The early June weather was firing Atlantic Lows across the country and bringing unsettled weather and some quite windy conditions. Not what we want for a Cruising Club North sea crossing. We had to pick our moment for a gap in the weather and a reasonable sea state.
In the event we only had to delay our departure by one day. The winds had fallen light and the wave height was predicted at 0.6m
Whilst this is not the flat calm we all hope for it was reasonable for the fleet to go.
We departed the RNSYC @ Lowestoft @ 0600hrs and made our way to Vlissingen at
20 knots. The first thirty miles were a little lumpy but did not present a problem for the fleet and after that the conditions significantly improved.
It took around 5 hours to make the crossing and we arrived at the lock at Vlissingen in time to catch the 1342 Blue Wave. The Blue Wave is the opening of a sequence of five bridges between Vlissingen and Middelburg on the Walcheren canal. The bridges open at set times for boats moving north or south and are operated remotely.
By early afternoon the fleet were safely moored in the Binnenhaven and excited having made the crossing, several for the first time, to enjoy the fabulous cruising ground the Zeeland offers.
Our route around Zeeland took us to Middelburg, Veere, Goes, Zierikzee, Kortgene then back to Middelburg and onto Breskens in readiness to cross back to the UK.
Our departure was delayed by a couple of days waiting for an improved sea state. We were forecast fog patches and on the day we loomed out of Breskens Harbour into the fog with visibility of less than a quarter of a mile. We were treated to an escort by a Harbour Authority launch across the Westerschelde which is a busy commercial route to Antwerp. After about 10 miles they bid us farewell and we pressed on in the fog towards Lowestoft. The fog patch lasted for some 70 miles but presented no problem with radar, AIS and electronic navigation.
We arrived in time for a 1500 Haven bridge lift and return to the Broads.
As usual Holland did not disappoint.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.