Sailing from England to the Netherlands – Frisian Islands
30/06/10 22:58
July 1, 2010
Faaborg, Fyn
Denmark
Latitude: 55º 05'.6N
Longitude: 10º 14'.4E
First of all, a Happy Canada Day to all our family and friends back home! As Canadians, Paul and I are also celebrating our national day today but this year we are doing it in Denmark.
We arrived in Denmark last weekend aboard our new Southeryl 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, and are experiencing hot summer weather at last! We were starting to get worried since, up until a few days ago, we were still in full foul weather gear as we made our way here from England to the Netherlands, through the Kiel Canal in Germany, and then north to Denmark. But allow me to back-track a bit and continue our story where I left off last time...
After our shake-down cruise in May to the Channel Islands which lie off the coast of France we returned to England to the Northshore Yachts in Chichester Harbour to say goodbye to everyone there and have a few minor adjustments made to the new boat before we set off on our summer voyage to countries of the Baltic. Thanks again to the entire Northshore Yachts team for building us another great boat!
While we were there, Paul converted our main winch, a Lewmar 46 manual winch, to an electric winch, to make it easier to raise the mainsail. (See his discussion on this in his New Boat Blog) It's a huge sail and we realized we weren't using it as often as we'd have liked nor were we reefing when we should have since it was so much effort manually. Not good. So installing the electric winch meant another delay but well worth it!
Then the old boat sold and there was lots of paperwork etc. to deal with and then FINALLY at the beginning of June we got away. In celebration we dressed the boat with all the courtesy flags of the countries and colonies we've visited during our 20 years of cruising.
Our good friend, Wanita Gray, flew in from Canada just before we left and joined us for the leg to the Dutch Frisian Islands. Wanita is a very experienced offshore cruising sailor, a friend of 20 years through the Port Credit Yacht Club, and we have also served together on the national committee for the Extended Cruising course of Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons for many years so we're all happy aboard a boat together.
It was great fun to have Wanita with us as we made tracks along the south coast of England stopping at Brighton Beach,
then sailing past the white cliffs of Dover dodging the incredible amount of ship and ferry traffic in this stretch of the English Channel
as we made our way to Ramsgate where thick fog rolled in just as we arrived. (Yay to our Raymarine chartplotter with radar and AIS displays. We have an AIS transmitter too on this boat so the ships are very aware of our presence and we could literally see them adjust course long in advance of approaching us.)
After a lay-day in Ramsgate we made a night passage across the North Sea to Holland where we cleared in to the Netherlands in the port of Den Helder. We exchanged our British pound notes for euros and enjoyed a day of browsing the town, relaxing in cafes, and getting a feel for the country and culture. The town was stereotypically Dutch – spotlessly clean and orderly and everyone was riding bicycles. Everywhere we were to go in Holland there were excellent bike paths.
Our favourite experience in Den Helder was a visit to the Maritime Museum where we were given an interesting tour aboard a submarine by a volunteer who had once served on that very sub during the cold war.
From Den Helder we made an afternoon sail to the island of Texel where we began our cruise of the Frisian Islands which are a string of shallow sandy barrier islands along the north coast of Holland and Germany. Lots of shallow water so great territory for using our swing-keel. Although Distant Shores II is 49 feet long she only draws 2' 10" with the keel up. If you have ever read the book "Riddle of the Sands" by Erskine Childers the story takes place on a small sailboat in these islands.
When we arrived in Texel at the harbour at Ouderschild it was filled with beautiful traditional sailing boats giving school children heritage weeks aboard. We counted almost 50 of these boats with about 20 young people aboard. What a great experience for these kids!
We had pretty strong winds the next few days but in the protection of the islands the seas are pretty flat so we had great fun short-tacking up the narrow channels. The boat has a small self-tacking jib which made this really easy and fun.
The next island we visited was Vlieland, a very natural place with lovely long golden beaches and sand dunes.
