Thursday, 4th July, 2019
We had decided to move on to Zierikzee today, so we did not have to leave until around midday, which was as well, as we did not wake up until just before 9. Chris made the first cuppa today before having a shower on the boat. He then cooked some bacon and eggs for his breakfast after which Carole cooked her egg and beans on toast for a change before cleaning and tidying away. While Carole had her shower, Chris went off to the small supermarket to get some bread and something sweet while taking the rubbish to the bins. Once back his last task was to fill up with water. The wind was very light, so we had no problem getting off our berth and we lleft at midday for the Grevelingensluis. On arrival the lock gates were closed so we tied up on the waiting pontoon with a few other boats. We waited for about 35 minutes before the lock opened. Carole got the spring line on to the main bollard straightaway but due to a ”technical issue” Chris could not get the stern line on. However, Chris DID sort this out quickly before it caused a problem. The water level in the lock only dropped about 1M so soon we were out heading towards Zeelandbrug. This bridge is almost 3 miles across with just one place where the bridge can be raised to allow high masted vessels, like ours to pass through.
The wind was very light so we were not able to make use of our sails for long today. It was not long until we could see the bridge with the lifting section. From one of our books, we understood that the bridge opened on the hour so we were surprised to see it open around 14:30. We then made a few more checks and found that the bridge opened every half hour during the day. We decided that we would aim to get the 15:30 lift. We therefore slowed down so we did not have to bob about for too long. Carole then checked how far we were off from the opening and we discovered that we needed to speed up or we would miss it. It was now a race to get there. The tide had turned and so we were now pushing 1.5 knots of tide. Another Dutch boat was behind who we were pulling away from. As we approached the bridge we could see the cars stopping and we should just about make it. Three other yachts in front started to go through on the green light. As we approached the light turned red, but we were about 30M from the bridge and committed to go in. We pressed on and out of sight was another yacht coming the other way, but we were well clear of him and the lights went green again.
We found the entrance channel to Zierikzee and followed in two other yachts. When we entered the town the first mooring were Box Moorings. A kind lady Harbour Master called out to us if we wanted a “box”. Carole gave a wave and declined with a dank u wel. Tonight if we had a choice it wouldn’t be a box mooring. As we approached the town we could see the Harbour Master in his boat sorting out moorings. Chris turned us around just before the bridge and we were given a place to raft onto for our stay. We were the third yacht out on the raft so we had to tie up to the second yacht then put our own mooring lines ashore for extra security. Chris got out the “Big ropes” which would reach and the kindly Belgian next to us helped us secure them ashore. The Harbour Master then dropped by for some money and soon after power from ashore was in place, which completed tasks for the night.
A well deserved cold drink was enjoyed, before a wander round the town to see what was where. We thought that Zierikzee was a little similar to Veere but much bigger and we liked what we saw. We weren’t sure what we were going to have for supper tonight, so we had a look around and decided on a little fish and chip shop called “Hooked”. We went in and ordered one Mussels and one Kibbeling, both with chips and mayo, and sat outside in the sunshine waiting for them to be cooked. Well they were lovely, but if we had known how big they would be, we would definitely only have ordered one! Three quarters of the portion of kibbeling is going in the fridge to see what it tastes like cold tomorrow.
We returned to the boat with full bellies for a nice cold drink and a relaxing evening. It won’t be a late night tonight.
Friday, 5th July, 2019
We woke to another bright, sunny morning and after our first cuppa, got washed and dressed ready to bring in our shorelines and electric to allow our Dutch neighbour to leave the harbour. Quite a few other boats were leaving, too, so once they had gone we re-tied our lines to another Dutch boat next to the quay and reconnected our electric. We then had our breakfast and after tidying away, we took a walk into the town to check out various places of interest. We were going to visit the Museum here, but there was quite a crowd gathered outside, which we later discovered was a wedding party, and so, not wanting to intrude, we bypassed this street and continued our walk. There was plenty of interest to see, including some of the touristy type shops, where we bought some amusing cards. We then made our way back to the quay to enjoy some refreshments at one of the waterfront cafes. Once back on the boat, Carole prepared a nice salad, adding the kibbeling leftover from supper, which was really quite tasty. We then chilled out for an hour, before heading back out further along the quay to see the windmill. There was a nice breeze, so the windmill’s sails were turning quite quickly. We had a look at it from its front and it was quite beautiful. A man was working hard here on the grass on a couple of the windmill’s sails, painting them with a red coloured liquid, presumably sealing them to replace some of the faded ones in use. We then entered the windmill and climbed several flights of wooden stairs to see how the windmill worked. It was fascinating and well worth a visit.
On our way back to the boat it had become quite warm, so we bought some ice creams and found a nice spot in the gardens to sit and enjoy them. We had a very light supper, followed by a nice drink while we watched some comedy on Netflix. It was now fast approaching midnight, so we headed to our beds, ready for our return tomorrow to the Veerse Meer.
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