Cruise to Furrin Parts - The Final Chapter and conclusions

Aside from the fun and games recovering our RIB on Saturday, which I've already blogged, we waved Rik off on his journey home late morning, had a cuppa with our friend Lisa who popped by on her way home late afternoon and then spent a very pleasant evening drinking and chatting with Toby, Linda and Kit aboard the Thames Sailing Barge Ironsides

Perhaps we should have squeezed in a meal somewhere along the way as it was nigh on 10pm before we finally got around to eating something!

Sunday was all about getting away home. Jane packed up what needed to be removed from the boat whilst I went in search of a replacement petrol can and 5l of petrol. With that procured, I filled the outboard with fresh petroil and she started first pull of the cord and ran sweetly ... for about ten seconds

I then turned the fuel tap back on (which I'd turned off yesterday!) and started it again. Doh! She buzzed around from alongside Erbas back to the tender dock as sweetly as ever (which isn't very but then it is a 2 stroke outboard!) where I hauled the dinghy out and back into its space adding a substantial padlock and chain between one of the davit eyes in the hull and the steelwork of the dock.

Then it was away home as Jane is back at work. I'm straight back down within a day or two as I've got a long list of jobs for customers and a yacht delivery for a friend (more on that later) to try and squeeze in before our next trip in just over three weeks time

Summary ...

(With extra pics, some mine and some Riks)

Our departure, you may recall, was delayed by the first Fambridge River Festival ...

Lots of gaffers, a couple of Thames Sailing barges, including resident barge Ironsides, a smack, some Dutch barges and a steam victualling vessel made for quite a spectacle on the river.

Meanwhile, I was making a spectacle of myself on the other side of the sea wall performing my first gig for several years ....

We were out on our mooring keeping out of the way, not being wooden, a gaffer or steam powered so our RIB was much in use ferrying ourselves and our stuff backwards and forwards ...

although the trot boat was running all day. It was quicker and easier to use our own tender rather than add to Jeff's workload though!The next day the boat at the show started leaving ...

and we too were making our preparations to set off.

I totally forgot, on the day, to mention the marvellous sight we saw in the approaches to Ramsgate ...

The paddle steamer "Medway Queen", currently being fitted out at Gillingham after a major hull rebuild in Bristol, had made her way round to Ramsgate under tow for the Dunkirk evacuation events (she was at Dunkirk and rescued over 7,000 men) and we met her leaving Ramsgate on her way home

She will eventually be restored to run under her own power although exactly what her future use will be has yet to be decided.

From Ramsgate we ventured across the Channel for the first time in what proved to be a relatively straightforward and uneventful trip. Our departure from Gravelines was delayed by a day due to the weather and we grabbed the transient opportunity of a passing window in the poor conditions to nip up the coast to the Belgian port of Niuewpoort. With a poor forecast for several days we booked in for four nights knowing that it was as far as we would get

The arrival off Nieuwpoort was hectic. I have never seen so many sailing boats in one place and the best pics Rik could grab don't even begin to do it justice ...

This was just the tail end of at least three separate fleets of racing yachts all making their way in, under sail to boot! It appears to be the Belgian way to drop your sails at the last possible minute before entering whichever of the three marinas the boat is berthed at. And the marinas are all a mile up a fairly narrow channel from the harbour mouth!

It is a simply vast basin with over 2,500 pontoon berths ...

and then there's another 700 or so in the other basin, where we ended up after our little mishap

Astonishingly, after all those yachts, and there must have been at least sixty of them, possibly more, made their way in after a days racing, within an hour there was hardly a soul about

An afternoon at Oostende voor Anker was a welcome trip out despite the poor weather. Another time we'll hopefully get to spend more time at the festival


I've covered the bad day at the office fully in earlier posts, nuff said.

The good day at the office was actually quite boring! I didn't expect it to be anything else, to be fair. A passage across the North Sea is likely to be a means to an end rather than  fun thing to do in itself (although I accept others may find that sort of sailing to their liking, we found it a bit of a drag)

And that was that

Conclusions ...