There are excellent walking and cycling trails here, even out in the wild spaces so we rented bikes. Wanita and I opted for traditional bike and since we're both small needed kids bikes which cost us 6 euros each per day. Paul went for the fancy electrically assisted pedalling bike which was 20 euros a day.
From Vlieland, Wanita took the ferry to the mainland where she caught a train to the airport in Amsterdam, flew back to London and made her transatlantic flight back to Toronto the following day. The 2 weeks that she was with us just flew by and we all had great time sailing together, catching up on news from home, cooking and eating delicious meals onboard, and generally having a great time. Thanks to her for all the great photos she took during her visit.
We had some bad weather the few days after Wanita left so we anchored in the protection of Richel Island on the south side where we could dry out at low tide. It was like a moonscape when the water went out and we cocooned here writing and editing til the winds calmed and the sun shone once again.
Our Rocna anchor was totally buried after the experience! Good to know we have a good anchor that really grabs in when the weather gets foul.
The lovely island of Ameland with it's picturesque villages was our last stop in the Dutch Frisian Islands where we celebrated mid-summer night. We saw lots of seals around this island. So cute.
Next day we sailed to Borkum in the German Frisian Islands. As a welcome the harbourmaster at the Port Henry sailing club raised the Canadian flag in our honour. This was a nice tradition that was continued as we travelled through Germany.
Since it's Canada Day I think this is a good place to end. I will continue the story next time telling you about our transit from the North Sea to the Baltic through Germany's Kiel Canal.
Until then,
Sheryl and Paul Shard
Aboard Distant Shores II
www.distantshores.ca
Click here to check out our DVDs for more cruising adventures and tips!
Sign up for our newsletter
Faaborg, Fyn
Denmark
Latitude: 55º 05'.6N
Longitude: 10º 14'.4E
First of all, a Happy Canada Day to all our family and friends back home! As Canadians, Paul and I are also celebrating our national day today but this year we are doing it in Denmark.
We arrived in Denmark last weekend aboard our new Southeryl 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, and are experiencing hot summer weather at last! We were starting to get worried since, up until a few days ago, we were still in full foul weather gear as we made our way here from England to the Netherlands, through the Kiel Canal in Germany, and then north to Denmark. But allow me to back-track a bit and continue our story where I left off last time...
After our shake-down cruise in May to the Channel Islands which lie off the coast of France we returned to England to the Northshore Yachts in Chichester Harbour to say goodbye to everyone there and have a few minor adjustments made to the new boat before we set off on our summer voyage to countries of the Baltic. Thanks again to the entire Northshore Yachts team for building us another great boat!
While we were there, Paul converted our main winch, a Lewmar 46 manual winch, to an electric winch, to make it easier to raise the mainsail. (See his discussion on this in his New Boat Blog) It's a huge sail and we realized we weren't using it as often as we'd have liked nor were we reefing when we should have since it was so much effort manually. Not good. So installing the electric winch meant another delay but well worth it!
Then the old boat sold and there was lots of paperwork etc. to deal with and then FINALLY at the beginning of June we got away. In celebration we dressed the boat with all the courtesy flags of the countries and colonies we've visited during our 20 years of cruising.
Our good friend, Wanita Gray, flew in from Canada just before we left and joined us for the leg to the Dutch Frisian Islands. Wanita is a very experienced offshore cruising sailor, a friend of 20 years through the Port Credit Yacht Club, and we have also served together on the national committee for the Extended Cruising course of Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons for many years so we're all happy aboard a boat together.
It was great fun to have Wanita with us as we made tracks along the south coast of England stopping at Brighton Beach,
then sailing past the white cliffs of Dover dodging the incredible amount of ship and ferry traffic in this stretch of the English Channel
as we made our way to Ramsgate where thick fog rolled in just as we arrived. (Yay to our Raymarine chartplotter with radar and AIS displays. We have an AIS transmitter too on this boat so the ships are very aware of our presence and we could literally see them adjust course long in advance of approaching us.)
