Going Dutch!

As the weather would not permit us a comfortable passage straight from Egersund to Ramsgate, 3 days sailing has safely delivered us to the Netherlands.  We had a very foggy welcome in Den Helder which made the last few hours of our initial passage rather taxing and our new AIS (Automatic Identification System) to see on a screen the progress of every vessel round about us really proved its worth along with the trusty radar too of course.  We were mightily relieved to arrive on dry land again and catch up on a decadent whole nights sleep.

After a day in the recovery position we set sail again heading south to make our eventual crossing to UK a shorter distance.  Last night we savoured the delights of a massive marina at Ijmuiden (at the mouth of the canal going into Amsterdam) and now we have battled another very breezy day to arrive in Schevenigen (the port of The Hague) where we will spend the weekend.  Next week looks set fair for our second North Sea crossing but this time to dear old Blighty. 

The Departure from Stavanger

Full Naval Honours from Auralius II and Happy Daze!

The Departure

Amidst all our frenetic plans and scheming we have made a huge omission.  We omitted to take into consideration the impact that leaving Stavanger and the JWC would have on us.  We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of warmth, concern, huge effort and support from so many quarters and as our departure date has moved closer we have dreaded the more sad goodbyes every occasion has demanded of us.  From the incongruous sight of union jacks atop the picnic tables on Lindoy, bedecked with all sorts of yumminess and far too much booze not to mention all the kind words and gifts…to the lavish but informal dinner chez Doucette with more generous speeches and gifts and finally to the complete surprise of the splendid send-off by the Royal Naval element and the Yacht Club Bosun on the water with Happy Daze and Aurelius II flying The White Ensign and The Union Flag high on their masts to the bewilderment of the passing cruisers!  All these occasions have rather caught us broadside emotionally so it was with unexpectedly heavy hearts we sailed out of Stavanger and sailed for Egersund yesterday and today is about an overwhelming sense of gratitude to everyone for making such a special and undeserved fuss of our Departure.

Now we must think on.  How do we proceed with the first days of the rest of our lives?……we have studied weather charts ad nauseum and have decided the best option is to sail down tomorrow to Den Helder in the Netherlands which offers the most benign conditions on our southerly track.  The whole jaunt should take about 3 days (and nights of course!). 

Empty house :(

We are now officially ‘of no fixed abode’…which is simultaneously terrifying and liberating.  All our worldly goods apart from those going to Son 2 and coming with us on Resolute are en route with Pickfords to a depot in Fareham.   The detail – if glimpsed amid the chaos, would highlight upon the misplacing of Colin’s wallet (not an unheard-of occurrence) just as the removals men stood proudly amongst all their sealed boxes of course and now the ever mounting fear that we do not have the required set of house-keys!  This is the normal stuff of our (25 or 26ish) military moves.

Poor Resolute is standing up under the strain of, amongst many other things, 25 pairs of shoes in The Bilge….which is now re-christened The Basement.

Suddenly the weather forecast has taken over our prime viewing spot both online and on T.V….but the only weather window which is showing itself is the gale which will accompany Gill on the successive ferries back to Blighty in the next few days…..which is hopefully not a portend of North Sea crossings in lesser vessels to come shortly…..