Hellevoetsluis

Today we had a sunny day with a pleasant force 3 SW breeze. We left Middelharnis and had a fine sail exploring the western end of the Haringvliet up as far as the very impressive dam and sluice structure that keeps out the North Sea. There were plenty of yachts out in the fine weather, though we did have to avoid a dinghy crew that chose to practice their capsize drill right in front of us.

The picture shows Toby concentrating on steering us to windward.

 In the evening we tied up at a marina in Hellevoetsluis, in a berth kindly arranged by our Dutch friends Else and Edgar. Here we will leave Bonita while the OGA members catch up with her as we need to go back to the UK for a family gathering. We had booked to go home on the Eurostar but our booking (and the train) got cancelled at short notice because of damage caused by terrorists apparently in some way connected to the start of the Paris Olympics.  So we plan to go home by ferry instead. However we hope to be back to join in the OGA festivities and get Bonita moving again  in early August.

Middelharnis

I hadnt heard of Middelharnis before, but we got up early and came up the canal to this typical Dutch town. There is just enough width in the canal to turn Bonita round, so long as no other boats are in the area at the time. We came here as we were seeking expert reassurance that our VHF radio was working as it should despite some recent difficulties including a dodgy aerial connection. That sorted, we tied up at a pontoon close to the centre of town. There is a lively area around the canal and a surprisingly large number of high-quality looking shops. On the water there are many boats old and new, and ashore there is a historic shipyard/museum. There is a rich history of ships and shipbuilding associated with the town.

The large vessel is the Johanna Hendrika MD10, a 94 ton iron fishing vessel built in 1897. She was originally schooner rigged, but it wasnt clear to us if there are any realistic plans to rerig her or to get her back in the water again.

Willemstadt 2

Today we had a lazy day in Willemstadt. The weather was warmer. We moved the boat from the pump- out pontoon to an inner berth conveniently next to the shower block. Toby did some rowing practice in the marina.

We explored the town, which is pretty but small and mostly dates from the seventeenth century. It used to be a fortified town and was named after its founder William of Orange ( not the English king and husband of Mary, but a previous version). It repelled a number of invaders over the years  but was occupied by both Napoleon and by the Germans in World War II. It has a windmill, an ornate church, a museum, two yacht harbours, lots of restaurants, a supermarket, but few other shops.

I have been worried about our VHF radio which seems to behaving erratically, so tomorrow we hope to move on to see if we can get it fixed.

Willemstadt

With our augmented crew of Toby, D and Allan we were keen to move on from the picturesque town of Zierikzee. The weather was not very encouraging with strong winds and heavy rain showers but the boats rafted up inside us wanted to leave so it seemed sensible we should too. There was a strong wind blowing straight down the mile long canal out of Zierikzee, but after that we had a fine sail, much of the time under just mizzen and headsails, making over 5 knots with the mainsail furled. Toby had the excitement of going under the immense Zeeland bridge, which he came over in the bus yesterday. The arches of the bridge only just look high enough for Bonitas mast to go under. We also went through two large locks.

The picture shows three generations of crew, all relieved that the rain has stopped at last, if only temporarily.

This evening finds us in the marina next to the historic town of Willemstadt. The harbour is very small, and entering it requires a tight turn into the wind, something we do not do easily. Once we got inside we found it was packed out and the only berth we could get to in the strong crosswind was one reserved for boats pumping out their sewage tanks. This is another modern convenience that somehow Bonita manages without. However the harbour master had gone home and  we hope to stay here overnight. We will see what tomorrow brings. We walked into Willemstadt for supper, and Toby went to bed after an eventful day and rather later than his usual bedtime.

Zierikzee and more crew!

This morning Allan and I sailed the few miles to Zierikzee. This quant little town is at the end of a mile long canal. With a brisk following wind and the canal tapering down this approach causes some anxiety in a boat which takes a lot of space to turn round even in calm conditions. Fortunately we found a vacant pontoon ('no mooring') to turn her round using warps and rafted up alongside a more modern yacht uneventfully.

Zierikzee is a quaint little town. Bonita hasn't been here for about 40 years but there dont seem to have been many changes.

This evening we were Joined by D and Toby, who had come all the way from Kent by Eurostar, then local train and bus. This is Tobys first trip abroad, so the cause of much excitement. We celebrated by having a Dutch supper in one of the many restaurants in the towns central square.

Roompot

Today Bonita is back in the Netherlands.Allan and I set sail from the Swale yesterday lunchtime and this evening locked into the Roompot in the southern Netherlands. Although we had hopes of a reasonable breeze mostly we had light winds. We had clear weather for crossing the shipping lanes, which is definitely welcome. The night was enlivened by a number of rain squalls with plenty of wind and spectacular lightening. 

We had thought of going to Flushing, but we were late for the tide in the River Schelde, so we came a few miles north and locked into the Osterschelde at Roompot. We tied up at the marina to find two friendly Dutch immigration officers waiting to stamp our passports. I was impressed that they had come to meet us to avoid causing us any inconvenience or delay. They didnt ask to see any of Bonita's ships papers or want to know if VAT had been paid on her, for which I was grateful.

Bonita in the lock at Roompot : Allan on deck and yellow Q flag hoisted to indicate we have come from outside the EU.