Winter Projects

In some people's opinion, Mekicevica and crew are real wimps: as soon as the temperatures drop below 15 C, we declare the season over. One day we'll move to the Adriatic and will sail most of the year, but for now Winter is a time to do boat improvements. This post lists the on-going projects and reports on their progress. As you can see, Mekicevica will be an even nicer boat next season.

The Big Project: New Mast and Boom.
This was in plan for some time. The good people of Neutmast in Middelharnis are taking over this. They are going to use the same mast foils as for the Randmeer. This is a very successful open boat designed 50 years ago by the famous Van de Stadt. Mekicevica will be proud to acquire some claim to relation with his designs.
Status: Mast and boom ordered; expected delivery date 1st of March.

New Windows
After 35 years of UV exposure and other abuse, the windows show multiple scratches and the rubber seal is falling apart and started to leak. Time for replacement.
Status: New rubber seal bought, found who will cut the acrylate to measure; will get going when we get a dry spell in early spring.

New Masthead Lights
I always fancied getting Mekicevica one of those LED masthead lights, marketed under the hyperbolic name of Supernova. Until recently I was put off by the price but recently I found this item at bargain price at Amazon, with free delivery moreover. The chance was too good o miss. The new mast will have new lights on the top. This also involved making a new switch panel.
Status: New switch panel nearly complete. Ready to be installed when the new mast is delivered.

Repainting of the Rudder
When we first got Mekicevica, I cleaned the rudder but then gave it only a quick lick with the leftovers of the paints I used for the hull and deck, which are not meant for under the waterline. Not surprisingly, after two years the paint started to peel off. Now the rudder is getting coated in POR-15, and over coated in the same two-component polyurethane paint as the hull (above the waterline) and Interantional's Primocon (below the waterline).
Status: Ready to antifoul and reassemble.

Yoyo Ma Maintenance
Our outboard moor, even if much less musically-gifted than the eponymous cellist, has been very reliable. In order to keep it so, it is getting full winter maintenance: fuel tank and carburetor drained and dried, new spark-plug, change of motor and gear-oil, thorough cleaning and re-greasing.
Status: Only needs to be greased and fueled and Yoyo Ma will be ready to resume his duty of noisily propelling Mekicevica in and out of harbours and whenever the crew gets tired of beating against he wind.

The Beauty of October Sailing

This Friday, we had a deep Atlantic depression whizzing past over the North Sea. It was the second this season, and it is not even mid-October yet. This one really rushed by and the strong winds (reached 9 Bf on the Westerschelde) were over in two hours. The weather man promised fair weather from Saturday late morning, so we go sailing. No ambitious plans this time, we'll just stay on the Grevelingen.
Saturday did start wet and miserable. With the strong rains, all the small leaks on Mekicevica that I had been trying to ignore since the previous, wet Summer showed up again. And then a few new ones appeared.
Just as we were finally ready for a late start, the sun started breaking through and we were treated to a beautiful busy sky, as you can get only in the Low Countries in early spring or early autumn.

Beautiful Autumn skies.

We spent most of the afternoon beating against the NW wind, which was moderate but gusty and very cold.
By the time we reached the NW end of the Grevelingen we were frozen, so we headed for the nearest harbour: Brouwershaven again!
In the lee of the islands the wind was weaker, the waves turned into small ripples and the only noises were the happy splashing noises of Mekicevica and the birds. Beautiful!

Approaching Brouwershaven.

The old harbour and the town were rather quiet, so this time we managed to avoid the Jacob Cats restaurant and had a really nice dinner at the Zwarte Schaep, a whole 10m from where Mekicevica was moored.

Sunday was even sunnier, and because we were sailing down-wind we didn't feel its chill. On these occasions we wish the Grevelingen was longer, as we got to Bruinisee too early. Even with a small detour around the Mosselenbank during which we were briefly going up-wing again and felt the cold wind.
There is definitely much to enjoy in Autumn sailing, as long as you remember to wrap-up warm.

Stavenisse

Unintentionally, we seem to have fallen into a cycle of going sailing every second weekend. The problem is we always face the wrong tide for trips down to the Oosterschelde: low water too early in the morning (for lazy sailors like us) and spring tides. However, tours of the Grevelingen or the Volkerak are getting a bit repetitive, so we decide to head south against wind, tide,... and lots of big ships.

It is noticeable that the season is approaching the end, as the Grevelingen lock at peak time was rather quiet. Once on the Keteen, we became aware that the skippers of the cargo ships have also returned from their summer holidays. They just kept coming and going. Beating against the tide and having to time our tacks not to end up in front of one of those huge beasts was hard work. Slow progress as well, because they really churned the water forcing little Mekicevica to cut trough big waves.