We are agreed that of our two week cruises to date, this was the least successful of them. It wasn't a bad trip but it lacked something in the fun department.

We didn't get a lot of sailing in at all when you get right down to it. The weather certainly stuffed us royally on that score. OK, so we ticked off the boxes on the "things to do before you die" list of making our first cross channel crossing and making our first passage across the North Sea and I have to say ... big deal!

Neither passage was particularly difficult or demanding, even working through the various shipping lanes proved a lot less tricky than I thought it might, and there's nothing to see out there but sea (and ships of course, lots of ships!)

We found Gravelines to be a pretty little place but dull! I have never seen a place so quiet, there was virtually nobody about and very little traffic whatever the time of day. The marina facilities are OK but when all's said and done it's just another marina and it's a fair hike into the town itself where, as already mentioned, nothing much happens. In nicer weather we'd have made the effort to go out on the town one evening but it isn't going to be a port of call we'll be rushing back to. Oh don't get me wrong, we'd go there again if it suited our plans, there's nothing wrong with the place, but I'd much rather go to, say, Southwold than Gravelines

Niuewpoort was, if anything, even worse! OK, I grant you we were probably in the wrong marina from a shore access point of view but at 32 euros for 4 nights in VVW compared to 22 euros for one night in KYCN it was no contest financially.

From VVW it's a fair tramp to the tram station, even further to the town centre and when you get there ... hardly any sign of life at all! This is a town of 11,000 odd people, where the hell do they all go????

There's a bit more life in Nieupoort Bad (it means "Bath" apparently) which is the coastal strip. It's virtually all modern apartment blocks with modern shops on the frontage, there's very little in the way of history to be seen. It's nice enough but not really our thing.

Like Gravelines, we'd go back if it suited our plans, although if at all possible I'd bite the bullet and spend the extra money to be in KYCN within easy walking distance of the action, such as it is.

So overall it has to be said that our first trip to foreign lands was not an unqualified success. It was interesting and gave us food for thought for future plans. Our conclusion is that we were in the wrong places at the wrong time in the wrong weather!

Our next venture to the other side, which may not be next year as we have other considerations to take into account, would probably involve pushing on further West along the French coast or heading across to the Netherlands. I'd also quite like to go direct by boat to Oostende voor Anker now that my slight advance nerves about crossing the North Sea and, particularly, dealing with the formalities in a foreign land, have been assuaged.

Oh and one final thought ... the next person who tells me that the English can't cook and French food is much better and / or claims that Belgian beer is superior to English beer (like hell, it's just strong - too strong) is going to get what for and no mistake! I've been to these 'ere Furrin Parts now and never was I so happy as to be presented with a good honest pint of Adnams Southwold bitter and a good honest plate of Steak Pie and Chips as I was in the Alma last Thursday night!!!!

Some further thoughts on being "rescued"

I've been a-pondering our little bit of excitement last Wednesday morning, as you do. There are lessons to be learnt which may be of value to a wider audience so forgive me if I have a waffle about it ...

Lesson 1. Double check your fittings after any change

It's pretty obvious that the furling line was never actually shackled back on after the genoa came off for the lift out last June. It's a bit of a kludge anyway as the furling drum only has one attachment point to which the genoa tack is shackled. The shackle that prevents the furling line from escaping from the drum when the genoa is set is then attached to the genoa tack shackle

Without that shackle in place, the only thing preventing it from coming off completely is the eye splice and shackle not twisting around in the slot. On Wednesday morning our luck, which had obviously held for nearly a year, ran out and it escaped from the slot allowing the genoa to unroll completely.

That, of itself, was not a disaster. Having to go forward and drop the genoa onto the deck and then lash it to the rail in the conditions was not my idea of fun but it was a job that had to be done and indeed was done successfully without, of itself, further mishap.