After a lay-day in Ramsgate we made a night passage across the North Sea to Holland where we cleared in to the Netherlands in the port of Den Helder. We exchanged our British pound notes for euros and enjoyed a day of browsing the town, relaxing in cafes, and getting a feel for the country and culture. The town was stereotypically Dutch – spotlessly clean and orderly and everyone was riding bicycles. Everywhere we were to go in Holland there were excellent bike paths.
Our favourite experience in Den Helder was a visit to the Maritime Museum where we were given an interesting tour aboard a submarine by a volunteer who had once served on that very sub during the cold war.
From Den Helder we made an afternoon sail to the island of Texel where we began our cruise of the Frisian Islands which are a string of shallow sandy barrier islands along the north coast of Holland and Germany. Lots of shallow water so great territory for using our swing-keel. Although Distant Shores II is 49 feet long she only draws 2' 10" with the keel up. If you have ever read the book "Riddle of the Sands" by Erskine Childers the story takes place on a small sailboat in these islands.
When we arrived in Texel at the harbour at Ouderschild it was filled with beautiful traditional sailing boats giving school children heritage weeks aboard. We counted almost 50 of these boats with about 20 young people aboard. What a great experience for these kids!
We had pretty strong winds the next few days but in the protection of the islands the seas are pretty flat so we had great fun short-tacking up the narrow channels. The boat has a small self-tacking jib which made this really easy and fun.
The next island we visited was Vlieland, a very natural place with lovely long golden beaches and sand dunes.
There are excellent walking and cycling trails here, even out in the wild spaces so we rented bikes. Wanita and I opted for traditional bike and since we're both small needed kids bikes which cost us 6 euros each per day. Paul went for the fancy electrically assisted pedalling bike which was 20 euros a day.
From Vlieland, Wanita took the ferry to the mainland where she caught a train to the airport in Amsterdam, flew back to London and made her transatlantic flight back to Toronto the following day. The 2 weeks that she was with us just flew by and we all had great time sailing together, catching up on news from home, cooking and eating delicious meals onboard, and generally having a great time. Thanks to her for all the great photos she took during her visit.
We had some bad weather the few days after Wanita left so we anchored in the protection of Richel Island on the south side where we could dry out at low tide. It was like a moonscape when the water went out and we cocooned here writing and editing til the winds calmed and the sun shone once again.
Our Rocna anchor was totally buried after the experience! Good to know we have a good anchor that really grabs in when the weather gets foul.
The lovely island of Ameland with it's picturesque villages was our last stop in the Dutch Frisian Islands where we celebrated mid-summer night. We saw lots of seals around this island. So cute.
Next day we sailed to Borkum in the German Frisian Islands. As a welcome the harbourmaster at the Port Henry sailing club raised the Canadian flag in our honour. This was a nice tradition that was continued as we travelled through Germany.
Since it's Canada Day I think this is a good place to end. I will continue the story next time telling you about our transit from the North Sea to the Baltic through Germany's Kiel Canal.
Until then,
Sheryl and Paul Shard
Aboard Distant Shores II
www.distantshores.ca
Click here to check out our DVDs for more cruising adventures and tips!
Sign up for our newsletter
England to Channel Islands
20/06/10 19:07
New
Southerly 49 – England and the Channel Islands
June 20, 2010
Vlieland Jachthaven
Vlieland, Frisian Islands
The Netherlands
Latitude: 53º 17.877 N
Longitude: 5º 5.154 E
The last few months have been busy and exciting ones with the commissioning of our new Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, so over the next few newsletters I will be catching you up on all that's been going on...