It became clear that we would not be able to make it all the way to Wolphartdsdijk as we had hoped (rather unrealistically). So we opt for plan B: Stavenisse. This small harbour is right where the Keteen really becomes the Oosterschelde. It is not a popular destination, mainly because the harbour is only accessible for six hours around high water, for deep-keeled boats, at least. As chance would have it, we were passing in front of Stavenisse three hours before high water, and there was a motor boat going in, showing us where the rather concealed entrance is. So, sails down and we motor in.

The lock was indeed open, and the narrow channel leading to the small harbour had enough water. We tie in at the visitor pontoon in a place that will be just deep enough at low water and go for a bit of sight-seeing.

The peaceful harbour of Stavenisse. 

Stavenisse is a typical "Zeeuwse" XVIIth century town, with a tree-lined main street connecting the harbour to the church.

Stavenisse church.

The town was hit badly by the 1953 flood, and 153 people were killed. If you think that even today less than 1800 souls live here, you get an idea of the extent of the tragedy.

A line on the church tower marks the level reached by the waters during the flood.

Of course, there is also a windmill. 

After our tourist bit, we settled with a couple of beers in the cafe overlooking the harbour. It was now high water, but only two other visiting boats appeared. The crew of the last arrival got themselves in the embarrassing situation of completely botching the maneuver right in front of a large audience sitting at the cafe.
Next day we realized that the clumsy maneuver was not a chance event but part of general inexperience (and irresponsibility in chartering a large boat with such limited knowledge and experience). In the morning, they tried to leave about one hour before low water, when the depth at the harbour entrance would have been 50cm at best. They were saved from getting stuck by the skipper of the other visiting boat who stopped them and explained that they could not get out for another four hours.
From their surprise, it was obvious that their arriving at high water the previous day was pure luck. They did not seem to really believe all this height-of-tide tosh, and left after two and a half hours. A quick glance at the tidal chart I had plotted at home showed that the depth at that time would be about 15dm. Their boat drew 150cm but somehow they got through. Who needs knowledge when you have luck?

Little Mekicevica could have gone out almost at any time, but we were determined to have a relaxed Sunday morning followed by a short run, shower and lunch. We had only 6 NM to do, this time with wind and tide behind us.
The return to Bruinisse was really a sedated affair, mostly on main sail alone and keeping out of the shipping lane most of the time. Even the Grevelingen lock was rather quiet.

It was another great weekend aboard Mekicevica. Hopefully we will have good weather long enough for a few more.  

Back to Brouwershaven

As I prepare Mekicevica for the weekend, it is blowing hard (NW 6Bf) with occasional showers. It is hard to believe the weather forecast for the weekend: mostly sunny and weak to moderate wind. So little wind that I fear it will not be enough to push us against the tide once out of the lock. So we decide to make a tour in the Grevelingen. The alternative of getting up very early to catch the ebbing tide is too horrible to comtenplate.
Our favourite destination in the Grevelingen is Brouwershaven, an old fishing town, from the days when these waters were open to the sea. We have been there before, when the crew was still in the very steep part of the learning curve (see previous blog).
By Saturday morning the wind had indeed weakened a lot and there were large patches of blue sky. Also the wind had backed to the SW earlier than forecast, which was good for us. We started leisurely and enjoyed the lazy sailing up the Grevelingen, taking the long way round to Brouwershaven. This allowed us more time to sail and made the final beating into Brouwershaven easier.  

Mekicevica's lazy route from Bruinisse to Brouwershaven.

This time we asked the harbour master for a place in the old town harbour, and he was happy to oblige. There is already a relaxed, out-of-season feeling around. Still we had to find a gap between the 36+ footer yachts. As small-boat lovers we find it weird that people have fun sailing such huge yachts in such small waters. Each one to their own, I s'pose...

Happy sailor at Brouwershaven old town harbour in the mellow, September late-afternoon sun.

After a little jog and shower we went looking for a place hat would feed us. Our attempts not to end-up in the same restaurant as on the previous visit were frustrated, as the town is also popular with tourists arriving by land-routes and there is not much choice anyway. So, Jacob Cats Steak House will have to be. This time we insisted on having fish.
On Sunday morning the sun was having trouble breaking through the cloud. The wind had veered West, as forecast, which was just great for us. We motored out of the harbour, did the channel in front of Brouershaven mostly goose-winged, and then beam to broad reach down to Bruinisse. It does not get any easier than this.

Beautiful, traditional Dutch boat.

I have to admit that this old lady was slightly faster than Mekicevica.

It took us about two-and-a-half hours to get back, plenty of time to settle Mekicevica in her berth.
We are really looking forward to late-summer trips with Mekicevica.

