North sea

[chrishewett]

Having sailed Channel, French Atlantic coast, Med etc and finding myself based on the Lincolnshire coast I am thinking of planning my first North sea crossing to Holland, possibly Den Helder area. Any advice, does, donts, horrer stories or otherwise?
Chris

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[beneteau_305_553]

Stop over at the RNSYC at Lowestoft first.Lots of local advice from frequent dutch visitors.

A good radar. The oil platforms are always being moved and loads of shipping

A good Autohelm. The sea is often choppy.

good sailing

<hr width=100% size=1>Richard

 

[snowleopard]

drop into grimsby marina & ask the guys at the humber cruising club. they seem to know their way around!

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[willothewisp]

With your amount of experience, especially being based on the Linconshire coast, a crossing to Holland shouldn't offer much of a problem. The pilots provide ample info about the approaches to Den Helder or IJmuiden. After Den Helder, IJsselmeer or Waddenzee would be the most logical cruising ground- Waddenzee has many swatchways and needs careful calculations. Both, alas get very crowded in the summer months. There's a lovely sailing area further South, i.e Oosterschelde and Grevelingen. The Grevelingen lake is a real beauty spot, no tides, plenty of anchorages, marina's etc. Best ap[proach for this would be Stellendam, then on via Haringvliet; or Roompot, then on via Oosterschelde.
P.S. Approaches IJmuiden and Scheveningen can be tricky when there's a cross current and wind above 5Bft.

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[Mirelle]

Den Helder is a good choice of entry port. Ijmuiden is another.

Waddenzee is delightful but you must have a boat that is happy drying out. Beware very extensive nature reserves.

Approaching the Dutch coast can be a bit nerve wracking because you will probably have a westerly wind, making it a lee shore, and it is very low lying. You may be one of these modern scientific type navigators who are completely happy with GPS but I do like to close the Dutch coast at dawn, having see a lighthouse or two!

Keep in mind that the Broad Fourteens are full of gas platforms, so plenty of odd lights at night.

Dutch marinas are excellent; spotlessly clean and cheap.

You need (but your Pilot book will already have told you this) to carry the Dutch inland waterways regulations (in Dutch!) - obtainable from your chart agent along with the excellent Dutch chart booklets.

Personally, I am very fond of Terschelling.

Amsterdam is a good city to visit by boat. The marina at the back of the Centraal Station is convenient.

A good trip would be in at Den Helder, round to Amsterdam via Ijsselmeer and out at Ijmuiden via Nordzee Canal

Yachts are not permitted to transit Rotterdam /Europoort under sail - Sunday used to be an exception but I am not sure that it still is.

Talk to lifting bridges by VHF. But remember that rail bridges open according to timetable! The worst two are the one near Schipol that opens daily at 04.30 (only!) and the one at Dordrecht.

Everyone speaks English. If your ensign is tatty, buy a new one before you go - the Dutch like everything spotless.

er, that's about it!

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[chrishewett]

Thanks for all your comments, I hope to let you know how I get on in when I take the plunge!
Chris

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[vyv_cox]

Unexpectedly, the absence of a TSS from the Maas northwards, except the area close in to Texel, causes more problems than you might expect. There are "advised" routes for shipping but these seem to be largely ignored. In the dark it can be extremely confusing in the Central N. Sea. If I were to do this passage again I would try to do this section in daylight.

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