MikeBz
Well-Known Member
Any suggestions for routing for either of these passages (other than spend a couple of weeks exploring Holland in between), sailing ~2m draft.
HAT for Vlissingen?
Ta.
HAT for Vlissingen?
Ta.
Oostende -> Breskens, Breskens-> Harwich.
- Thread starter MikeBz
- Start date
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
My last visit to Ostend was my 78th
If you are going from Harwich then arrive at Longsand head at LW & head 127 degrees . Taking 10-11 hours to sail the 60 miles you will drift 4.5 miles to the W of the course & approach Ostend from the W & the stronger tide will drag you along the coast. So 6 hours one way will equal 4 hours back on course. & it is the most efficient.
At Ostend passport stamping will be easier.
Get the tide to Breskens leaving just before it turns towards Breskens. give Zeebrugge a mile clearance & monitor the VHF ( 14??) Then make sure you monitor the VHF correct channels as you pickup approach to Breskens. Remember to change courtesy flag. Enter the marina ( watch out for Flushing ferry just before) & go to visitors pontoon. Call the HM for berthing instructions at the phone on the end of the pontoon.
If crossing to Flushing there are instructions for crossing the shipping lane. It is NOT just a straight line. You have to clear the end of a sand bank then go to a waypoint then cross square to the lanes. It can be a sprint across keep the engine ready. Watch out for the ferry coming & going quite fast Once in the lock area watch for signs to enter the small vessel lock. Listen for lock instructions on the VHF ( I think it is 22 but it is on lock wall) Sometimes get them but in dutch.
On return I suggest going back to Ostende via Breskens. I suspect that It is an easier route re wind farm & shipping lanes etc.I admit that I have never done it. Leave Breskens as tide turns, no later & it rips past the harbour entrance. Always seems to change earlier than tide tables suggest. !! Make sure you use as much of the tide as possible. It is strong. I suggest going back to Ostend to get passport stamped out. You will have stamped in so will already know what to do. Then reverse course back to Longsand head. I like to arrive to catch tide into the Blackwater. But you are going to Harwich - I asume.
As for crossing shipping lanes the one at the longsand head end is so lightly used that you can get away with crossing at an angle. If you have AIS set up for 10 miles plus then harden up & cross it at right angles if a ship comes in that circle. In over160 crossings I have never had to do it.
As for the main ones further south, your 127 degreeswith tidal effect is pretty square to the shipping lanes so one does not have to make much of a course change. Generally you have to change course a couple of times for ships anyway, so the right angled rule tends to go out of the window anyway. I know that the colreg followers will object, but practicality comes into it.
If you are going from Harwich then arrive at Longsand head at LW & head 127 degrees . Taking 10-11 hours to sail the 60 miles you will drift 4.5 miles to the W of the course & approach Ostend from the W & the stronger tide will drag you along the coast. So 6 hours one way will equal 4 hours back on course. & it is the most efficient.
At Ostend passport stamping will be easier.
Get the tide to Breskens leaving just before it turns towards Breskens. give Zeebrugge a mile clearance & monitor the VHF ( 14??) Then make sure you monitor the VHF correct channels as you pickup approach to Breskens. Remember to change courtesy flag. Enter the marina ( watch out for Flushing ferry just before) & go to visitors pontoon. Call the HM for berthing instructions at the phone on the end of the pontoon.
If crossing to Flushing there are instructions for crossing the shipping lane. It is NOT just a straight line. You have to clear the end of a sand bank then go to a waypoint then cross square to the lanes. It can be a sprint across keep the engine ready. Watch out for the ferry coming & going quite fast Once in the lock area watch for signs to enter the small vessel lock. Listen for lock instructions on the VHF ( I think it is 22 but it is on lock wall) Sometimes get them but in dutch.
On return I suggest going back to Ostende via Breskens. I suspect that It is an easier route re wind farm & shipping lanes etc.I admit that I have never done it. Leave Breskens as tide turns, no later & it rips past the harbour entrance. Always seems to change earlier than tide tables suggest. !! Make sure you use as much of the tide as possible. It is strong. I suggest going back to Ostend to get passport stamped out. You will have stamped in so will already know what to do. Then reverse course back to Longsand head. I like to arrive to catch tide into the Blackwater. But you are going to Harwich - I asume.
As for crossing shipping lanes the one at the longsand head end is so lightly used that you can get away with crossing at an angle. If you have AIS set up for 10 miles plus then harden up & cross it at right angles if a ship comes in that circle. In over160 crossings I have never had to do it.
As for the main ones further south, your 127 degreeswith tidal effect is pretty square to the shipping lanes so one does not have to make much of a course change. Generally you have to change course a couple of times for ships anyway, so the right angled rule tends to go out of the window anyway. I know that the colreg followers will object, but practicality comes into it.
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johnalison
Well-Known Member
I prefer the trip back from Blankenberg as it mainly avoids rough water over the banks and is generally simpler and only a bit longer, but I don’t know how it fits with the bureaucracy, and a 2m draft will give you a narrower window for movement.
Marmalade
Well-Known Member
I'd route as Daydream believer says - although I've never been particular about the state of tide - you do however, as he suggests, need to know which side of Oostende you'll end up and steer accordingly - ie let the tide bring you back on course
MikeBz
Well-Known Member
Thanks all, very useful. So for Oostende to Breskens you can just take an inshore fairly direct route as long as you give Zeebrugge a mile clearance?
MoodySabre
Well-Known Member
Yes. Use the tide of course.
westhinder
Well-Known Member
Yes. The sea off the Zeebrugge breakwaters is always lumpy, especially with wind against tide. Monitor Zeebrugge Port Control on Ch 71 to be aware of any ships coming out or heading in.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
After Zeebrugge one needs to keep inshore a bit to avoid shipping heading to Antwerp but it is no big deal.
The advantage of Blankenberge is that fuel can be easily obtained from the fuel pontoon at the end of the main entry channel on the west side. Fuel is also available at Breskens & Middleburgh, but a bit more hassle at Middleburgh. None in Ostende unless you go to the Royal YC Ostend at the end ( not recommended) & cross the road to the garage & get fuel in cans there.
If leaving from Blankenberge one can miss the end of one inshore shipping lane, although there is still shipping coming out of it to be avoided ( I think the lanes have been changed due to wind farms etc)
The Belgians may have stuck a wind farm to the east which may affect the passage. I am not very good at googling for info on that. I have never left from Blankenberge
The advantage of the route coming home from Ostend is the day trip can work the tides & at 6 kts it is not too long, from Ostend to LSH.
Then there is the nav info such as the W Hinder, The direction of shipping so one knows how far one is along the route. 3 buoys to look out for -Garden city, Fairy W, or Twin to correct your course. Then the wind farm to the Galloper to the east or the London array to the west. The buoys to the shipping lane to the LSH ie S1& S2 Then as it gets dark The Longsand head buoy ( keep your eye on the sounder in case you have strayed too far west onto the Longsands) & later the loom of Felixtowe in the sky. With all that info one does not need a chart plotter , just a compass & echo sounder & a log for luxury.
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