many times, till at last I managed to jam myself between the table and the side of the boat, which position, although very uncomfortable, was at least secure. Then the swinging lamp got mixed up with one of the beams, and partially capsized, making the atmosphere of bilge water, etc., even more insupportable than before. Of course all ports and scuttles had to be kept tightly closed, for we were taking on water in any quantity, so we had the full benefit of this charming combination.

Our discomfort, however, was as nothing compared with that of two young friends of the skipper's, whom he had asked leave to bring with him on a "pleasure trip" (save the mark !). Anything more wretchedly sick and washed out than their appearance next morning I never saw. I inhumanly, but without their knowledge, " kodaked " them in their misery. I wonder whether they will ever see and recognise them selves ? Owino* to a slight miscalculation in steering our course, we fetched the land about twenty miles south of the point we were aiming at. Nobody seemed to care, but had there been unlighted shoals about the consequences might have been awkward. However, at 11 a.m. on Tuesday we were off Nieu Diep, blowing our whistle like mad for the custom house officers to come off, which they kindly consented to do at one o'clock, having kept us waiting exactly two hours.

When they came they did nothing, but espying the whisky - keg, asked what was in it. Half a tumbler of the con tents told them all they wanted to know, and they went over the side wishing us all manner of good o o luck in an unknown tongue. A gentleman, handsomely bound in brass, then came on board, who proved to be a pilot, though he looked like a field-marshal. Although the tug only drew five feet of water, he insisted upon navigating us to Stavoren by the deepest channel, making forty miles of it instead of thirty. Perhaps they are paid like hansoms, so much a mile ; but, then, no one could wish to be torn away from all that beautiful brass-work until it was abso lutely necessary, and so we paid the money cheerfully. The Zuider-Zee is a wonderful place; nothing but water in sight, with church steeples sticking out of it like piles ; no land visible at all when a little way off — only steeples.

I wonder whether this is the Hollanders' idea of the survival of the fittest ? It seemed impossible that our vast pile of luggage and two large cases of stores could ever be stowed in the boats and leave room for ourselves ; but by dint of most carefully packing all our tinned things under the bottom boards — where, by the way, they made excellent ballast — and our more perishable things in the lockers, we managed at last to dispose of everything, and got the boats ready to go over the side the moment we arrived at Stavoren. We would not have faced a second night on board the tug for any consideration, and our one idea was to sail far enough inland that night to find a comfortable camp ; and it was therefore with some anxiety and impatience that we watched the beautiful pilot taking us miles out of our way, when the chart showed plenty of water on a far straighter course.

But, as I have said before, we had the pleasure of feasting our eyes upon his wonderful get-up, and felt that even a subsequent night of misery would be but a small price to pay for this. At last, at 5.40, we got to Stavoren, and at once put the boats in the water. R 's boat was lowered rather carelessly, and there was an awful moment when we both thought she was going to be stove in ; however, she landed in the water all right, and promptly began to leak like a sieve. Pleasant when one sees one's bedrooiu gradually filling with water, knowing that one will have to sit up most of the night baling out ! My boat was lowered with great care and no nervousness, and, having got all our gear and our selves on board, we parted from the tug, and at the same time with the only people with whom we could talk with any reasonable expectation of being understood for some weeks. c

Chapter II

First impressions — Leaky bedrooms — The first Meer — Marketing — Stew and happiness — Heeg. Through a lock, which, although debouching into the sea, had a fall of about two feet inland, which struck us as odd ; past the cleanest-looking houses I ever saw, into the cleanest-looking country, the greenest fields, and the freshest grass, the most beautiful flowers, and the cleanest-looking black and white cows ; on both sides, as far as one could see, cleanness and freshness everywhere. A nice little breeze, fair, and we saded along happily for about three miles looking for a place to camp. Our happiness was marred somewhat by having to constantly bale the boats out, and by the growing conviction that sleeping in the boats that night was impossible. At last we found a little creek, where, by pulling the sterns of the FRIESLAND "BROADS." 19 boats up high and dry, it would be possible to keep at least our beds from getting wet.

This we did, and after a two hours' wrestle with an unfinished tent and a scratch meal of cold food, we turned in at half an hour past midnight, thoroughly tired out. Next morning we were up about seven, having slept capitally. Thank goodness, the tents and beds are all right. No cruise can be a success unless you are sure of comfortable nights, for when you are in hard work all day, and can only look forward all the time to a night of misery and discomfort, there is very little pleasure in the whole thing, and one is much better at home. It was as well, however, that we had taken the precaution of hauling up the sterns of the boats, as in the morning, to such an extent had they leaked, they were both nearly full forward, and the water was within a few inches of our beds. It was a lovely soft, grey morning, with the grass smelling divinely, and the cows lowing all round.

