The Belgium Beer Cruise
June 2004
Crew: Julian, Adam and Paul
Saturday
Everyone got down to Beaulieu
by 9am on what was a bright, sunny, beautiful morning, all too reminiscent of
high pressure and easterlies. We soon found out,
however, that the wind had changed from a light easterly to a southwesterly
according to the daughter of a member who was off the Needles; just what we
needed! The new boatman, David, took a while to ferry us all together with our
rather extensive range of stores and equipment onto Alize. After a few bits of
maintenance and careful stowage we were ready to leave by 11:30. It was 12:15 by
the time we had got to Bucklers Hard and filled the tanks, a quarter of an hour
behind the planned start but what’s 15 minutes on a passage plan that was to
take us to Dover by 8am the following morning and arrive at Nieuwpoort at about
6pm in the evening. After the previous year’s experience confidence was not high
that the weather would let us keep to plan.
Following
the river downstream we finished our preparations for the passage, had a safety
briefing and settled down for what looked like quite a bit of motoring if we
were to maintain the 5.5kns required by the plan and our desire to sample some
Belgian beer on Sunday evening. Clearing the bar just off the entrance to the
river was a bit tricky at low water but it was nearer neaps than springs so we
had all of 0.5m beneath us. Sails soon went up but with only enough wind to make
3kn we furled them again and motored towards the forts. Fortunately here the
wind was clearer allowing us to have a fine sail across the bay past
Hayling Island to the Owers.
Negotiating the Looe channel
was uneventful and by the time we reached the Brighton side we had left the many
weekend sailors behind and were on our own. Unfortunately we also left the wind
behind as well and had to continue with the iron sail. For a couple of hours it
was a pleasant sunny evening but as it grew colder the visibility started to
deteriorate and worryingly, mist patches started to appear. Just after sunset we
were tucking into a hot fish pie whilst keeping a watch on the radar but luckily
there was little shipping around at the time. Given the benign weather
conditions we decided on a 4 hours on 4 hours off watch system starting at 10pm
so that we could all get a better night’s sleep than with the two hour pattern
we usually adopted. Unfortunately the skipper was on the morning watch and first
to go down below, and after 11pm there were a
string of interruptions due to quite a bit of shipping around
Beachy Head. Soon afterwards rain set in but the
first watch did a great job assisted by a several cup-a-soups
Just
passed Royal Sovereign it was time for the watch change and an improvement in
the weather, at least the rain and visibility if not the wind. The coastline
twinkled with hundreds of streetlights all quite clear now in the night from
Eastbourne all the way round to Hastings where they stopped abruptly as the
coastline changed to marshes towards Dungeness. With the better weather the
skies also gradually cleared and we were even treated to a few stars to steer
by.
In the early morning just after daybreak we tried to sail
but there just wasn’t enough wind to get the 10 tons of Alize moving at a
reasonable speed. Even motoring, the passage past
the bleakness of Dungeness in the early morning, took an age but steadily crept
by. Eventually we approached Folkestone and maked
the achievement by enjoying a solid breakfast prepared the day before of beans,
tomatoes, bacon and sausages. Solid, sustaining stuff, so much so we needed a
coffee to liven us up before starting to cross the Dover Straights, almost on
plan at 8am. The crossing was fortunately without incident, lots of shipping as
usual but easy to see in the clear visibility of over six miles. We found the
radar really useful, not close up where it became confusing, but to identify
ships further away on the 8-mile range. We covered the danger area of the
shipping lanes within two hours and were soon rather more relaxed. With a
favourable wind and clear of danger we had another fine sail past Calais all the
way to Dunkerque where it went light once more.
Motoring past Dunkerque East is probably a sensible thing
to do anyway, the “backyard of France” is not the most attractive sight at
anytime so it was god to get past it. We had followed the inshore route then
crossed the harbour entrance to follow the small ships channel south of the main
one. All along from Calais we had been accompanied by a multicoloured fleet of
racing yachts, all with spinnakers set having a fine run in the bright sunshine.
