South Coast

Ah, free internet (good old public libraries!).

I haven't pre-written anything though, so I shall just ramble on a bit about the last few days:

After one night in Dover marina we shipped out into the outer harbour and dropped the hook. We were the only boat lying at anchor but slowly more boats joined us.

Although the anchor was holding the skipper was still slightly nervous and he ended up ordering anchor watch, much to the crews dissapointment. However, it was kind of nice sitting up late swinging around the anchor.

Next day a tired crew and cap'n headed for Eastborne which was unremarkable except for the ASDA superstore! Our hero spent about an our loading his trolley with some of the goodies he has missed in the last months (tinned custard, rice pud, beans, tinned curry......etc, etc.).

From the delights of Eastborne (to be fair, we didn't actually head into the town itself) we made our way to Brighton. The wind was very light but we managed to sail most of the way and enjoyed the calm weather and the sunshine. The crew & skip now strip off completely as soon as the boat in out of the harbour entrance & those all-over tans are comming on nicely.

Unfortunately, after arrival in Brighton (extortionately expensive & we had to raft-up) there followed insubordination and downright stroppiness from the crew! The skipper dealt with this in a firm and adult manner but the crew continued to be sullen well into the next day untill the crew realized that she was being childish and had to admit to herself (even if not out loud) that the skipper was right and she was wrong. Skipper and crew are now back on good terms with one another.

My free hour is up, will continue in the next days.

Adios amigos

Back in the UK

I say, it is jolly nice to back in good old blighty! Yep, afte stocking up on a few essentials in Calais (4 Euro something for a 5 litre plastic barrel of wine!) it was time to head for home waters. We had to lock out of Calais marina yesterday evening due to bridge opening times and had a very rolly night outside on a mooring bouy. Never mind, at 0600 the wind was a nice gentle breeze and the light mist seemed to be clearing up nicely so it was slip mooring, dodge the ferries and head for Great Britain.

Except the mist didn't clear and, in fact, got a lot worse. Put it this way, I asked my crew if she could see any ships and she replied, "Who said that?!" It was a real pea-souper!

As you can imagine, it was a very tense crossing. Procedure demands all traffic call Dover harbour control when within 2 M of the entrance, & this I did. The nice gentleman asked me to call back when within sight of the harbour wall & more tense minutes (hours, days, weeks...) followed as the GPS counted down the remaining distance to 0.00 M "You have arrived" (!) But where?! Another 100m or so and a huge wall loomed out of the gloom. Iturned West as I thought I could see the end of it and, sure enough, there was the entrance. The entrance is a little over 0.1 M accross and I could barely see accross it!!! Must note at this point that the Dover port control was excellent and it was good to know that I Vega 1494 showed up on their radar.

We had planned to anchor in the outer harbour but, as we couldn't see Jack, we went for the easiest option at the time and berthed in the marina. I congratulated my crew in our customary manner and handed her a cold beer. Cheers!

Belgium and France

A fair bit to report since the last entry: We met up with Ian and Nadine in Blankenberge (in Belgium!) and had a really nice evening with our first ever overnight boat guests. By the way, thanks very much guys for shouting us a much-needed pizza - went down a treat! We gave our guests the cap'n's cabin, Susi slept in the saloon and I slept in the cockpit. Everyone claimed to have slept well; I know I did, although that may have had something to do with the amount of beer consumed!

The next day I bought a new chart and we left at 1300, bound for Nieuwport. I wont go into details of the trip, but it was not our best due to friction between the commanding officer and one of his subordinates, and I definently sensed mutinous rumblings from the lower ranks!

Nieuwport was a bit nothingish & we found the Belgiums to be a little unfriendly - perhaps they were just reserved.

I'm now sitting in the cockit watching the sun set over Dunkerque in another new country. It was a very pleasant sail to here and officers and crew alike were working on tanning those white bits (still white though).

Vlissingen

We ran aground this morning! Skipper was on the bridge-deck, but it was no problem. We had moored to an island for the night and while leaving we took a different route: The boat stopped, I put it in reverse and we were free again. No big deal as there was no wind or waves and the bottom was sandy or muddy.

We are now in Vlissingen and just bought and shared 1 litre icecream from a supermarket! Tomorrow we should be in a different country!!

Willemstad

After an eventfull and not too enjoyable passage we are now in Willemstad. Main nasty bit enroute involved tying up to wait for a bridge and getting heavily buffeted by wake from large ships. It was really extreme so we decided "sod this"and motored back into the river to wait for an hour. A long day what with waiting for bridges.

Willemstad is a nice little town & the marina is top-class: Free showers and good quality bog roll to stock up on our dwindling supply.

Till next time....

