On arrival day, Thursday May, 29th we met at 4 pm with the other TVK members at the WSV harbour for a first meet up and exchange, with some nicely prepared drinks and snacks at the side. It was very easy to get in contact, to start the conversations and quickly getting into the flow of the standard questions of first-time-meeting: “Who are you? Which Trintella do you have? Since when? In which sailing area or harbour? What are your biggest problems or solved issues?”. Everyone quickly got into chatting, exchanging and catching up with each other. Alexandra as TVK chairman and the weekend orga Team of Anne, Mirelle, Dinan, Gerard and Bert welcomed everyone warmly and opened the TVK meeting.
At 6 pm we walked through the beautiful old downtown of Hoorn towards the restaurant Ridderikhof. Through small streets with narrow, crooked houses we arrived at the restaurant, directly at the market place. In the beautiful glassed back-yard winter garden we had a delicious Mediterranean buffet dinner and with exchange and conversations the evening went on.
On the next morning, we met at the WSV harbour and were getting ready this year’s sailing competition! Bert gave at 10 am the instructions for the regatta, with a nice “L”-shaped regatta course. Everyone would have to sail against and with the wind, plus we would have the chance to see each other quite often and taking photos of each other. Thank you to the orga team and the skippers that also people who came without their Trintella’s were able to join the crews and participating in the regatta! At 11 am the boats were leaving the harbour, at 12 am the race started with 8 boats participating. Hoorn held very good conditions with SW 4, some clouds and sunny weather. It was a tight race between the first positions and a beautiful day to be on the water. The winners were to be announced on the next evening, after comparing calculations and evaluation of the racing times. After returning to the harbour, everyone relaxed and had some time on their own.
On Saturday morning we again met at the WSV harbour for another highlight of this weekend: “Gluren bij de buren”. Starting at 10.30 am, the TVK members that came with their Trintella boats, opened their doors for an “open ship”. Admiring each others boats, cheering at each other’s ideas, discussing problems and possible solutions and adoring beautiful details. We were discovering original details as similarities between the boats and lovingly adapted pieces. We learned a lot on this morning and would like to thank all the boat owners for warmly opening their decks and doors!
After some individual lunch time, we gathered for the afternoon activity at 2 pm. We had the choice between two promising options: One group had a guided walk through the historical downtown of Hoorn, learning about the twists and highlights of this beautiful harbour city. The second group visited the museum workshop on Oostereiland, learning about the history and repair of flatboats. In both tours we learned about the maritime history of the city and how trade by ships has influenced the people’s life.
As the perfect ending of this great weekend, on Saturday evening we had a jointly dinner at the restaurant at the WSV docks, beautifully overlooking the harbour. One important program point was of course the award ceremony of the Friday’s regatta. The skippers of the Anne, Anemone, Cathelijne and Liv were announced and honoured. Finally, Bert and Rikkie were handing the challenge cup to Hans from Trintella yacht Anne. Congratulations! Once again, we enjoyed the delicious food, great conversation and the exchange between new and old Trintella-friends.
While saying goodbye for this Spring, we are already looking forward to the next gathering of TVK in autumn! We would like to say thank you to the great orga team of the TVK spring gathering. Anne, Mirelle, Dinan, Gerard, Bert and Alexandra – you all did an outstanding job for making this magic happen! Thank you to everyone participating in the gathering – it was a pleasure meeting you and getting to know you! Everyone was so open and sharing their (boat) story. Thank you to open your boats – for participating as regatta crew and for “Gluren bij de buren”. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge – in Dutch, English and German. It feels very special to being part of this TVK group and is a great way of learning and exchanging about Trintella sailing. Thank you to everyone who is keeping the TVK group alive. And that’s everyone of you!