By the time we reached Dunkerque East the tide had set against us making
progress much slower but we did gradually pass the buoys marking the channel and
we soon past the boarder with Belgium, hoisted the courtesy flag and entered the
Passe de Zuydcoote. At the offshore end the wind really picked up and we were
able to make good progress under sail alone. Turning east at the end of the
passé we had the wind directly astern, uncomfortable, frustrating and just a bit
dangerous. This last stretch to Nieuwpoort took over two hours but was an
exciting sleigh ride as the winds rose to well over 20kns.
Eventually
it was time to get the sails down and we motored past the long breakwaters into
the harbour; it was 6:30, virtually exactly on plan! Mooring was a bit of a
challenge as there were not “Harbour Meisters”
around and nobody responded on to our calls on the VHF. We ended up using a
charter berth just in time to have a couple of rounds of beer before dinner at
the packed Yacht Club restaurant; it was a bank holiday there too. A Leiffe or
two sorted everything out! Overall an excellent passage, 180 miles on the log
and an arrival in good time; we were in a country that was, for once, quite
different to France.
Monday
Nominated to be a lay day we planned to sort the boat out,
re-provision and then go to Bruges for the day. As it happened fuelling took us
to midday thanks to a couple of stink boats and a slow pump. Keeping in the
queue for two hours was not easy in the wind but the sea cadets kept us
entertained with a parade and a rather clunky rowing boat.
It was worth it in the end when we reached our berth, found
the showers and set off on the excellent tram service to Oostende for lunch.
Frequent and environmentally friendly the tram was crowded, we thought it was
because it was holiday Monday; little did we know there were other reasons. We
stopped everywhere along the route past innumerable blocks of flats overlooking
the sea. This must be the only country with a sea wall of flats almost from
boarder to boarder, all one block deep overlooking the sea one side, overlooking
the countryside the other.
The
fortunate surprise at Oostende was that it was the last day of their version of
the festival of the sea. This was a great event with a host of tall ships
including the Mir, Belem and of course the
Mercator; there were also hundreds of smaller
traditional boats and many other attractions. The smaller boats were mainly
inshore North Sea or inland water designs looking rather like barges and
equipped with lee boards. Many were beautiful if not that seaworthy with
gleaming woodwork and leaded light windows at the aft end of their cabins.
Amongst the many stalls selling nautical things and food were two stages;
hearing sea shanties in English with a Flemish accent was an interesting
experience!
Having had lunch, a good look around and just a few beers
we made our way back to the marina and Alize
Tuesday
Up early, if not bright, at 6am we set off on a grey
morning at low water – only 0.7m underneath the keel at our berth. Out we went
past the black timber piles, scrubbing grids, past the huge blocks of flats and
eventually past the port control, the breakwaters; finally the lights and then
we were in the open sea. Once away from land the wind picked up a bit and we
were able to hoist the sails and setoff for Boulogne, estimated to be 58 miles
away. Our plan was to re-trace our steps to Calais then head south past Cap
Gris Nez; the southerly wind we were enjoying would
suit us well for most of the trip.
With
a favourable tide and a fair breeze we soon got to the Passe de Zuydcoote,
hardened up to clear the banks then reached off for Dunkerque in all its glory
looming murkily in the distance. A round of bacon sandwiches got us into a
positive state of mind before the clouds thickened and the rain started to set
in. Who cares about rain when you are bowling along at over 6kns on a beam
reach! The rain conveniently blotted out the worst of the industrial areas,
which looked like visions from a nightmare; only the surreal shapes of the ship
superstructures high above the sea in the canal lightened the mass of black
metal and chimneys belching smoke. By the time we had passed and had the more
pleasing view of sand dunes along the coastline the weather cleared and became
quite fair giving us a clear view up the fairway to the little harbour of
Gravelines.
