Veere 51:32.960N 003:40.019E

Pelagia
Frans & Sarah Toonen
Mon 1 May 2017 16:14
Monday 1st May 2017.  143.6 nm. SE5. 11.2 engine hours. Dry and cold: 9-12°C. Passage time 22.5 hours. 

We made a fast exit from Eastbourne as very little was unpacked and we only needed our sailing stuff again and yet more sandwiches. We reached the traffic lanes around midnight and although there were plenty of commercial ships we crossed with no difficulty except the very low temperatures. Hand warmers all round.

A very fast trip with us arriving in Vlissingen on the north side of the Westerschelde at 1300 to enter the canal to Veere. Average speed 7.6 knots from Eastbourne to Vlissingen which is an amazing average. The south easterly saw us blasting along the French/Belgian coast on a beam reach we speeds of up to 10 knots so Frans really enjoyed the active sailing.  With the prevailing west and southwest winds usually experienced in the channel yachts usually keep a good distance off the lee shore of France/Belgium. Due to the south easterly we were able to get very close in where there was minimal wave action and a good view of the beaches.

We had spoken to Vlissingen marina but when we arrived the visitors pontoon was full so we entered the Kanaal door Walcheren which took us past Middelburg to the Veerse meer and the charming little harbour at Veere. The visitors pontoon had plenty of space so we tied up close to the 15th century town hall as usual. We love Veere and have gone on about it on previous occasions. The Spanish were there, Napoleon and his brother were there, the English attacked unsuccessfully, the town is built on sand and yet it remains a kind of museum town. It throngs with day visitors and then each evening it’s just a few yachties, the nesting swallows under the harbour quay and delightful dinners in the yacht club.

We stayed for 4 nights and felt like we had started our holidays! There was planning to do to reach Terschelling in time to meet the family on May 12. With the south easterlies blowing a hoolie down the Dutch coast we investigated ‘the standing mast route’ and were pleased to see we could motor the whole length of Holland on canals and inland waterways popping out at Den Helder on the north east corner. There was a good chance we would see bulb fields from the boat as well so we decided to just burn the diesel and stay inland.

Alongside the town quay in Veere… lovely!