April 2026 – part 2 (19th to 30th; excluding 24th to 27th, see separate post)
Leaving nice and early on the 19th, we continued on our way to Dokkum in reasonable weather, mooring up a few hundred metres before the Woudpoortbrug just as the rain set in.
We were surprised to see signs dotted along the rdges of the waterways saying that mooring was forbidden over the coming several days because not only was it the weekend of the Kings Day celebrations, but …. the actual King of the Netherlands would be in Dokkum on the Monday for his 59th birthday! Now that was unexpected! Security was obviously being ramped up for the event and we wondered what difference that might make to us and our stay.
Anyway, we were a wee bit naughty and despite the signs we abandoned Shensi for a while and quickly popped off to a nearby supermarket for supplies. That done, we crossed through the Woudpoortbrug and into the harbour moorings between the two windmills, easily finding space for ourselves – there were only a couple of other boats there, despite the signs. However, a visit from the harbour master clarified the mooring situation in that an influx of maybe 80 ships was expected for the weekend, with some mooring around the windmill area, and the marina area was to be left clear for when the royal family walked nearby at the weekend. So, with that in mind, we moved on again to a permitted longer stay location, just on the other side of Altenabrug but outside of the main harbour, settling outside of a local Action store – a great odds and sods store for people just like us!
Now the real fun began – there was just so much hustle and bustle going on, it was hard to know where to look. In preparation for the coming four days’ celebrations, there were several stages being erected for the music entertainment (the one close to us being the largest), historic ships arriving, a beach being set up for volleyball matches and even an ice rink being created across a stretch of the central canal.
Actually, before we forget … the main reason for choosing Dokkum at this particular time wasn’t so much for King’s Day (that was a happy coincidence) but that we had arranged for a new bimini to be made, and the manufacturers had asked us to go to their facility in Dokkum for it to be installed. Once we were in place we were able to pop along to choose a fabric colour, and a few days later they turned up to install it. It did look lovely, we were both very pleased with the result.
Ok, back to Dokkum – we mustn’t forget to mention all the continuous ‘background’ work being carried out by the huge team of workmen in order to facilitate the whole event and it’s need for major security – all the massive heavy duty barriers across streets to restrict access, temporary toilets installed along the roads, additional car and cycle parking all over the place, planting and management of all the floral decorations, building up the event stagings with lighting and sound equipment … the list seemed endless, but all carried out with smiles on the workmens’ face and a willingness to stop to explain things to Nicki, who was constantly asking questions!
Kings Day celebrations in Dokkum took place over four days from 24th to 27th and were a bit special as the royal family would be in attendance on the 27th for his 59th birthday. (Following a tradition started by the King’s mother, Queen Beatrix, in 1981, the royal family visits one town/province in the Netherlands on every Dutch king or queen’s birthday. King Willem-Alexander took over from his mother in 2014 following her abdication.) …. more on the actual day’s excitement (27th) is detailed in a separate post. In brief though, the day seemed very personal with a friendly and happy atmosphere across all the crowds.
Once the King and his entourage had left the party continued in Dokkum with a series of musical entertainers, ending at 10pm. During those few hours the workforce was already out dismantling some areas and reinstating the roadways, probably much to the relief of the local residents!.
With Kings Day behind us and the town returning to its usual peaceful self, we prepared Shensi for the next part of our journey on the 28th, leaving on a clear, breezy day. Amazingly, so soon after the celebrations, all the bridges were cleared of their obstacles and we crossed through easily further along the Dokkumer-Grootdiep to our next night’s stop at a Marrakrite jetty with almost perfect dog walking nearby.
The wind picked up steadily whilst there, so we decided to lay down the new bimini – we maybe should have tried that out in less windy weather, but we managed to get it sorted between the two of us. However, with windy weather a few of the handsome ships with sails held high, looking glorious as they passed by.
We moved on again the next morning, arriving an hour or so later at another lovely Marrakrite mooring of Diepster Bos – we thought the previous mooring was good, but this was was perfect! Tucked behind a small islet with a fabulous walking area all round us. Not much to say otherwise, but a good, peaceful night was had before we set off again for Lauwersoog for our next night’s mooring, the last one of April 2026.
