Running For Shelter

The weather forecast for Friday was not encouraging: the wind would freshen-up further, and it would start raining. For Saturday and Sunday the forecast was even worse. It seemed unavoidable that we would have to sit-out the bad weather for a couple of days.

Mekicevica's route (simplified) from Amsterdam to Stavoren (red) and return to  Muiderzand (green).

Optimistically, we left Vollendam marina with a reef in the main  in the hope it would not be too bad and we could head North to Hoorn, or at least Edam.
Just after the marina channel trouble started. Trying to compensate for the baggy sail of the day before I had tightened the clew too much and this made it impossible to hoist the main. I had to release the clew, hoist the main, and tighten again. All this in a rather fresh wind and rough seas.
As we came out of the protected Gouwe sea, it got even rougher. At that point we decided that the reasonable action would be to turn back and take shelter in Monickendam, at the SW end on the Gouwe sea. I started turning downwind and in the last moment I realised that to take the desired course we would jibe. Not a good idea in such wind. So, we headed up to the wind again to do a "chicken jibe". Even that was not easy. It took three attempts until we finally got Mekicevica's bow through the wind. But as soon as we entered the protection of the Gouwe sea, sailing on a broad reach things got much calmer. We even unfurled a bit more of the genoa. The final approach to one of the several marinas in Monickendam, Waterland Yacht Harbour, was straight into the wind, so we motored this last bit.
The weather forecast is warning of wind force 7, or even 8 over the weekend, so it seems we will have to wait in this harbour for three days.
At least Monickendam is a nice town, and we had a delicious dinner of grilled fish and mentally prepared ourselves to sit out the bad weather.