Apr. 29, 2008 - Great sail - shame about the Belgians!
The weekend got off to a bit of a shakey start when we had to share the crossing (Seafrance) with 12 coachloads of unruly and very noisy French school children (Kim says they should be given a bottle of pop each and shut in their coaches for the duration of the crossing!). Thereafter things went very well and we were on the boat by 9.30 pm, though it took us a while to unpack everything.
On Saturday morning Wendy made the usual trip to the supermarket, then we tidied up and got ready to set off. By late morning the sun was shining and it was very warm, which was a pleasant contrast to the snow of only 5 weeks ago. We hoisted the main almost as soon as we got onto the Veerse Meer and lost count of the number of short tacks as we made our way up. We couldn't believe that we were getting 7.2 knots to windward off only 12 knots of wind. Hard work but fun and good practice.
We got to Zandkreekplaat and were thinking about a (late) lunch stop when we noticed there was space on the outer side of the jetty, so instead of anchoring we decided to creep up to the jetty and see how much water there was. We got to within 2 boat lengths of the jetty and there was still minimum 1.8 m so we rigged some fenders and lines and in we went. By the time we were tied up we were actually sitting in 2 m of water. Being fairly well acquainted with the island of Zandkreekplaat we didn't waste too much time exploring ! Instead we retired to the cockpit to soak up the sun and read our books. As the afternoon wore on, out came the barbecue and we had an excellent evening meal.
Unfortunately, during the night we were plagued by the slappers. The wind had shifted onto the stern and we heard every little wave slapping against the hull, resulting in us having to move into the forepeak at 3 am to stand any chance of getting some sleep.
Our departure the next day was hampered by a strong wind blowing us onto the jetty. We were quite happy about our technique of using a bow spring and springing the stern out, but a brief foray on deck to check things out was taken by the Belgians on the mobo next to us as a sign of weakness and they insisted on taking charge and imparting the benefit of their experience, even to the point of rearranging our fenders. Short of being extremely rude and then looking really stupid if something had gone wrong, we had no option but to grin and bear it. However, Wendy was fuming on the helm and the departure was not her greatest hour, partly as a result of being flustered but mainly as a result of having 3 conflicting sets of instructions yelled at her simultaneously.
We got back to the marina in just over an hour and used the time we had left to give the boat a good clean. It was pleasing to leave the boat looking "homely" again with cushions left out and beds made up, and also to only be taking a few things home with us. It's amazing how much stuff is loaded onto that boat in the summer. Roll on the next trip - we've got to do at least 11 miles to bring Wendy's total up to 1000!
I 'phoned the Marina this morning and spoke to Peter. He said Emjaytoo had just been put back in the water and would be back in her box by lunchtime.
The weather for the weekend looks pretty good and the ferry is booked for Friday night, so we are looking forward to getting the season off to a good start. No real plans, other than to head off somewhere for a Saturday overnighter and maybe a bar-b-que on one of the islands in the Veerse Meer
This was certainly a whirlwind visit! We got the shuttle at 6.20 on Thursday evening and were home again by 6.45 on Friday evening, but it was nevertheless a most enjoyable and productive 24 hours.
The boat was booked in for her lift out at 9 am Dutch time (8 am to us!) so there wasn't much time for the niceties of breakfast (though we still had our cup of tea in bed!). I popped into the village for some rolls to have later, then it was a case of motoring round to the other part of the marina.
Fortunately the wind conditions were excellent, albeit with the wind from the opposite direction to usual, and it proved to be a piece of cake to manoeuvre the boat into the right position for the lift. Watching our "baby" being manhandled was a bit nerve-racking, but as the morning progressed it became obvious that the marina people do this operation a dozen or more times every day, so it was very mundane for them.
Then it was time for her to have her bottom washed!
Inspection after jet washing showed virtually no damage to the bottom of the main hull from barnacles etc., though the keel, rudder and propeller were more badly affected, as was the anode mounted on the sail drive. All in all it was agreed that the marina will do the necessary anti-fouling and put the boat back in her berth within 2 weeks.