However, herein doth lie ...

Lesson 2. Secure all coiled lines

Disaster is rarely if ever the consequence of a single event. And indeed here was a classic example of one problem leading to another unforeseen one. We have always, since buying Erbas, coiled up the main halyard after hoisting the sail and then wedged the coil in the corner of the spray hood. It's never shown the slightest inclination to budge from that location even in some pretty heavy weather

Well on Wednesday it decided to make a bid for freedom, slid down between the spray hood and the cabin side and then went overboard. It, of course, promptly wrapped itself around the prop stopping the engine dead.

We were, I ought to point out, already motor sailing in order to claw our way around the end of the Niuewpoort Bank, a shoal about five miles off the Belgian coast, which I didn't want to sail across in rough weather. The genoa was fully furled before it came unravelled and the engine was in gear with the main pinned in. When the genoa unfurled itself, it seemed to make sense to keep her up to windward as she was whilst sorting it out.

And that leads to ...

"Lesson" 3. Don't make a bad situation worse

I've put "lesson" in inverted commas because, in fact, we did not make a bad situation any worse.

There were things we could have attempted to do ...

We could have set up the removable inner forestay and hoisted either the No.1 jib or the storm jib

We could have anchored where we were

We could have attempted to dive and clear the prop ourselves

We could have attempted to sail back into Nieuwpoort and even attempted to come alongside a pontoon somewhere under sail

All of the above have been suggested in various conversations and trust me on this all of the above and more went through my mind at the time once we had the initial situation under control and Erbas sailing under reefed main alone

I also considered whether we could set the No.1 jib and carry on across the North Sea without an engine, as well as considering whether Ostend (about five hours away under sail) was a better / safer option than Nieuwpoort (about an hour away)

With the exception of setting up the inner forestay (which I'll come to in a moment) all of the above options were, in my opinion, bad options with a very real risk of compounding the situation and making things very much worse.

Bear in mind that we had 25 to 28 knots of wind across the deck and seas of a metre or more running. Conditions were on the limit (for us at least) even before things went awry.

Anchoring out there in those conditions was not an option to be contemplated except in the direst emergency. And diving under the boat would have been nigh on suicidal.

Pressing on in a compromised boat, even if we'd set the No.1 or the storm jib, would have been foolish when a safe haven was close at hand and I was fully aware that there were SAR facilities available at Niuewpoort.

It was abundantly clear that the only sensible option was to reverse course and return to the nearest safe haven and sort our shit out before trying again, hopefully the following day.

Erbas demonstrated what an outstanding sea boat the Sabre 27 is by behaving extremely well under reefed headsail alone in a solid F6 gusting 7. We were able to get her on the wind and hold the course back towards the harbour mouth without a great deal of difficulty.

So now we come to the decision to issue a Pan Pan and request assistance.

Firstly, why a "Pan Pan" and not either a "Mayday" or a "routine traffic" call.

We were not in any immediate danger. We had the situation under control, for the time being at least, and we had some ability to manoeuvre and options to improve that if necessary (back to the inner forestay again). Therefore, a "Mayday" was not appropriate.

However, the situation was far from routine. We were in control as things stood but our ability to manoeuvre was inevitably compromised and we were sailing back across an inshore shipping lane towards a lee shore and a difficult harbour entrance in the conditions. Plus there was a significant cross tide to consider.

Therefore, I deemed a "Pan Pan" entirelty appropriate under the circumstances. Pan Pan is used where a situation is urgent but there is no grave and imminent danger to life. That pretty much sums up the position we were in.

Our Pan Pan call alerted Ostend Coastguard to our situation and location and thereafter they monitored our progress on radar and kept us apprised of the ETA of assistance by VHF. Had things gone pear shaped in a hurry, they would have been on the case right away.

Ostend Coastguard specifically asked if we were requesting the assistance of a tug. And that brings me to the decision not to attempt to enter harbour under sail with no engine.

