Cadzand, Ostend and Cherbourg

We set off from Harlingen last Tuesday with a lovely NW wind. Around eight o’clock we reached the start of the Schulpengat, the channel between Den Helder and the North Sea. Oops, there was more of a sea running than we’d expected, so dinner was cut back to Freedom Soup left over from the 80 years of liberation celebrations in Milûk. Unfortunately that didn’t agree with Arnold, and he stayed a bit under the weather for the rest of the trip. By 8 the next morning we had almost passed Zeeland when the wind died. On to Cadzand, then. It’s a perfectly good marina where there’s always room for a visiting boat. The village itself is a typical holiday resort with lots of apartment blocks and a few touristy cafés and restaurants. Sadly, the good restaurants were on holiday themselves.

The main reason for sailing to Cadzand became clear the next morning: off the coast of Knokke (Belgium) we gave Popo a burial at sea, right in front of the apartment where he lived so happily. A lot of family memories were made there. There was very little wind, though, so by Ostend we’d had enough.

When we arrived at the Royal North Sea Yacht Club in Ostend I thought there’d be no room for us, but the harbour master found us a spot alongside a 40-footer. Later it became clear why: by evening our row and the one in front were rafted up solid from one end to the other. We spent the afternoon exploring Ostend on foot. It’s a pretty mixed sort of town; you see a lot of poverty, and house prices there are about half of what we’re used to. In the evening a splendid dinner awaited us, courtesy of Arnold: schnitzels with green beans and baby potatoes.

The next morning we were able to move to a better pontoon, where we had no neighbours. Just as well, because the wind was due to pick up the following day and we planned to leave at 8. In the afternoon a bit of lazing about and some shopping, and in the evening dinner at the yacht club. Excellent food, but the service was rather hit and miss.

The next day we left at 8 as planned. Wim and Mar on Pelagia left Nieuwport, 10 miles further on, at the same time, and we’d meet up in Cherbourg. That meant another overnight passage. It turned out to be a glorious trip with a perfect wind of 10 to 20 knots, mostly 15-17, the whole time on the quarter or dead astern. Ideal conditions for goosewinging with the jib poled out on the Hoyt boom.

The next day we arrived in Cherbourg around 15:30, with Pelagia an hour or so behind us. Mar had cooked for the five of us, lovely! The following morning I got a message from Marc and Martine on the Merrymate, our old boat. They had diverted to Cherbourg during the Scheveningen 500 race. That evening turned into a very convivial one with the eight of us aboard Merrimac, and the drinks flowed fairly freely. Martine had food left over. She called it “nasi”, but it was more like a full rijsttafel!

The day after, Wim, Ella, Arnold and I went to the big museum here. I’d been there before with Ella and later with Arnold, but then again the submarine “Le Redoutable” that’s on display is fantastic. It’s a nuclear-powered submarine that was armed with 16 nuclear missiles. They’ve removed the missiles and the reactor, but the rest is completely original, and you’re amazed at how the French built up that kind of technology in just a few years; it was finished in barely 6 years.

The following day, Wednesday morning, I was going to use to write a proper long post, but unfortunately the batteries were flat – the electric cooking and the washer-dryer had claimed their electrons. We weren’t plugged into shore power yet; usually we don’t need to, thanks to the solar panels and the alternator on the engine. But with the bad weather it was needed after all. Oops, no shore power cable on board… And the inlet is an American Marinco, not available here. So I rewired the lot; finished just in time for the fortnightly meetings about the investments.

Tomorrow morning, the 17th, we’re moving on again; probably motoring for lack of wind, but the days after that aren’t looking any better. There’s a good chance we’ll make a run for South Brittany, where the weather is often a lot warmer.