Storm - Part 2

I continue the story about the club championship and I move into Hanneke's apartment.
We start off right where I left yesterday. Doortje and I were getting ready for the fourth race of the Orionis Club Championship. Doortje was at the helm and she offered it to me with the words "if we want to win, you should probably steer". That was a nice compliment, but I declined politely. I no longer felt the pressure of having to prove myself, so I didn't mind if we would be sailing a little slower than we could.
In the fourth start, we got ourselves into a bad position. We got to the starting line too early, and it was very short, so we would need to do a tack before the start. I thought that would be practically impossible, because of all the other boats, who were on time and coming on a starboard tack. Therefore I suggested that we do a jibe to get around them. What I didn't anticipate was the we would fail to make the jibe quickly and end up many boatlenghts below the starting line. Throughout the race we overtook three boats and ended up third, but I do attribute some of that to luck, as one of them capsized while they were far ahead of us.
In the fifth race we had another dramatic start, with all boats on the line in time. We were a bit too close to our leeward boat and that was a big problem for us. We had trouble sailing as high a course as them and we knew that we had to tack away, but there was also a boat on our windward side blocking that opportunity. When the windward boat tacked we immediately followed, but that turned out really bad as they capsized in the middle of their tack! Both Doortje and I did all of the emergency things we could to avoid capsizing on top of them and in the end I could push our boat off theirs with a shoving hand. We got back in the race after that and climbed our way up to finish second in spite of all those troubles.
In the sixth and last race we were both getting pretty cold and tired, but we sure weren't giving up. Doortje gave me the helm for this last one. The wind was slightly lighter than in the earlier races, but it was still strong and the gusts as unpredictable as usual on the small lake. Before this race, Rochelle's boat had given up. I'm not sure why, but she had been in the water several times, so I suspect she was too cold to continue racing. My strategy for the start was to keep the other boats on the outside or behind me as I approached the starboard end of the line. It seemed to be working for the most part of the start, but with one minute to go the wind direction changed so much that I couldn't even get above the buoy at the pin end. It turned out to be a very poor start, leaving us last. We did advance a little on the upwind, but at the top we had trouble finding a spot on layline and we tacked just below another boat. Unfortunately, they were perfectly on the layline and we had to tack twice before we could get around the mark. On the downwind we were moving fast with our genakker (no one else were using their genakker any longer). We almost overtook a boat, but they managed to get space by the bottom mark. Even though I could see it comming I did not manage to get us a good rounding of the mark and we ended up in their shadow. After this we couldn't really get enough speed to overtake anyone and we finished fourth.
That was the last of the races, so we sailed back to the harbor. In the clubhouse the organizers prepared dinner for us and we were grateful for some hot pasta bolognese. At the announcement of the results we were surprised to learn that we had achieved a second place with 13 points in six races. The third place also had 13 points, but they had no first places. The first places went almost exclusively to the winning team, who won with 6 points. Doortje and I were surprised and happy with our result. We celebrated a good day of sailing by going to a pub that was open just for us. The organizers of the event had arranged this as well, and we had a nice time together there until we were too tired to go on. That was already at half past eleven, but we were really tired from a long day of sailing. Doortje also lives in Amsterdam Noord, so for the first time ever I had company on the ferry home. It was definitely pleasant, and a sharp contrast to how I had feared the day would turn out, when she first asked me to team up with her. I still think selfishness is a bad character trait, but in her own words she just looks out for herself. From being with her the whole day I think I got a little better at dealing with that, as it just required me to seek the things I wanted a little more actively than I usually do. At the end of the day I felt perfectly at ease around her, and that is actually a bit special as I don't really have any close friends in Amsterdam. We said goodbye at a crossroad and congratulated each other again "Second place!" - "It's been a great day!".

Sunday, I moved out of my apartment in Noord and into Hanneke's apartment in De Pijp. Just mentioning the areas will tell people from Amsterdam what kind of a change that was. Noord is known to be one big ghetto and De Pijp is one of the most attractive areas to live in. It is just south of the center, close to the Amstel river and there are canals here just like in the center. It is more open and spacious than in the center and it is actually perfectly quiet in Hanneke's apartment. That is another change from where I used to live. I don't think I've ever complained about it on this blog, but the first week a had to use earplugs to fall asleep, because of the noise from the street below. But the location is not all that is wonderful about this place. The inside is so impressive that I still haven't gotten used to it. Hanneke and Ad met each other at hotel school and that means they both know how things are supposed to look. Everything in this apartment feels perfect. Every cupboard holds neatly stacked things, which have been taken perfect care of. The kitchen is huge and looks sparkling new and pretty much all the furniture looks expensive. I don't think I'm really going to be able to describe this place accurately, but I can tell you that I am impressed. I know that no matter how much I end up earning I will never live in an apartment that looks this good. She told me that she wouldn't clean or anything before left and I believe her. It just always looks as it should.
Sunday evening Hanneke had prepared a three course meal for me an Ad that made me feel like I would be forever indebted to her. There is simply no way I can repay the kindness they both have shown me, so my only option is to try and express my gratitude. Of course I will find a very nice gift for them, but it could never match what it means to me to be welcomed here and be allowed to stay for two weeks. It better be something good. I will surprise the both of them somehow and make sure they become happy that they trusted me. Nice people like them should never be let down.

Monday was the real storm, but the day were the least happened for me. I took my bike to the office regardless and when I drove home I passed an uprooted tree that almost blocked a canal. It rained heavily and I got soaked completely before coming home. But there's a great way to get warm again when you live in a fancy apartment. I filled the huge bathtub and regained my warmth while listening to heavy raindrops on the window. It felt great to be inside and feel nice and warm and I sent yet another appreciative thought to Hanneke for letting me stay in her wonderful home.