After months of planning and preparation we finally completed our first channel crossing and found ourselves in Nieuwpoort yacht harbour, Belgium. First on the agenda was to find a mooring. The harbour was very crowded, but we managed to squeeze in between two sailing boats. Next was to go out for dinner, and the mussels that my wife Elly had the brilliant idea of suggesting. The dinner was excellent, and as the coffee was served we could relax and slowly come to realise that our adventure was now well away. As we walked back to the boat my brother Håkan, who had joined us for the first 4 days, had to admit that he was quite jealous knowing that we would be travelling with Carte Blanche all the way to Scandinavia, and would be out for another 3 months.

How it all started

It all started about two years earlier when we purchased our first boat in England. I am Swedish and have spent many summers on the beautiful west coast, north of Gothenburg, and Elly is Dutch and virtually grew up with motorboats. Our first boat together got us hooked, and after having spent one summer on the Thames and estuary we started toying with the idea of getting a slightly bigger boat, and to take an extended holiday doing a cruise from London, via Holland, Germany, and Denmark to Sweden and back. Said and done we set the wheel in motion, and would soon get to meet a lot of nice people, friendly businesses, and incredible places on the way.

First up was to find the perfect boat. We wanted dual diesels, speed, space, good looks and good boat handling. After some research we found that one of the few boats that met all this within our budget was the Fairline Targa 33 circa 1990. We had already met John McColl from RYB in Windsor the year before, and when we saw him at the London boat show in early 2003 we asked him if he had anything in our range. A week later he called and said he had exactly what we were looking for. Dealing with RYB was an excellent experience and we were soon the proud owners of a Targa 33 with almost new Volvo Penta AD41 engines and all the navigational equipment we would need for our trip. We chose to call her Carte Blanche, and our first trip was on a sunny day in March down to Brentford Dock Marina where she would stay to be fitted out and properly tested. Brentford is a small and friendly marina close to our home, and before we knew it we had become members of the Brentford Cruising Club.

Parallel to this we had also been studying all winter for our RYB Day Skipper, ICC, and CEVNI licenses. We took a correspondence course with the Yachtmaster Academy in Southampton and this proved to be both good fun and confidence building. The next step was the practical exam, which we did with Finn Jenk from the Yachtmaster Academy on Carte Blanche over an intensive 4 days. This was a perfect opportunity to not only gain invaluable experience, but also get to know how well the boat handled under tough conditions. The course took us a good 220 nautical miles from London via the Limehouse Basin to Ramsgate. And then back via the Swale and Chatham Marina to our mooring in Brentford.

We spent the rest of the time leading up to our departure in the beginning of July getting as ready as we could for the adventure. We took a VHF and diesel course. We bought some of the charts we would need, and planned the first leg of the trip. We stocked up with soft drinks, beer, water and various dry and canned foods. We went to the Bealieu boat jumble and got a tender and other bits and bobs. We made sure we had spare parts and all the necessary safety equipment. We made sure we had all the needed registration and insurance documents. And we got some books covering Holland, Germany and Denmark to get an idea of where we would be going. Looking back, all our preparation was well worth it, and I would advise anyone planning a longer cruise to do the same.

Holland

So here we were in Nieuwpoort ready to continue on our adventure.

From Nieuwpoort we continued up the Belgian coast to Breskens in Holland, a yacht harbour where luxury sailing boats are the norm. We would now be spending around 3 weeks exploring Holland, which is a really fantastic country for boating, with something to suit all tastes. I divide it into a few distinct areas; the lakes, the rivers/canals, Ijsselmeer, Waddensee, Friesland, and the North Sea, and as you will see we got a taste of it all.