Lee shore, cross tide, F6/7, metre plus seas, narrow entrance between very solid pier heads. No bloody fear!

I have a personal golden rule engraved on my heart - it's not often the sea that will kill you, it's the land that will ruin your day. Out at sea we were relatively safe and even if things went awry we would almost certainly have time and space to get to grips with the situation. Messing about within a stones throw of rocks and masonry it would have needed just the slightest mishap to turn a tricky situation into a potentially fatal disaster.

I was, I might also mention, fully aware that requesting a tug would result in a bill. (I was also aware that our insurance would probably cover it but that matters not a jot). I have another golden rule engraved on my heart and this one is as old as any tradition of seafaring and that is the old chestnut that "The preservation of life at sea takes priority over all other considerations"

A tow into harbour was the safe and prudent option with a virtual certainty of a happy outcome. "Ostend Coastguard, Yacht Erbas. Affirmative, I confirm that I require a tug".

In the identical circumstances I would make exactly the same decision every time

It is also worth noting the statement on our insurers, GJW Direct, claims advice page where they explicitly state "In the event of you requiring assistance from salvors it is imperative that you do not put life at risk by any delay in accepting salvage services"

 I said earlier that I'd come back to the matter of the inner forestay.

Quite simply, it proved unnecessary to set it up and hank on a jib. Erbas sailed back to within a mile or so of the harbour mouth under reefed mainsail and even, albeit on the second attempt, tacked and proved herself capable of clawing up to windward off the lee shore when I felt we were as close as it was prudent to sail (I actually expected to do no better than hold our position but she was actually making progress to windward. Not much progress I grant you but enough)

In summary, we had a gear failure and that crisis was compounded by a further mishap and at that point we stopped the rot before things got any worse and we got in safe and sound with an undamaged boat, an unharmed crew and in fair shape to sort ourselves out and have another go the following day. Considering all the things that could have happened, that's exactly the right outcome.

Whilst I'm on, one might question the decision to sail on Wednesday in the first place. We were fully aware that conditions would be tough out there and we chose to go for it. We've been out in worse, albeit not for an entire North Sea crossing, and we decided to give it a go.

Rik and I had already discussed whether we were happy or whether we should head back in shortly before things went pear shaped and we were both agreed that, whilst challenging, conditions were not beyond our limits.

We had a plan B of diverting into Ostend from the D1 buoy (another hour and a half or so into the passage) if we didn't feel up to continuing at that point and indeed a diversion into Ostend would remain an option for several hours thereafter and the necessary navigation preparation had been done in advance just in case.

We also had a consistent forecast across all services that conditions would moderate throughout the day


Do I regret the "go" decision? No

Would I "go" in those circumstances again? Don't know! It would depend on the crew, the circumstances and the time frame. I certainly wouldn't say "no, definitely not" but equally I can't honestly say "yeah, no problem"

Had we not had the mishap, I suspect we might well have ended up in Ostend because the winds didn't moderate as forecast until well into the evening. I suspect by the time we reached the TSS off Ostend, if not sooner, we'd have had enough

One thing is for sure, life is never dull when you're a sailor! (Well, actually, 14 hours motoring out of sixteen hours across the North Sea on Thursday was a bit tedious to be honest but hey ho)

RIB Recovery

OK, let's deal with a few questions and comments that have been made...

The RIB and outboard did not blow away thank-you, I'd nailed it firmly to the pontoon!

And it didn't get where we found it by chance either, it was four foot up a vertical concrete wall topped by a steep grass bank. It had to have been dragged there

Right, the full story...

I'd been tipped off by a message while we were away that there'd been some shenanigans with a pair of low life's nicking stuff off boats on the moorings upriver from us at Brandy Hole and Hullbridge

A further tip off this morning suggested that our RIB may have been involved

It appears that having had our RIB away a fortnight ago, the oiks were using it to raid the moored boats for anything of value. The law caught up with them and they were arrested last week

(Whether the police are / were aware of the whereabouts of our RIB I know not cos I wasn't sitting in a long queue on the phone to talk to them)

Jane and I decided to drive round to Hullbridge and take a walk down the river bank with the binoculars on the off chance we might spot something.

