Thursday 12 March
We decided to maximise our sleep time and get ready to
leave in less time, then breakfast en route, as today was going to be a longer
day out on the water than yesterday. We slipped lines at 0700, when it was
nicely light and eased out, while the harbour was quiet.
The wind was directly behind us so we had to motor, as we
couldn’t get an angle to sail. There was quite a swell so the boat rocked
continuously. The first few hours were fairly uneventful, even crossing over
the channel outside the Europort, Rotterdam.
As we approached the channels down to Vlissingen, we were
navigating between the numerous sand banks. Having plotted our route down a
channel about half a mile wide, we were surprised that it was used by many cargo
ships of 100 metres plus. They were joined by a dredger, fishing boats and, of
course the pilot boats buzzing to and fro. This was a very busy waterway,
requiring constant vigilance to keep out of the way of all this commercial
traffic. Once at Vlissingen, we crossed the shipping lane there, dodging a
survey boat and ferries. Part way across a police rib, with two policemen,
approached to ask if we were going to Breskens. They disappeared, then came
back again and directed us to follow the police launch, as they were going to
check our papers. We tied up against them in Breskens harbour. The policeman
checked our passports and ships papers. The accompanying customs chap checked
our stock of spirits. They were business-like, asking their questions in a
friendly manner but obviously watching very carefully our responses and body
language. We had no worry about it; all our papers are in order and we had only
a small stock of spirits, obviously for our our consumption.
All this excitement has made for a very full on day and,
having had a wholesome supper of Brill, from the fish shop in Scheveningen, I
will happily collapse into relaxation.
Total distance covered -
Tricia (and Steve)
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