First up are the lakes in the southern delta. Veersemeer is a definite "must visit". It has free mooring on any of the many jetties, or you can choose to anchor up in a nice bay. Oosterschelde is a semi tidal lake where you will find numerous fishing boats, barges and pleasure boats. Grevelingermeer seems to have been purpose built for pleasure boats of all types. Our trip took us from Breskens across the Westerschelde to Vlissingen where we entered through a lock into the Kanaal door Walcheren which brought us up to the Veersemeer. A night on anchor with a beautiful sunset was like taken from a movie. From there we continued through to the Oosterschelde and then on a small canal to what was to become one of our all time favourites, Goes. Then back on the Oosterschelde up to Grevelingemeer and another night on anchor. From there we followed the Volkerak up through the lock and on to Willemstad where we got an excellent mooring right in the centre of this moated medieval town. The next day was a big one on our itinerary, we cruised the Haringvliet to Hellevoetsluis where we got married 14 years earlier. It was just like we remembered it and we ended up staying there for three days, relaxing and meeting relatives and friends.

From Hellevoetsluis you have access to the rivers and canals, which criss-cross the whole country. They vary from the large rivers where you have to be on a constant lookout for barges, to small quaint canals bringing you to many of the historic towns and cities of the country. Using the rivers and canals you can go right to the centre of places like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Dordrecht. We were not ready for the canals just yet and instead we existed the Haringsvlietsluizen into the North Sea and followed the coast up to Scheveningen. Like Breskens this is a real seaport, and again we found ourselves surrounded by one sailing yacht bigger than the next. Scheveningen is a real holiday resort with long beaches and lots of entertainment. We stayed here a few days, and then continued up the coast to Ijmuiden where we entered the lock to the Noordzeekanal, and then followed the canal to Amsterdam, and the well-known Sixhaven right in the centre of town. Here it was time for new guests to board Carte Blanche. My sister and her partner flew down from Sweden and stayed on board a few memorable days.

Just north east of Amsterdam is the fantastic Markermeer/Ijsselmeer. This was previously the North Sea, but a gigantic dam (Afsluitdijk) was constructed in the 1930´s to create a large fresh water lake. Once the dam had been built, large areas of the lake were reclaimed for land on a scale never seen anywhere before. What is left today is a safe haven for boating, with numerous historical harbours well worth visiting. Places like Volendam, Hoorn, and Enkhuizen all go back to the days of the East Indian trade voyages. Our journey brought us to Volendam, Hoorn and Makkum with Hoorn being our favourite.

If you cross the Ijsselmeer and exit through one of the two locks on the Afsluitdijk you will enter an area which can be quite hostile to boats, but which is a treat if you plan and time your trip properly. The area is called the Waddenzee, and it comprises of an area of very shallow and tidal waters with a string of islands, the Frisian Islands, to the north. The currents are especially strong between the islands. The Dutch call these areas "sea gatts" and you need to consult your almanac carefully to time your arrival and departure properly. Once you reach one of the islands such as Terschelling you will however be treated to something special.

If all this was not enough there is yet another unique area to visit by boat in Holland, and that is Friesland, to the east of Ijselmeer. This looks like land on a normal map, but it is really boating country. It is an area centred around Sneek with waterways absolutely everywhere. It feels like being on a lake but with pieces of land in between.

Germany

After leaving Makkum we exited the Afsluitdijk and ended up on the island of Terschelling. Our plan was then to continue towards Germany outside the Frisian Islands. However, the weather had decided otherwise. Half way through the "sea gatt" there were suddenly gale warnings on the VHF so we decided to take an alternative route. Back to Harlingen and then via canals through Friesland to the port of Delfzijl. This was a good choice as the strong winds continued. After a few days of waiting the "coast was clear" and we continued on to the German Frisian island of Norderney. The next day, in near perfect conditions, we dared the notorious German Blight and made our way past Cuxhaven through the lock at Brunsbuttel and on the Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee Kanal) to a nice little town called Rendsburg. The following morning was just a two-hour trip to Holtenau at the other end of the Kiel Canal.