By the way, the cows seem to low more here than anywhere else ; I wonder if that is one of the reasons why this is called the Low Countries ? c An elaborate toilette, and a substantial breakfast of cocoatina and galantine, an equally elaborate pack ing up, and we were off by 10.30, when it began to rain, and the wind fell light. We did not like to swear, as it was our first day in Friesland, and we thought it might give the people a bad impres sion of English manners, so we contented ourselves O 7 with looking hurt. Whether this did it, or whether it never really intended to rain, but was only trying to take a rise out of us, I don't know, but about twelve o'clock it faired up, and we went along capitally with a nice little breeze. We passed a swing bridge — our first of many — and the man who opened it held out an old sabot at the end of a string apparently to receive a toll.

A twopenny-bit dropped in as we saded by seemed to fill him brimful of gratitude. There being an inn close to the bridge, we landed as we wanted beer and bread. The beer we got all right, as every Dutchman drinks beer, and has the good sense to call it by its right name — namely, beer ; but why bread should be called " vette-brod " in this benighted country I know not, but such is the fact. It was only by producing a stale bit left over from breakfast, that we learnt this much Dutch, but even this was not much use here, as they hadn't got any bread, so we did not get any. Up till now the country and canals had been more like Norfolk on a large scale than any thing, but suddenly we sailed into " de Fleussen Meer," a huge great place, perhaps ten or eleven miles long and two or three wide. You could have put all the Norfolk Broads into it, and lost them.

Oh ! the pleasure of getting into a fine wide expanse of water like this with just a nice whole sail breeze, a new boat, untried at present, but promising to do excellently well for the work even though handicapped by new sails, which, of course, were quite unstretched, and consequently would not stand properly. The pleasure to feel that this was only the beginning of the cruise ; that miles of, to us, undiscovered country lay before us ; that we were free as air to go to the right or to the left as fancy willed it ; to feel that complete independence of any one or anything which can only be engendered by the fact that you have everything you can possibly want for your comfort, whether by day or by night under your hand ; to feel that no disturbing letters or telegrams can reach you ; that your duns may be wearing out the knocker and panels of your door at home, and that you are really "not at home" this time, come they back never so persistently day after day !

Not a very exalted notion of happiness this last, but one that, if the truth were known, would appeal to many in these high pressure clays, when everything is dear, and labour (one's own at any rate) is dirt cheap, and remunerated accordingly. Let them knock ! Let them wear out their nasty knuckles and my nice knocker ! (I haven't got a knocker as a matter of fact, but for the sake of alliteration I shall mentally borrow one.) A coat of paint will put that all right when I get home — which won't be yet, bar accidents, for many a long day, thank goodness. As to the more respectable method of dispensing with the assiduous attentions of my dunning friends, time enough to think of that when I get back. Something may turn up ; it never does, but that is all the more reason why it should. " Nothing," we are told, "is so likely to happen as the un expected."

That's good enough for to-day; let the sunshine, and the breezes blow, and the grass smell, and the birds sing, and let me be happy to-day, at all events, and lay up a pleasant memory of one day at least that was perfect in all details, as a set-off against the weeks of fog and gloom that must come. We were bound to get some bread somehow, also butter, as though biscuit is a very good stand by, bread is better. So we sailed down a little dyke at the end of which were some houses, and catching a boy, showed him our precious sample of bread, when he, being of more than ordinary intelligence, rushed off, and presently returned with the local baker and a basket of bread. We started the same boy off again for butter and eggs, and presently back he came with half a pound of the very best butter in the world and ten eggs, all for sevenpence.

The local policeman, gorgeous in buttons and a long sword, the effect of which was rather marred by a walking-stick, which, like a sensible man, he had in his hand, looked on, and as we were apparently committing no breach of the peace was good enough to smile. Our cup of joy was full, for was not even the majesty of the law approving our actions? A rattling sail back along the dyke, and for about six miles along the meer, and we found an ideal camping-place. In a little creek just wide enough to take the two boats side by side, with grass full of every conceivable flower growing all around us, the meer in front of us with its still far-off end stuck up by the mirage into the sky, and close by a little windmill painted the brightest green, which had apparently been dusted all over that morning so clean was it, we made our first real camp.