Recent content by Wiltshire

Can anybody offer information on disposal of flares in Belgium or France? I will be heading from Belgium along the Normandy coast and hopefully to Cherbourg and the Channel Isles (if the COVID rules allow me in to the latter). I have some old flares on board which I have replaced but having only...

Be prepared to hand over a significant amount of money for replacement. About £90 from recollection. I needed to renew recently because of the 6 month rule and living over here you have to surrender your passport by post and wait hopefully for your new one. You used to be able to renew at the...

Without any means of sensible enforcement against the real loons any rules around jet skis will be largely meaningless. I was quite impressed last summer when heading into Dunkerque and a jet ski that was racing down the harbour between the boats entering and leaving was quickly followed by the...

I was hoping to be able to hop home across the Channel for a short trip in May/June to load up on the essentials of marmalade, warm flat beer and bacon. Not looking likely at the moment so Belgium coast, a bit of Holland then a main trip to Normandy if it is open. Unusually I should be able to...

Freezing cold and wet week doing maintenance in February. By that stage getting a little concerned about this COVID thing, it sounds nasty. Boat went back in the water one week before Belgium lockdown so didn't see her for 3 months, fortunately sails not bent on (wait for end of story)...

That's a blow for us and quite a few Brits living in Europe with family in Northern England. We use that route about 3 times a year and it always seemed reasonably busy but I guess Christmas and Easter crossings are popular. The ships are quite old and doubtless there is no business case to...

Another recommendation for Nieuwpoort from me. We moved our boat over last year due to work commitments bringing us over here. There are all the facilities you will need. We have found the marina/club staff to be friendly and helpful and you will be pleasantly surprised by the prices. The vast...

11 euros for a night for our 31ft boat in Blankenberg last week and a very reasonably priced meal at the yacht club on the quay too. We spent the week dodging strong winds in Belgium and Holland and didn't pay more than about 24 euros a night. I have to declare a bias in that Beaulieu is our...

We keep our boat in Belgium at the moment as we are living & working on the Schengen side of the Channel. Restrictions are just lifting here so you can now go to your boat and even sail but not leave Belgium waters or stay on board overnight. We put her in the water and serviced the engine...

As stated above Belgium waters are now closed for recreational sailing, which is not an immediately logical restriction and a disappointment given our boat went back in the water last week. However, travel restrictions in Luxembourg and Belgium mean we couldn't get to the boat even if we could...

We were regular visitors to Yarmouth and Cowes when we kept our boat on the Solent. Yarmouth is a pretty little place with some nice walks or cycle rides in land and some pleasant pubs. It gets very busy on a warm summer weekend and expect to be rafted 3 or 4 deep but it is generally all quite...

We saw two pairs of porpoises off Nieuwpoort on Saturday and a pod of dolphins whilst heading from Dieppe to Boulogne in late August. We have seen the occasional one or two dolphins previously but never had a pod of 8 or 9 approach the boat, some diving under us and "playing" off the stern. We...

I try to be philosophical when occasionally people lack consideration over moorings etc. as you never know if they are distracted by a boat problem or just having a bad day at the office. I did struggle to maintain equilibrium when somebody knocked my dock fender off and also left my dock lines...

I hadn't considered Holland largely because my only experience of the coast is based on the extremely busy area around Rotterdam and Amsterdam and working for a while near the Hague. The traffic was terrible and return trips to the airport on Fridays were always a fraught affair. I clearly need...

Hello All, I have been offered a contract in land locked Luxembourg which means moving my boat from the Solent to probably Belgium or possibly Northern France although the latter is an even longer drive. It's only for 2-3 years then I will be heading back home to the Solent area. Has anybody...