Through Denmark to Sweden

Once through the lock we were now in the Baltic Sea. Very little tidal differences, clean, and clear water - I felt at home. From here we now wanted to continue straight North to Denmark. The afternoon did however prove to be quite exciting. First the wind quickly increased and changed to Northerly, and then having changed our course we had a hard time staying outside all the military training areas found here and got "chased" by a large military vessel. Anyhow, all ended well and a few hours later we were nicely moored up in the town of Sonderborg just a few boats away from the Danish queen’s ship.

We then continued north, inside the island of Fyn in a slow place, stopping for a swim and some fishing whenever we felt like it, and generally soaking up the tranquillity. After a few days we met up with my father who joined us for the crossing from Denmark to Sweden. On the way we stayed one night on the island of Anholt. This island features the only "desert" in Scandinavia, as well as a great little fish shop right in the harbour which is situated next to a great sand beach. The harbour has a communal BBQ, where we found fellow boaters grilling fresh lobsters for dinner. In short: a place well worth the visit.

After a wavy but straightforward crossing to Sweden we arrived in Varberg where my parents had just renovated a fantastic old town house. We stayed two days and then continued up the Swedish west coast and were soon in the midst of the fabulous western archipelago. This is a place, which cannot properly be described in words. It is littered with thousands of rocky islands, stretching from just south of Gothenburg all the way up to Norway. You can moor in natural harbours just about anywhere, and many islands have a small village, each with a guest harbour with facilities ranging from basic to very good. We were very lucky with the weather while here and the cruising was fantastic. Because of all the islands the navigation is mainly visual as opposed to plotting waypoints, but during high season there are so many boats out that in some tight areas it is more a matter of just following the flow. One aspect I found very inspiring was the total lack of hostility between motorboats and sailing yachts, with everyone happily waving as you drive by.

We had now reached our furthest point of the voyage, a village called Hovenäset where my family have had a summerhouse for over 20 years. It was a fantastic feeling to cruise around on my own boat in the same tracks as I had been going out fishing, scuba diving, or out to the disco as a teenager all those years ago. We stayed here and celebrated Ellys birthday, went to a Jazz concert to see my uncle, did some sunbathing and had a good time with friends and family.

The return trip

Knowing that we had a long way back to England, and that you cannot rely on the weather, we started our trip back after a few days in Hovenäset. This time we went into Gothenburg and the nice marina of Lilla Bommen in the heart of the city. Here we took the opportunity to meet some more friends and family, as well as buying a new GPS. On a rainy day in Amsterdam, water penetrated into the LCD screen of the previous GPS. I thought it would dry out after a few weeks, but it didn’t, and I wasn’t comfortable just seeing half of the screen. The new one, a Garmin 182C turned out to be just what I wanted, and I could now start laying out my routes on the laptop and then uploading them to the GPS.

We took a different route back to Holtenau. From Varberg via Halmstad in Sweden, Hornbeck in Denmark, Skanör in Sweden (close to the impressive bridge between the two countries), and then on to Nysted in the south of Denmark where we crossed over to Germany, and followed the coast going west towards Holtenau.

Although it was still summer, and exceptionally hot all over Europe, we now got to experience how dependent a motor boat is on having relatively favourable winds. We were first stuck three days in Varberg with winds up to force 8, then three days in Nysted with winds around force 7 (with at times storm warnings on the VHF), and then again three days in Cuxhaven with gale warnings. Leaving Cuxhaven was very tricky because it is quite a long ride to Borkum (95 miles) with not much in between. You need to catch the right tide, and preferably the wind with the tide. We left at noon and high tide to ride the current SW, however the winds were still quite strong, so we cruised along at around 12 knots. We now wanted to cover some ground, and managed 118 miles in one go. It was just getting dark as we arrived in Delfzijl, but we found a mooring, and then cooked a well-deserved dinner.

By now the weather was mostly rainy, and the winds were still following us so we decided to take the canals back to the Ijsselmeer, but this time stop at Sneek. It turned out to be a good choice and Sneek is well worth the visit. It’s a fantastic place with waterways and good moorings all over town.