We then settled back to a few hours of life in a cradle 10 feet above the car park. Very strange at first, but ok once you got used to it. We were also blessed with a glorious day and I was able to sit up in the cockpit sewing, cup of tea beside me, keeping out of Kim's way below. Kim managed to shave the bit off the floor panel to make it sit flat and fit the catches to hold the forward cabin and heads doors open.
We then drove to Vrouwenpolder and bought lunch from the Lekkerbek cafe, which we took up onto the dam to eat in the sunshine, without a coat or fleece in sight! According to Metowallie, the maximum temperature in Vrouwenpolder today was 16 degrees, so no wonder it felt so lovely. Let's just hope that we are as lucky when we next go over in a couple of weeks so that we can actually sail.
Easter in the snow on our boat in the Netherlands had been lovely,
we had a real snow fall as you can see
and on Easter Monday we cheerfully loaded everything into the car to come home.Having Tom (my 20 year old) made the whole process much quicker than normal, so we planned to stop for some chips and mayonnaise en route.Tom was just on his last trip from the car back to the boat, down the pontoon, when he put his hands into his pocket and ping, the car “key” (in reality an electronic card not much bigger than a thick credit card) fell out, bounced off the pontoon and into the water!
Although the water was clear and relatively shallow, we were unable to see the key.A magnet supposedly capable of carrying 64 kilos recovered nothing more than an old cigarette lighter.Meanwhile, Kim inflated the dinghy and leant out of it for ages at a very dangerous angle, even borrowing a face mask at one stage to get a clearer view of the bottom, but after more than an hour, and with the blizzard now starting again, we were forced to admit defeat.We had insurance for this type of event after all.
Wrong!A call to AA insurance confirmed that we were not covered for loss of keys, on the basis that we should carry a spare set.However, Kim had only ever been given one set of keys as the car is a lease car and we couldn’t contact the lease company until the Tuesday morning.Still, we could see the funny side and headed off into the village for another excellent meal, where it was decided that I would leave very early the next day and get home in time to have the spare key sent by courier for me to drive back over with on Wednesday, if necessary.
Wrong again!I left the boat at 5.30 in the morning and got the first bus into Goes, only to find the ticket office closed.I bought a ticket from the machine to the first big town on the mainland 10 miles away.A month long programme of engineering works in the area, meant that buses were replacing all trains and being the first working day of the new arrangements, it was pandemonium. I was even interviewed about it by a Dutch radio reporter!
Things did not improve much after the 50 minute bus journey.Again the ticket office was shut and when I asked the Dutch “Can I help you” man how to get to Calais, his response was, “That’s a long way to go!” He advised me to go to the next big town, Roosendaal, which is on the InterCity routes, and ask there.By this time I had just missed one train, so had to wait 35 minutes for the next one.
Roosendaal was a large station and looked promising, but once again the information offices were shut and the best I could manage was a ticket to Brussels, with a train leaving in 4 minutes.I made a breathless dash across the station, only to find that the Brussels train was running 20 minutes late.By this time, Kim had contacted the lease company and it was agreed that the key would be sent by 24 hour courier to Holland, to arrive by 1 pm on Wednesday.
It was still barely 9 o’clock UK time when I got the train to Brussels, so I rang the kennels to say that I would be “a bit late” picking up the dog and settled back to enjoy the journey.At Brussels Midi station I immediately set about finding a functioning information office and was surprised to be greeted with the same disinterested shrugs and “booofs” as I know from living in Paris.Eventually an only slightly more interested lady looked it up and told me that I had to go to Lille, change stations and get on a train at 11.57, arriving in Calais at 13.10.Excellent, I was going to be home by 4.30 latest.
