Steaming up the Belgian Coast

Erik called this morning to report their coordinates -- 51.24.N 2.3E (great excitement about their recent crossing of the zero line). The crew of Mokum are so intent on their current destination of IJmuiden (the entry to the Amsterdam canal access) that they forgot to turn their radios on to the "receive" position and missed several warnings from the English Coast earlier in the day. It seems that Mokum was spending too much time in a shipping lane and when the coast guard was unable to get their attention, they sent a coast guard airplane to set them straight. After many apologies Mokum and crew have been forgiven and all is well.

Word from the Crew

Martin has just called to relay their position. For the interest of his friend Terry, they have just passed Bognor Regis! The coordinates are Lat 50.4N,Long.051W. They should be at Dover by nightfall. At this point their ETA for Amsterdam is "early Monday morning". More as we hear it ...
Mary Shelley

On her way "HOME"

Just moments ago Mokum once again set sail for the final leg of her journey "home".
For those of you who haven't cottoned on yet the name MOKUM is a familiar term for the city of Amsterdam. The word has hebrew origins and means town / city or place. People from Mokum are Mokummers. Groot / Big Mokum is Amsterdam and Klein / Small Mokum is Rotterdam.
Apparently there are 5 men on board now including Bas. Martin spent the night with his friends in Portsmouth and was able to have breakfast with his mother before they sailed today.
They seem to be depending on Bas' cell phone to call around and have been in touch with Elmer regarding times and point of entry.....unfortunately they have stopped calling home.
---I am biting my tongue here--- sailors!
The information we have I have received by calling JP's sisters in Amsterdam.
Apparently it is a beautiful day and the crossing would take 24 to 26 hours but under these great conditions it will take less. They are eager to get to Amsterdam as bad weather is on it's way.
Mary and I both leave Canada today and will arrive in Holland tomorrow.
We will keep you posted and hopefully photos will follow sometime soon!
It's not over yet.

MOKUM HAS LANDED!!!!!!!!

I WAS JUST ON THE PHONE TO FLORINDE IN AMSTERDAM WHEN THE OTHER SISTER YOLANDA CALLED IN THE CELL TO SAY THAT MOKUM HAS LANDED AND BAS HAS FOUND THEM. THEY ARE HEADING FOR THE SHOWERS!
I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO A FLIGHT SWITCH AND WILL BE IN MANCHESTER ON SUNDAY AND WILL GET TO AMSTERDAM ASAP.

Last Minute Update

Just had another call - they have heard from our friend Terry Young in England who has sailed for years in the area and he has arranged dockage for them-the powers of modern technology! They will now be arriving about 8:45-9:15. All is well, but the harbour is very busy with all of the boats arriving for the Cowes Regatta. The plan is to spend one night in Portsmouth, then cross to Vlissingen on the coast of Holland. David will leave the boat there and fly home and the rest will bide their time until Lesley arrives to greet them in Amsterdam. More later...
Mary Shelley

Portsmouth Harbour in Sight

Just had a call from Martin - at 8:00 am our time, they were about 1/2 hour from Portsmouth Harbour. They were unable to get in the Marina they wanted, the best they could do was a mooring (#HF54) at the first Marina on the Gosport side of the Harbout. I don't know if the Web Cam will pick them up at that location, but if it does, they should be arriving about 8:30am our time. Stay tuned..........
Mary Shelley

Beautiful Starlit night on England's south coast

The crew of Mokum are enjoying the most beautiful evening of the trip as they sail along the south coast of England toward Portsmouth with the stars finally looking down on them. Their coordinates are 50.24N, 2.44W. Their ETA at Portsmouth Harbour is between 1400 and 1600hrs GMT (that's between 0900 and 1100 Kitchener time)tomorrow, Friday. Martin will confirm that in the morning. They plan to spend the night in Portsmouth tomorrow, do some tidying of the boat, get provisions and then will continue on to Holland on the weekend. Not sure if the Web Cam will catch them, but if not, it sounds like there will be lots of greeters at the wharf and even more of us there in spirit!
Mary Shelley