Having walked all the way to Brandy Hole and seen nowt, we were astonished to find the RIB and outboard, muddy but intact, in the long grass on a headland on the way back. We been looking out on the moorings and scouring the foreshore, not looking at places that must have been quite a challenge to drag a boat onto...



Just as we found her, no attempt at concealment. And...



The headland is what she was sat atop of. The edges are all bits of broken down piles and concrete, there's no easy access (we had to climb over a gate to get on there) and it beats me why they went to so much effort only to then leave the thing in full view of the adjacent public footpath and caravan park

Having found it, the next problem was getting it out of there! A phone call to Wiggy at the marina led to an immediate offer of help (much appreciated) and arrangements were made

Jane and I returned to the yacht station to get the dinghy keys and then headed back to the scene of the crime by car

Removing the outboard, there was no sign of any attempt to remove the outboard lock and there was even a pint or so of fuel in the tank!

We staggered back to the car and put the outboard in the boot before returning to await the Fambridge International RIB Rescue team

OK, confession time, we had an hour or so to wait until high water and there was a pub handy so we had a pint en passant!
The lads duly arrived in the FYH dory...



... and nosing the dory bows first to the one solid bit of concrete edge, we were able to slide the RIB straight on board without any difficult

By the time we got back to Fambridge by car the RIB was alongside Erbas looking none the worse, apart from a coating of mud, for her adventures

I think we might have a drink later to celebrate, we can afford it now!

Cruise to Furrin Parts - Day 12

Apologies for the tardiness, I was too knackered to think straight last night!

We needed to be away from Harwich around 8am to catch a fair tide. When I surfaced about seven there were clear blue skies, sunshine and hardly a breath of wind. It wasn't to last



By eight a thunderstorm was overhead and it was lashing it down. The crew of the good ship Erbas were mutinous and refused to go on deck. Dunno why

We got under way somewhat later than planned and found a decent breeze in oddly flat conditions. I've rarely seen the Wallet so calm in fact, and certainly not with an F3/4 gusting 5 South Easterly

It was a cracking sail down to the Spitway hard on the wind gong like a train but another thunderstorm was approaching and I skinned up quickly (it was easy too warm in the sun to keep the foulies on)

A fishing boat that had been idling about near the wind farm chose that very moment to head back into the Blackwater on autopilot. I presume the crew were under the tent over the aft deck sorting the catch because there was no bugger in the wheelhouse

If it would have missed us, it wouldn't have been by much (I reckoned it to be bang on a collision course, Rik disagrees and things it would have been a near miss). Either way I wasn't taking any chances and hit the engine starter

Full speed ahead for a minute easily cleared the danger even if it's arguably not a good collision avoidance strategy. In this case, it was the best option.

With the engine running anyway I decided to motor sail over the Spitway. Wuth a flooding tide and right wind angles it was always going to be a struggle to get across without having to tack to avoid being swept down onto the Buxey and I've played that game before. It's hard graft on the wrong tack against the tide across there!

Once over by the Swin Spitway buoy it was off with the engine and back to sail.

We finally managed, for the first time in five years, to beat the length of the Whitaker Channel, albeit we went the North side of the Swallowtail.

Though that was very satisfying, by the time we reached the Crouch buoy that marks the entrance to the river proper enough was enough. Honour satisfied, it was on with the engine anfd away with the sails to motor upriver on the last of the flood tide

In fact, the ebb was just setting in as we rounded the last bend and approached our home moorings

The pontoon was chocker with boats, a Sabre 27 was on our buoy (right buoy, wrong Sabre!) and I didn't much fancy messing about with the flubber on a big Spring ebb with no outboard so we rafted up outside one of my customers

Then it was showers, dinner and pub

Cruise to Furrin Parts -Day 11

This'll be a briefy cos I need my bed!

