Going Dutch at Kirkwall Marina
(Picture: Craig Taylor/The Orcadian)
Kirkwall Marina has had a very Dutch feel about it this week as 16 sailing vessels, and over 50 crew, visited Orkney while taking part in an international sailing event.
The crew of the 16 yachts, which range in size from 30 feet to just over 50 feet, were taking part in the biannual North Sea Triangle Challenge, a sailing event between The Netherlands, Kirkwall, and Norway, before returning back to Holland and completing the triangle.
The last of the vessels arrived in Kirkwall early yesterday morning, having left Den Helder the previous Saturday.
The yachts are leaving today, Friday, and heading back across the North Sea, this time sailing to Flekkefjord in southern Norway on the next leg of the event.
One of the four event organisers, Harry de Jong, speaking onboard his yacht Loesje in the marina, said that the weather conditions and high winds had made for a difficult crossing North Sea crossing at times, and looked set to be similar while the flotilla would be heading for Norway.