Voorhaven

Left the calm berth in the Heliushaven at 7.50am to face the North Sea. Apparently 3am would have been best for tide and wind but we both didn't fancy it. Options were slim however, if we didn't want to be stuck in the Haringvliet as lovely as it was we needed to move on.
I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant went Ron started tidying up and asking me to check my life jacket fit. And so we headed out & at least the sun was shining. Next stop Goereesesluis. We waited for the lock and passed through the bridge, so far so good.
Hoisted the main and set ourselves up for the bumpy ride. The shallow channel is well marked well but we had the benefit of a local boat ahead of us to follow. So out to sea & conditions kept us quiet and concentrated as we set in a tack to pass the Maas entrance. The coastline was impressive if not attractive. The Maas serving the major vessels access into Rotterdam. I took the helm whilst Ronney checked nav and prepared to radio for clearance from Maas Control. Fortunately a thumbs up was given and Ronney took over as we passed the entrance with only one major vessel passing close by us. Phew!
As we started our approach into Scheveningen the hard core Dutch racers were out and with strong winds & swells rolling into the harbour there was no let up on our approach.... Thank you Robert for capturing our approach on Web camera.

Lovely to meet up with Robert for top tips & catch up as always.
What a day!Read more