Goedemiddag,
You can probably guess what that means: good mid-day or afternoon.
Our passage from Ipswich to Vlissingen was quite comfortable with mostly smooth seas; no rolling or bumping along from wind or waves. The only tricky part came when during my watch I noticed blobs on the radar and lots of lights that didn’t match our charts. We would be passing near a section of Dutch wind farms out in the North Sea just before 2 am. My watch was from midnight to 2 am so I was the first to notice that all of the lights I saw, and the radar blobs didn’t match the chart. Luckily Rick got up early for his 2 am watch so we could discuss it. And Randal and I had talked about it at midnight but he figured by 2 am we wouldn’t quite be there so I need not worry. But worrier that I am and seeing all of those unexplained lights, I was glad Rick came along early or I would have gotten Randal. Actually I woke Randal as well anyway so he and Rick could plot a new course. New windmills had been added since the electronic chart had been made so were not marked on it. Everything else was smooth sailing.
We arrived at the lock around 7:30 am but had to wait for our chance to get locked in. The marina is mostly full but our spot on the very end dock is just fine; our water hose and power cord able to reach the pedestal for hook-up. And the wifi is free!
Boat projects are taking precedence over touring. The mast and stabilizers must be taken down and a cradle built to carry it during our river journey. It will be an interesting experience just completing all of the preparations before we can even begin.
Ru
Passage to Vlissingen
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Leaving Ipswich : The Orwell Bridge is tall enough so masts can pass under. |
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A sunny day, plus long weekend with Monday’s Bank Holiday made for a very crowded river with boats under sail having the right-of-way. |
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Randal and Rick had marked out a track on the chart. |
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The Victory, once a Thames barge, now takes passengers from Ipswich on a river cruise. Technical difficulties late morning at the lock caused them a late departure. From radio chatter between other vessels and the lock keepers; the paying guests were not pleased. The Victory was allowed to go to the head of the line of the several boats waiting to leave the marina. Our departure was planned for 2 pm so we had no problems getting “locked out” from the marina into the river. |
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Arrived in The Netherlands waiting to enter the lock at Vlissingen. |
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Our spot at Jachthaven VVW Schelde |
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Also a working river; the bridge just past the marina; between us and the supermarket, was raised to let some sailing boats and this barge go through. |
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Lots of cycle paths and people on bicycles, almost none wearing helmets. |
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To pass under some bridges between Vlissingen and the Black Sea, our mast and paravane arms must come down. First task was to take down and store the sails. |
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Amazingly both fit under our back cabin mattress along with several boxes of spares and other boat supplies already stored there.
A combination of brawn and brains to get it all stowed away. |
