Wednesday 11 June
Thursday 12 June
Friday 13 June
Saturday 14 June
Sunday 15 June
Monday 16 June
Tuesday 17 June
Beisbosch to Veersemeer
Veersemeer to Middelburg
Middelburg to Breskens
Breskens to Nieuwpoort
Nieuwpoort to Ramsgate
Ramsgate to Harwich
Harwich to Lowestoft
returns to top of this page
An early start was called for as this was going to be a long day. The weather was sunshine and cloud but there was a good breeze from the North West which added a significant chill to the air. It was back to fleece and windproof outerwear – we had almost forgotten where we had put it!
First we had to extract ourselves from the shallow waters of the Beisbosch waterways which took a good hour of gentle cruising. Then we joined the Maas just where it joins the Merwede (South outbound fork of the Waal). Then this huge river joins the Dordtse Kil and becomes Hollands Diep. At this point there was the normal heavy traffic of big barges making turns every which way, but we managed to pass through each of these junctions in a lull, much to our relief.
On the way past Willemstad we stopped off for a quick pump-out at the very efficient and free machine, and then headed on through the various locks of the Krammer/Volkerak and into the Oosterschelde. The main part of the Oosterschelde is orientated NW – SE and the NW wind in relatively shallow waters and over the outgoing tide made for a very uncomfortable couple of hours. We had to go quite a long way Northwest towards the Zeeland bridge before turning back S towards the Veersemeer, to avoid a prolonged exposure to strong wind and waves broadside. While we were doing this Maureen spotted a couple of black backs arching through the water quite close to Starry Night – presumably porpoises. Mike just had time to see them before they were gone.
As we approached the entrance to the Veersemeer locks we then saw some spoonbills in shallow water sifting through the mud with their beaks, sweeping their heads from side to side.
Once locked into the Veersemeer we were in tranquil waters and motored gently to “our” spot on an island about halfway to Middelburg. Here we stayed the night, feeling thoroughly exhausted after nearly ten hours on the go.
Leaving the Beisbosch - we thought it was rather dull
Passing under the Hollands Diep railway bridge
We woke up to rain beating on the roof and so delayed our departure until there was a clear spell. Then we set off for the lock at Veer. We locked through without any delay and then chugged down the canal to Middelburg, filling up with diesel at the Jos Boone floating chandlery on the way in.
There was a perfectly sized space for us at the inner harbour amongst the other boats already moored there, mostly British flagged vessels. It then started to rain again.
Undaunted we headed into town, and were able to listen to the last half hour of the Lange Jan tower carillion concert played on market days (Thursdays) which sounds like heavenly bells! It was brilliant. Go to Middelburg on a Thursday if you can. We wandered amongst the market stalls for a bit and then the heavens opened well and truly, bells or no bells! Despite a large brolly we had to retire to shoe shops and other such locations, just to stay dry you understand.
When things eased up a bit we found a fish stall in the market and had kibling which is small chunks of cod fried in a very delicious and thin batter – not at all greasy. Then we went back to the boat and spent the rest of the day cowering from the rain reading our books.
During the afternoon more boats arrived and we had a beautiful Fisher 37 motor sailer “Quintade” from New Malden rafted up to us.
Back to Middelburg - much more crowded than when we were here in May - plenty of rafting out
Perhaps some Dutch footy fans had been at work on this fountain.
Quintade and her cruising companion headed off in the morning, as did about seven or eight other British boats. Quintade was heading home by the same route as we would take, whereas most of the others were just starting their holidays.
Though we had intended to stay in Middelburg for two nights the weather forecast indicated that Sunday would be a good day to cross the channel so we needed to be ready to leave Dutch waters on Saturday early in the morning. We therefore had to get to Breskens today as it takes a long time to get to the sea from Middelburg despite the short distance due to the five bridges and one lock and this cannot be accomplished in the early pearly we were contemplating.
So we had a last appelgebak and coffee in Middelburg and then mid afternoon we headed off down the Kanaal door Walcheren to Vlissingen. It took over two hours to do this short hop with long waits between each bridge.
Finally we got out into the Westerschelde estuary which we had to cross to get to Breskens. It was exceedingly rough and very random with wind, tide and the wakes from lots of big ships chopping up the water. When we got to the Marina in Breskens we found the visitor area almost empty and picked a suitable mooring for the night. About an hour later a large sailing school boat arrived and moored near to us. There were lots of young men on this boat, under instruction, and they stayed up late jawing loudly, laughing loudly and stopping us from getting the good night’s sleep we needed.