Deeper Into the Oosterschelde. 3. Beautiful Boats

It was a slightly hung-over crew that got-up to catch the first opening of the bridge. By 0900, Mekicevica and a few other sailing and motor yachts were negotiating the bridges and heading back to the Oosterschelde.
The wind was really light, at moments dying to nothing. I am glad we made the effort to get up in time to sail with the tide, otherwise it would have been difficult to make any progress at all. Since we had the tide helping us and were in no particular hurry, we just enjoyed the nice weather, the views of the Oosterschelde and the interesting boats around.

Very interesting rig. If I owned this boat I would have fitted her with junk sails.

Original colour.

Short-handed they are not.

Deeper Into the Oosterschelde. 2. Goes

Goes is an old town, dating back to the Xth century. The city walls and the moat were built in the XVth century with the star shape usual at the time. Remains of this structure are still noticeable in the town layout.

Goes centre, showing the remains of the star-shaped moat and the old harbour where Mekicevica spent the night.

In the present day, Goes is more famous as a shopping town with a telecoms tower visible from a great distance, and as home of the pop band Bløf.

Goes: the old wind-mill and the modern telecoms tower.

The canal and the bridges must put off many sailors because in this ideal sailing weather, when Zierikzee must have been heaving, the Goes town-harbour was an oasis of tranquility. Interestingly, there were a few British yachts around.

Mekicevica and First-Mate at the quiet Goes town-harbour.

We decided to treat ourselves to dinner in the posh restaurant facing the harbour. The Oosterschelde mussels were washed down with copious amounts of white wine, resulting in a very tipsy crew returning aboard too late, considering that we need to start early again on Sunday.

Deeper Into the Oosterschelde. 1. The Human Whale

The only caveat of our plan is that in order to start a couple of hour before low water, we will have to get up at 0700, earlier than we're used to on a weekend. The sunny weather helped us poke our noses out of the companionway on time and as planned we were on our way around 0800. As a reward for our effort the Grevelingen lock was blissfully quiet, opposed to the mayhem at our usual 1100.
On the other side, it was plain sailing down the Keteen, on a broad reach on a 2-3 Bf wind, enjoying the sunshine.
We did get to the red-green buoy that marks our turning point at about the turn of the tide. By then there were a few yachts around, but no big ships at all. They prefer to take the shorter route east of the big sandbank, the Galgeplaat. West of this sandbank we had enough space to reach the entrance to the canal leading to Goes in just four tacks, even if we had to put a few rolls in the genoa as the wind freshened-up a bit. The waters were a bit choppy, but Mekicevica has coped with much worse.
To reach the centre of Goes, we have to pass a lock and then motor a 2NM-long canal, the Goese Sas; along the way we have to negotiate three bridges.
In such a nice weather, the locals were using the grassy banks of the canal as a beach, and we had to look-out for people swimming in front of us.

Motoring along the Goese Sas, a nautical slalom between swimmers. The human whale is lurking around the corner.

Just after the first bridge, in Wilhelminadorp, a few lads were playing pranks: they were jumping from a quay making as much of a splash as possible to get us wet. The first few were a mere annoyance.Then we saw HIM flying towards us: the Human Whale. This guy was so big and fat than not only we were completely soaked, the tidal wave he created threatened to capsize Mekicevica. It was nearly as on  this photo.
Alive but shaken by the terrible experience we arrived to the last two bridges, which are operated by the harbour master. The opens the first at the hour, and if any boats really want to the to the old harbour in the town centre he jumps on his bike and goes and opens the other bridge. The latter is just an old-fashioned Dutch bridge, exactly like in the Van Gogh paintings.

The lovely Goes town-harbour.

Deeper Into the Oosterschelde. Prologue

The weather man is saying that this weekend we will probably get the warmest days of the year. The SE wind will be light to moderate on Saturday and light on Sunday.
This is a good chance for Mekicevica to venture deeper into the Oosterschelde. One cruising destination we have had in mind for a while is the town of Goes. To get there from our base in Bruinisse we need to leave a couple of hours before low water to sail the Keteen with the last of the ebbing tide and be near the Zeeland bridge at the turn of the tide, so we can than continue to Wilhelminadorp and Goes with the flooding tide. In the last bit we will be beating in a wind-against-tide situation, but in light winds that should not be too much of a problem.

The ideal timing to sail from Bruinisse to Goes is getting to the Zeeland bridge at the turn of the tide. 

To be ready for light winds, I changed the head-sail back to Jenny the big genoa. First-Mate joined in the evening for dinner aboard.

The End of the Krabbenkreek. 2. St.-Philipsland

Sunday morning was sunny, but a cold, moderate wind was blowing from the East, exactly the direction we want to go up the narrow Krabbenkreek. We put a reef in the main and started as early as decently possible on a Sunday. The tide was still flooding against the wind, which threw the characteristic choppy waves right onto Mekicevica's nose. So motoring it will have to be.
We arrived to Sint-Philipsland just before high-water, which meant we could tie-up at the quay. This as not that easy as the place is definitely not designed for small boats and the wind was blowing right into the quay.