Even
though the tide was now foul we made good progress on a pleasant reach close
inshore to Calais with all its ferries clearly visible in the near distance. Not
surprisingly they weren’t content to stay at their berths and made a steady
stream coming in and out of the approach fairway which was to be parallel to our
course for a while. Just as we were starting to be concerned about getting
across this busy route the visibility disappeared in a rainstorm. Gingerly we
crossed at the first real gap in the traffic which was just as well as the
steady procession restarted straightaway afterwards. Thanks to the radar we had
at least some idea of what was coming at us from the ominous murkiness offshore.
The visibility never did return so it was a rather lonely
plod round the two Capes and on to Boulogne well away from the traffic we
experienced earlier although we did keep a radar watch. Our only interruption
was the fast cat from Dover that suddenly appeared from behind and roared past
on the way to Boulogne; gone in a minute it left us somewhat dazed and bemused
staring at the slick of bubbles that was all that was left to mark its track.
The entrance to Boulogne is straightforward enough but the
first time to enter a port is always an anxious one, were we going to be on the
right side of the sunken breakwater or not? Sails down we got it right and
entered the inner harbour just as a ship was leaving accompanied by a friendly
pilot boat that appreciated we were aware of its presence. The inner harbour
looked really forbidding at what was now extreme low water, all towering dark
timbers and dank masonry; very industrial and not particularly welcoming. We
found the little port de pleasance without difficulty and moored in one of the
many vacant berths without incident opposite some fishing boats. Not a bad
passage really, we may have estimated it as being 58 miles but it took 74 on the
log and amazingly just over 12 hours from start to finish.
After
a shower in the new facilities which were marred by the locals determination to
let their dogs use them as a toilet too, we hit the town to find it generally a
bit tawdry, all second rate modern buildings, presumably thrown up quickly in
the 50’s and 60’s. A high spot was finding “Aux Pecheurs
d’Etaples” an wonderful
restaurant fronted by a poissonarie. The fish on
sales looked excellent, so was the meal; rillets of
seafood served out of a jar, plat de fruit de Mer
and some splendid fromage. Most satisfying - a great
way to end a good sail!
Wednesday
The morning at 5:30 was grey, wet and decidedly bleak.
Nobody had had much sleep thanks to the tireless fishermen who had been active
all night. There being nothing to wait for and as the port held no charms we
left straight away without hesitation. With limited visibility our departure
from the entrance was a rather anxious one but we were soon clear and in a
little world of our own with the radar as our saviour.
Our course to Dieppe was one straight leg on 205 degrees;
fortunately the weather had come up trumps and provided us with a Northerly
initially force 3 but forecast to increase to a 4 or 5. For the much of the time
we were on our own with the coastline soon obscured in the grey mistiness but
with the wind being at about 120 degrees off the bow we had a fast reach and for
the first few hours had the tide helping us along and a great speed of 6-8
kn over the ground. Even
when it went foul we were still able to make 4kn but it felt much more, we were
really ripping along. This seemed to be a really empty part of the channel after
what we had experienced earlier, no ships, just the occasional fishing boat to
keep us on our toes. By lunchtime the clouds had cleared and a few rays started
to make their appearance making it a really enjoyable sail flying along in the
steadily strengthening breeze on a broad reach. This continued for the rest of
the trip, which became more and more interesting as the coastline started to
come into view with the improving visibility.
With
the fast reach and by now a kick from the tide we were well ahead of the plan
and off Dieppe arriving soon after 3pm, not bad progress by any standard, 63
miles in 10 hours. The entry into the port is straight forward enough but it’s
difficult to see the colour of the lights in bright sunlight so we made a quick
call to Port control on the VHF to make sure nothing untoward was about to
venture out before entering. It was again low water so we had the depth alarm
sounding all the way up the channel as we made our way to the Port de Pleasance
right in the centre of the town. This was easy to get into, had plenty of space
and was well away from noisy fishing boats.