Wrong again.I have changed stations at Lille before so knew my way, but whichever way you look at it, it is still a long way to walk in 12 minutes.I entered Lille Flandres station alongside platform 13 with 2 minutes to spare, only to see from the board that the 11.57 left from platform 0, right at the opposite side of the station.By the time I reached the train and jumped into the first carriage seconds before it pulled away, I was feeling quite ill but still chuffed that I would be in Calais by 1.10.
Yes.. wrong again!I soon had the feeling that this train was not going where I wanted to go.Eventually the ticket man came round, looked it up in his book and informed me that the only 11.57 from Lille goes to Amiens (not that far north of Paris), from where I could get a train to Boulogne at 14.35, arriving 16.00, and from there a train at 16.31 arriving in Calais at 17.15.
From this point on the journey ceased to be fun, but I did at least manage to just catch a train to Calais leaving 30 minutes earlier than planned and after a brisk walk to the ferry terminal, had bought my ticket by about 5.30.I was told that the next crossing was in 2½ hours, arriving in Dover at 21.10.I wasn’t happy but could do nothing about it.Whilst waiting I was accosted by a youngish chap of obviously non-UK origin wanting 20 euros for the crossing because his hotel room had been broken into (I later heard him recounting that he had been mugged!).I then realised that SeaFrance had a sailing an hour earlier, so I tried to get my money back from P&O but was stuck behind another “dodgy” but much older individual who claimed that he worked for “British Rail” and could get a reduced ticket.Ten minutes later and he stormed off shouting abuse, eventually buying a full-price ticket with SeaFrance.
The contingent of foot passengers in the laughingly named “departure lounge” for the crossing, consisted of me, the chap who had been mugged or whatever, another dubious looking chap with a black bin bag who took ages to get through immigration, the bolshy British Rail worker and another chap with a patch over one eye who looked like he hadn’t seen the inside of a shower for weeks!A motley crew indeed.
Fortunately we docked in Dover on time, but as foot passengers we had to hold back at the end until the footbridge was lowered.As I was standing waiting, I was accosted by an American lady who proceeded to tell me that my announcements were not loud enough and that my toilets were smelly - obviously mistaking the sailing jacket I was wearing for a SeaFrance uniform!
I eventually walked in the door at 8.50, only just over 15 hours since I had left the boat, jumped into my own car and went straight to the pub up the road where Lucy and her friend had been waiting for 3 hours because she didn’t have a key to get in.But if you think it ends there, then you are…
Wrong!After much chasing and complaining to Parcel Force, the “24 hour” delivery eventually arrived at the marina at 2.30 on Friday afternoon, almost exactly 72 hours after it was picked up, with Tom and Kim arriving home at 10 that evening.For a few hours, even Kim didn’t talk about going back to the boat!
After much consideration, having booked a ferry for Thursday night to Monday night, over Easter, then deciding to cancel due to the weather, we are now heading over to Holland Saturday lunch time and coming back Monday night. The weather forecast for sailing in the Veerse Meer Sunday/Monday is for moderate winds (force 2 - 4) and probably snow! So we shall see how we get on. The plan is to head up to Veere Sunday and return Monday morning, spending the night in the Kaai, which we have not been into before, previously staying on the visitor pontoon outside. Wendy's son Tom will be coming with us and it will be his first visit to Emjaytoo.
Decided to have a working weekend on Emjaytoo and Wendy came along for the ride. Caught the Shuttle Saturday morning and arrived lunchtime. It was as well we had booked the shuttle as the weather was very windy and Dover ferry crossings were severely affected with Operation Stack in place and the M20 blocked with parked up lorries.
We had three main jobs to do:
Install a 240 volt socket and a 12 volt socket up at the forward bulkead end of the saloon, for the TV and digi-box;
Fix our new blinds to the aft cabin and heads;
Fix a bracket to the nav station to sit the note-pad computer on.
The first job started well with the sockets set into the panelling under the port settee berth. The problems then started with trying to get the wiring across under the saloon floor to the starboard side where the power had to come from. In the end Kim gave up, at least temporarily, until he comes up with some new ideas.
Fixing the new blinds was a success and they look very good either open or closed.
