Orwell to Vlissingen. Any advice for a first timer?

[Carduelis]

We are planning a trip to Holland in early June and, for crewing reasons, I need to do the trip in one go. I'd like to go as nearly straight across as possible, windfarms and TSS permitting of course.

I suppose my main concerns are negotiating the Sunk 'roundabout' and the TSS off Vlissingen itself, but any advice on the best route would be much appreciated.

 

[sailorman]

We are planning a trip to Holland in early June and, for crewing reasons, I need to do the trip in one go. I'd like to go as nearly straight across as possible, windfarms and TSS permitting of course.

I suppose my main concerns are negotiating the Sunk 'roundabout' and the TSS off Vlissingen itself, but any advice on the best route would be much appreciated.

Neither is a problem but you do need to leave The Raan to port ( off Zeebrugge). The Vlissingen lock is not 24h so Breskens would be a better option if arriving out of hrs. make sure you get the favourable tide entering the Scheldt. Dont "Go straight across" leave LSH to stbd & steer a compass course having worked out the net tidal off-set

 

[wingdiver]

I would agree with Sailorman about using Breskens as an arrival port.
We did the trip last summer and the marina at Breskens is huge so should be no problem with getting a berth.
The Harbourmaster will allocate you a berth if you call up in advance of arriving. Otherwise, there is a visitors pontoon pretty much straight ahead after you have made the entrance and then turned to port between the wave barriers. The HM office is a bit of a walk away at the back of the building with the restaurant/bar in it. It is probable that the HM will actually arrive just as you moor up and direct you to a free space.
The windfarms on the Belgian/Dutch side were not an issue as we passed south of them.
If it's of use, I'll check the waypoints we used when we crossed last year.

 

[sailorman]

I would agree with Sailorman about using Breskens as an arrival port.
We did the trip last summer and the marina at Breskens is huge so should be no problem with getting a berth.
The Harbourmaster will allocate you a berth if you call up in advance of arriving. Otherwise, there is a visitors pontoon pretty much straight ahead after you have made the entrance and then turned to port between the wave barriers. The HM office is a bit of a walk away at the back of the building with the restaurant/bar in it. It is probable that the HM will actually arrive just as you moor up and direct you to a free space.
The windfarms on the Belgian/Dutch side were not an issue as we passed south of them.
If it's of use, I'll check the waypoints we used when we crossed last year.

There is a phone on the visitor reception berth to contact the HM

 

[Carduelis]

Very many thanks.

Breskens looks a good option. The only snag might be that my passage crew has to get a train & ferry straight back. This is dead easy from Vlissingen. I'll need to check this out for Breskens. Maybe there is a Shotley/Harwich type foot ferry?

 

[sailorman]

Very many thanks.

Breskens looks a good option. The only snag might be that my passage crew has to get a train & ferry straight back. This is dead easy from Vlissingen. I'll need to check this out for Breskens. Maybe there is a Shotley/Harwich type foot ferry?

ferry from Breskens to Vlissingen

http://images.marinas.com/med_res_id/82783

http://images.marinas.com/med_res_id/82780

 

[Stork_III]

ferry from Breskens to Vlissingen

http://images.marinas.com/med_res_id/82783

http://images.marinas.com/med_res_id/82780

And the timetable is http://www.vvvzeeland.nl/nl/vakanti...-fietsvoetveer)/walcheren/breskens-vlissingen

 

[wingdiver]

To be honest the ferry is a long-ish walk to/from the marina - 1 to 1.5 miles at a guess.
If your crew have bags to carry, it's a bit of a pain.
We did that from the ferry to the marina around 8 years ago when we collected Mermaid from Breskens. It was further than we expected.
Even travelling light when we visited Vlissingen last summer on the ferry, I started to wish we had taken the bikes.