We departed Nieuwpoort at first light near enough and motored out straight across the banks that we'd so assiduously tried to sail around yesterday

Today, of course, conditions were much calmer although there was still an appreciable swell left over from the strong winds earlier in the week



The sun rose, the day warmed up, the wind stayed notable by its absence and we motored on making excellent time

We did, eventually, get to sail for a couple of hours in the middle of the passage but it wasn't to last and whilst we kept the main up we were back to motoring

Crossing the various traffic separation schemes kept boredom at bay until eventually we made our landfall and motored in between Harwich and Felixstowe

Suddenly, of course, we had a decent sailing breeze but it was too late by half. We grabbed the last spot on Ha'penny Pier, made short work of putting a harbour stow on everything and repaired to the Alma for a couple of well earned pints and some grub



Roughly sixteen hours to cross the North Sea on what would have to be described as a milk run apart from an hour or so of very rolly conditions around Long Sand Head

More details in a later post. We need to be under way by eight in the morning back to the Crouch so it's bed time!

Cruise to Furrin Parts - Day 10

We set out, as planned, at 5am local time although in fact we could have been under way a whole hour earlier

We expected it to be fairly rough after the gales and we weren't disappointed! However, it was within our limits and the forecast held out the prospect of things moderating as the day wore on

Our immediate problem was that we needed to make an offing to clear the end of the Nieuwpoort Bank some miles offshore and the wind was not giving us enough angle to sail the course

So we furled the genoa, pinned in the reefed main and motor sailed up towards the mark where we'd be able to get off the wind and hopefully get properly cracking

However, it was not to be

The genoa furling line somehow became detached from the furling drum allowing the full genoa to blow out. That was not good! Trying to re - rig the line to furl the genoa was not an option so I opted for the only other course of action, lowering the sail to the deck and lashing it to the rail.

As we were doing so, things went from bad to worse. The engine suddenly stopped dead and would not restart.

I got the genoa down and out of the way and scrambled back to the cockpit where it quickly became obvious we had something round the prop (it wouldn't be until a little while later we realised what)

Turning back towards Nieuwpoort was a tricky evolution sailing on the reefed main alone but we managed to tack on the second attempt and were bowling along off the wind worryingly quickly!

With a lee shore, a significant cross tide and on the ebb as well, the notion of trying to sail into port was not worthy of even a moments thought. We were safe enough out at sea, it's making contact with hard things like piers and rocks that'll ruin your day

There was no option but to call for assistance.

A Pan Pan call raised Ostend Coastguard and they in turned called out the local commercial SAR RIB / tug.

Not unreasonably, and as we were in no immediate danger, it took an hour or so for the tug to head out to sea during which time we'd sailed to about a mile or so off the pier heads which I was quietly proud to have achieved (this had an unforseen bonus attached as the tow was charged by the hour and we just kept it to the one)

Seeing the tug approach we went to drop the main at which point we discovered the source of our engine woes. There was a good deal less main halyard than there should be. Somehow, the coiled up line had escaped down the side of the sprayhood and ended up under the boat fouling the prop.

Fortunately for later there was just enough left to put a stopper knot in to prevent it disappearing up the mast slot and still get the main down.

The tug "Brandarris" passed us a towing bridle and we were on our way into port. Unfortunately, Jane was sick, the first time anyone has actually been physically ill on board either of our boats, due to the motion under tow (and possibly in reaction to the situation we'd been in)

The tug brought us alongside their pontoon upriver where the crew received our thanks and a small token of our appreciation.