We flew to England in early March after completing post-production on season 6 of the Distant Shores TV series and while in London visiting family we also spent a day at the Travel Channel studios where we filmed a number of promos for the new season and did an interview with Gareth Davis and Ginny Buckley, hosts of The Holiday Show. This is a great new weekly talk show on Travel Channel and this summer as we travel to countries of the Baltic filming new episodes of Distant Shores we will also be recording on-location interviews from time to time via skype for The Holiday Show. So if you receive Travel Channel check the schedule online for both Distant Shores and The Holiday Show at www.travelchannel.co.uk
After a few days in London we drove down to Itchenor on Chichester Harbour on the south coast of England. This is the location of Northshore Yachts, the manufacturer of Southerly yachts and it was here that we took delivery of our new Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, on March 11th.
The weather was still pretty cold and gray in March so until we got moved on to the boat we stayed at the lovely home of Itchenor friends, Nigel and Elizabeth Pattison, who we'd met when taking delivery of our Southerly 42 a few years ago. We met up with them again while they and we were cruising in the Caribbean and stayed in touch. They are life-long sailors and delightful hosts who helped make our transition on to the new boat an easy one. They also introduced us to many of the their friends at the Itchenor Sailing Club and we especially enjoyed an evening there where one of the members gave an excellent presentation on his voyage to the Baltic which provided many useful tips and suggestions for our voyage this summer.
We had planned a month to complete additional boat projects we wanted to do ourselves, to have the factory fix any snags we came across during sea trials, and to move on board gradually so that we could really sort things out before beginning our summer voyage. But there were many delays primarily because the shipment of all our gear, bedding, cooking utensils, clothing and safety equipment from the Southerly 42 was delayed by several weeks! However the ship eventually came in and all our stuff arrived in good shape so by April we were enjoying exploratory sailing trips around the Solent area and several friends came to join us on weekends.
April 12 was Paul's 50th birthday. Starting another cruising adventure on a new boat was a wonderful way to celebrate it! He received many phonecalls, cards, e-mails and lovely gifts that day. Sailing friends, Vicki and Per, of SY Sunray arrived with a box of Baltic birthday goodies as a present. It was a great start to our summer's voyage and we had a fun weekend partying together and showing them around Chichester Harbour.
On April 28 we made our first night passage with the new boat, crossing the English Channel from Chichester Harbour to Guernsey in the Channel Islands off the coast of France. We had to time our departure and arrival carefully to work with the big tides and strong currents especially in the Alderney race where there can be currents of 8 knots!! There is also a lot of heavy ship traffic in the English Channel which we really had to be careful of so it was a challenging passage and good shake-down for testing out all our safety and navigation equipment. (See Paul's New Boat Blog for technical details).
We arrived in Guernsey in the late afternoon and spent only one night there since we were on our way to the next island of Jersey to participate in the Jersey Boat Show May 1-3rd. We would come back to Guernsey again afterwards to see more of this beautiful island.
It's just a half-day sail from Guernsey to Jersey but once again we had to carefully work out the tides and currents for departing and arriving. The tides in the Channel Islands are among the largest in the world with a range up to 11 m (40 feet)! The St. Hellier Marina where the boat show was to be held has a sill to keep enough water in the marina to keep the boats afloat at low water so there are only certain hours in the tidal flow that there is enough water to get over it. We timed our arrival a bit early so tied up at the waiting pontoon outside until the tide rose high enough for us to get into the marina.
The Jersey Boat Show is a small but very well attended show due to everyone's affinity for the sea in these islands. There were 5 Southerly yachts represented at the show including our 49 and Paul and I had an enjoyable time showing people our new boat as well as meeting fans of the Distant Shores TV series which has many followers in the Channel Islands.
Following the boat show we spent a few days exploring the lovely island of Jersey, famous for Jersey potatoes and Jersey cows (good ice cream here!). We especially enjoyed the many coastal walking paths, the Maritime Museum which had many creative and interactive exhibits, and the excellent War Tunnel Museum which told the story of the World War II occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans.
