At Laast.....St. Vaast!

For you geographers: from Amsterdam we sailed to Schreveningen; then Ostende  in Belgium; and into France at Dunkirk, Boulogne, Dieppe, Fecamp; and today (18 July) we were going to Deauville: but the favorable and rare Easterly wind easily persuaded us to ride it some 50 miles further westward to St Vaast.

Dunkirk, now that was a happy stop! At the Yacht Club Marina we were greeted by Isabelle, the harbourmaster, and her helper Penny. They were waiting to take our lines on the visitors’ pontoon. Later they were literally running around the docks to help other visiting boats. Then, at check in, we were greeted by a happy sign: “Order here for delivery tomorrow morning your fresh baguettes and croissants!”  Now it must be said that ashore Dunkirk is no Harlingen: but the warm greeting made up for the lack of charm.

Dieppe is one of our favorites, because it is an efficient “all states of the tide” harbour, with a helper on the dock to tell you where to go and to take your lines: and the marina sits in the old harbour surrounded by a charming town scene with restaurants, bakers, butchers, greengrocers and typical French cafés.  And the small supermarket is only a couple hundred yards away.

From Dieppe a quick four hours away westward is Fecamp:  but no help there to find a spot or to tie your lines: and though we had a super lunch at La Matelotte (“The Lady Sailor” - had to take Nancy there!) we found the town otherwise to be unappealing.

So here we are in St Vaast, our favorite French port so far.  Here’s why:

 On the way downwind to St. Vaast:  main and jib at wind angle 145.

We arrived in good time to celebrate Nancy "Bedhead"'s birthday!  Thanks to Zahava at Hideaway for the ideas and the wrapping!

Don't want that fishing boat falling over into the mud, do we?

But here is something falling down a throat: a tasty plump Number Two Royal oyster!

The Bike rides in St. Vaast take you along the seaside, but also into the countryside.

Aha! What have we here?  An expert seamstress repairs some stitching on our Cutter Staysail. Great work, Nancy!

Sunday morning tradition in Normandy: the farmers come into town and set up wood-burning racks and barbecue chickens, lamb and pork.  What a treat!

St Vaast has everything, including an active fishing fleet and a pretty harbour front....

...and even dresses up the town and the spotless marina with joyous flowers.

Adventuress in a lovely spot on B pontoon.

Best to all,
Nancy and John

Relaxing in Holland's Inland Seas

After our previously reported troubles in the North Sea, we gently sailed the Waddenzee and Ijsselmeer South to Enkhuizen, and there found smoked fish 50 yards from our bow in the Old Harbour: mackerel, salmon and yes! for breakfast, kippers! But of course, we started with smoked eels:




But is it only eating and drinking we do in Europe, you ask?  Alright, don't get envious of our gourmet fun: here come some pics for sailors:

Sailing in the flat green waters of the Ijsselmeer ...

...with the classic old Dutch barges.

And talking of classic old, how about this short canal leading from the Ijsselmeer into Enkhizen's Old Harbour: that is a pedestrian drawbridge that is opening up for us to go in and berth alongside the wall that is just discernible beyond the bridge.

 And there we are, tied up in the heart of this old Dutch East India trading city. 

Enkhuizen's charm is on full view here, in one of the "backstreet" canals.

So after enjoying the medieval, off we went to Amsterdam and met up with our Dutch friend Willem, who gave us a short tour of history less quaint, and more imposing:

JFK and Willem pose in front of a canal, and beyond it a Can Can bar!

While Nancy found far more natural beauty than the girls in the windows!

Willem studied Philosophy at the University: he took us to his favourite bar just around the corner from the lecture rooms. Here Willem is giving forth on the Dutch view of ....what? philosophy of contrasts and horizontal versus vertical thinking? Anyhow, and it must be said that this will come as a surprise to many readers.....but this is NOT photoshopped!  JFK is really listening!

Well, the Cambridge Backs it isn't, but it does have an urban charm.

Ah yes, if you cannot find enough space for all the bikes, then why not invent a two-story bike parking garage?

Now we are finally in France, and what happened on the way here will be our next chapter.

Best to all,
Nancy and John

Recuperation in Historic Harlingen

The last three weeks have been difficult, mainly because of engine problems from air in the diesel fuel supply which resulted in:

Five stressful port entries .

Forty five minutes of pounding surf and loss of engine when we crossed the numerous sand bars as we left Holland for Helgoland.

Six miles outside of Helgoland – a powerful microburst storm that buried the starboard deck of Adventuress.  The wind speed was measured in the sheltered harbor of Helgoland at Beaufort 12 (65 knots.)  We estimate we had apparent  wind at 75 to 80 knots…..and two subsequent storms at   40 to 45 knots.

Having to be towed into Helgoland harbor by a very efficient and helpful German SAR crew.

We thought we had solved the air in diesel fuel problem when we left Helgoland, but no!  After 19 hours of motor sailing down wind and just as we are sailing upwind in the channel to anchor behind Vlieland  (it is pitch dark at midnight), we lost the engine and once again discovered air in our diesel.  We tacked to our anchorage with the engine on low RPMs and dropped anchor.  (The mechanic we hired in Helgoland foolishly inserted a gasket in the compression fitting fuel connection at the top of the diesel tank.)

So, we hope that this is all behind us and we have just  spent three relaxing days in Harlingen, a beautiful Dutch city, enjoying the architecture and old streets bustling with all kinds of interesting little shops. And last night we had a delightful fun evening with our good Dutch sailing friends Werner , Ad, and their daughter Ann: we shared a tasty dinner at Restaurant Noorderport and swapped lots of stories.

 

Here are some pictures of this beautiful old trading harbor:

Here's to better sailing!  Cheers!

Nancy and John Knight

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