22nd July 2018
We readied ourselves slowly this morning. We decided to leave at 11:00 after Chris had topped up our water tanks and taken the rubbish up. There was no wind so nice and easy out of the mooring; the water was like glass. As we were going through the narrow channel to the main river, a fishing boat was trawling back and forth across the fairway. This made it a bit difficult getting past him and we had to change course a couple of times to avoid his nets, but we had no problem with this as he was working and we were not. Once by and into the Oosterscheld we managed to put up both sails and slowly tacked our way to the next lock which would take us into the Veers Meer. Chris had decided to take the south route past Gageplaat and then north into Zandkreek as this was tidal. We followed four other yachts doing the same thing, so we must have got this right as the tide pushed us down, then as the tide turned the push helped us turning north.
Approaching the Hongersdijkbrug we could see that we would need to wait a while, so we approached the waiting pontoon. The wind was blowing us off and was unusually difficult for us to get the boat tied up. Carole got the spring line on a cleat but the other cleats on the pontoon were about 12 M apart and we found it quite challenging to get the boat close to the pontoon. We did it eventually, but phew … Once the lock opened we let our lines go and went into the lock and tied up very nicely. It was really hot sitting holding our lines but once out we had a slight breeze to cool us down. The air temperature was 32C.
We were now back in the Veerse Meer and the wind was coming straight at us, so we continued under engine following the buoyage on the chart all the way back round to Veere. We passed many smaller craft, dinghies and small motor boats sailing and buzzing about in the late afternoon sunshine having fun. We got ourselves ready for Veere, taking a bet on what number raft we would be. As it was, we just had to raft against one Dutch boat. We entered the harbour which looked busy, so Chris picked the best place to turn the boat around, as all boats must be facing out before they moor/raft. We couldn’t see the harbourmaster so picked a boat the closest size to our own to raft against – a 36 footer. Chris came alongside perfectly and Carole took hold of the boat but because it had heavy duty netting all round, couldn’t at first find the spring cleat. Eventually, with Chris’s guidance, it was found and once on the other boat, the harbourmaster also joined us (although at first we didn’t realise who he was) and soon we were safely tied up for the night. We went off to find the harbourmaster to pay our dues and had to return to the boat for cash as they didn’t accept cards. Chris sorted this out and also booked us a meal in a restaurant on the quayside for our supper. We had a nice wash to get rid of the sun cream and freshen up and then returned there to eat al fresco. Carole enjoyed a gin and tonic special, which included ribbons of cucumber, a sprig of mint and a large slice of lemon. Different and very refreshing. The meals were good and filling, so there was no room for dessert. We returned to the boat with the main objective of keeping cool. We peeled off and lay in our bunks reading and iPadding until midnight. It wasn’t going to get any cooler, so we got ready to try and sleep. Carole heard the Veere clock chimes a few times during the night and wondered if they disturbed anyone else.