Little Mekicevica on the uninspiring harbour of Sint-Philipsland.

The cruising guide describes the village as a place where time seems to have stopped, and that was certainly true on a sunny Sunday morning.

De Hoop, a landmark of Sint-Philipsland. 

The small church.

It has the typical structure of the mid-17th century towns, with a church at the centre, connected to the harbour by the wide Voorstraat. On the church square there is a memorial to the local victims of the 1953 floods.
We didn't hang around too long, otherwise we would have to take a long jump from the quay down to Mekicevoica's deck. The sailing on the return was absolutely delightful, now with the wind and the ebbing tide pushing us nicely. Under reefed main sail we glided effortlessly down the Krabbedkreek, jibed right in front of Sint-Annaland and gradually turned more upwind into the busy Keteen. Here we hoisted the river jib and kept good speed, always on port tack, until the Grevelingen lock. As we had discovered before, the combination of river-jib plus reefed main sail works wonderfully close-hauled on 4Bf wind.

The End of the Krabbenkreek. 1 - Aground Chasing a Seal

The trip from our base in Bruinisse to the end of the Krabbenkreek is rather short, less than 8 NM. So to get  a bit more sailing we start Saturday by doing a trip up the Hals, is a narrow channel on the N of the Grevelingen. The bit we intend to do, up to the public moorings, runs almost exactly S-N, so in the east wind we are getting, we should not have to beat either on the way out or on the return.
Normally this channel is as quiet as you can get on the Grevelingen, but today it seems a lot of people figured that East wind presents a good opportunity to sail here, so it was a bit busy. Even the mooring was packed full. When we were here early this season (see previous blog) we found the place infested by noisy boy-racers making stupid stunts with their cars. It seems that in the meanwhile the boy-racers took to the water. They fitted their over-powered engines to rubber-dinghies to do the same stupid tricks afloat, so they can annoy sailors even more.
We didn't stay long, as it was also getting a bit late for the short hop to the Krabbenkreek. As anticipated, the return was also on a comfortable sailing point. Only at one point we had to decide whether to tack or take a short-cut outside of the marked channel. The chart showed that it got very shallow (even for Mekicevica) immediately outside of the buoys. It was at this moment that we spotted a seal really close to us. This needs watching and taking a picture. I quickly tried to heave-to, botched-it and bong! We are stuck in the sand. Quickly raised the centre-plate, but the wind immediately blew us to even shallower water. Sails down and it seemed I was going to have to get out and push. But the brave Yo-yo Ma saved me from getting wet feet by bravely dragging his own tip and Mekicevica's keels along the sand bottom back to deeper waters. We never got a picture of the seal, who must have had a good laugh at our clumsy antics.
This episode made us arrive later than expected to the Grevelingen lock. We still had favourable tide and wind to ride down the Keteen, but once on the Krabbenkreek we would have both the tide and the freshening wind against us. So we decided to leave the rest of the Krabbenkreek for Sunday and headed for Sint-Annaland yacht harbour.

The best way to enjoy the Krabbenkreek.

The sailing both down the Keteen on a broad reach and close-hauled up the Krabbenkreek was delightful.

Sailing up the Krabbenkreek with a flat-bottom in hot pursuit. These boats are really at home here.

The harbour was really crowded but the friendly harbour-master found a place for Mekicevica right in front of the clubhouse, squeezed between a gin-palace and a huge Dutch barge. At least we were well sheltered from the wind.
Good think we prepared for dinner aboard, because there was no way we could have found a table at the club-house.
In the evening we went to check the fun-fair in the town, but we were not match for the many youngsters around and soon we were asleep in our berth. 

The End of the Krabbenkreek - Prologue

Again a weekend with favourable weather forecast: moderate easterlies and sunny. A bit fresh, especially compared to the Adriatic, but hey, you can't have everything.
This time our goal is to get to the very end of the Krabbenkreek. This is a narrow arm of the Oosterschelde that has been turned into a dead-end by the construction of the Schelde-Rijn canal. When Mekicevica attempted to sail up to the end of this creek in May (see previous blog) there was too little wind. This time we are determined to do it, so I prepare the river jib to make the beating up the narrow channel a bit easier. But I feel that in the end we'll have to get some help from Yo-yo Ma, our faithful, tiny outboard.

Exploring the Oosterschelde. 3. Six Knots!

On Sunday morning there was a busy sky that let the sun shine at times. It was also rather windy. The anemometer on the yacht club showed 15 kn West wind, increasing. We definitely need to get going before high water. It would not be fun to have such wind blowing against the tide. I still had time to have a chat with the ex-owner of the Manta 19 nr. 1114. I had heard of him; he sailed from the Netherlands to England on his Manta. He now owns a Midget 20 that he keeps in an immaculate condition.
We left Colijnsplaat harbour and had just hoisted the sails when the church bells rung 10 o'clock. With both wind and tide pushing us, we were doing spectacular progress. Under main sail alone, Mekicevica was riding the waves like a dolphin.