After a few days we sailed back to Guernsey which also has a sill to be negotiated to get into the marina. We had just tied up when Adrian Heyworth, a fellow Southerly owner who lives in Guernsey, came by to say hello. He introduced us to his brother-in-law, Rupert Dorey, who is in the process of buying a Southerly so there was much talk of boats and cruising. Rupert and his wife, Rosie, and Adrian and his wife, Penny (the women are sisters) became our hosts and took us on a very fun outing to the nearby island of Herm.
Rosie's and Penny's parents bought the lease to manage the island of Herm which they did lovingly for many years before Adrian and Penny took it over when the parents retired. They are now retired and the island is being managed by another family. We saw puffins and sang to a seal and discovered the best place to dry out at low tide – Shell Beach. What a paradise! For more info visit www.herm-island.com
Returning to Guernsey we concluded our visit filming the Liberation Day celebrations which marked the 65th anniversary of the end of the German occupation. The parades, bands and choirs were spectacular with the crowning glory being a cavalcade of almost 100 privately owned beautifully restored military vehicles from the period of the occupation. The owners were in period costume and had come from all parts of Europe, including Germany, to participate.
It was a really great to visit the Channel Islands as a good shake-down for the boat. We look forward to the chance to return here in the future to do some more exploring and perhaps visit the island of Sark and Alderney which we missed on this trip.
From Guernsey, we sailed back to England and our base in Chichester Harbour to tend to a few tune-ups before the summer's voyage east. Next, I'll write about our voyage from England to the Frisian Islands where we are currently filming.
Until then,
Sheryl and Paul Shard
Aboard Distant Shores II
www.distantshores.ca
Click here to check out our DVDs for more cruising adventures and tips!
Sign up for our newsletter
June 20, 2010
Vlieland Jachthaven
Vlieland, Frisian Islands
The Netherlands
Latitude: 53º 17.877 N
Longitude: 5º 5.154 E
The last few months have been busy and exciting ones with the commissioning of our new Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, so over the next few newsletters I will be catching you up on all that's been going on...
We flew to England in early March after completing post-production on season 6 of the Distant Shores TV series and while in London visiting family we also spent a day at the Travel Channel studios where we filmed a number of promos for the new season and did an interview with Gareth Davis and Ginny Buckley, hosts of The Holiday Show. This is a great new weekly talk show on Travel Channel and this summer as we travel to countries of the Baltic filming new episodes of Distant Shores we will also be recording on-location interviews from time to time via skype for The Holiday Show. So if you receive Travel Channel check the schedule online for both Distant Shores and The Holiday Show at www.travelchannel.co.uk
After a few days in London we drove down to Itchenor on Chichester Harbour on the south coast of England. This is the location of Northshore Yachts, the manufacturer of Southerly yachts and it was here that we took delivery of our new Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, on March 11th.
The weather was still pretty cold and gray in March so until we got moved on to the boat we stayed at the lovely home of Itchenor friends, Nigel and Elizabeth Pattison, who we'd met when taking delivery of our Southerly 42 a few years ago. We met up with them again while they and we were cruising in the Caribbean and stayed in touch. They are life-long sailors and delightful hosts who helped make our transition on to the new boat an easy one. They also introduced us to many of the their friends at the Itchenor Sailing Club and we especially enjoyed an evening there where one of the members gave an excellent presentation on his voyage to the Baltic which provided many useful tips and suggestions for our voyage this summer.
We had planned a month to complete additional boat projects we wanted to do ourselves, to have the factory fix any snags we came across during sea trials, and to move on board gradually so that we could really sort things out before beginning our summer voyage. But there were many delays primarily because the shipment of all our gear, bedding, cooking utensils, clothing and safety equipment from the Southerly 42 was delayed by several weeks! However the ship eventually came in and all our stuff arrived in good shape so by April we were enjoying exploratory sailing trips around the Solent area and several friends came to join us on weekends.