We were in a bit of a mess on deck and after a restorative cuppa we set about a bit of a tidy up

That was followed by unshackling the genoa from the furling foil and reattaching the furling line. It's a mystery how it came adrift in the first place as the shackle war intact with the pin present

With all the shackles moused we wound the line back onto the drum. It was too breezy to attempt to bend the genoa back on

The tug skipper returned from his well earned breakfast and donned his diving gear. He soon had the offending length of rope off the prop



Then came the bill of course! In the UK we're rather spoilt by the wonderful service the RNLI provide for free, even when strictly speaking there is no danger to life. Over here you get a bill for towage. I expected that when I made the radio call for assistance so it came as no suprise

Rik and I then went in search of a new main halyard but the chandlery at VVW nearby is closed on Wednesdays.

A radio call to KYCN, the yacht club on the other side of the river, secured an overnight berth in much closer walking distance to the shops and the other chandlery we'd browsed around during our hike the other day

We motored round and secured alongside, paid the visitors fee (a lot more than VVW which is why we went there for the four night stay) and had some lunch

Jane went for a nap as she was feeling very tired whilst Rik and I set off once again on a rope hunt. This time we were successful, and my wallet was another sixty euros lighter.

On the way back we visited the mini supermarket to replace the small token of appreciation (four bottles of Belgian beer that Rik had bought to take home) and pick up some supplies

Back aboard, after coffee etc, I set about reeving the new halyard up the mast, using the old line as a mousing line. Then I had to whip the eye in the end complete with the snap shackle to attach it to the head board of the main





The rest of the afternoon was spent pottering about tidying up between bouts of not doing a lot!

We'd hoped to light the BBQ on the stern rail and I'd bought some kebabs and burgers for the purpose but the stiff breeze was blowing right across our stern and just would not go away. So we cooked the food in the pan on the stove instead

Finally, after dinner, the breeze dropped to the point where we could bends on the genoa. With that done, the lines at the mast could be sorted out and the mainsail cover put on.

At last, we looked properly ship shape again...



The weather in the morning should be much more pleasant so we're off again at first light

(I'll analyse and discuss the decision making around today when the dust has settled but my current feeling is that I have absolutely no regrets although that's not to say I'd make the same decisions again)

Cruise to Furrin Parts - Day 9

Don't expect any excitement, there wasn't any

The weather was as forecast, bloody awful, and we basically sat tight and spent the day on board.

I spent a great deal of time reviewing the various weather forecast sources and watching the real time observation days (known as actuals) and a good deal more time working out various passage plans

When the rain eased off, Rik and I set about repairing the damage to the mainsheet traveller...



Once removed, the extent of the problem became apparent. The cheese head screws that had been used as end stops have been gradually chewing their way into the traveller base plate and the gybe the other day was the last straw

A rummage through the engineering stores turned up a tube of glass reinforced plastic padding and some hardener so we mixed assume up and glooped it into the broken end cap



The end result wasn't elegant but it worked. We were able to reassemble the traveller on the track with a nearly full complement of ball bearings and...



It lives! It moves!

The bearings on the broken side can't recirculate anymore and we'll have to treat it with kid gloves - no gybing for starters - but we can trim the main properly which could turn out to be crucial if the wind veers into the West as some of the forecasts predict

After dinner, we prepared Erbas for sea taking into account the possibility that it could be quite a lively trip. As the sun sank slowly in the West it highlighted the clear break in the weather out over the North Sea



It doesn't look like moderating quickly enough to permit our hoped for first light departure but we'll see how things shape up in the morning

03 Jun 2015 Passage Plan (Provisional)

It's a little bit up in the air is this one ...

