Monday 29 September 2014

A Trip to Ouddorp

Returning from Croatia was a bit of a shock, but at least here is warm for the time of the year.
After diner aboard on Friday evening and a good sleep, we made a leisurely start under grey, low cloud. There was just a light south breeze, pushing us along the Grevelingen on a broad reach.
RSs in front of Bruinisse, racing very slowly in the light breeze.
After the harbour of Bommemnede we had the wind behind us and could have another try at poling the genoa.
Not completely right yet but it was good enough to push us along in light airs.
Then the wind died completely and we had to motor the last bit to the Goeree little harbour.
In the evening we headed for a restaurant in Ouddorp that served us delicious grilled turbot.

Sunday was even warmer, sunnier and there was a bit more of wind. Unfortunately from the SE, exactly the direction we have to go to. So it was a long but relaxed beat back to Bruinisse. Very enjoyable, except the bit in from of Bommenede where there was not the slightest puff of wind and we had to motor a bit. That spot is either gusty or flat calm.
The safe water marker has a new inhabitant.
Hopefully we'll still manage at least one more weekend of sailing this season.

Monday 22 September 2014

Hvar without Mekicevica

The crew took a break from sailing for a late-summer visit to Hvar. It was too short, so Mekicevica stayed in Zeeland, while we went swimming in the bay she is named after.
Engraved in stone (not by us).

One day that pink house will be home for the by then geriatric Mekicevica's crew.

The hard life on the Croatian coast: improvised lunch by the blue sea. Freshly-caught, grilled sardines and chilled, white wine enjoyed with family and friends. Just another day in paradise...

Monday 8 September 2014

Relaxed Sailing on the Volkerak

Mekicevica's rigging got a new addition: a whisker pole. I had to drive around half of the Netherlands until in Naarden I found the right sized pole, just in time to try it in the light airs forecast for this weekend. On Friday I spent some time devising a way to attach the pole to the mast temporarily. I don't want to start drilling holes in my precious mast before making sure I am getting it right. In the evening First-Mate joined for a meal cooked on board: gnocchi with tomato and bacon sauce, green salad and copious amounts of red wine. Yummy!
On Saturday morning, we started only 45 min before the 1100 rush-hour but the Grevelingen lock was very quiet. After passing the lock we sailed the short bit of the Kramer to the next lock, where we went in without waiting with only two other boats. On one of them, crewed by a German couple, the man went below leaving the aft line cleated and emerged a couple of minutes later to find that the water level in the lock had dropped a good meter and his boat was hanging from the cleat with the fibreglass making frightening cracking noises. Of course he was unable to untie the line under such load, and after a few seconds of panic he gladly accepted my suggestion of cutting the line.
We hoisted sails immediately out of the lock and sailed on a deep reach in the light nor'westerly. A perfect occasion to try out the whisker pole. Mistakenly, I tried to pole-out the 160% genoa on the same side as the main and was disappointed that the expensive pole was not helping to keep the genoa full. It only later, after re-reading the literature that I realised my stupid mistake: you are supposed to pole the head-sail well forward to windward, i.e. on the opposite side of the main. Oh well, you never stop learning...

As usual the Volkerak was tremendously busy with shipping but most of the time there is plenty of water to keep out of the shipping lane. So we were able to enjoy the first relaxed sailing in light winds in many weeks. The only thing missing was the sun, who only made a brief appearance from behind the grey clouds.
The only down-side of relaxed sailing is that you don't move very fast, so it took us seven hours to reach our destination, the pretty village of Ooltgensplaat. We had not been there since the wet summer of 2011 and we had forgotten what a quiet place it is. There isn't even a decent place to have a beer on Saturday evening, so we had to content ourselves with whatever red wine survived from last evening.

On Sunday, my usual weather forecast in the morning turned a nasty surprise: instead of NO wind as was predicted and the whole point of sailing here, it turns out we will have W or NW wind. Still light, moreover. We will have to beat all the way in close to no wind. It is going to be a long day...
We thoroughly enjoyed most of it. Out of Ooltgensplaat we hoisted sails and were able to use a lull in the shipping traffic to cross to the wider, south side of the shipping lane. then came a slow, lazy beat in the hazy sunshine. Absolute bliss!
When it was time to cross the shipping lane again it was too busy and the wind was too weak, so we motor-sailed across and resumed the beating on the other side.
By now it was getting late. In an ideal world, we would have just sopped at the new Galathese harbour or at Oude-Tongue and continue next day. Unfortunately, in the real world there are jobs to go to on Monday morning so we had no choice but to start Yo-yo Ma, our faithful outboard, and put-put the rest of the way. Even so, and with the fastest passing of the Kramer lock ever, we only made it back to Bruinisse well after 7pm, after more than nine hours.
All in all, another great sailing weekend, even if having to motor sort of blemishes the romantic spirit of it.

Monday 1 September 2014

A Windy Weekend on the Grevelingen

Saturday, 30th of August 2014
Since we returned from the Wadden we have either been busy, or the weather was not encouraging. Finally on the last weekend of August we firmly decided we were going sailing.
Saturday morning was chucking down, but in view of the weather forecast we still set off to Bruinisse.
It eventually started to clear up, but the westerly wind also started to pick-up. We went out in the middle afternoon put a reef on the main, unfurled a bit of the small jib and started beating along the Grevelingen. The wind was a 4 Bf, but with 5 Bf gusts. If we were trying to get to a new, exciting destination we would have carried on, but since this was just a half-day sail in home waters, we soon decided we had enough and turned back to harbour to enjoy the sunshine and dinner aboard.

Sunday, 31st of August 2014
During the night and early morning it rained a bit, but by the time we ventured out of the sack it was dry and with nice sunny spells. Even the wind had calmed a bit, or at least seemed less gusty. So we went out in the spirit of let's see how far we get.
The wind was more NW now, and we had to beat up the Grevelingen. The 18ft skiffs were having a race, the last of the European championship, adding interest to the day.
18ft skiffs racing on the Grevelingen.
The local club also had a race of their own, so there were lots of colourful spinnakers around. If they are racing on handicap, we should join someday. Mekicevica will probably have such a handicap that we will win without even leaving harbour.
After a couple of hours of beating, and with the wind continuing to increase we decided to turn to enjoy the downwind ride back to Bruinisse.
Sailing in demanding conditions is tiring but satisfying. However after the intense days on the Ijsselmeer and the Waddenzee, we wouldn't mind a bit of leisurely sailing...