Once into the Keeten, we had a slightly weaker wind on a port broad reach and hoisted the genoa to maintain the speed.
When we started maneuvering to douse sails in front of the Grevelingen lock, the bells were ringing noon. We had covered close to 12 NM in two hours!
The lock was busier than ever. Mekicevica squeezed in between a 100-year old Dutch barge (displacing 110 ton) and a 45 ft yacht.
For once we finished on time to clean ship without rush. Another wonderful weekend aboard Mekicevica.

Exploring the Oosterschelde. 2. Colijnsplaat

Colinsplaat is a typical "Zeeuwse" village, founded as part of the poldering of the mid-XVIIth century. It follows the traditional plan of the time, based around a main street running between the harbour and the church.

Happy sailor on the dike near Colinsplaat.

It stands on the site where in Roman times was a town called Ganuenta. As a reminder of those past times, a reconstruction of a temple dedicated to the goddess Nehalennia was erected. Once, the Batavian sea-going people used to ask Nehalennia for protection.

Image of the goddess Nehalennia, protector of the Batavian sea-going people.

Coming back to less spiritual matters, the main street provided abundant choice of places offering food freshly harvested out of the Oosterchelde waters.

Exploring the Oosterschelde. 1. Sailing Under the Zeelandbrug

We did a late start on a dull Saturday morning to face the usual mayhem of the Grevelingen lock. Skippers that want to push forward at any cost and boat owners that dread the prospect of the slightest scratch on their paintwork do not mix well.
The wind was indeed northerly... when there was any wind at all. It was again one of those situations of sailing a bit, waiting a bit with limp sails, loose patience and motor a bit, repeat.
At least there was not much shipping and most of the yachts were moving equally slow in the same direction. Even the skippers of the motor boats seemed to be in a lazy mood and passed respectfully slow.

One of the many interesting boats you come across in Zeeland.

Once out of the Keeten and on the Oosterschelde the wind picked up and we had an easy reach towards the bridge.

Approaching the bridge was much easier than last week. 

Remembering the previous week when the winds kept pushing Mekicevica off the bridge I was really afraid that a gust between the pylons would send us spinning out of control. We head for a gap between the pylons trying to sail not too close to the wind while keeping a good angle to the bridge. With hand sweating on the tiller and a feeling of dry mouth we get closer and closer... and we're trough! We passed the bridge under sail!

Sailing under the bridge....

...and on the other side. You can breathe now, Skipper.

Once, west of the bridge, the NW wind continued to pick-up, and the ebbing tide started to be noticeable, resulting in choppy waters. Luckily our destination, Colijnsplaat, was just 1 M away.

Exploring the Oosterschelde: Prologue

Great weather all week. The best part is the wind is forecast to be NW on Saturday, turning SW on Sunday.  On the Oosterschelde high water will around noon. Perfect conditions to sail to the Oosterschelde and back to Mekicevica's berth in Bruinisse.
Now the bad news: it will rain on Friday evening, and the rest of the weekend will be cool, but at least mostly dry.
At least the rain came down when we were already tucked in under the boom tent preparing for the trip.
This is what it looked like:

Oosterschelde At Last. 3. Adriatic Aan De Schelde

Very conveniently for lazy cruisers like us, low-water was around midday. No point in staring early, we'd have to go against the tide.
Late in the sunny morning we motor off along the channel leading back to the Oosterschelde. The SE wind was very light but we could see some sails out there. We exit the channel, hoist sails, switch-off the motor, and after a few seconds we were completely becalmed. Here we go, just like in the Adriatic last month.
Past the bridge we found some steady wind and could enjoy the Oosterschelde at its best: sun shimmering on calm waters and a breeze pushing us nicely along.

Oosterschelde sailing at its best.

Unfortunately, as we turned N into the Keeten the wind became weaker and weaker. All around us were boats with the sails hanging limp from their masts. It was then that two cargo ships appeared. The first took the reasonable course close to the middle of the channel, allowing the small boats to get out of the way to the sides. Then the second decided to go right on the starboard side, causing a frantic start of engines as the sailing boats tried to get out of the way.

Most of us decided to continue motoring the couple of miles left to the Grevelingen lock. A couple of attempts to sail ended up in nothing.

Just past the Krabbenkreek, we had the encounter that completed the Adriatic feeling: a dolphin, right next to Mekicevica.

Dolphin in the Keeten.

The rest of the return to Bruinisse was uneventful. We got used to the mess of the Grevelingen lock and the strange behavior of some skippers. While waiting we moored along side an elderly couple who were returning home after 10 years cruising in Scandinavia. They were a bit surprised to see such a crowd!

