Een club voor liefhebbers en/of bezitters van een zeiljacht van het Oostzeejol type Midget.
A week of "England"
Midgetsong 1998
Affliction or virus
German Sands
Razzle Dazzle "The
Passage" 2003 From
Greetsiel to.. 2350 seamiles against the
clock
A week of “England” 1981
By Willem de Graaf
Translated by Bill Hart, Canada
Towards spring, when we all await the first fine days to render our little vessels shipshape, and plans for the summer are becoming more concrete, I regularly leaf through the ship’s log to relive the journeys of the past seasons. This is the chronicle of our week in England.
June 22 Having roamed the Zeeland and South-Holland waters for five days, the 20’ Midget “Kleine Beer” is moored at Stellendam at eight’oclock in the evening.. At the docks on either side of the lock we run a final check on everything. The radar reflector is hoisted aloft, the watertanks are topped off and below everything is securely stowed .Hoping that the weather will remain as stable as the forecast predicts, after a nightcap we hit our bunks early . Tomorrow we will undertake the crossing to the eastcoast of England.
June 23 At 01:15 rose for the BBC weather service. Not bad. Variable winds, force 3 to 4, moderate to good visibility. At 5 o’clock risen again, drank a cup of coffee. I let Trees sleep in a little longer as we depart a little after five, under sail with a gentle easterly breeze.. When Trees gets up at six-thirty she prepares a hearty breakfast. The sun shines hazily and the weather is fine. At nine o’clock the motor is needed. There is not a trace of wind and the 4 ½ hp Johnson pushes us along at a speed of 4 miles to which we may add another mile, courtesy of the tide. At eleven-thirty that morning a faint northwind rises, and with genoa and mailsail we maintain a 260 course, direction of the North-Hinder lightship. With such varying and usually minimal headway, it is difficult to maintain a our reckoned posistion , rendering the log unreliable. By zeroing in on its radiobeacon we must line up with the lightship. Visibility is moderate, about 3 miles, but we are well south of the shipping lanes. Slowly the dusk settles and at ten-thirty the tri-color masthead- and compass lights are lit.
June 24 Little after midnight the lightship comes into view. Trees is asleep and will take over the helm from me at about sunrise. The motor is added briefly to cross the traffic cross-over pattern as quickly as possible. Fortunately visibility is adequate. At two o’clock I turn the motor off again. At three-thirty Trees is taking over the watch Gradually the wind is increasing, but instead of the fine weather of the previous day, a heavy clouded sky has gathered, from which a steady rain is falling. In the shortest of time everything is wet and soggy, but at least we are making headway.
At four o’clock in the afternoon the showers are letting up and the English coast is in sight. On the approach of Harwich the “Princes Beatrix” and the Koningin Juliana” are catching up with us. On both ships I travel annually at least a hundred times from Hoek van Holland to Harwich and back. Such a crossing of six hours is quite in contrast with our journey, besieged by calms, of a total of forty hours. At six o’clock in the evening we motor up the River Orwell. Another two hours and we and we are tied up at the “Suffolk Yacht Harbour” Having seen the Harbourmaster and having eaten we quickly seek our bunks.
June 25 After the visit by Customs we depart for Pin Mill, one mile upstream, direction Ipswich. One cannot dock there, but ties up to a buoy. Having blown up the dingy we row, at high tide, to the “Tolly Cubbold” a cozy waterfront pub, where a superb pint is served. In this hilly countryside, reminiscent of Devon, one can make most enjoyable hikes
June 26 The BBC predicts Northwinds, force 5 to 7, excellent for our cruise to Brighlingsea, at the mouth of the Thames. We leave under genoa and dubbel reefed main. After an hour’s sail we pass, early in the afternoon, Landguard Point. Black clouds are gathering behind us. The wind is rather gusty and increasing in strength. The log indicates 6 miles. A short and steep sea is running, but every wave obligingly slides under our stern. A little later it is raining cats and dogs, but we are keeping pace and reaching the outer buoy at three o’clock. The genoa is dowsed and aided by the motor, with a closehauled mainsail we finish the last mile. Once tied up between the mooring poles we go ashore in the dingy. In this weather Brightlingsea has the appearance of a ghost seaside resort. A cozy pub, however, is quickly found. A dinner by candlelight in “The Sauoy Sailor” soon follows.
June 27 Today we want to go to Ramsgate. This means that we have to cross the mouth of the Thames among the many shoals. Bouying, however, is excellent, the weather unchanged, North-Hinder indicated North Force 6, Verne North-East Force 7. The wind has cleared the sky and it is dry. At eight o’clock we cast off and depart under jib and reefed main. It is going to be a relaxed trip. The wind diminishes a little and an agreeable sun stays with us.
The reefs are shaken out of the main and the genoa takes the place of the jib. A strong tide is running at Ramsgate and we are rolling considerably in the still restless seas. A little before four we are tied up in the outer harbour. Time for a toddy. Two hours before high tide the gates open and we enter the inner harbour,
June 28 & 29 The winds stay up, northwest winds force 6 to 8. As a result we stay two days, go for walks and hikes, as for instance to Broadstairs, a ways north from here. This is where the former house of Dickens has now been converted into a museum. Evening, it appears, the Yacht Club is the chosen spot to establish contact with fellow yachtsmen. After two days, however, we have seen Ramsgate. For the following day he BBC predicts winds veering to the West, decreasing to Force 6
June 30 For the districts Humber/Thames and Dover. Still West Force 6. We decide to leave. A little after nine we arer at sea. The “Kleine Beer” runs beautifully under reefed main and genoa only. A little before eleven, suddenly a loud bang!. The shrouds are still intact. It turns out to be the downhaul. The fitting is broken away from the boom and has disappeared into the sea..To be sure we put in a second reef. There is a rough sea, but the rig behaves smartly. At nine-thirty we are abeam of Oostende and decide to continue to Blankenberge, where we tie up a little after sunset.
July 1 A day of rest at Blankenberge. This is one of our favourite ports, where we visit every year. On a weekend it is an easy sail from Colijnsplaat
July2 Departed after breakfast. There is a light southwest breeze and we cover the 35 miles to Colijnsplaats without significant incident. Upon arrival to conclude,:dinner at restaurant De Schelde. Not much later we are in our car, in the backseat leftover provisions and a pile of dirty laundry. A few more days and Trees will be surrounded by the little ones and the daycare center, and I am going back to my job: sailing to England.
(appeared earlier on March 30, 1982)
