Sunday, 24th June, 2019
On Monday morning there was no particular rush to get anywhere, so we had showers on the boat before a nice leisurely breakfast. Chris filled up the water tanks and once off our mooring, we called in to Jos Boone, the chandlers, to top up with fuel. Chris also bought another hat to replace the one he left behind in Ostend marina. If anyone finds a Tilley hat in Ostend please get in touch (unlikely when they are £50+ to buy!). We then made our way to the Veere Sluice for locking through into the Veerse Meer. Our locking in went smoothly and did not take long and soon we were on our way to the Island. We thought it might have had been busy, but the outer staging, where it is deeper, was free. We pointed the bow into the wind and came along side with no problems and tied up. There were a few other boats already settled on the inner staging and a bit later we were joined by a few others, but it wasn’t busy enough to warrant any rafting, although we were prepared for it.
We checked out the do’s and dont’s noticeboard and found that there was a 24 hour limit on our stay here, dogs must be kept on leads and no open fires (Google translate is a very helpful tool). Before lunch, Carole enjoyed a cool dip with the water getting warmer by a degree. Lunch was followed by a lazy afternoon reading and dozing. Carole had another swim here and while she was in the water she noticed a little bit of weed starting to grow around the waterline. Chris very kindly brought her a little sponge scourer, which Carole used efficiently to clean the waterline completely. Good job!
Chris prepared some meats for our barbecue supper, while Carole sorted out some real sauté potatoes and salad. Supper was a good tasty joint effort. After tidying away, we played some cards before settling down for the night.