Oosterschelde At Last. 2. Zierikzee

I had only seen Zierikzee while passing-by on one of my long bike rides, but I marked it as an interesting town worth visiting. It turned-out to be much better than that.

Entering the beautiful town of Zierikzee.

This beautiful town excels at keeping a low profile, true to Calvinist values. The architecture betrays the affluence of this town during the Golden Age. Sadly, it was very hardly hit by the 1952 floods. Everyone in this town must understand the meaning of "The Lord giveth and the Lotd taketh away."

Zierikzee, A really beautiful town does not need to brag about it,

Sunset in  Zierikzee/

Apart from that, Zierikzee is a popular yachting destination. The gin-palaces around would not have been out of place in Hvar or St. Tropez. In the morning I was told-off by the harbour-master for being only the 4th on a raft, while bigger yachts had to raft seven-aside!

Oosterschelde At Last - 1. Sailing Against Wind and Tide

True to the forecast, Saturday started dry but cloudy, and several degrees colder than normal for the time of the year. Since we are not that experienced in sailing tidal waters we are not sure if it is better to sail on the Oosterschelde with the tide but in a wind-against-tide situation, or sail against both wind and tide. Finally,  we took laziness as our counselor and opted for the latter, otherwise we would have to start at an uncivilized time.
Past the Grevelingen lock, sailing down the Keteen on a broad reach was really smooth. There was some sort of event going on at Bruinisse, and part of it was a rowing competition. That was fun to watch.

That's hard work! Get some sails, lads!

Soon we reached the Oosterschelde and got the first glimpses of the Zeeland bridge. We knew that the hard bit was about to begin, but we didn't expect it to be this hard. We were going against spring tide and a gusty northerly wind that would not keep a constant strength or direction for more than 10 secs  It was also very busy and every time that the colregs dictated we had to give way, it set us back a couple of tacks.

Getting to the bridge was hard work, but passing it under sail was damn well impossible.

Eventually we reached the Zeeland bridge, but passing it under sail seemed impossible. We tried different angles  but always the wind under the bridge set the genoa back and sent |Mekicevica spinning around her keel. Finally we gave up and motored past the bridge and to Ziekikzee.

Oosterschelde At Last - Prologue

Since we returned from Croatia we have not had a day without rain. And it is cold as well.
However, according to the weather forecast, and reversing the usual "week-end effect" the rain will suddenly stop on Friday and it will start to get progressively brighter. The North wind will be light to moderate.
This is our chance: Mekicevica is going to the Oosterschelde and visit Zierikzee. We have been planning this trip since the early days, but the winds always turn unfavourable.
The Oosterschelde is a wide estuary with tides moderated by an artificial barrier. We cross it via the 5 km long Zeeland bridge whenever we drive to Mekicevica's berth in Bruinisse. In a sunny day with light winds it is a sail-crusier's dream, but with a stiff NW wind blowing against an ebbing tide it is scary. Not a place to be in a small boat.

Not something you want to see when planning to sail on the Oosterschelde. None of that this week-end.

I spent Friday afternoon preparing Mekicevica to sail and First-mate joined in the evening for a drink at the Sailor's Inn and dinner aboard. Inside! It is still unseasonably fresh.

Three Weeks In Paradise. 25. Back To The Rain

On Wednesday morning, Mekicevica was hoisted back onto the trailer, and after the last adjustments of the trailer we started our journey back.

Mekicevica being placed back on the trailer.

While the Skipper sweated preparing the trailer for the journey back, the First-Mate still managed to do a bit of sight-seeing in Trogir. 

All went much better than on the way down. Going via Ljubiljana and München we had better roads than on the route via Passau and Maribor that we had folowed previously. Also I found a way to make Mekicevica more stable on the trailer.
We had a one of our best holidays ever. Fabulous weather, beautiful places, friendly people, Mekicevica performed outstandingly, and the crew gained valuable experience. Plans for the next trip are already brewing on our minds.
Around Münich the rain started. Welcome back to West Europe.

Three Weeks In Paradise. 24. Back to Trogir

Time to return to Trogir.
The whole idea of spending the night in Vinišće was to be able to ride the Maestral on the way to Trogir. To our surprise, during the night the wind turned to the NE, and pretty strong as well, not just the morning thermal breeze. We waited a bit hoping for a change but finally lost patience and just set off with shortened sails. In front of the bay there was a yacht race going on. They went around a buoy in front of Vinišće and headed West.
Approaching Trogirski Zaljev, the wind decreased, as forecast, so we let off the full sails. The entrance to the bay was really busy, with lot of traffic heading out. Just as we were between a tug boat and the rocks of Čelice, a sudden gust of wind backed the genoa and sent Mekicevica spinning around her keel. A few moments of chaos until we got the situation under control, and then motored to Trogir marina.
The sailing is sadly over.
After waiting for the temperature to drop to bearable levels, we start preparing for the return. Mast down, empty the boat, and prepare the trailer.
To cheer us up, we had one last grill.