After Amsterdam

We were glad to leave Amsterdam and it's dirty, noisy streets behind on Tuesday(although it had it's moments). I think Susi hit the nail on the head when she said she would recommend Groningen over Amsterdam.

On Wednesday we got up at 0500 as we wanted to catch the first opening of a particular bridge at 0558. I think we should do it more often: A thick mist lay over the river, on one side was the moon, on the other side was the sun, both penetrating the air with a similar dulled brightness. Through the low-lying mist loomed the tops of trees, dykes and a windmill. It was beautifull (man).

We continued on our way to Gouda (they make cheese there apparantly - Edam, I think) and, I should point-out that I normally have every confidence in leaving my crew to steer the vessel while I perform other imnportant tasks. On this particular occasion I performed my important task in the heads (toilet) below as we were passing thru a built up area, and I didn't want to frighten the natives.
Upon my return to the bridge, my crew informed me, rather hysterically, of an important and urgent situation which required my immediate attention: As I dealt with this important and urgent situation and deposited the spider overboard (don't worry - they swim) I heard a sudden expletive from my crew and I looked up in horror to find that we were heading directly for the riverbank at maximum speed! My crew quickly corrected the situation and, I'm pleased to report, did not plough the boat into the grass verge adjacent to the river, or through the cycle path beyond (although it was a close-call).

I'm also pleased to report that I was very understanding about the above incident. Although I may have been even more understanding had it been a big, ugly spider but it was only a little one which would probably never even hurt a fly. Further incidents of a similar nature may have to be disciplined with some hefty licks from the cat or a spell in the hot and sweaty foc'sle - purely as anexample to the rest of the crew, of course!

Lemmer to Amsterdam

After leaving Lemmer we had a cracking sail accross the Issjlemeer to Lelystad. Although it is an enclosed sea it was quite windy and developed a sharp chop which sent spray over the boat as we beat to windward. The passage took 7 hours, including locking thru into the Markemeer before making our way into harbour. We couldn't find any free spaces so we tied up on the wall outside the restaurant and I went off to find the harbourmaster, who said it was fine to stay there. Also, when he came to collect our dues a little later, he adised us that Sixhaven in Amserdam (our planned next stop) was often full and he suggested an alternative harbour called "Aoelis" which was very near, but less well known.

The next day we set off for Amsterdam and, again, the wind was against us. This time, however, the sea was smoother and the wind lighter and we entertained ourselves singing as we tacked upwind.

Through a bridge and an overcrowded lock and we were in the city. Next task was to find a harbour and we decided to go straight to Aeolis as it sounded more likely to have spaces. As we motored in, the harbourmater cycled along the pontoon to direct us to a space and even took our lines for us - great service & friendly too.

So here we are in Amsterdam. We seem to be in the middle of a ghetto (!) but we are only 15 mins from a free ferry which takes us to the centre of town.

We did all the touristy things the first evening: Walked around, had a beer at a canalside cafe and had a joint in a coffeeshop. The joint was ok, but we're both glad it's done now and we don't have to do it again!.

We were supposed to meet up with Dug yesterday, but he stood us up (I'm sure he has a good reason).

Today we have stitched our damaged sail-cover and will soon do some provisioning0 so that we are ready to leave tomorrow. We shall have to go thru Harlem first, but I am looking forward to getting back to the countryside after that.

P.S. Jackie Brown: It was good to have a chat yesterday - thanks for calling and don"t work too hard! We shall keep in touch & see you in Blighty.

From Groningen to Lemmer

After leaving our berth in Groningen we had to negotiate the 14 bridges thru the town in convoy with 4 other boats. I'm begining to develop a dislike of bridges - why don't they build tunnels for the car people?

So we continued along the river & even did a bit of sailing. We spent the night in the middle of nowhere: There was a pontoon built near (but with no access to) the river bank with no houses in sight, only green reeds, fields, birds and cows. Listened to the ill-fated England game on the radio, played cards and wathched the sun go down. Idylic - and free!!

Dokkum: Moored for free out of town and cycled in for provisions, inc. fuel. Sat on the river bank talking and drinking untill late.

Past Leuuwarden: This time up a side-street to another idylic mooring after a very long, hot day. It was bliss to jump into the refreshing water!

Sneek: A detour to watch the ill-fated (for Germany) Germany game. Personally I didn't think much of Sneek - a bit dirty and the people didn't seem friendly. Did manage to buy cheap fuel for the stove though.

Lemmer: We have now locked out into the Issjlemeer and into a marina. Man, marina prices are a shock after our last few free nights! Still, I guess Susi did need a shower! We also had a small misshap:To cut a short story even shorter, we overfilled the water tank and ended up flooding the boat! It took us hours to get everything back in order. At least the starter battery seems to still work (touch wood) despite bing submerged for some time.

Next stop Lelystad (again, touch wood).

Till next time, stay tuned.