A windy sail through the Netherlands' inland sea

Jeff Wrinch is seduced by the old-world charm on offer around the IJsselmeer and Markermeer.

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Just 130 miles from Suffolk, hidden behind the expanses of sand along the north-west European coast, lies a cruising gem, home to the graceful Dutch barge, and all but undiscovered by the majority of cruising yachtsmen. The magnificent inland sea, known now as the IJsselmeer (formerly the Zuiderzee), was created by the dykes built in the 1920s to keep out the sea. Now, due to the rivers that flow in from the land, the ‘sea’ is a fresh water lake.

I discovered this wonderful inland sea on my way to visit Amsterdam, returning south from a two-month Baltic cruise aboard Moondance, my Southerly 135. At only 60 miles long and 30 miles wide, the IJsselmeer and the adjoining Markermeer make a fabulous little cruising ground. Distances are small, navigation is easy and character oozes out of every inlet of what was once the coast of the Netherlands. My introduction to the IJsselmeer, however, was a baptism of fire.

An embarrassing start