Monday August 15 A Smashing Day Out in Breskens



We woke up after a lovely long lazy lie-in to discover that, suddenly, it was high Summer again, and the perfect occasion for a leisurely late breakfast while sunbathing in the cockpit. The Dover  Strait weather picture was looking OK tomorrow, but even better for the day after, so we decided to stay another day in Vlissingen, and head for Dover on Wednesday. 

Berthed in Vlissingen Arsenaal



The Kerk at Vlissingen

 So, you ask, why Breskens?, and what made it so smashing?  Well, since Dover is 90 miles away, we needed fuel, and the nearest to be found was at Breskens, 2.5 miles across the Westerschelde entrance.  We wanted to leave early on Wednesday to catch the best combination of wind and tide, so an afternoon outing on the boat was the thing to do.

So, after whiling away the morning, we pootled over to the fuel dock (203 litres, 346 Euros, equal amounts in each tank, unusually) and returned to the marina entrance, this time with no depth anxiety. We had height anxiety instead, but the stand-in “harbourmaster” assured us of 4metres clearance

Returning to "home berth"

Since previously we had passed under 3.8 , we nosed gingerly on. Smash! The tip of our tiny mast caught the underside of the bridge, and came crashing down onto the roof.  Unsettled by this, and needing to keep manoeuvring in the sea-breeze which had sprung up, it needed 3 attempts and the help of a sympathetic neighbour to get tied up again.

Inspection revealed that there was very little damage—two fixing screws ripped out of the fibreglass, but 15 minutes and a gloop of sealant soon sorted it out.

A strange craft

Otherwise, it was a joy of a Summer’s day, which showed Vlissingen off in its very best light. To-ing and fro-ing of pilot boats, constant passing of ships of all sizes, variety of shops and cafes, and glorious scenery made strolling and lolling a real pleasure.

After dinner, Martin Chuzzlewit kept us company for an hour or two, and we retired thinking it was a Dickens of a good film….

Vlissingen is famous for its Pilot boats