Goes pinball

Given that we were well ahead of plan, and that we had no intentions of rushing, we decided that another night at Baastian de Langeplaat was a good plan.... as it happens, this worked out well for us, as the morning forecast suggested less than ideal weather, with South or South-west 6 or 7...So we stayed put... ansd gradually as the morning dissappeared, so did the sun, and before too long, there was a constant cover of cloud, and the wind had freshened to about 20kts.... throughout the day it got windier, and eventually, and unsurprisingly, started to rain... we'd had the sense earlier in the day to put the cockpit tent up, so nothing too serious... however, the wind now touching 32kts in the gusts had us well pinned against the pontoon, so extra fenders, check the lines and all was well.... the boat was well healed over, and the wind created waves made an annoying slap against the side of the hull as they were right on the beam....We however, slept soundly, despite the noise... and rose in the morning to an altogether different day..... still windy, but not so much, reaching 25kts in the gusts, and veered a little so slightly less on the beam.... but more importantly, the cloud had cleared to show blue skies....I'd spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon with Alan Watt's book, 'instant weather forecasting', and was delighted that my own predictions had proved spot on... a fine book, and worth getting if you haven't come across it before....We decided to leave, and head towards Goes, a nice easy passage... but sadly straight into the wind for much of the journey again, with the only bit really worth sailing, just 10mins duration.... the lock out of the Veerse Meer was straightforward, other than some prat coming in way too fast, and hitting out stern anchor roller.... no bother for us, but he did put a nice gouge down the side of his boat... he also caught our outboard... no harm done as it simply moved on its mounting bracket, as he only just touched it.....We soon locked into the Havenkanal, the run into Goes, and set off... This is a canal a scale smaller than we have previously used, and was very narrow.... so we kept in the centre, and saw no traffic coming the other way... we did however catch one small motorboat up when we reached the first bridge.... this was only a tiny one, and with no room to turn around, and nowhere to tie up and wait we crept forward verfy carefully at a respectful distance, slowly creeping towards the bridge... we were pleased to hear the opening bell ring as we got close.... and watched the motorboat go through... we followed... as we got entered under the bridge, the lights turned red.... I slammed Morgana into reverse, but quickly realised that we weren't going to stop in time, so gunned her ahead, and shot under the bridge as she started to close... phew!A couple of miles further on, we started the run in to Goes, and saw the large bridge that we needed to pass under to get to the two marinas in the distance... it was open... but we didn't make it... just before the bridge was a short commercial quay, so we grabbed a slot and waited for the bridge... it transpired that the bridge only opens on the hour.... so we had a wait.... eventually we were through, and directed by the harbour master to the further marina... which was a concern as I wasn't sure of the depth being enough.... but we had no choice... the first marina was full... and this bore out as we motored by.... we had a further bridge to pass through, again shut, so we tied up alongside a boat and waited... only for a few mins.... and then were told to head to the very far end of the marina, which we did, creeping slowly along being unsure of either the berth situation, or the depth... a lot of boats already in and tied up... rafted 2 deep on one side, and every box full on the other... eventually we saw a boat at the very end of the marina, along the end wall, and decided to go alongside them... as we got closer we realised that it was getting very shallow... the boat we had seen was a southerly... and must have lifted his keel!Emergency stop, and emergency about face... the aisle being no more than 2 feet wider than Morgana is long.... we got 90% of the way round, but I couldn't avoid the outboard just (and only just I hasten to add!) pinging against an anchor sticking out.... again no harm done... but a little embarassing, and I feel sorry for the outboard... its had a rough day!We crept back 3 or 4 boat lengths and tied up alongside another boat.... they had seen our drama, and were ready with full fenders, and extra hands.... I suspect they were terrified as we came alongside!!!!Engine off, deep breath, and a coffee... wow....Time to take a first proper look around us.... fabulous location... right in the middle of the town... wonderful gabled architecture, very traditional look and feel.... and wonderfully sheltered.... there's another front coming through!

Miles logged 11nm
Miles this trip 116nm
Miles this season 743nm
Miles since this blog started 2,540nm