Kim had part made the bracket and needed to check dimensions before finishing it on board. The bracket now needs staining and varnishing. May post a picture of the finished item later on.
Saturday night we went out for a very nice meal in the village and then settled down to a stormy night. The wind howled and the boat rocked violently all night. We did not get a lot of sleep, but at least it was not cold.
In the morning we switched the wind instrument on and even though the wind had subsided somewhat we still recorded nearly 30 knots through the marina.
Whilst on the boat we decided to start up the engine as it had not been run since last October. It fired up immediately, which seemed impressive, but maybe no less than one might expect of a less than one year old engine. We let it run, in gear, for about 15 minutes with occaisional bursts of full power.
With all the tasks completed as far as was possible we headed off with the intention of stopping off in Ghent, which we had never been to before, despite driving past it each time we go to the boat. We found the middle of the city which is full of very old buildings around the canal side.
We found a nice restaurant nearby and had an excellent lunch.
Our next trip over is booked for the Easter Weekend, which is only 3 weeks away. This will be our first sailing weekend of the year - weather permitting.
Phoned the Marina this week and spoke to Peter (the really nice guy in the Technical Centre, who speaks excellent English - it's all so easy!) who told me there was a waiting list for people who want their boats lifted for a short period, due to all the cradles now being occupied by boats out of the water for the winter. I asked when the situation would change and he said when the winter lift outs start going back in the water which would be throughout March. It was left that they would 'phone me.
So, our next trip is unlikely to be to supervise a lift out. In fact we have booked a ferry to go over for the Easter weekend 21st - 24th March and we are now planning where we will go. Dependant on the weather (and isn't always!) we might try and get up to Willemstad.
We went over Saturday morning hoping the strong winds we have had all week would ease. Arrived at the boat lunchtime and whilst there was hazy sunshine it was pretty cold. Add to that 25 knots of wind, and we decided to just have a relaxing weekend on the boat. The wind blew all afternoon and well into Sunday, although by Sunday afternoon it was easing off - typical, just as we were leaving to drive home!
The big surprise was that the Digitenne TV was still working. Because we have never had any charges taken from our bank account, we assumed it must have been disconnected. It now seems possible that because we haven't used it since October of last year (which was the first month for free), the charges haven't kicked in. Now we have used it we will keep an eye on the bank account.
Although we didn't get to sail, it was still great to be back and now we can't wait to go over again. The next trip is likely to be to be to supervise a lift out and jetwash plus general inspection of the hull. We now have to 'phone the Marina to arrange it.
2007 was our third year of big boat sailing, our second year in The Netherlands and our first year with Emjaytoo. So, did it live up to expectations?
We had finished 2006 with serious intentions of getting a bigger boat and had already looked at some older boats. Wendy loved the "lived-in ness" and character of the older boats (with the exception of Westerly's!), but was concerned at the possible hidden costs, yet at the same time buying a brand new boat - even for the same cost as an old one - seemed too decadent. However, after seeing the Bavaria 30 Cruiser again at the London Boat Show in January and talking through the finance options, the rest, as they say, is history.
With this done, our sailing went on hold 'til the arrival of Emjaytoo on the 4th May. We had a trip over to The Netherlands to bring Maggie-Jane back to the UK in February, but that was it.
The commissioning cruise in Ipswich was something of an anti-climax, especially for Wendy, as the weather was appalling and did little to increase our confidence in the new boat. But before we knew it, Emjaytoo was settled in to her Dutch marina berth, and our season then took off. We managed seven trips to the boat, including several trips out of the Veerse Meer into the Oosterschelde and even getting as far as the Grevellingenmeer. We visited some excellent traditional Dutch harbours such as Goes & Zierikzee and had some great over night stops on islands such as Archipel in the Grevellingenmeer.
In answer to the initial question, Emjaytoo has enabled us to expand our horizons beyond the limitations of a MacGregor and we are now planning trips next year to the Harringvliet and also into the Westerschelde and down to Oostende.
