Ostend to Ipswich – End of July 2022

23rd July – Saturday – Middelburg to Ostend

Our trip to Europe was a last minute decision and so we feel 6 weeks has been a good amount of time to reacquaint ourselves with Holland and still leaves us 40 nights of our 90 day allocation within this 180 day period.  In case we want a non-sailing holiday when we get home…….

The first bridge of the ‘Blue Wave’ was at 08.37am, and 3 other boats were waiting to pass through the next 5 bridges with us.  2 Belgian, 1 German and us. 

Ourselves and the German boat had to wait at the Vlissingen lock at the end of the canal as it just filled up as we were approaching.

It was a beautiful hot and sunny day and we seemed to arrive at Ostend very quickly with the tide.  After crossing the shipping channel with many big ships at Zeebrugge we arrived at 16.30 after 36 miles and eight hours.

The lighthouse above marks the entrance to the Port of Ostend from the sea.  The new buildings behind it are all new since our last visit and dwarf the lighthouse.

The harbourmaster met us in his Rib and told us we should go to the Mediterranean moorings along the harbour wall.  Crikey, we haven’t used one of those before.  But all was OK and pretty easy.

Mick backed the boat into the space and the Harbourmaster took a mooring line from me, passed it through the mooring buoy’s ring and passed it back to me.  We managed to sling our ropes around the cleats on the pier.  Sorted.

Pontoon with springs and picture of the Royal North Sea Yacht Club in the background.

We were told we would have a more comfortable stay on this type of mooring (there are come pontoons) if we were going to stay a few days.  To also aid the comfort there were springs on ropes attached to the pontoon which we attached to our rear cleats (above).

These are needed because THE BOAT ROCKS A HELL OF A LOT WHEN THE TIDE COMES IN AND OUT AND WHEN THE BIG BOATS AND FERRIES PASS OUTSIDE THE MARINA.  For several hours a day and night.  And all the springs creak.  This is why many people choose to go through the lock into the big Mercator marina.  But we knew we wanted an early start next and the lock does not open until 8.00am.

View from the Royal North Sea Yacht Club where we ate on Monday night.  The other marina behind the lock is much bigger.

24th to 26th July – Sunday to Tuesday

We spent the next 3 days walking around Ostend.  We only stopped for two nights last time, so we had more time to stop and stare.

The Band Stand in Wapen Plein which is at a convenient junction between the two big shopping streets.

Latte Macchiato with a complimentary shot of Advocaat, which is a traditional Dutch drink.  The Dutch influence here is strong including the language.  When you see well dressed mature clients in a posh café, you know you are into a winner.

Dikke Mathile (Fat Mathile, as the locals call her) depicting the opulence and sensuality of the sea in female form.  Until 1963 she reclined on the Kursaal casino, which dominates the sea front.

The famous Floral Clock getting a trim in Leopold Park.

The Tall Ship ‘Mercator’  which resides in the Mercator harbour.  Entry is 5 euro.  Not open on Sunday.  Quite a few places close on a Sunday.

St Peter and St Paul church near the Railway Station.

Completed in 1908, it has impressive strained glass which was replaced after the WW2.   

Ostend has expansive, clean beaches.  The little dots are all rubbish bins which are emptied daily.

26th July – Tuesday

So now we have to think about the return journey and the paperwork and passport stamps.

The Maritime Police office is to be found at the left hand end of the beautiful old Railway Station.  10 minutes walk from the marina.

Mick completed the ‘Belgian Pleasure Craft Declaration’ form and crew list online.

The day before we left we visited the Police Office and had our passports stamped for departure.

We also filled in the electronic C1332 Spreadsheet for UK arrivals and sent this to Border Force Central Region which covers Ipswich.

We received Email acknowledgments from both the English and Belgian submissions, granting us permission to proceed. 

The procedure for arriving in the UK is to fly the ‘Yellow Q’ Flag (Quarantine) when 12 miles from the UK shore and to contact UK YachtLine by phone before going ashore, for clearance to land.

27th July – Wednesday – Ostend to Ipswich

We left the mooring at 04.00am to start our 86 mile, 16 hour trip back to the UK.

After a couple of hours we came once again upon the shipping anchorage.  They were just waking up too and some movements were being monitored by our AIS.

We circumnavigated the ships anchorage on the way to Holland, but decided to pass through the anchorage on the way back.  All the triangles are moored ships, indicated with a black circle on the boat icon.  Moving ships show their heading with the line in front of the ship icon.

Looking back at the anchorage at sunrise.

One of the ships at anchor.

With amusing paint job.  I never want to see it this close while it is moving.

Anchorage in the background.

Mick raising the Yellow Q flag.

Blue Sky Sailing.  We made 6.5 knots with the sails up and the engine on.

The boat rocked for two hours before we got to Felixstowe.  Then we saw the ‘Pitching Ground’ channel buoy.  The clue is once again, in the name.

We never cease to be amazed at the size of these cargo ships.  The tanker beside it had just passed us and was huge itself.  I counted 22 containers horizontally on the deck of the cargo ship.

One of many ‘Offshore Energy Support’ Catamaran's heading in to Harwich after a shift.

We entered the river Orwell and remembered we had a sandwich each left, hurrah, to help us make the last few miles into the lock at Ipswich.   

We arrived back in Ipswich at 20.00.

Sailors Info

Don’t let the paperwork put you off visiting Europe, it is worth the effort.

Ostend Royal North Sea Yacht Club is a rocky mooring.  However, it is central to the town and the beaches.  The facilities are good.  The wifi and TV reception are poor as the tidal height variation is many metres.

The SPAR supermarket near the marina is the biggest we have seen, no need to seek out any others. 

Restaurants and Cafes are plentiful along the harbour and seafront.

