Vlissingen to Nieuwpoort

The forecast for Thursday was not hopeful for a crossing straight to Harwich and we would have had to leave at 6 am to get the best of the tide. We were all tired, and my cold was in full force, so we decided not to set an alarm and see when we woke up. Not surprisingly we woke at 8 am! The tides were not ideal to leave then, but the forecast had got better overnight, so we headed out and were through the last lock and into the sea by 0900.

The tide helped us out of the Westerschelde but the seas were as big as we had feared in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bertha, and by 1100 we knew that heading straight across the North Sea for a night crossing would be difficult. Yvonne really did not want a long passage, so we turned and went along the coast, heading for Dunkerque. It was much easier travelling across the swell rather than in to it, and we got a little help from the sails. The tide also helped us at first, but by 2000 we were only off Nieuwpoort, and with the tide now against us it would be gone midnight before we reached Dunkerque. 
 
Julian wanted to press on, but Yvonne and I made the case for stopping; the tide was against us now and we needed to beat if we were going to sail, but we could leave Nieuwpoort early next morning, in time to catch the next good tide, after a proper night's sleep. Julian reluctantly conceded and we headed in to Nieuwpoort and tied up at the harbour master's pontoon. There was no one there to direct us to a different mooring, or give us the codes to the toilet block. We ate at the yacht club and used their toilets, as they did not have the marina codes either!