After days of strong SW winds we are now promised a few days of summery weather and light winds. Dave and I left the Roompot marina at around 5am and locked out into the North Sea at first light, about 6am Dutch time. The passage planning for a trip back to England is more complicated than it used to be a few years ago as there is now a huge windfarm off the Dutch coast, and yachts are not allowed to go through this - we had to divert down towards the south for a trip towards Kent. We had the sails up which makes the boat more visible to shipping, but the wind was very light and we ended up motoring the whole way. Chugging across the North Sea and along the Kent coast to the Swale took 30 hours and half a tank of fuel.
This is Daves photo of the sun rising behind the (much smaller) Thanet windfarm off the North Foreland. Bonita is now back on her mooring after more than a month in Dutch waters. Thanks to all my crew for help in negotiating the difficulties in taking the old boat on a trip never imagined by her original builders. We have had a marvellous time as guests of the Dutch Old Gaffers and enjoyed meeting many old and new friends.
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