51:30.9N

4:0.2E

9 July 2011 – Magnetic Attraction, Berth Oscar 13, Binnenhaven weneldinge

So, back in Wemeldinge, (a special place) complete with a wider berth, bright sunshine and wifi.

The weather was just horrid this morning: drizzle, and low cloud.  I went to get bread and it started to drizzle.   Setting off at 11am local, it took just a couple of hours to sail (jib only) down from Zelande to the lock at Brunisse.  We just missed the lock (watched the bridge come down;) so tied up and had a lunch-pauze.  I found a couple of soups in a mug – the one best before the end of august 2005 and the other July 2006.  Of the two, the Mug Shot (2005) had lasted better than the Tesco product, which had gone damp and a bit rancid.  But both edible – Roger had the Mugshot and we both felt virtuous for using up old ship’s stores.   Here is a pic of the boats in the Grevelingen sluis.

As we went into the lock we were greeted by the lock-keeper who remembered the boat from before!  It’s been amazing how many people have come up to admire the boat, and comment on its appearance.  A beautiful boat!  We’ve seen very few Brit boats, but there was one in the lock with us, and another waiting to go in as we left.

From the lock we motored against the wind into the Oosterschelde, and then set the jib (reefed as the wind was up to 28-30 knots) and we reached across the tide back to Wemeldinge.   One of the two windmills was operational – making flour (“they sell the flour but it’s only nostalgia.”) Because of the bad experience with Kilo 29 (the berth last time) I took the precaution of calling the haven-meester by mobile phone to agree the parameters of the berth in advance. He offered O13, which shares a berth of 8.05m width with a boat of 3.35m – MUCH more satisfactory.  Coming from Zelande, we got a 25% discount on the price of an overnight stay, which I reinvested in 24 hours of unlimited internet access so that we can stream i-player.  Jenny had left a text to say that Beccles was very windy.  We called her and Bryan and discussed sailing here for their Hunter 19.   I cooked sweet and sour pork with rice for supper.

Tomorrow we head down the canal back to the Westerschelde and Breskens.  It won’t need to be an early start, as the trip down the canal should only take an hour and a half (including lock and bridges) and the tide won’t start ebbing until late morning.  Roger is trying to make sense of the sailing directions in the AWB almanac and has suddenly discovered the benefits of Google Translate.  There are some bits of the technical that are beyond even Google, but he’s just mastering how to say Verkeerspost Wemeldinge (repetitions copying  the output from computer to radio.)  It means traffic control Wemelinge, and we have to report in before entering the canal.  He is highly entertained.