Amsterdam to Harwich

Otter

Otter

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The advance party leaves Monday night, others flying in on Tuesday. All being well by Thursday we will have serviced the engine, changed every flexible hose on or near it, checked and serviced every wretched seacock. Removed the shaft and replaced the outer cutlass bearing, sanded and at least primed the wheelhouse, reattached the rubbing strake, replaced all the running rigging, installed a new water and 240v system and changed the bed linen.

Ho hum. Then it's in the water Thursday afternoon for an hour's motoring with the engineer on board to check all is well then down to Ijmuiden. Then a hop down to Roompotsluis to get the journey under 100 miles.

All being well we set off Saturday at stupid o'clock for Harwich and if my iPad doesn't lie that's around 88 miles as the crow flies. Set the autopilot for the broom handle course and let the tide do what it likes, worry about position as we close the coast. A night in Shotley before it's up to Fox's to have them rip the guts out of the old girl and make her all shiney and sweet for August.

What can possibly go wrong? :D
 
Hope it goes well. Have you got a newish chart? As you approach The Galloper it looks like the wind farm stretches a long way but there is gap between the two separate fields so N. Galloper is still usable although the TSS runs straight through the gap between N. Galloper and S. Inner Gabbard. It's all getting a bit difficult out there :(

After my return from Holland last month I shall definitely do my best to ensure that the Harwich approaches are done in the daylight. :o
 
Thanks for that advice, I'll check the chart but I bought the 2011 edition Imray one. I guess the 'broom handle course' should aim for the middle then if the tide is setting north or south two hours before we arrive, just let it take us round - I must check that again.
 
Err... Go t a feeling this is a stupid question.... What is the broom handle course?

Simon are you stopping off at Scheveningen or doing Ijmuiden to Roompot in one go?
 
"Broom handle" - lay the chart flat and and use the broom handle to draw the course, stick to the course and let the tides do their thing :D

I was hoping to go from Ijmuiden to Roompotsluis in one go. My plotter says 68 miles but Reeds says 89 miles! Any idea who's right :confused: I know it means some foul tide but there's always Stellendam (?spelling) if we get held up too much. I was really keen to keep the journey to Harwich as close to 90 miles as possible, I don't fancy a night sail, my 80 year old father is coming as crew and bless him he's great company and very experienced but his night vision is pretty bad. I figured 90 miles at 5.5 knots means a departure time of 2.30am when it's nearly light and an arrival of about 20.30 when there's still a good hour of two of light.

My other plan was to go down to Zeebrugge but when the distance from Ijmuiden to Harwich is only 120 miles it seems a bit daft to end up doing 180 in total!

What do you think?
 
Google earth seems to agree with your plotter.
I was thinking you were starting from Hamsterjam when I suggested Schev.
You definitely want to be crossing the Maas entrance in day light.
 
Wind Farm under construction

Came back from Roompotsluis to Harwich last week. Lots of wind farms now. There is one under construction on the Dutch side with an exclusion zone (and a guard boat that warns you off - very politely). There is a big rig-like tower towards the southern end and some small yellow buoys surrounding the site. The northern limit is marked by a smallish N cardinal. Sorry, don't know exactly where - charts still on boat.
 
Black Kipper said:
"Broom handle" - lay the chart flat and and use the broom handle to draw the course, stick to the course and let the tides do their thing :D

I was hoping to go from Ijmuiden to Roompotsluis in one go. My plotter says 68 miles but Reeds says 89 miles! Any idea who's right :confused: I know it means some foul tide but there's always Stellendam (?spelling) if we get held up too much. I was really keen to keep the journey to Harwich as close to 90 miles as possible, I don't fancy a night sail, my 80 year old father is coming as crew and bless him he's great company and very experienced but his night vision is pretty bad. I figured 90 miles at 5.5 knots means a departure time of 2.30am when it's nearly light and an arrival of about 20.30 when there's still a good hour of two of light.

My other plan was to go down to Zeebrugge but when the distance from Ijmuiden to Harwich is only 120 miles it seems a bit daft to end up doing 180 in total!

What do you think?
Click to expand...

If the weather is fine go straight across
 
As a bit of a newcommer to the East Coast I will risk the wrath of the old timers. I am used to sailing long distances so the Ijmuiden to Harwich leg didn't bother me but the fact that it's into the teeth of the prevailling winds did in the end I went for it and had a bit of a tough last 20 miles when the wind really did turn against us. In future I will try and get a fair bit of Southing before I head off across or go for Lowestoft and then work down the coast, that is unless I can be really sure that I am not going to have to fight against adverse winds whilst trying to get through the offshore obstacles.
 
petehb said:
As a bit of a newcommer to the East Coast I will risk the wrath of the old timmers. I am used to sailing long distances so the Ijmuiden to Harwich leg didn't bother me but the fact that it's into the teeth of the prevailling winds did in the end I went for it and had a bit of a tough last 20 miles when the wind really did turn against us. In future I will try and get a fair bit of southing before I head off across or go for Lowestoft and then work down the coast, that is unless I can be really sure that I am not going to have to fight against adverse winds whilst trying to get through the offshore obstacles.
Click to expand...

it generally seems to pipe-up around the Sunk :mad:
 
What a carry on. We took a risk on the engine and spent £1500 there trying to fix it but it was always "one more thing" so in the end we had her brought back by freight which was a financial pain but meant we could begin to control costs. Then the night before collection I tripped on the pontoon and dislocated my kneecap. Wife and children were booked onto a flight and had to go but we had arranged a stand by crew member from a neighbouring yacht who 20 minutes before the tug was due decided to piss off to the shops and left me to hop (literally) round the boat sorting lines with one leg heavily strapped, he arrived back as the tug was tacking me out. Still I made it to the wharf, she was loaded and the f*****g truck broke down. By now my knee had swollen to football proportions but the truck didn't return for five stuffing hours. I got to a hotel at 1.30am and just collapsed. The ferry was nice though :)

This morning she arrived in Fox's for the collected sound of air being sucked in through teeth as the finest collection of tradesmen on the East Coast made lots of tut tut noises but finished with some reassuring comments. My leg is b******d for a few days but come Monday we will crack on with the jobs and in two or three weeks she'll be relaunched, this time with the right name on her ample but ever so pretty bottom ;)

And all everyone says when they see her for the first time is "my what a big propellor" - even the rigger said it and I bet he's come across some big kit in his time.
 
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