June 6th, 2010

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Sunday June 6. Back in Monnickendam

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

I was the first boat out of the Hoorn inner harbor. Yesterday it was a close hauled sail to the North and this time it was another near close hauled sail to the South. Another very satisfying and quick 2 hour sail. I was back in my berth in Monnickendam before 9 a.m. It was a warm evening, in the mid seventies, and the small town was filled with sailors and tourists.  Hoorn harbors a large “Bruine Vloot” (= Brown Fleet) of the old commercial sailing barges, which take groups of paying guests on day and overnight trips around the Ijselmeer.  The passengers are generally a younger crowd and it was a lively scene in the outer harbor.

I went to 10 a.m.mass in M’dam at the church of St.Nicholas and St. Anthony.  The neo gothic turn of the 20th century building reminded me in many ways of the Notre Dame de Saigon which was completed in the late 19th century. Impressive but not particularly attractive. I estimated that this church was built to seat from 600 to 750 parishioners. The gospel today was from Luke 9, Jesus feeding the 5000, starting out with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. Well, it would not have taken a miracle for Jesus to feed today’s crowd in the Monnickendam church. With the 5 men Gregorian choir I estimated the total attendance at around 50 souls…. The European Christians should have constructed knock down prefabricated churches in the last century then they could have exported them to where they are needed, to the countries where I saw packed churches, in the Pacific, Philippines, Vietnam, etc.

Gerard and Nam came to visit from Lelystad. It was an open air market day in M’dam and stalls were all through town. We ate Vietnamese spring rolls at one of the two Vietnamese “roulettes” . The predicted rain started mid afternoon. The weekend sailors have gone back home. Many stop here at the boat to ask questions about my travels.

My frustration with the wireless connection here, at least for right now, have evaporated. I can send e-mails again from my browser! 

I have added three pictures to yesterday’s Hoorn visit blog, below.

Mass Monnickendam