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.

June

 I have been quite busy but Bonita has yet to leave the river Swale this summer - just a few short day sails. I went (by road) to the Yarmouth IoW OGA rally where the racing was cancelled due to strong winds. George and I inspected the gaffers in the harbour to judge the Concours d'Elegance. This needs some diplomacy as there are some lovely boats and everyone thinks theirs deserves to be a winner. We decided it should be Lady Belle - a Falmouth Quay Punt built in 1909.  She was once owned by our Dutch friend Bart Pot, but is now well cared for by Hannah Matthews. Then I had an invitation to the OGA Helford rally. We have attended this a couple of times on Bonita, but this year I was on Dave and Julies boat Susan J, a sturdy Heard 28. The Helford is a lovely river in almost any conditions. We had a good race in perfect weather and came in second, though there werent many boats taking part. This was followed by a jolly evening in the Helford Sailing Club.

                                                                 Susan J

Meanwhile Bonita hasnt been totally neglected: paint and varnish have been applied in the better weather and we have been stocking up on some essentials. I bought a load of Dutch charts for our planned trip next month. Sadly it seems that the days of the paper chart are probably numbered and we will all have to depend on GPS navigation eventually, just as no-one seems to carry a road atlas in their car anymore. I prefer a 'belt & braces' approach using both. I have been on a boat with a total electrical failure - and also have had a chart blown overboard from the cockpit. We retrieved the chart with the boathook after some 'man overboard' practice, but it wasnt much use afterwards.