The basic plan is to depart Niuewpoort towards Harwich at 03:00UTC (05:00 local) with an ETA in Harwich (Halfpenny Pier or Shotley Marina) of approx. 21:00UTC (22:00 local)

However, this is subject to the weather and sea state moderating sufficiently overnight

We will not depart Niuewpoort until the F3 buoy is reporting mean wind speeds of less than 21 knots and a wave height of less than 1m (preferably less than 0.6m but provided it's still up a bit we'll go on a moderate sea that's improving)

If conditions on departure are too severe, we will return to Niuewpoort and wai, probably for 24 hours

If by the time we reach he D1 buoy off Ostend, eta app 05:00UTC conditions are not to our liking we will divert into Ostend with an eta of approx 08:00UTC

(Note that I would anticipate that we would drop off the virtual AIS tracking not long after making our departure from the D1 buoy towards the A-N buoy where we take our departure towards the Sunk Outer Precautionary Area. we're unlikely to appear again until somewhere off the Sunk around 18:00UTC)

We may, of course, turn back for Ostend at any point in the crossing if conditions so dictate

Timings are difficult to anticipate, we could arrive in Harwich in good time for a pint tomorrow evening or just in time for breakfast on Friday morning!

And the final sting in the tail is that the various forecast models are at some variance as to the wind direction tomorrow. It could stay somewhere in the South West, roughly, which will give us a reach across or it could veer further Westerly and head us. If that is the case we may decide to head further North and make directly for Southwold instead clearing the Eastern end of the Sunk East TSS. Our ETA there would be 23:00UTC but again it could easily be as late as the following morning

Our departure should be logged on Marinetraffic etc, I will post as soon as I can if plans change in the mornng

Cruise to Furrin Parts - Day 8

It's been an uneventful day really.

Once again, we were not exactly rushing to be up and about so after another late breakfast we set off to explore Nieuwpoort on foot

Our first port of call was the big modern chandlery, almost a rival in scale to Fox's, where we escaped with the contents of my wallet intact on account of them not having a solution to the mainsheet traveller problem in stock

We then trekked off into the centrum of town with its magnificent town hall (I think that's what it is) and church



It dawned on us that everywhere bar the bars and bistros was shut fit lunch. Very civilised! As we'd not long had breakfast lunch held no appeal so we kept walking.

Back to the river, we set off down the boardwalk towards Nieuwpoort Bad (Bad apparently means "bath" according to my translation app but I suspect something may be lost in the translation)

Another chandlery beckoned, this one an Alladins cave of boat bits but still no joy. Never mind, the weather was warm and sunny and it was a pleasant stroll

We watched a yacht sail in and then be handed a black ball fender by the following orange cabined RIB which then zoomed off ahead



Quite what that was all about we couldn't imagine! On we went into the main street of Nieuwpoort Bad where the occasional old building stood out amongst the modern shops and apartment blocks



We stopped off for some ice cream. Rather bizarrely it was billed as "Australian Home Made"! It certainly travelled well and judging by the logo one presumes it's made from genuine Australian kangaroos. It might be best bit to dwell on which bits.

Our next stop was a mini supermarket where we loaded up the bags with sine essentials. We've not eaten out as much as we expected so a couple of additional meals in tins were needed plus plenty of chocolate for the long passage over the North Sea

Our next stop was an Apotheek as painkillers aren't, it seems, sold anywhere else here. Both Rik and I have been plagued by headaches this past week and the medicine box read running low on paracetamol

The stuff might only be sold over the counter in an apotheek, but they knock them out in 1g tabs and boxes of 30 at that. That's effectively double the quantity you can buy in the UK

It was back to the river again to catch the gratis ferry to the other bank and the final leg of our epic hike through the nature reserve and right around the (apparently) largest marina in Northern Europe (I believe them!) before arriving back on board

I was struggling for the last mile I have to admit. My legs were giving me some real trouble but I made it albeit slowly at the end.

After a coffee and a bit of a rest I went for a shower and then we headed up to the clubhouse for drinks and a meal. We were nearly disappointed as strictly speaking the kitchen had closed just before we got there but they very kindly stayed on a bit late to knock out three excellent helpings of spag bol.

Back aboard we put the kettle on and reviewed the homeward passage options. I'm still hoping for a first light departure on Wednesday morning but it very much depends on the forecast winds tomorrow abating in time for the sea conditions to improve to tolerable