I got into Lymington at 2AM, and, not willing to wake up the whole place with my noisy engine, took up a vacant mooring. Next morning, at 9, I set off to the Town Quay, to do some shopping; trying to get some of the English electronics destroyed in the lightning accident. After this, I set off again, and sailed up the Solent, past Cowes, and out again on the other side. Since the weather forecast was for only one more day of nice westerly, I wanted to get east as far as possible. Unfortunately, at night the wind died completely and I lay becalmed for some 4 hours just off Dungeness. In the morning a little wind came up from the south, and I crossed the shipping lines and sailed into Duinkerken.

I had never been there, and also have never visited Belgium. So in Duinkerken I bought a chart of Belgium (my charts of that area were very old and of too large a scale), and yesterday sailed along the beach, in tropical conditions and a very light northeasterly breeze. A dead beat all the way, but quite some tide in the right direction. At 7 PM I was near Blankenbergen, and decided to try to get in. I did, but only just! I touched the bottom several times...

This morning at 6 I escaped the place again. It is thundery over Belgium, and there is only very little wind, from the south. But the wind is expected to freshen, and if the gods are good and don't hit me again with lightning, I will be in Amsterdam next Saturday.

Bart

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