Anchor Light Lagoon

Tuesday 13th June

To Veerse Meer via Middelburg - 9.5 nautical miles total

We were very well looked after at the little club harbour at XX (can't tell you or I'd have to kill you). 

The price was really low and the Harbour Master's husband even gave us a lift to the station when we left. We knew we'd struggle to explain to a Middelburg taxi where to pick us up so we asked for help and got more than we were asking for – chauffeur driven to the station.

On our return from Finland our reservations proved justified as the taxi driver had no idea where to take us. Luckily we knew the way roughly and we got back to Bonify in the end.

Tuesday morning we were keen to move on so we settled up early and delivered our gift from Finland to our hosts: smoked reindeer soup. Hope they like it!

Before we could sail off into the blue we had to return briefly to Middelburg and pick up some charts we had ordered. They are of the Dutch Fresian Islands which is the only bit of our planned trip that we were missing. We've got it all covered on electronic charts but paper back up is important too – you never know with electronics. While we were there we took in the supermarket too and then we headed off to the Veerse Meer.

This is a part of the Dutch inland waterways which used to be islands and sea. The villages were fishing villages and some still have old boats and boat yards from that time. But it all changed with the Delta Plan. After the disastrous floods of 1953 a huge investment was made is protecting the lowlands and this included the building of enormous dams and the enclosure of vast tracts of water which used to be open to the sea. It makes for a fantastic sailing ground and so has a huge population of leisure sailors in the summer.

We make stately (ie slow) progress along the Veerse Meer under staysail only, but it's lovely and quiet and there's no rush. We are early in the season yet, so once we get to our favourite anchorage we find plenty of space. The 2 islands which enclose this little lagoon have names (pretty unpronouncable ones) but we have christened the lagoon itself: Anchor Light Lagoon. It sounds a bit Swallows and Amazons I know but it harks back to a time we came here in Victoria and were moved on by the Police (Police!!) for not showing an anchor light. In about 3 foot of water where nothing but a police rib was likely to even get close. With our tent up and the rain about to fall. Grrr! The memory has stayed with us.

View from Anchor Light Lagoon: that's De Omloop over there - Brian's favourite spot for Avola for many years. Howard resents that the wasps there have a taste for beer

Close up of Avola's mooring - Brian and Lorna saved us a spot there once with towels on the quay (before the wasp incident)

There is a boat on the jetty there, and another one anchored but it's hardly crowded

View the other way - couple more boats on a jetty. That's the jetty we moved on to when the police objected to our lack of anchor light on Victoria. Another time I did a solo circumnavigation of the little island on the right solo in  my little sailing dinghy Gracie. We haven't brought her this time - she ended up sat on the deck a lot more than in the water.

Howard took a couple of dips here - just in and out as it was chilly. I wimped out. I was hot but not quite that hot. Then we lit the Cobb barbeque and cooked up a feast.