Jul. 2, 2008 - Another Great Weekend

We got an early shuttle over on Saturday morning and Wendy, Maggie and Zach walked/waddled/trotted respectively to the village for some essential supplies while Kim and James got ready.  Zach was then kitted out in his life jacket, which he took to immediately without objection and we got ready to set off.  The wind was much stronger than forecast (a good F6 out on the lake), so we motored all the way , losing count of how many times Zach looked around him, with a big grin on his face, and said, "We're on a boat"! 

There was also quite a swell on the water and we even got a bit wet as some waves broke over the bow, but nevertheless we made it to Veere in record time (1 3/4 hours), choosing to moor up to the visitor pontoon, which was surprisingly empty.  As the pontoon was on the windward shore, Wendy brought the boat in faster than usual and at a steeper angle, only to have to change approach completely in the last few boat lengths as we came into the lee of the land and totally different conditions.  It was scorchingly hot in Veere and we were grateful for the breeze by then.

A walk around the town proved that even after so many visits, this beautiful little place still holds some surprises.  Zach was very taken with the fortified Napoleonic tunnel and we never did make it to the cannon.

Dinner was, predictably, a bit late, especially for our little pirate who almost fell asleep in his sausages, but it had been an excellent day with everyone enjoying themselves.  Interestingly, as the day went on, the boat changed from being Grandad's boat, to our boat to Zach's boat!

Sunday was a bit cloudier but with much less wind, so we were able to sail back some of the way with just the genoa, though we did put the engine on a few times to speed things up.  Our arrival in the berth was marred by Wendy over-compensating for the wind and hitting the bow on the pontoon.  A classic case of needing to trust instincts rather than do everything by rote, but no damage was done and still more lessons were learned.

The trip back to Calais was uneventful but rather spoilt by a long wait at the tunnel.  Predictably Zach was an angel and just took it all in his stride, though by the time he got his takeaway pizza back here in England he was too tired to eat it!

All in all a lovely weekend with Maggie, James and Zach and we look forward to doing it all again next year!