Saturday 4th August 2018

We made it back to the Nieuwe Haven by 2130, hungry, so rather than start cooking on board, in a replay of history *, we went to the Eetcafe and talked them into cooking for us, though it was strictly  after their ´last orders’ deadline for food.

* We had done something very similar the first time we visited Dordrecht soem years before.

Sunday 5th August 2018

On Sunday we decided to stay one more day in Dordrecht and declared a half-day of rest, since the crew were tired after their exertions in the heat of the day at Antwerpen.  Today was yet another scorcher with temperatures 30+ degrees.

In the afternoon we visited Dordrecht’s De Stichting Museum 1940-45, whose emblem is a silhouette of a propeller from a Lancaster bomber that crashed not far away.  The museum  much impressed us with the breadth of its collection in a small space, and with the commitment of its volunteers, one of whom gave us a personal tour.

Monday 6th August 2018

Today we said farewell to Dordrecht, and headed off south, first down the Oude Maas river, then the Dortse Kil.  The wind started as a light easterly, not enough to sail.  When we turned west along the Hollandsdiep, we were motoring downwind, so there was little or no relative wind, and we were roasting!  

We decided to put into Strijensas - it looked interesting, and we'd not been there before.  Entrance is shoal, about 1.8 m, but finding an unoccupied (green marked) box mooring was easy enough.  The marina has a small chandlery, but does not take UK credit cards - grrr!  And we discovered that there are no shops in Strijensas, you have to hire a bike to ride to Strijen about 7km away.  This is not quite what is implied in Brian Navin’s book, which says 'village nearby'.  Electricity, water and showers cost extra.  So this stopover does not get a top review from us!  We did later discover there is an hourly bus service that runs till quite late, from the church square to the nearby village of Strijen, where there is an AH.

The temperature reached 32 degrees in the shade that day, and down below, much more in sunshine  - very light winds meant it was difficult to get a good through-draught going.

We all had a good meal in De Batterij, the restaurant above the marina office, while watching three hot air balloons drift west towards Willemstad.  The restaurant did accept UK credit cards, so we treated ourselves to a dessert.  We followed this with a walk around the houses of the tiny settlement of Strijensas, where there is a sailmaker, but no village store.

Tuesday 7th August 2018

We decided to move on from Strijensas on Tuesday, and decided to try Middelharnis in the Haringvliet, about  16 NM away.  As we left our mooring it was a dead calm, so no choice but to motor.  Haringvliet bridge was undergoing engineering work, and was operating less frequently than normal, on the hour from 10 with some gaps midday and afternoon. 

We we were in time for the 1000 opening, and with the pressure of time relaxed, sailed much of the remainder, but the wind was painfully light.  

Moorings at Middelharnis are mostly fore and aft along the bank.  Electricity is easy to access, water less so, as there is only one point. During the afternoon the temperature reached 34.8 in the shade!  We hazarded a walk along to AH, about a mile away - which in those temperatures was seriously hard work!

We ate on board - a strogonof eaten out in the cockpit, perhaps the last chance to do so for a few days. Tim and David then went out for coffee and ice-cream on the quayside.  The skies got darker and darker, while the wind strengthened from the SW. Overnight several thunderstorms rumbled through, accompanied by heavy rain. It was an uncomfortable night, and the temperature did not really subside until morning.

Wednesday 8th August 2018

We awoke to find temperatures about  15 degrees cooler  than the last few days.  The wind was SWly, apparently F5 gusting F6, but this was forecast to moderate as the day went on.  We motored out at about 1000, and headed for the E end of the Haringvliet, about 9 NM away, eager to catch the 12 noon bridge opening, since the normal hourly service  had been suspended and there would be none at 1300.  We were managing 4.5 to 7 kts under genoa alone.  With a little engine support towards the end we made it with 5 minutes to spare.

Once through the bridge, we motored upwind to the Volkerak lock system, and were lucky enough to be signalled straight in without needing to moor.  On exit, our path lay more or less to the SW.  Although diesel was getting a little short, we did not feel up to tacking this part of the passage, and no one else seemed to be doing so either!  So we motored the length of the Volkerak at economy speed, then turned north into the canal leading to Oude-Tonge.

Oude-Tonge has turned out to be a good find.  The HM offered us a berth and went to the trouble of checking with the owner that he would not be returning until Friday afternoon, which suited us well, as heavy rain was forecast for Thursday.  We walked round the village and saw the sights, many of which related to the aftermath of the catastrophic floods of 1953, in which 1800+ lost their lives, and hundreds of houses in the region were destroyed.

We had a very satisfying meal at the nearby Cafe de Geit, mostly frequented by the locals - we had three main courses and four beers which cost us just 35 Euros.

Thursday 9th August 2018

In view of the weather forecast - which threatened heavy rain for the entire afternoon, and strongish winds - we had agreed to stay an extra night in Oude-Tonge, and to spend a quiet day there.  Shopping facilities - Albert Heijn, Aldi, and Kruidvat - are all within 100m of the moorings!  Carol and Tim shopped there to set us up for the weekend, and David looked after some maintenance tasks, including replacing the joker valve on the sea toilet, which had given some trouble on the North Sea crossing (fellow yotties will know that changing a joker valve is no joke at all).

Friday 10th August 2018

Today we reached the conclusion that we should stay here in Oude-Tonge for a third night.  This was largely because the place had rather grown on us, but in part also because another patch of poor weather was expected for late Friday afternoon.  The HM was pleased to accommodate us, with no change of berth.  He also pointed out that as we would have stayed three nights, we would be eligible for a fourth night free of charge.  This was a tempting offer, which became yet more attractive when the HM pointed out that he had bicycles he could lend us for a day or two, free of charge, to broaden our scope.  We decided to try at least one cycle trip, then see if we felt inclined to stay one final night before moving off south.

We settled on a ride to Middelharnis, which we knew a little.  It turned out this was about 12 km distant, the gradient almost flat, in common with many road trips in this region.  Moreover, Tim had had little chance to see Middelharnis when we visited by boat, so he was keen too.  The bikes needed a bit of adjustment to suit us, so it was after 13.00 when we set off.  We took the easy direct route outbound, which followed the N215 most of the way; but - apart from a few hundred metres - cyclists had their own track of generous width.  If only cycleways could be as carefully thought-out and implemented at home - even cycle-friendly Cambridge is not a patch on the provision here.

We had an enjoyable stroll through the main shopping area, where a lively and colourful market was in full swing.  We had a refreshing cup of tea at one of the quayside bars, and then cycled NE to the mouth of the canal to the Haringvliet, intending to cycle a different route back, along the shore-side.  Unfortunately this proved not possible as that cycle path was closed (owing to recent grass fire, as we later discovered).  So we had to find a different alternative, and ended up following the ‘Oudelandedijk’ across country, a little longer, but very interesting.  The wind though was brisk, and with dark clouds rolling by we fully expected to get wet - but escaped with just a few drops.