Tidal navigation to Den Helder

🎊🎉 Last stage of the trip! 🎉🎊

Well, I'll have to go to Enkhuisen at some point, but that will wait (Edit: as a matter of fact, I am now in Enkhuisen, but I sailed down mid-December).

I discussed with my German neighbours about when it would be nice to sail through the sandbank and the foreshore (the underwater parts that sticks out of the water at low tide). So I left according to the information he gave me, and that was quite a lot of wind to start.

I had to run on the engine for a bit to clear the first sandbank and be sure to have enough space to mess up while setting my sails. Once that was done, I set up with a reef in the main and going on one long tack against the wind but doing 8–9 knots! Sure the tide was helping me, but it was still not supposed to be more than a knot or two, so over the water Elvira was going darn fast regardless of the tidal current.

I was racing with some typical Dutch flat-bottom boats toward the narrow path. I needed to get there after slack water to get the ebbing tide pushing me through the path and carrying me all the way to Den Helder.

The plan worked like a charm! It was so stressful and exhilarating to glide at 7 KTS with little water under the keel and little space on either side. I also passed the flat-bottom at the entrance of the channel, they were slowing down to take down their sails and go across the path on the engine.

The rest of the sailing was quite uneventful, the wind calmed down and was coming right aft, there was no sea and the tide was carrying me forward slowly. At around 5pm, I was entering the marina in Den Helder and after mooring, I went on a walk to just have a look at the FairTransport sail cargo vessels! After all, they are the reason I went to Den Helder, and why I'm going back to school in general.

To Ramsgate and beyond !

The next morning, while I was calmly enjoying coffee and warming up on the guitar, I got a phone call from the office of FairTransport that went more or less like this:

— “Hello, would you like to sail on De Tukker?”

— “Yes, but who are you and how did you get my number?”

Turns out, they had had my number from the young sailor I'd met in Stockholm at the beginning of the trip: De Tukker was a bit short-handed, and they were looking for people so they asked their contacts, including her who said she would not be able to take part but knew someone who'd just arrived in Den Helder (me).

And so onboard I went, but that's a story for another time.

One last look at Vlieland's sand dune.

I say, there was a fair bit of wind to start the day, wouldn't you say?

Elvira galloping along the waves, close-hauled, 8 KTS 🤯 !

The two flat bottom I raced with!

A bit more spray

Reaching next to the foreshore, the green bits on the map are what sticks out of the water at low tide.

The Tres Hombres! And behind her is De Tukker (with the two bright wooden masts) !

De Tukker in the background and a flat bottom in front of her.

They are call flat bottom because they are, look at this! That is a smallish one compared to some others in the flat bottom fleet, but these things draw very little water and can go anywhere in the Netherlands.