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Published: September 15th 2013
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Our AIS is working & showing lots of boats
out here with us and that isn't all of them. We left Oostende, Belgium at 1PM and made our way to Breskens, Netherlands. We had hoped to make it to Vlissingen (Flushing to us English speakers), but we saw that we would need to go through a lock and bridge and understood that the last opening was at 7:30PM. It appeared as if it would be tight to make it across to Vlissingen so reverted to our plan B and headed to Breskens instead. Others had told us it had a good sized marina there. Janice’s motto for this trip is “better safe than sorry” so the decision was made. We found out later that the information about the last bridge opening in Vlissingen was not true, but it didn’t matter – we made it to the Netherlands during the 2013 sailing season! It has been a long time coming, it is hard to believe that we left Lagos, Portugal on May 3rd. It took longer than we had thought, but we do not have any regrets about the time it has taken as we have enjoyed our travels – what we have seen and the people we met. We consciously made the decision to slow down when we were back
Sure is Flat
From a distance you can’t see the land due it being so flat – you only see the land when you get closer.
in Spain so we were not just getting from point A to point B but enjoying the journey.
We discovered that Breskens was not the best place to have a first landfall for the Netherlands, it does not have the charm of the Dutch towns that you see in books – it was a town that was carpet bombed in September 1944 which left very little of the old city intact. When it was rebuilt it became a center for the fishing industry, but when that died down it turned to tourism with its beaches and many campgrounds.
We got a chance to see our first dyke, there is one that runs around the town protecting it from the sea. It was strange to see houses that were built on ground that was below sea level, but this will be a common sighting in the Netherlands. We have been told that about 50% of the Netherlands is below sea level.
The next day was not a good one with lots of rain so decided to hold off another day before crossing to Vlissingen. Now that we were in Breskens we could move farther inland and head to Middelburg.
Lighthouses Only Up High?
This is it when the area is so flat. We had been told that it was a pleasant town to stop at for a few days so took their advice. We were fortunate when we crossed over to Vlissingen - we had timed it for the opening of the lock and opening of the bridge. It was not our most graceful entrance into the lock however. We did not know what to expect for hooking up to as it was different from those in the Erie Canal. There were only bollards to throw a line around and Janice didn’t do too well on her first toss of the line. That meant a scramble to get a line hooked to the wall, but we made it without a scratch on us or any other boat. Hopefully the next lock we would do better now that we know what to expect.
When you have locks and bridge openings there is always a pile up of boats (both power and sail of all sizes) so that means a line forms when the doors open up. It felt like we were back on the ICW like a line of ducklings all in a row! Fortunately we all go at varying speeds
so we quickly spread out and we can enjoy the view.
We had been told by others that the bridge openings are synchronized so you typically do not have to wait for bridges. Well, that definitely did not happen during our trip to the town of Middelburg. Fortunately in following the lead of others we found that there are places where you can tie up and wait for the bridges to open. Here you do not call the bridge tender about opening, they just open up when they see there are boats waiting and/or the car traffic allows. Only a few have a strict schedule. We used to complain at times when on the ICW about the strict schedule, but we found that it was nice to know when the opening would be as here it is anyone’s guess. There are traffic lights that you watch and when there is a red over green it means “get ready, the bridge will be opening soon”. Without knowing when the light will change to this status from red over red, you aren’t quite sure if it is worth the time to tie up or just go into neutral and wait. Guess with
Fishing Boat OR Is It?
See the inflatable lobster & girl - it really is a restaurant! more bridge openings on this trip we will figure it out.
We made it to Middelburg, but it still wasn’t over yet. We found that you must first stop at the harbor masters office, find out where you can berth and then go to the spot. Like most Europeans, the Dutch do not answer on the VHF radio. It was a very busy spot with boats ahead of us in line, boats behind us and not much room to move around. We are getting used to tight corners! We were able to make it to the dock in front of the office and Janice went in to see what the situation was. She just started the process when all of a sudden she was told “get back on your boat quickly and go through the bridge that is now opening, find a place to berth and then come back to finish up”. OK – will do. Went through the opened bridge without a problem, then started looking for a place for the boat. This is not your typical marina that we are used to; it actually is a river that goes through the town with places for boats
Sighting in the Marina
While walking down the dock at Breskens got this photo of a great jellyfish. on either side. Sounds simple enough, but also found out that there were no docks – you have to aim bow first (or stern first if your boat can back up well), tie up to two stern posts on either side, hop off over the bow sprit and tie up. Only thing we found out very quickly was that we are used to coming to a dock with our fenders out – here you take them in as they make you too wide to go through the two posts. Fortunately there were 2 gentlemen nearby that helped us with getting set in our “box”. Another lesson learned for the next time we come across this (which we will understand will be regularly). This does mean that when you want to get on and off the boat you must climb over the bow sprit which isn’t too bad. The hardest part is when you want to get back on the boat – it is a looooong stretch from the dock to the bow sprit. We have chalked this up to being part of our exercise program, it isn’t as much the stretch of the legs, but the pulling up with your
The Breskens Marina
The Breskens marina is quite large & had no problem finding us a slip for our stay here. upper arm strength to get your body UP! Now, if you haven’t guessed this was more of an exercise for Janice than it was for Bob. You made sure you double-checked your list of things you wanted to take with you as you didn’t hop off and on the boat as quickly as you might when at a dock. We did keep checking other boats to see how they were managing, but most of them had a “step” already built into their bow sprit which made it easier.
Well, we made it to what we expected of the Netherlands, we are in the middle of a very traditional looking Dutch town. We are ready to explore so decided we will stay a few days. Now we can get our bicycles out and enjoy some of these bike paths that the Netherlands is known for.
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Nelson Terwilliger
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Netherlands
This is the land of my ancestors. 6 brothers left Holland and immigrated to the "colonies" in 1730. Enjoy!