Day 47 - Vlieland

Sunday 19^th July 2015 – Vlieland

The shipping forecast looks manageable with winds from the south/southwest quarter and dropping.

With a distance of 256 miles to our home port of Blyth, we decided to go for the crossing of the North Sea.

We bade farewell to the other yachts we had been lying alongside and headed out of the marina. 

With the tide near its highest, we moved along the channel to the slenk over the sand bank.  We kept very close to the small yellow buoys and after half an hour of tense navigation, at 11.45 we were into the main channel and headed for the open sea.

Unlike the forecast, the wind and swell were increasing from a westerly direction and we were making no headway on our intended course.  Decision was made to head southwards towards Texel to find shelter in Oudeschild.

At 14.00 with the tide and wind combination, we were being pushed towards the Eirlandsche Gat with its imposing lighthouse on the north of Texel.

Tacked out to sea, to give us more sea room, after another two hours we were not really achieving very much and the decision was made to return to Vlieland.

Now we were running with a very strong breeze and in a two metre swell which was becoming more and more uncomfortable. 

We passed once more this oil platform and at 18.30 the tide was changing in our favour, as we were running in the Terschelling Gat and rounded the top of Vlieland at 19.00.

  

We hurried down the narrow channel towards the marina, while I was dropping the hanked on No.2 foresail on the front, the helm’s man misjudged the combination of wind and tide, allowing us to drop onto the port side buoy channel VS8 marker.

I attempted to kick it away, not a very good idea, as I still bear the scars today.  V68 bounced down our port side very quickly, while the engine lost sea suction and was stopped.

Turned the yacht around and headed back out to sea, while the engine cooling water was re-primed  and engine started.  Dropped the mainsail and called the marina for permission to enter, thankfully they said it was OK.

At 19.30 we were just inside, on the far side of the marina, alongside a large Dutch replica barge ‘Woeswater’.

Very, very pleased to be back in harbour, it had been an awful day at sea and we were now storm-bound.