family friendly destinations - there and back in a week

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Chae_73

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Looking for holiday ideas where it could work like this:

Land party go via ferry / plane / car or whatever and stay in a gite/ airbnb / hotel, sea party go by sea from East Coast, we meet up, spend a few days doing day trips etc, and sail back.

Idea is that eldest child, my father and I get to go sailing somewhere. My wife, younger child (who isn't keen on sailing at present) and my father's partner get to also have a holiday and we all meet up for the middle part of it.

This would be summer 2021, all things permitting.

For this to work, I think the destination would need to be reachable in max 48 hours from Felixstowe Ferry. Boat is a Westerly Storm 33; I'm using 5 knots for passage planning.

I've been looking at the Frisian Islands as my dad expressed an interest in going there. Sailing looks fine, either a longish day / night / day passage direct to Den Helder, or possibly a day up to Gt Yarmouth and then a day and night passage across from there. However, unless I'm missing something, the destination doesn't seem much on offer for the land party apart from some flat and windswept vistas...

Any other suggestions?

And yes, I'm aware that weather might go against us and we might have to change plans at short notice, that's a given.
 
Chae_73 said:
Looking for holiday ideas where it could work like this:

Land party go via ferry / plane / car or whatever and stay in a gite/ airbnb / hotel, sea party go by sea from East Coast, we meet up, spend a few days doing day trips etc, and sail back.

Idea is that eldest child, my father and I get to go sailing somewhere. My wife, younger child (who isn't keen on sailing at present) and my father's partner get to also have a holiday and we all meet up for the middle part of it.

This would be summer 2021, all things permitting.

For this to work, I think the destination would need to be reachable in max 48 hours from Felixstowe Ferry. Boat is a Westerly Storm 33; I'm using 5 knots for passage planning.

I've been looking at the Frisian Islands as my dad expressed an interest in going there. Sailing looks fine, either a longish day / night / day passage direct to Den Helder, or possibly a day up to Gt Yarmouth and then a day and night passage across from there. However, unless I'm missing something, the destination doesn't seem much on offer for the land party apart from some flat and windswept vistas...

Any other suggestions?

And yes, I'm aware that weather might go against us and we might have to change plans at short notice, that's a given.
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I would avoid Great Yarmouth, there is nothing to recommend it apart from to those wishing to enter the Norfolk Broads
 
The Frisian islands are lovely, and the Waddensee suitable for relaxed sailing, but I think you are right about lack of entertainment, unless the party is into cycling with hired bikes. The Netherlands has a long history of tourism win the country, so there should be places that would suit. From the point of view of access, the south of the country makes more sense. Although I have sailed the Delta for many years I haven't looked at it with recreation in mind, but I have seen plenty of holiday sites. An alternative might be the IJsselmeer/Markermeer, where there are also marinas that double as holiday areas. Makkum is a favourite stop of ours, the large marina being part of a holiday complex with shopping, swimming and eateries, and a charming town nearby.
 
Heading south, it looks as though a trip to Seine Maritime could be viable in benign weather. Are there any particular reasons against a passage from Ramsgate to Dieppe, other than the volume of shipping and the prevailing winds?

E.g., cross the TSS somewhat south of Dover - Calais, round Cap Griz-Nez and then head for Dieppe? Plotted roughly in Navionics, comes out around 95 miles, Obviously a lot longer if beating to windward...:oops:
 
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If there and back in a week the destination has to be somewhere very readily attainable by both the yacht and the land party.So probably on a main coast.
Ostende comes to mind,with the overlanders travelling by Eurostar ,via Brussels.Given slightly longer then further by train to Vlissingen and a few days on the Versemeer via Middleburg.
 
Dieppe is doable - although I felt it was a bit run down when we were last there. Boulogne always good - nice big outer harbour and a shorter sail - easily doable in a day (which gives you some wriggle room when returning). I like Gavelines - but you need to be a lot more exact on arrival there as it's not accessible at low tide - otherwise a lovely destination.
 
Marmalade said:
Dieppe is doable - although I felt it was a bit run down when we were last there. Boulogne always good - nice big outer harbour and a shorter sail - easily doable in a day (which gives you some wriggle room when returning). I like Gavelines - but you need to be a lot more exact on arrival there as it's not accessible at low tide - otherwise a lovely destination.
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The other constraint is that it is likely that next year we will need to check in and out of a designated port of entry.
 
Thanks; Gravlines does look worth a visit, as does St-Valery-En-Caux. Reading through the Shell Channel Pilot at present. Whilst these places do seem a bit challenging for English yotties, I guess really no worse than the Deben or the Ore.

Boulogne and Dieppe offer a back up plan if things don't work out for the tidal ports...
 
Chae_73 said:
Thanks; Gravlines does look worth a visit, as does St-Valery-En-Caux. Reading through the Shell Channel Pilot at present. Whilst these places do seem a bit challenging for English yotties, I guess really no worse than the Deben or the Ore.