Kim's Sister Julie and Trevor came out with us for a whole week in September and next year we are looking forward to entertaining more guests on board, as this was very much one of the attractions of a larger boat but the short season did not enable us to share the fun with others as much as we would have liked.
Including the trip across from Ipswich, we covered 390 miles in Emjaytoo, not much by some people's standards, but not a bad start for us.
We are hoping to get our first trip of 2008 in January - weather permitting.
Finally, if one picture sums up our first year with Emjaytoo, then this is it :-
No, Kim is not having a pee !
The view is looking out from Archipel across the Grevellingenmeer.
In spite of Kim's new office being closer to home than before, we made the Friday night ferry with the least ever time to spare - checking in about 25 minutes before depature! We were on Norfolk Line for the first time this year, for the incredibly cheap price of £29 return. Alas, they don't appear to have improved at all since last year. Nevertheless, we were still on board Emjaytoo, gear unpacked and beer/tea in hand by 11 pm.
Saturday morning saw an extremely leisurely start, followed by a walk into the village and a trip over to the marina office to pay the bill and request a breakdown of the costs. We need to know the cost of removing and reinstating the autohelm following its repair by Raymarine under warranty. The hope is that we can get Raymarine to pay the marina's charges for their work.
The weather by lunchtime was pretty grotty and very cold and we were of two minds whether to bother going out for a sail. However we made the effort, donning full foulies and thermal layers.
Helming the boat out of our berth was a bit nerve-racking after nearly 6 weeks, but it all went beautifully and we were pleasantly surprised at how well the boat sailed to windward, getting more than 4 knots at less than 30 degrees off the wind out of 8 to 10 knots of wind - and all in spite of Wendy being on the helm most of the time! As we turned round the bottom of the Goudplaat we were on a dead run with very little wind but managed to goose wing at around 2 knots.
Since the weather forecast for Sunday was for quite strong winds, we decided not to stay out overnight but to return . As we headed back the weather brightened, the sun gradually broke through and despite the cold, it turned into a very pleasant evening with a hazy sunset.
On the way back, we picked up a Netherlands Coastguard Sécurité broadcast on channel 16 which warned of high winds up to gale force 6 (!) for Sunday morning, thus vindicating our decision to return to the marina on Saturday night.
Our arrival back at the berth was very calm and controlled, with Kim's system of the midship spring doing its job perfectly. Don't know why more people don't use it!
Quiet evening in with the usual Fray Bentos pie and watching our TV, accompanied by a few beers and a bottle of white wine.
Sunday morning dawned cold and miserable, with a howling wind, but it did at least stay dry, which enabled us to load up the car with all the items which we didn't want to leave on board for the winter - clothes, bedding, cushions, books etc. By the time we had finished loading up the car, it was time to head off for Calais, in spite of having gained an hour with the clocks going back. Another vindication of our decision to return to the marina on Saturday night.
As we left, we called in to the chandlery and picked up a chart pack for the area north of the Grevelingenmeer, so that we can spend the winter planning an even more ambitious cruise for next year.
Our first Sunday evening trip back of the year with Norfolk Line only served to remind us what a c**p company they are, but at £29 return you have to bite your lip and put up with it, even if we did get home nearly 2 hours later than planned.
I can't believe it is over a month since we were onboard Emjaytoo!
A lot has happened since then - primarily, I have changed my job and that has entailed a change of car which has caused a number of cancelled trips. Then this weekend we were going to go over but it was the Rugby World Cup in France and since England were in the Final (they lost!), we couldn't get a crossing.
Anyway, the good news is we have the crossing all booked up for next weekend - and at the ridiculous price of £29 return, with Norfolkline. Can't wait - well, we were getting withdrawal symptoms!
Whilst hoping to get a good weekend's sail, we also need to sort out some things with the marina. We got the bill for fixing the TV aerial - which included dropping the mast - the cost is horrendous! But also includes other things like taking out & refixing the Autohelm, so we need to get to the bottom of that. We also need to talk to the marina about lifting the boat for the winter. So lots of things to sort out.