April 12 was Paul's 50th birthday. Starting another cruising adventure on a new boat was a wonderful way to celebrate it! He received many phonecalls, cards, e-mails and lovely gifts that day. Sailing friends, Vicki and Per, of SY Sunray arrived with a box of Baltic birthday goodies as a present. It was a great start to our summer's voyage and we had a fun weekend partying together and showing them around Chichester Harbour.
On April 28 we made our first night passage with the new boat, crossing the English Channel from Chichester Harbour to Guernsey in the Channel Islands off the coast of France. We had to time our departure and arrival carefully to work with the big tides and strong currents especially in the Alderney race where there can be currents of 8 knots!! There is also a lot of heavy ship traffic in the English Channel which we really had to be careful of so it was a challenging passage and good shake-down for testing out all our safety and navigation equipment. (See Paul's New Boat Blog for technical details).
We arrived in Guernsey in the late afternoon and spent only one night there since we were on our way to the next island of Jersey to participate in the Jersey Boat Show May 1-3rd. We would come back to Guernsey again afterwards to see more of this beautiful island.
It's just a half-day sail from Guernsey to Jersey but once again we had to carefully work out the tides and currents for departing and arriving. The tides in the Channel Islands are among the largest in the world with a range up to 11 m (40 feet)! The St. Hellier Marina where the boat show was to be held has a sill to keep enough water in the marina to keep the boats afloat at low water so there are only certain hours in the tidal flow that there is enough water to get over it. We timed our arrival a bit early so tied up at the waiting pontoon outside until the tide rose high enough for us to get into the marina.
The Jersey Boat Show is a small but very well attended show due to everyone's affinity for the sea in these islands. There were 5 Southerly yachts represented at the show including our 49 and Paul and I had an enjoyable time showing people our new boat as well as meeting fans of the Distant Shores TV series which has many followers in the Channel Islands.
Following the boat show we spent a few days exploring the lovely island of Jersey, famous for Jersey potatoes and Jersey cows (good ice cream here!). We especially enjoyed the many coastal walking paths, the Maritime Museum which had many creative and interactive exhibits, and the excellent War Tunnel Museum which told the story of the World War II occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans.
After a few days we sailed back to Guernsey which also has a sill to be negotiated to get into the marina. We had just tied up when Adrian Heyworth, a fellow Southerly owner who lives in Guernsey, came by to say hello. He introduced us to his brother-in-law, Rupert Dorey, who is in the process of buying a Southerly so there was much talk of boats and cruising. Rupert and his wife, Rosie, and Adrian and his wife, Penny (the women are sisters) became our hosts and took us on a very fun outing to the nearby island of Herm.
Rosie's and Penny's parents bought the lease to manage the island of Herm which they did lovingly for many years before Adrian and Penny took it over when the parents retired. They are now retired and the island is being managed by another family. We saw puffins and sang to a seal and discovered the best place to dry out at low tide – Shell Beach. What a paradise! For more info visit www.herm-island.com
Returning to Guernsey we concluded our visit filming the Liberation Day celebrations which marked the 65th anniversary of the end of the German occupation. The parades, bands and choirs were spectacular with the crowning glory being a cavalcade of almost 100 privately owned beautifully restored military vehicles from the period of the occupation. The owners were in period costume and had come from all parts of Europe, including Germany, to participate.
It was a really great to visit the Channel Islands as a good shake-down for the boat. We look forward to the chance to return here in the future to do some more exploring and perhaps visit the island of Sark and Alderney which we missed on this trip.
From Guernsey, we sailed back to England and our base in Chichester Harbour to tend to a few tune-ups before the summer's voyage east. Next, I'll write about our voyage from England to the Frisian Islands where we are currently filming.
Until then,
Sheryl and Paul Shard
Aboard Distant Shores II
www.distantshores.ca
Click here to check out our DVDs for more cruising adventures and tips!
Sign up for our newsletter