Boulogne and Dieppe offer a back up plan if things don't work out for the tidal ports...
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St Valery en Caux is not particularly challenging. It is usual to arrive some time before HW but there are waiting buoys if you arrive early. It is a friendly place with a stony beach and pleasant walks to take in the scenery and wartime history. Sunday opening can be a bit hectic as the day-fishers go out and it is best to wait until after the first rush.
 
johnalison said:
St Valery en Caux is not particularly challenging. It is usual to arrive some time before HW but there are waiting buoys if you arrive early. It is a friendly place with a stony beach and pleasant walks to take in the scenery and wartime history. Sunday opening can be a bit hectic as the day-fishers go out and it is best to wait until after the first rush.
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Lovely place. We 'found' it a couple of years ago, really taken with it.
 
Hi,

Out of Felixstowe Ferry with a Westerly Storm, Ijmuiden is an easy landfall in ~30 hours with Amsterdam only a couple of hours further along the Canal. If you fancy a few hours more across the Marker Meer, I would recommend Enkhuizen, a holiday town (plenty of accommodation) and vibrant cultural life of concerts etc. Short train ride to Amsterdam to see the sights.

Travel for the land party easy - fly to Amsterdam short train ride from the Airport to Amsterdam Central and another train from there to Enkhuizen or stay in Amsterdam, Choice really depends on whether you want to stay in the City or somewhere a bit more relaxed.

Take care, you may find Enkhuizen so much to your liking that you keep the boat thee!

Peter.
 
Thanks Peter, I vaguely recall arriving at Ijmuiden in the dim and distant past. I think it was near there where we were half tipped over by the wash from a particularly large and powerful fishing vessel!

But yes, that plan does have a lot to recommend it for both sea and land parties.

And on your latter point; one of the benefits of being an east coast sailor is the high chance that the accomodations at the place of your arrival will seem fantastic in comparison to those from which you have left!
 
Chae_73 said:
Thanks Peter, I vaguely recall arriving at Ijmuiden in the dim and distant past. I think it was near there where we were half tipped over by the wash from a particularly large and powerful fishing vessel!

But yes, that plan does have a lot to recommend it for both sea and land parties.

And on your latter point; one of the benefits of being an east coast sailor is the high chance that the accomodations at the place of your arrival will seem fantastic in comparison to those from which you have left!
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Good grief. What dump do you come from? Basildon town marina? It is nice to get away, I would agree, especially from the Romford navy.

One advantage of France is that you are much more likely to avoid trouble getting home again. It is easy to get stuck in Flushing or Ostend with nothing but a NW 5-6 in prospect for days ahead, meaning that you have to be prepared to leave by Thursday at the latest. Modern forecasts have made this a bit easier but haven’t improved the weather.
 
Some good advice so far.
I think you have to approach this from two sides. The sea side gives you a range from the Frisian Islands and the IJsselmeer to say Fecamp. With only a week to play with, the extremes will give you a lot of sea time and less with the shore party. If you go to the Frisians in the summer there is a good chance you will be facing headwinds to get back. How much wind are you happy with in that case? Going to France gives a better chance of a favourable wind to return. Belgium and the Oosterschelde give you shorter trips there and back and most probably a better wind angle both ways.
Then there is the land side. What are their priorities? Is it the beach for the young child? In that case Oostende, Blankenberge, Scheveningen and IJmuiden must be the clear favourites as the marinas are adjacent to extensive beaches. If however their priorities are historic towns, musea, shopping, then there is no point in going to Ijmuiden, but it is better to press on to Amsterdam, or opt for Scheveningen , Blankenberge or Oostende. They all have good train links that will take you to places like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Bruges, Gent,... in less than an hour. If your land party has a car, that adds a lot of flexibility and you could choose any of the harbours on the Oosterschelde or the Veerse Meer. The car would bring all the above choices, beaches, historic towns, top musea and all the shopping you could dream of within reach in under an hour’s travel: Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and so much more.
Are you sure you only have a week?
 
Little Grebe said:
Town is a rather run down in places but the club marina is fine. There is another marina in Lake Loathing but access is limited by bridge opening times.
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Echo the comment about Lowestoft town but if you can get through the bridge it opens up Oulton broad and a very pleasant river journey along the Waveney (which you can do in a day) to Beccles.
 
Thanks @westhinder lots to think about there.

Youngest will be 15 by next summer. Beeches are not a huge priority.

Clearly a car does open up a lot of possibilities, and with two drivers in the land crew, looks like a sensible option.

In terms of heading back from a NE destination, I wouldn't be planning to set off across the north sea into a headwind above f5.

Yes, we could take more than a week but that does depend on the enthusiasm of other parties.

As for Brexit, Covid, armageddon, I'm just taking an optimistic view ?
 
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