It had been our intention to spend two nights in the Grevelingenmeer and then go down to Goes for Friday night, returning to our marina on Saturday morning. Given that we had to leave for the ferry Saturday afternoon, we decided it might all be a bit of a rush, so headed down to Goes on Thursday. As it was a fairly long trip we got under way first thing and had breakfast on the hoof. Again there was little or no wind so we motor sailed some of the way and straight motored the rest. We even had some company for part of the journey!
We finally arrived at Goes at 15.50 and got a berth right in the inner harbour.
After going to the supermarket to get some more supplies, we settled down on the boat for our usual evening of over indulgence!
Friday morning we were awoken by a lot of noise and found that a floating stage was being set up in the harbour. After wandering around the shops to sort out our Rabo Bank Account and to register our account for the Digitenne Digital TV, we found out that there was a live music festival being staged at the weekend. Later on as we left Goes, there was a continuous stream of boats heading in and it became clear that our earlier stopover was a smart move. Had we gone into Goes on Friday night as planned, it would have been packed out.
After some sightseeing including some of Goes more famous inhabitants -
We departed for our home marina. Once back in the Osterschelde, we sailed for a while under genoa only, but as we were trying to beat into 20 knots plus of wind we gave up and motored home. By the time we got back the wind was howling and Kim and Trevor got soaked cleaning the boat down.
In the evening we went into the village and had a superb meal at the Overstag Restaurant. It is to be thoroughly recommended.
Saturday morning, after we had cleaned the inside of the boat and packed away, we drove up to the Brouwersdam to show Julie and Trevor the massive storm barrier the Dutch have built and to have a walk.
After a quick traditional Dutch lunch of chips and mayonaise, we headed off for Calais.
We all had a brilliant week. The weather was pretty good in as much as we didn't really have much rain and we had a few days of really good sailing. On the days when there was no wind it was quite hot - shorts & T-shirts. We all ate far too much and drank too much. Wendy and Kim pushed the boundaries a bit further by getting up into the Grevelingenmeer and racking up more experience with locks and bridges.
Our total distance covered was 72 miles, which was not bad since we did a bit of sight seeing as well.
Wednesday morning we headed up to Bruinisse - the locked entrance to the Grevelinengmeer. There was virually no wind, 1 - 2 knots, so we motored all the way. Once inside the Grevelingenmeer, we tied up to the waiting pontoon for lunch, prepared by Wendy while Kim, Trevor and Julie wandered off to the nearby marina to buy a permit to use the islands in the Grevelinengmeer for overnighting. A 7-day permit cost 12 Euros - pretty good value, (even though we only spent one night in the Grevelingenmeer).
We continued virtually all the way up until we arrived at a man-made island called Archipel. In fact Archipel is three islands forming a small archipelago.
In this photo it looks like we have the island to ourselves, but there were actually quite a few boats on the main island but we were on the second largest island with only a Mobo and another smaller yacht that arrived later on in the evening. Our island only took about 5 mins to explore, then we went over to the main island, (all of about 100 metres away!) in the inflatable.
Trevor then had a go at fishing and after a while, actually caught a small fish.
In the evening we had a bar-b-que (no, not Terv's fish!), on the Cobb. Another meal that was far too much accompanied by far too much to drink! Then we watched the sun go down.
Sep. 11, 2007 - A Tower Too High And A Bucket Too Many
Having decided to stay the day and look round, we strolled around the shops and then went up the Monstertoren - a long way up (279 steps) but well worth it for the stunning views.
We also went to the post office and purchased a fishing licence and then went back to the boat for a late lunch, where we landed up with aching sides at the Dutch regulations, which seemed to advocate fishing with a stick, a length of wool and a clump of worms (though this sounded more like wood through Julie's giggles). We then had another stroll before a few beers and off to the restaurant, where we decided to partake of the local delicacy: mussels and chips, and wow did we partake! First came the empty galvanised bucket, then the mussels arrived on the table in another galvanised bucket, accompanied by chips and 3 sorts of mayonnaise and salad.
