Cuxhaven

Ijmuiden-Amsterdam-Makkum

Due tobad weather we took the Noorzee kanal to Amsterdam and stayed there for two nights. Today we sailed with a strong wind across Markermeer and Ijselmeer to Makkum. Tomnorrow we go through Afsluitdijk at Kornwerderzand and head back to open sea. Weather permitting we sail to Norderney, otherwise we stop at Vlieland. More comprehensive account to come.

Boulogne-Dunkerque-Ijmuiden

18.6. Fecamp-Boulogne. 80 miles and we had a nice wind for two hours, otherwise the sea was dead calm for hours. Boulogne Grand Marina was almost full but there were a few places vacant. The office was closed but there was a Finnish boat and we got the keys to the showers from them. The marina is far from everything and we planned for a short overnight stay.

19.6. Boulogne-Dunkerque. We paid the harbor fees at the office and left. After an hour I noticed that somebody had stolen my fishing rod and reel during the previous night. I actually woke up at night because I heard some noise outside but I thought that somebody was arriving and taking a berth next to us. That was a really bad end to the visit to France. The day was gray and rainy again but as we reached Dunkerque the sky cleared up and we made a long walk around the town which has been rebuilt after the war and isn’t exactly nice.

20.6.-21.6. Dunkerque-Ijmuiden. According to the forecast there were two lows coming from the Atlantic so we decided to make longer trip, 117 miles to Ijmuigen. The wind was next to nothing during the whole trip and the visibility was 0,5 miles at the best. The poor visibility made the trip interesting because you only could see the oncoming ships only at the last minute. The AIS and radar were a good help, though. After midnight the visibility became even poorer and as we reached Ijmuiden it went down to 30 meters. Even the bright light at the end of the breakwater could be seen through the dense fog at 40 meters. In the marina we had to crawl very slowly and finally attached us to a vacant spot and went to sleep. The wind started to pick up in the morning and it had started raining as well. It rained heavily until the afternoon and the wind gathered speed and was mostly between 10-15 m/s. After visiting the office we waited for the rain to stop but finally we had to move the boat to the visitors’ pontoon even with the wind and rain. Later in the afternoon we took a bus to the grocery and had some nice chicken for dinner. I think this was the worst midnight sun eve weather I have ever seen.

Ijmuiden

We arrived at Ijmuiden at 3 am through dense fog. To be continued....

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Fecamp

17.6. Fecamp. Yesterday we had to motor all the way from Cherbourg, at first there was no wind and when the wind started blowing it was against us. We did get a very nice current for 6 hours. The day was mostly cloudy with a little rain. Today seems very grey and rainy with strong easterly wind so we stay here until tomorrow.

Guernsey-Cherbourg

14.6. Guernsey-Cherbourg. We left with the rising tide after we managed to get over the sill and fuelled up with the cheap Guernsey diesel (79 p/liter). The current was strong in Small Russell and again at Alderney race but only up to 4,5 knots. During the day we used different combinations withs sails and the engine to keep up the speed to avoid the opposite current in the end. The current turned around about two hours before Cherbourg but we gained about 6 miles from the favorable current so the log showed 40 miles instead of the 46 actually covered. The harbor complex is massive with about 1600 boats. Because of the ongoing renovation the facilities are in barracks but the water in the showers was hot. The wifi was slow as usual but we managed to get the weather information which promised a very strong wind for the next day.

15.6. Cherbourg. The wind was strong, even at the harbor up to 15 m/s. We visited the local museum complex which consisted of a comprehensive aquatic building with big aquariums, a nuclear submarine, a big display with smaller submarines, a Titanic museum and a lot of other stuff. The place was big. This is the only port Titanic visited after leaving England. In the afternoon SAR boats towed in the harbor a sailing yacht which had lost her mast in the strong wind. Right by the harbor was a communal indoor pool with a small spa and we went there for a sauna! The sauna was good with even a bucket for löyly-water. The weather forecast looks a lot more promising so we can leave in the morning about two hours before the current turns east.