After another stopover in Amsterdam we then spent a week or so making our way down through Holland on the rivers, past Utrecht, Dordrecht, Goes, and on to Roompot Lock which protects the Oosterschelde from the tides. The day we left Roompot the weather finally turned nice again and we had three fantastic days on virtually flat sea. First down to Oostende outside the Westkapelle, then from Oostende to Ramsgate with a close to perfect channel crossing, and finally in to London in a sea, which could only be described as smooth as butter

Back in Brentford we could easily conclude that the trip had been a success. It was almost hard to believe that we had now covered over 2000 miles, used 5 different visitors flags, and gone from 51°N to 57°N and beyond. If you have thought of doing a similar trip yourself, all I can say is; go for it. Every day is a new adventure, and you get to experience everything from total relaxation to total concentration. Make sure you know your boat, and spend some prime time planning the main outline of the trip.

The boat

Carte Blanche is a Fairline Targa 33 from 1990 with 3-year-old Volvo Penta AD41P diesel engines. Spacious both below and above, good helm position, and easy to manoeuvre and moor.

MEMORIES

Highs

• Diversity of Holland
• Swedish archipelago
• Visiting Hellevoetsluis where we got married in 1989
• Great sea food
• Friendly and helpful people everywhere

Lows

• Being stuck in harbours because of strong winds
• Travelling through army practice areas in Germany
• Failed to catch any fish on the whole trip (lack of trying hard enough)

Fuel Costs

Average diesel prices: Belgium 28.5p/lit, Holland 58p/lit, Germany 74p/lit, Denmark 70.5p/lit, and Sweden 69p/lit. Many fuel stations would only accept cash so make sure you keep enough ready.

Harbour/Marina Fees

£6 to £15, generally cheaper the further north we got. We strongly recommend the municipal harbours in Holland. They are normally better located in the city centre as well as cheaper than the commercial marinas.

Above average harbours/marinas

Below prices are for an 11m boat)

Ramsgate modern, clean and organized £ 18.70

Goes (municipal) beautiful, centre of town £ 8.90

Six Haven/Amsterdam perfect location £ 7.85

Hoorn (municipal) beautiful £ 7.35

Enkhuizen (municipal) beautiful £ 8.70

Delfzijl (Neptunus) modern, clean and organized £ 7.15

Lilla Bommen /Gothenburg perfect location £ 15.75

Skan ör beautiful £ 9.45

Trip statistics

2’197 miles

4’943 liters diesel

52 days of travelling (average 42 miles / day)

230 hours of travelling (average 9.5 knots)

Basic Costs

Diesel £ 3’054.-

Mooring £ 571.-

Charts £ 230.-

Insurance £ 52.50 (extension for Denmark and Sweden)

Sample Distances (and times)

Brentford – Ramsgate 77 miles (05:20)

Ramsgate – Nieuwpoort 62 miles (03:05)

Nieuwpoort – Breskens 41 miles (02:15)

Scheveningen – Amsterdam 40 miles (04:00)

Delfzijl – Norderney 36 miles (03:00)

Norderney – Brunsbruttel 78 miles (04:10)

Kiel Canal 48 miles (07:30)

Holtenau-Gothenburg 303 miles

Weather forecasts

Holland

Local time 08:05, 13:05, 19:05, 23:05 (Dutch and English)

VHF channels 23 & 83

Germany

Local time 07:45, 12:45, 16:45, 19:45 (German)

VHF channels 24-Cuxhaven, 27-Hamburg, 28-Borkum, 86-Helgoland

Denmark

Local time 05:45, 08:45, 11:45, 17:45, 22:45 (Danish)

Radio 243 KHz, 1062 KHz

Sweden

Local time 8:33, 16:33 (full in Swedish)

local time 9:33, 21:33 (brief English)

various VHF channels

 

BCC Newsroom

Which is located in the marina display information, news and photos related to the cruising club.