The Westerly Owners' Association - National Cruise: June 2007

South Coast-East Coast-Netherlands

Sea Quest, Red Romper, Cognitus, Esmerelda and Coronado set out from the Solent for Ramsgate in flat calms. A stop at Eastbourne allowed time for a welcoming party on Sea Quest, whilst a prolonged stay in Dover, due to the weather, allowed time for maintenance, shopping, visits to Dover Castle and Canterbury as well as celebrity spotting. Griff Rhys Jones and company were filming part of an episode of Three Men in a Boat at the chandlery, with Sandy of Red Romper lurking in the background. Meanwhile Roger went on a day trip to Calais and returned with wine, cheese and pate which a small group on Coronado promptly ate! Roger was a crew member from Red Romper but he joined Esmerelda when a bumpy windward passage was made to Ramsgate. Here Marika M, Stormalong, Astrid Therese and Angela Dawn (WOAs very own three men in a boat) were waiting to welcome us to the Thames Estuary and East Coast. Bill arranged a very interesting tour of the HMCC Valiant as well as hosting a good party on Marika M.

Routes were planned, seaweed was consulted and the fleet set off across the Thames Estuary bound for Walton on the Naze. This time Roger sailed with Stormalong who were short handed. We had to give Brightlingsea a miss, as we were two days behind schedule, so Sea Weasel and Limelight joined us later that day. The Southerners found the shallow water entrance into the Naze a novel experience but all arrived safely and were joined by Proteus, Norma Ann and Hotspur. Some opted for a marina berth, others for a peaceful anchorage in Hamford Reach. Arnie, Sea Quest's dog, arrived for the passage to Harwich. Twelve members went on a wildlife spotting cruise of the Naze and were rewarded with sightings of seals and marsh harriers. Many of those in the marina enjoyed a good meal at the Walton and Frinton YC whose members kindly drove the revellers to and from the club.

The next stop was the Royal Harwich YC where Sea Laser, Lincoln Aries, Westerly Way, Galatea 3 and Nutshell joined the party as well as several Westerlys on Wheels. The Commodore of the Club was our guest and a very enjoyable dinner was followed by an entertaining and informative talk by Bill and Anita Miller describing their circumnavigation of the UK. The following day, Red Romper, anxious not to be tail end Charlie (again) set off for Zeebrugge 19 hours ahead of the rest of the fleet whilst 5 boats made their way to Harwich to prepare for the same voyage.

0400 came and the boats departed for the long crossing. The weather was variable with several hours of very good sailing as well as fog patches in the TSS. At one point Coronado turned back due to an electrical failure which David fixed just before reaching Harwich. Westerly Way also turned back for a while due to the fog but eventually all arrived safely to join Red Romper who just scraped in first.

On then to Vlissingen and our entry into the Dutch canal system. A leisurely trip along the Kanaal door Walcheren with one lock and six bridges brought us to our berths in Middelburg. A noisy and good informal dinner at the local Yacht Club on the second evening ended our visit and we all moved to Goes where we were welcomed by Tjerk Tjeerde of Westerly Club Nederland. There was no advantage in leaving first as the locks ensured we all kept meeting during the passage, although Red Romper did complain a little about only having photographs of everybody's stern. Sailing in the Veerse Meer was lovely. A final pontoon party with Sea Quest, Red Romper, Galatea 3, Nutshell, Westerly Way and Coronado brought this very enjoyable rally to a close.

On behalf of us all, a big thank you to Bill Miller and his East Coast team and Brian Easteal for all their work on our behalf to ensure that the rally ran so smoothly.