Belgium bound

By 08h50, we slipped the box... very easy given that we'd gone in backwards, and motored round to the first bridge... if we'd thought the chaos we'd previously seen was madness, then this trumped it.... at least 20 boats waiting, but in a tiny space.... phew... really really hard work keeping clearance... and repeated at each of the 5 bridges as the 'armada' worked its way down the canal... by 10h45, we'd reached the Vlissingen lock and tied up to be let back out to sea for the first time in over a week... it was a little later than i'd have liked for the tides, but we didn't have any choice as we'd taken the first lifts of the bridges anyway...by 11h00, we locked out. It was good to be back out in open water.... the forecast was for a South Easterly 4 to 5, going variable 2 to 4, so I was dissapointed to see the wind firmly in the South, meaning our course was tight on the wind.... reagrdless, I'd had enough of motoring. It had seemed almost acceptable in canals, but not for open sea, so up went the sails and we sailed tight on the wind, slightly offshore of the ideal course, but non-the-less, sailing.... in 15 to 18kts of wind, and with the strong tides in this part of the world, we were making 8.5 to 9kts over the ground.We sailed happily for 2 hours, and then as the course came round to port, the track we were able to make became so far from ideal that it looked like we would have to tack... this coincided with the wind dropping to about 6kts, and the tides starting to turn, so on came the engine again.... at least we got a couple of hours of cracking good sailing....The course led us past first Zeebrugge, then Blanckenburge, past Oostende, and finally, we wiggled our way around the sandbanks towards Nieuwpoort. As we approached the coast again, the rain started, a shame as it had been quite good up until now.... and soon I was alone on the helm in full oilies while everyone else sensibly retreated below or under the spray hood...The entrance to Nieuwpoort became obvious, and the traffic lights led us in easily.... a quick call to the Airforce marina saw us with a berth allocated... it was by now just 16h00.We motored into the marina, identified the berth, and went towards it.... we were pleased to see the marina, as previously had been the case, send someone to take out lines... hindsight would prove this delight misplaced...As we entered the berth, SWMBO passed the willing helper the bow line, and walked back to handle the stern line.... I motored gently forward and suddenly came to a crashing halt... the stupid numpty had taken out bow line and made it off on the outside end cleat on the finger.... ****.... our momentum instantly spun the stern out.... what a bloody mess... I yelled to get the line realeased, and SWMBO ran forward and retrieved the situation by putting the stern line on, to stop the stern swinging too far.... eventually, the bow line was released, and with a bit of gently fending off from the neighbouring boat, we got in, and settled the boat down.... turns out the 'helper' was a work experience student, and didn't have the first idea what she was doing!Never mind... we walked upto the marina office, and settled up for two nights... a mere snip at 37 Euros, including electrics etc.... while we were there, SWMBO spotted a service delivering fresh bread and croissants to the marina first thing... so fresh goodies for breakfast in the morning!Finally, it came to eating.... as is ever the case, its rare for us to eat a full meal at sea, and we'd just snacked... so a good feed up was needed.... and here's the magic bit.... i'd been hassling SWMBO for the last 3 years about the virtues of Fray Bentos pies... which she'd decided were the spawn of satan, but had relented. and bought one for this trip.... it was duly cooked... and the verdict.... she very begrudgingly had to admit that they are delicious!... a result if i've ever had one!Its now pouring with rain... we luckily put the cockpit tent up, so we have space to move about.... but an evening on board, and a late and relaxing start is on the cards...

Miles logged 36nm
Miles this trip 170nm
Miles this season 797nm
Miles since this blog started 2,594nm