We were all really impressed with Dieppe, the opposite of
Boulogne. This quayside was lined with elegant older buildings, not the dull
modern blocks; there were many attractive little restaurants, bars and shops.
Even the people seemed smarter, altogether the place
was much more inviting. After a shower and a few beers in the friendly yacht
club bar we went for a walk around to find a good restaurant and just couldn’t
believe the quality of food shops, whatever you wanted it was here and all too
tempting. We ended up dining overlooking the harbour eating in style in a way
that only happens in France.
Thursday
The tide turned at 2pm and Fecamp
was only 30 miles away, such a short hop by comparison with the other legs of
our passage. We decided to leave at lunchtime giving us the morning to do a few
jobs and re-provision Alize for the final few legs across the channel and back
to the Solent. After this rather leisurely and rather splendidly sunny morning
we had an equally leisurely sail only having to remember to put on plenty of sun
block.
Leaving
the berth in the bright sunshine we could not believe our luck that we had a
stiff northerly wind! On clearing the harbour we set sail on a close reach to
get off shore and avoid some wrecks, then soon settled down to a delightful
broad reach in idyllic conditions, it could have been the Mediterranean. The
cliffs are particularly attractive on this part of the coastline, a very warm
rock that gives it its name, that Alabaster coast.
Within a few hours we were passing the pretty little port
of St Valerie en Ceux that looked very accessible if
only the tide had been a bit closer to high water. For us it was dropping fast
and much too risky so it would have to wait for another trip. By now at mid tide
the stream was really flowing taking us along a t up to 9 knots over the ground
enabling us to arrive at Fecamp in good time at 4pm,
plenty of time for a quick man overboard drill before entering the attractive
port with its distinctive lights just past the cliff that can be seen from well
out to sea.
As before it was low water and most of the time we had only
0.5 m under the keel ad we made our way rather gingerly to the visitors pontoon,
at one point it went right down to 0.2m. There is an excellent marina in the
tidal basin with 24hour access so that’s where we headed for the night knowing
that we would have another early departure the following morning.
After a quick look around we were fortunate enough to find
and book a table at a really remarkable restaurant – Le Grand Banc, which is on
the quay overlooking the locked basin. Run by a charming couple it really had
style, outstanding food, superb wines and even 
cigars,
which were enjoyed with, relish. These were clearly one of the chef’s great
interests and he was only too pleased to light them “the way a
Maitre ‘d should” For starters we had a delightful
feutille de fruit de mer
served with a delicate curry sauce, to follow Turbot, Bass and Conger Eel and to
finish some creamy camembert served warm on their delightful home made bread.
This was one of those really delightful, memorable meals; we all resolved to
cross to France more often.
Friday
The weather forecast was for a westerly going northerly
during the day for our trip back to Brighton; we therefore left early if not
bright at 5am. The wind was just what we needed to start off with, 10-15kn on
the beam and in showery rain we were able to power along on a NNE course
straight across the shipping lanes to Brighton. For a while we had to put a reef
in when the wind increased and Alize got a bit overpowered but unfortunately it
didn’t last and by the time we reached the southern, east going shipping lane we
had to motor. In compensation though the early rain cleared and we even had a
bit of sun as we dodged the passing container ships.
Clearing the lanes we found ourselves not far off
Beachy Head, which stood proud in the distance. The
tide had been a bit stronger than the skipper of the day had expected but was at
least aiding us going west along the coast now that it had turned. Unfortunately
this minor oversight was compounded by mistaking Seaforth
for Brighton even though there was clearly an absence of piers.
Setting
on a more westerly course we were able to sail once more and being well inshore
we have a great view of the cliffs, richly textured in the late afternoon
sunshine. We had a clear view of Newhaven and following our previous experience
gave it a wide berth and were glad we had time to get on to Brighton. As always
the last few miles takes the longest and it seemed to be an age while we had the
concrete caissons of the marina in front of us but eventually we got nearer and
eventually were able to make our way through the quite narrow channel caused by
the drifting silt.