We decided to follow this up with a load of ice creams (delicious) and then made our way back to the boat. Another great evening, only marred by Julie being reunited at 3 am with the mussels she had eaten some hours earlier!!
Fortunately Julie was feeling a whole lot better and demolished bacon and eggs for breakfast, before setting off for a wonderful sail which saw us at 45 degrees most of the time.
As you can see, Julie is really enjoying it!!
We reached Sint Annaland in record time and anchored off the entrance for an hour or so for Trev to drown some bait. Having rafted up to a very expensive Hallberg Rassey 42, we went to town to do some shopping before coming back for an excellent goulash and rice. Another excellent day of laughter and fun interspersed with a few maritime disagreements between skipper and first mate - nothing too serious, but our respective solicitors have been informed!!
Arrived at the marina at 19.10, unpacked, ate our evening meal and generally had an enjoyable - if raucous - evening. On Sunday morning we motored to the fuelling pontoon and topped up the tanks prior to our passage through the Zandkreeksluis and into the Oosterschelde. Sailed up towards the bridge, beating with the genoa only. 20 knots of wind over the deck, 4.5 - 5.5 knots over the ground. Tacked most of the way up to the bridge, then put the engine on for the last half hour. Thought we might make it for the 5.30 opening but a mere hundred metres from the bridge and the bu**ers shut it! Started motoring around for what we thought would be the 6 pm opening, when Wendy decided it would be fun to radio them up, just as well as we found out that the next opening wasn't until 7!
Net result was that we didn't reach Zierikzee until about 8. Havenmeister had long since gone to bed, so chose a suitable looking Bav 37 to raft alongside and executed a highly professional example of team work - ably assisted by the complete absence of any wind! Gourmet meal of traditional British mariners' fare - Fray Bentos pies with roasted vegetables. Took ages to cook but we bravely whiled away the time drinking beer and laughing - but not too raucously!
Crashed out after very successful and pleasant day.
This afternoon we are off to Zeeland for a whole week on the boat. Kim's sister & partner - Julie & Trev are coming with us and we are booked on the 15.15 ferry out of Dover, so should reach Emjaytoo about 19.30 hrs BST.
The loose plan is Kierikzee on Sunday and then up into the Grevellingen Meer. Then back via Sint Annaland and Goes.
Have just spoken to Peter at the Service Centre and he has advised that the TV antena has been fixed, the 12 volt socket has been connected up and even better news - the Autohelm has come back from Raymarine and been reinstalled. On Saturday I went to the caravan shop in our village and got a 12v plug to fit the socket provided on the boat, so everything should be working okay for next week when we go out for our weeks cruise with Julie & Trevor.
The only cloud on the horizon is the weather - it looks like being cold and dull, but weather forecasts this far out are notoriously inaccurate.
With all the excitement of recent trips over to Zeeland, I've forgotten to record the sad news that Peters Opal - the UK Main Agent for Bavaria Yachts, went into Administration around the 15th August. This is terrible news for all those people with deposits and partly paid for boats as they will probably loose the lot. "There but for the grace.....". Of course, it is pretty bad news for their former employees - like Andy and Arthur up at Ipswich.
How lucky we are that it did not happen four or five months earlier, otherwise we would have been one of the unfortunate ones. As it is we can forget about the outstanding work to the toe rail, or any other warranty work that would have been down to the dealer. The TV antena is a particular example, as we will have to pay the Dutch marina to fix it, with no recourse back to the dealer who fitted it in the first place. The work should by now have been completed. I was supposed to 'phone the marina this afternoon to check, but forgot as I was very busy at work. Will check up next week as we definitely want it working for our week's "cruise" in September.
! Instead we retired to the cockpit to soak up the sun and read our books. As the afternoon wore on, out came the barbecue and we had an excellent evening meal. 