Happy Sailing and happy summer everyone.

More ports to follow……

Willemstad, Kortgene, Kamperland, Middelburg – Late July 2022

11th July – Monday - Dordrecht to Willemstad

We had to leave through the Nieuwe Haven Bridge at 09.30.  Mick did a great job of getting us out of a tight mooring.  We then had to pootle around in the river with the big ships passing until 10.00 when the Rail and Road Bridges opened.

While we were waiting I managed to get a good picture of one of the large ships with his Cab elevated, to enable him see over the containers on his ship.  Elevate.

We arrived in Willemstad at 2.00pm after just 15 miles.

It looks pretty from the water too.

12th July – Tuesday

It was a hot and humid day so after doing the washing early and going shopping early we had time to visit the Mauritshuis Museum, and hopefully find some shade.

It wasn’t open the last time we came.  It has been newly refurbished in 2021 with state of the art video presentations.

It was built in 1623 by order of Prince Maurits, son of William of Orange.  Built with his own money as a residence and hunting lodge.

One of many stories told in the museum was projected onto this table and showed how the town protected itself by flooding.

Another large room had a full video presentation with a big button for ‘English’ which we pressed as we were the only viewers.

An ornate room used for weddings and functions.

And the now obligatory children’s museum and traditional items in the attic.

Maurtishuis is free to look around and also houses the tourist information office.

The Domed Church has evaded us again, but now we know it only opens on Saturdays.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Bellevue Bar watching people with very expensive boats trying to park them in the small old Town harbour.  With a beverage or two.

This guy with the old Dutch barge did a precision manoeuvre.

See previous blogs for details on Willemstad marina.  Current price 22.70 Euros.

13th July – Wednesday – Willemstad to Kortgene

The 35 miles today took us just over 7 hours and we negotiated 3 locks.  It was overcast with a warm wind to make it bearable.

The most interesting vessel we saw enroute was this barge carrying what we think are grain silos, or maybe parts of windmills.  The ballast below the water to keep this upright would need some complicated mathematics.

Another new marina for us.  Delta Marina is located on the Island of Noord-Beveland which lies between the Oosterschelde to the North and the Veerse Meer to the South.

 

That night we ate at Grand Café DeLoods, between the marina and the town.  We had new season mussels which were 26 euros to eat on the terrace and 21 euros to eat in the tent/marquis.  We ate on the terrace, surprisingly….

A beautiful sunset rounded off the day.

Kortgene is a small town with one small High Street.

At the end of which is this windmill.  We did a few walks while we were there near the water side.

Sailors Info

Delta Marina is a modern marina with an onsite Restaurant, T’Veeruus, which was good.  There are a few other restaurants in town and a small number of shops.

Kortgene is a holiday home destination and water sport centre.

The SPAR in the High St was excellent, but Norberto’s Ice Cream Parlour next door was the star of the show, 48 flavours and Norberto was a delightful man.

90 euros for 3 nights.  New facilities.  Wifi OK.  It is a good passing marina for a night or two.

16th July – Saturday – Kortgene to Kamperland

The 10 miles only took 2 and a half hours.  We knew the hot spell was due and thought Kamperland looked busier.

There is another marina at the end of the Kamperland canal, but we took the canal to Kamperland Village marina. It would be a long walk to the shops from the first marina (above).

There were some Grand Design houses with private moorings at the side of the canal.

17th to 19th July – in the Heat

To be honest we did very little.  We went to the supermarket to stock up with things to keep us cool and lounged around inside or under the canopy for the rest of the time.  Taking walks when it was cooler.

We don’t have a freezer onboard so were relying on the fridge.  Thank goodness the fridge coped and the electricity stayed on, as there had been scare stories of power outages at home.  We keep a water bottle in the fridge for cold water drinks.  I also put a tupperware box in the fridge with cold water and flannels to wipe ourselves with.  And we dug out the fan that we bought in France in 2014, and had not used since.

This old temperature gauge just shows 32 degrees inside the boat.  It popped straight to 40 outside.

I used my oven temperature gauge for outside.  It is showing 50 degrees.

There have been more jelly fish this year.  These are in the marina.

These are next to the boat.  Clouds and clouds of them.

People across the pontoon with children where keeping them cool and entertained.

On the 20th there was a ‘Zomermarkten’ Summer Market in the main street.  The most interesting thing was that the organisers had connected speakers to the lamp posts for piped music.

Sailors Info

Kamperland Marina again new to us, opened the new marina office in March 2022.  The new flats are still in production.  Restaurant/Café Blush was operational but we didn’t partake .

Kamperland is another small town with shops and restaurants on the long High St. 

Albert Hein, which is within a small shopping centre, and Aldi are a 20 minute walk through the town, or a 10 minute walk on the road.

There is a popular traditional café on the corner of the marina towards the town.

The harbourmaster was very pleasant and told us about his fathers roots in Wigan.

Kamperland – 70 euros 4 nights.  New facilities. 1 euro for electric which did not expire.  Wifi was OK.

20th July – Kamperland to Middelburg

We survived Evie’s 3rd Birthday in the heat and were glad to see showers the day after.

At Veere the summer tourist trade was in full swing.  Two river cruisers parked together.

The lock at Veere took an age to rotate after the previous set of boats.  Then us and 9 other boats squeezed into the next rotation.

Even Middelburg was looking busy in the evening.  Rafted 3 deep in the canal under the bridge.

The 7 miles took 2 and a half hours, mostly waiting for the lock.  Ice creams and Kebbeling and Chips brought us round afterwards.

We spent another 3 nights in Middelburg wandering around and had a last night meal at T’Kemel on the harbour side.

Bye Bye Middelburg, until next time.

Next stop Ostend, Oostende, Ostende…..take your pick.