Three Weeks In Paradise. 23. Dolphins

Started the morning by a good swim from the beach and then breakfast. We are not in a rush to start, as we know it will take some time for the wind to pick-up. Finally, a NE breeze persuaded us to cast off, only to be becalmed just out of the bay. here we go, the usual dance with motor-on, motor-off, sail a bit, becalmed...
And then the dolphins appeared. First just a group of three about 20m to our port, then a larger group passed us. One of them even did a somersault a bit ahead of us.

Dolphins passing about 20m from Mekicevica.

When we finally got out of the lee of Šolta we found a perfect Maestral that took us to Vinišće, on the main land, in a few tacks. This spacious bay is a modest holiday spot for local people. There are no luxurious hotels or restaurants; everything has a simple honest feel. There was an attempt to build a marina here but  the business went belly up. Part of the pontoons are still there, precariously held by ropes, and are used by the locals. We were happy to use this opportunity of free berthing.

Late afternoon at the disused marina in Vinišće.

We spent the rest of the day at the local beach and had dinner aboard. As we were preparing to have dinner, the French/Belgians we had met in Šćedro arrived and anchored in the bay. 

Three Weeks In Paradise. 22. Rogač (Otok Šolta)

After my usual swim in the clear waters and breakfast, we motor out of the bay. The morning NE wind was strong enough to allow us to make good progress towards the Splitska Vrata. And then died suddenly, just as we were crossing the path of one of the tour boats. Yo-yo Ma took us out of the way, but the skipper of the tour boat had noticed our situation and was already taking evasive action. In general I found the skippers of these tour boats very correct and respectful. They always gave way to us in good time. However, before this day is over we are going to come across less correct skippers.
One out of the Vrata we started the usual hide and seek game with the wind. A bit of wind comes up, so we switch-off the motor and unfurl the genoa. This has the magic effect of making the wind disappear. Repeat.
During one of the brief periods when we were actually sailing, we were almost rammed by a motoring charter catamaran crewed by idiots. It appeared to be on auto-pilot with all the crew messing with different things, nobody bothering to keep a look-out. When I avoided them and gave them a protesting blast of the fog horn they looked as if they expect that sailing boats have to give way to them. Morons!
Finally we had enough of the weak wind and decided to motor to the first village we sighted to wait for the Maestral to pick-up. On the way we met another idiot skipper. This time was a gin palace with Bermudan flag coming towards us from the port side. I honestly did not mean to get into a war of nerves. My reasoning was: big yacht, probably with hired, professional skipper. He will respect the col regs. Then we were too close for me to start changing course or speed and create a confusing, dangerous situation. Finally they reluctantly changed course with blasts of the horn and lots of gesticulation. Pardon me, but nowhere in the col regs says that if you have a big yacht, little boats coming from your starboard side have to get out of the way.
Before we could reach the coast the Maestral started, and from there we had a an exhilarating beat towards Rogač. Full main, a few rolls on the genoa, Mekicevica's bow cutting the waves and First-Mate skilfully handling the head-sail at each tack. What happiness to have such great boat and great crew!
Rogač town quay is very reasonably priced and the water-front cafe has bathrooms and showers for visitors. 
Being Sunday the only shop open was a couple of kilometers up a steep, hot, dusty road, in the town of Grohote. It is a beautiful, small town so it was worth the effort.
We spent the rest of the day on the beach, from where we watched a Volkboot with Swiss flag arrive. These small Norwegian boats sail fast but are not great on comfort. Still a couple with two grown-up daughters seemed to be enjoying the cruising.
To close the day we treated ourselves to a dinner of grilled fish on the terrace of a restaurant, about 100m up from the quay. We were the only patrons, while the expensive restaurant on the waterfront was crowded.

Three Weeks In Paradise. 21. Good-Bye Hvar

Sadly we have to leave Hvar and start the return to Trogir.
After we nearly ran out of fuel on the way to Šćedro, First-Mate insists that we carry reserve fuel. So we make way to the fuel dock (which is also the car petrol station). Unfortunately they were getting their tanks refilled and we had to wait nearly two hours. We finally started around 11, when the waters in front of Hvar were busy as usual. With too little wind and the wakes of all the boats around, we had to motor. Finally approaching Rt Pelegrin the water was calmer and we could start beating into the light Maestral. Once clear of the tip of Hvar we could turn into a beam-reach and made and made good progress to Uvala Osobova, on the south side of Otok Brač.

The beautiful and neatly kept Uvala Osobova.