The marina is not at all beautiful, just one great big boat
park surrounded by concrete and glitzy new buildings. That said the staff were
particularly helpful giving us a very convenient berth and access to some shiny
new facilities. Not wanting to stay in Sussex’s version of Port Solent we headed
into the town later on and found some really pleasant places in the lanes to eat
al fresco style; unfortunately we had already stopped off at a Malay restaurant
which was really disappointing and in sharp contrast to the previous night, poor
quality, rushed and over priced. Welcome back to England.
Saturday
The tides allowed us to plan a leisurely start to make for
Gosport as originally planned but the high life and bright lights of Cowes
proved too tempting, as a result we left a bit earlier on a beautiful sunny
morning with just enough wind to get a reasonable speed and from the NW, in a
good enough direction for most of the passage.
Having cleared the concrete walls we headed inshore to get
a good view of the coastline and the Piers. We passed many period houses as we
gradually approached the East Pier; it was not surprising that the walk had
taken such a long time the previous night. The West pier looked so sad, now only
a skeleton and nothing like its former self. The next landmark is the power
station with its huge chimney at Shoreham; all very different from Brighton. The
harbour entrance is functional and industrial, and even in the sunshine still
bleak. Lancing School stands out in contrast like a cathedral so different to
the ramshackle port facilities.
Whilst
passing Littlehampton and trying to make out the harbour entrance Solent Coast
Guard sent out an all ships broadcast to the “Littlehampton area” for someone to
help a speedboat that was disabled and had lost its steering. Our position left
us in no doubt that we had to act as we were the only large boat in the area;
however a small rib answered immediately and offered to give a tow into the
harbour. We did volunteer or services and offered to stand by but after
receiving our position the Coast Guard thanked us and allowed us to continue
onwards; we could only assume it was a very small motor boat and probably near
the entrance.
The wind freshened which made for a fast reach towards the
Looe channel; we were flying along by the time we
got to Bognor but as often happened it was not to last. In the waters of the
Looe channel we put the engine on once more and had
to leave it on for a while on the leg to the forts, which was closer on the
wind. Close to the forts it filled in again but then died and mindful of the
impact a late arrival would have on our curry we finally resorted to the iron
sail for the rest of the trip. Entering Cowes at 6:30 on a Saturday evening is
the worst time, naturally it was packed, this time
worse than usual due to an exhibition of RIB’s
blocking off much of Cowes Yacht Haven but persistence paid off and eventually
we moored at East Cowes marina and in no time were on Sally’s water taxi to the
centre of Cowes.
There is always a special atmosphere at Cowes and this
evening was no exception, a most appropriate way to end the week. After a few
happy pints at the Union we had a first rate curry as usual at our favourite,
the Bahar Tandoori which
doesn’t serve alcohol necessitating a quick visit to the supermarket first. A
few more beers on the way back, then we returned to
Alize just before the water taxi finished for the night.
Sunday
The last day is often sad but this wasn’t – brilliant
sunshine and a steadily increasing breeze made us keen to leave harbour. We soon
tidied up the boat and refuelled before leaving for Hamble. A timely errand to
pick up the keys left at Desty Marine earlier would
result in a good sail and a few more miles on the log. In no time we were off
the busy entrance to the river and watching a steady procession of boats coming
out but even at low tide there is plenty of room and we soon got tied up at
Hamble Point to fulfil our errand.
As
if to say farewell and finish the week on a high note the wind picked up for the
final sail; we passed Bramble Bank keeping out of the way of the exclusion zones
of several large vessels we had heard about on Southampton VTS. All too soon we
were off the entrance to the Beaulieu River and then motoring to Ginns Farm and
our mooring.
After finding our mooring occupied but then surprisingly
vacated promptly by a large motorboat we tied up and had a quick lunch before
departing.
All in all a great, 505 miles in total with the majority
(70%) sailing, not bad at all!
