It wasn't that much wind, and it came mostly from east, when I steered out of Blankenberge and for a while I was tempted to go for Scheveningen. But short after I passed Zeebrugge entrance it started to get stronger and after a check at the latest forecast update I changed my mind and took the nearest course to Vlissingen and the Stande Mastroute alternative. That is a waterway through all of the Netherlands where sailing yachts can go without taking the mast down.
The strong northeasterlies are forecasted to last over the weekend and get even stronger so the choice was easy. My plan is to go the canals up to Amsterdam, or maybe even Den Helder and then I hope there is a change in the winds. It seems like it was a mistake to start the passage to Sweden so early but now I have to bite the bullet.
I was in Vlissingen at lunchtime and the gates to the lock was open. Only one more boat came in, the Dutch season seems not to have started yet. When I was going down the canals five years ago in June the locks were normally jam packed, often boats had to stay outside and wait for next locking.
Locking singlehanded can be a bit nerv wrecking experience. Ideally you need two lines and two persons to hold the boat, one at the bow and one at the stern. But with the strong currents in the locks that is impossible on your own. I try to secure a line at the midship cleat and if I am lucky I can get a stern line also. If I am not lucky the boat will swing a bit and the stern or the bow will hit the walls. Lots of fenders is necessary. I guess the Dutch sailors that is used to locking knows if the boat will go up or down in the lock but I have no idea so it is a bit nervous before I see where it goes and can arrange the lines accordingly. Most of the times the locks don't have chains hanging down the walls like there is in Morlaix, but the bollards are fixed in the wall and you have to adjust the lines as the water goes up or down. In season when the locks are full it is much easier, if you are singlehanded you just tie up outside another boat and then you don't need to do anything.
After Vlissingen I went up to Veere and took a birth in the first marina i saw there. In the evening my Dutch friend Eric, whom I learned to know when we stayed in Morlaix marina the winter 1920-21, came by in his car and took me to the supermarket in nearby Middelburg. He and his girlfriend are back home and live on their boat in another marina in Veere.
It was nice to connect with Eric again, despite the age gap we have much in common. We went out for a beer at the local Yacht club and then Eric showed me around in Veere, which is a very charming little town. The Yacht club was in the city marina and I regretted I didn't go there in the first place, it was very secluded and super nice. By then it was too dark for pictures but I will try to make up for that further on.