Another lovely bay. Along the sides there are several, modest holiday homes, mostly belonging to people  from the inland of Croatia. They obviously take good care of their holiday place: Everything was very well maintained, the chapel looked freshly restored. There were even chemical toilets. The only two other visiting boats in the end of the bay were also crewed by Croatians who must have friends locally, as they disappeared to have a barbecue ashore.
We spent the afternoon and evening reading and swimming, and finished with a dinner of grilled aubergines that aunt Bonina packed for us.

Three weeks In Paradise. 20. Palmižana

A strong Maestral in the morning, very unusual. We motor to Palmižana, another beautiful bay in the Pakleni islands. The bay is very deep and a popular anchorage. It has been getting more and more crowded with anchored boats, while on the other side of the island there is a ridiculously expensive ACI marina that was nearly empty.
This time Mekicevica added to the congestion of anchored boats. Still it is a beautiful bay.

Palmižana: beautiful bay, but too many boats.

On the way back we timidly went out of the bay with reefed sails, but soon had to let all sails out, because the strong wind of the morning had turned into a slight breeze. On the outside of the Pakleni Otoci there was still an impressive swell, though.
We had dinner at home. Grilled squid (ligne) caught by Katica's husband. Yummy!

Three Weeks In Paradise. 19. Jerolim

Everytime we come to Hvar, we spend at least one day on Jerolim, the most Easterly of the Pakleni Otoci, a short distance in front of Hvar harbour. The beach here has a long tradition as a naturist spot, allegedly since the mid 19th century.

Mekicevica in Jerolim (N side).

We always pay a visit to Mare, a cousin of First-Mate, her playing friend from summer holidays, and my hero: she had the courage to give up a promising career in IT to return to her loved island and open a beach bar.

After spending the day on the beach, we waited for the last taxi-boat to leave before returning to Hvar, where aunt Bonina was waiting for us with a delicious dinner of rice with vegetables.

Three Weeks In Paradise. 18. Night Sailing

In the morning, after a swim and breakfast, we moored alongside on Kod Ive small quay. Nice to have a coffee without having to swim back to the boat. The small problem we have now is that we have no petrol and with such unpredictable winds we risk being stuck half way to Hvar. We asked at the restaurant if they had any petrol they could sell us, and someone went looking in their storage. Finally Karel, the  Czech  guy, came with a canister of petrol and just gave us enough to fill our tank and wouldn't accept any payment or even a cup of coffee. Later when I was doing my usual struggle to get the anchor line back in the locker he came with a chilled Czech beer and gave it to me. Not that I would drink a beer this early and before sailing but it is still a very friendly gesture.
We set off in light winds and surely enough soon we were becalmed on a sea that looked like oil. So we motor to the nearest village on Hvar island, which happened to be Ivan Dolac, a town famous for the local (very expensive) wine. Our inquiry for fuel started an action in the whole town. As a result someone told us that his brother had some fuel in the van and he would gladly give us some. Only problem was, he was out buying supplies on the other side of the island. We hang around watching the wind picking up until we decide to move on, now with even less fuel.

Ivan Dolac, where we tried to get fuel. We would have had more luck asking for the local wine, grown on the fields just visible on the right above the houses, behind the tree.

Although we are making good progress, it is likely that the wind will die down and then we will again be stuck. In So we make another stop at Sveta Nedjelja where a luxurious new marina is being built. By now the Maestral is getting even too strong for little Mekicevica, and it is raising quite some waves. We negotiated the narrow entrance to the marina and were directed to a prime spot, alongside right in front of the bar. Not only they allowed to stay a while for free, but also when we asked about petrol one of the marina staff just gave us three liters that he siphoned out of his old Renault 4. Again, he wouldn't accept any payment, arguing that "people who go to sea must help each other". Incredibly nice!

Heading for the new marina in Sv. Nedjelja.

Encouraged by a huge platter of cheese and ham, we decided to wait for the Maestral to weaken a bit and then continue to Hvar town, knowing that this will involve sailing at night.
Shortly after 1800 we cast off from the tight spot we were in with a perfect maneuver and head out to sea. Now the strength of the wind was just right, although from the wrong direction. We had reefed sails for a while at dusk, but soon we were sailing in full sails with the light of Pokonji Dol light house guiding us.
This was just too good. THE reason why I installed navigation lights on Mekicevica was this dream of mine that one day we would sail to Hvar at night. And here it is, it is happening!
Shortly after the light house we came into the lee of Jerolim and Galešnik, so we doused the sails, switched on the motor and First-Mate, who knows these waters like the palm of her hands, steered us safely into Hvar harbour.
After the quiet places we have been in, the night-life of Hvar was even more striking than usual. This place just heaves all night!
After leaving Mekicevica again in the company of the local boats, we were offered cold beers by the good Katica who owns the cafe Sidro, just under our balcony, with the warning of not even thinking of paying.
How much generosity can you receive in one day?