Back streets of Middelburg near the town harbour
When we got up at 04:15 there were still two bods on the sailing boat chatting on the back! We got ourselves ready and by 05:00 we were on our way. We had a smooth run out of the Westerschelde estuary before we encountered slightly more bouncy water for the run along the Belgian coast past Ostend to Nieuwpoort.
We were tied up and settled in to our berth at the VVW marina in Nieuwpoort before mid-day having had the tide with us all the way (hence the early start).
We had a very pleasant lunch in the marina bistro to use up some of our surplus Euros and then retired to Starry Night for some rest and more of our books.
Another sunrise
Up early again, 04:00 this time, to get the best of the tide. It was a nice smooth run most of the way down the Belgian and French coast until we got to a point about eight miles off Calais where the wind freshened up and we had it more on the beam which causes a lot of rolling from side to side; this is most uncomfortable if not a bit scary sometimes.
As we were still heading down the Belgian coast we heard our rafting partner Quintade call the Dover Coastguard saying that they were towing another vessel with engine trouble (their cruising companion) and that they were about to cross the main shipping lane at just 5 knots – this was for their information. This seemed an eminently sensible precaution to us as we listened, and we were very concerned for their predicament.
The UK coastguards are taking industrial action at the moment about pay, and the skipper of Quintade got a very shirty response saying that on channel 16 the coastguard was only answering emergency and safety calls. Since then we have heard lots of people calling the coastguard for radio checks and other normal business to be told that they would not deal with the call. The periodic safety bulletin at 10 minutes past the hour is replaced by an announcement saying that they are on strike and there is no safety bulletin!
Anyway we were in Ramsgate before 14:00 after a nine hour passage and quite a battering, thoroughly washed out but relieved to be across the channel and in home waters. We ended up moored opposite Quintade and her partner, and had the full story of their problem.
In the afternoon we went into Ramsgate for some minor stores and an ice cream, and checked that Peter’s Fish Factory (FandC) would be open. We then washed Starry Night to get rid of the day's caked on salt which gets all over everything.
After fish and chips we spent a very pleasant evening on Quintade with her crew and her cruising partner’s crew playing scrabble and comparing experiences. The night was spent listening to the sound of creaking ropes and squeaking fenders caused by the incessant swell in Ramsgate harbour.
That's the easy way out!
Sandettie Light - now for the tricky bit across the shipping lanes.
Can't see any blue birds! But the White Cliffs of Dover are a fine sight on a clear day.
An early morning weather forecast check gave the green light for the next leg to Harwich and we were off at 09:00. Our route took us along the North Kent coast to the Isle of Sheppey and then across the Thames estuary to Blacktail Spit, thence along the fringes of the sand banks such as Maplin Sands, and through the spitways to Clacton, Walton on the Naze and then Harwich.
It was quite a smooth ride. We were able to boil a kettle for tea en route and did crossword puzzles to pass the time.
Nine hours later we were locking up into Shotley marina and a peaceful nights sleep.
The container port at Felixtowe with its normal compliment of huge vessels
After another early morning weather forecast check we decided we would go on to Lowestoft. Conditions would not be ideal, a force four wind from the South meant we would have the wind on our stern quarter all the way to Lowestoft. This is not a comfortable situation as it causes the auto-pilot to struggle to maintain a straight course, and the boat to roll a lot. For some short legs of the passage we would be broadside to the wind which is the worst situation from the rolling point of view and not nice!
We departed Shotley at 09:40 and followed a container ship and coaster out of the estuary. It was a very different passage from the previous day’s and not at all pleasant apart from a few short spells of respite where we were sheltered from the waves by sand banks. The last half an hour into Lowestoft was a nightmare. The sea was in a right old commotion, short steep waves, lots of white horses and a lot more wind. To make the final approach we had to bear the wind on our port beam and we rolled around uncomfortably.
There was a very strong tidal flow of nearly three knots running across the harbour entrance adding to the state of the sea and causing a pattern of short steep waves running diagonally across the harbour mouth threatening to sweep us into the harbour stonework or the mounds of rocks on the North side. The skipper was more anxious here than at any time in the last eight weeks! Once inside the harbour all was calm.
Port control had told us that there was 3.8m clearance under the bridge which was fine for us. What he had neglected to mention was that the bridge painter’s scaffolding hanging below the bridge robbed us of a meter of this clearance, a fact we discovered just in time. Backing off we were forced to fold down the windscreen et al, bobbing around in the harbour, to squeeze under - or wait 45 minutes for the bridge to open.
Finally we made it to Lowestoft Haven Marina where we are now. Starry Night has been given a thorough wash to rid her of as much salty water deposits as possible. Tomorrow we head onto the Broads and to our new marina at Brundall.
She certainly looks the business!
Copyright © 2008-2009 Mike Hawkridge