The second half of a weeklong raid in Dutch waters of 12 small boats and 17 participants mainly French, sailing around the old ports of the former Zuiderzee. The video concentrates on our experience on board Avel Dro, exploring these fascinating waters for the first time, as well as descriptions of the places we visit. My pronunciation of the place names may be somewhat suspect. Apologies to Dutch viewers!

The "Waterwolf" (phonetically something like "vatervolf") is what the Dutch call the waters that constantly threaten to inundate their country. Here I have used "sea wolf" instead. In Dutch that would be "Zeewolf".

INTERESTED IN DINGHY CRUISING?
Read my book, "The Dinghy Cruising Companion" second edition out NOW!
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/dinghy...
And join the Dinghy Cruising Association:
http://dinghycruising.org.uk/

AVEL DRO
Do you want a boat like mine?
Avel Dro is an Ilur designed by François Vivier, and built of clinker plywood by Les Charpentiers Reunis of Cancale in 1994. I bought her in France in 2003 to import her into the UK, and more recently returned her to France again before the present Brexit trade restrictions were imposed.* The design is based closely on the traditional inshore fishing boats of Brittany in the early years of the twentieth century – hence her single boomless lugsail rig and lack of a mainsheet horse, (sometimes controversial among my viewers). Although rare in Britain, Ilurs are relatively common in France. The name Avel Dro is Breton, and basically means a whirlwind.
Length 4.44 m
Sail area 12.2 m²
Beam 1.70 m
Draught 0.25 / 0.86 m
Design category C3
François Vivier's website (in English):
http://www.vivierboats.com/en/
Similar dinghies can often be found for sale on the website of the French magazine Le ChasseMarée:
https://www.chassemaree.com/revue/
Or try Le Bon Coin, (where you can buy anything in France):
https://www.leboncoin.fr

*Since January 2021, due to Brexit, Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) residents who buy a boat in France or elsewhere in the EU, with the intention of importing it into the UK, need to pay VAT and other duties on the import.

ZUIDERZEE MUSEUM
https://www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl

HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS
Dutch flood of 1916 public domain.

MUSIC
Footprints in the Sand Roots and Recognition featuring Melanie Bell
Admitting the Truth Trailer Worx
Lone Traveller Gabriel Lewis
all from Epidemic Sound

THUMBNAIL IMAGE
Thanks to Stéphane Blanc.