Our departure from Cuxhaven followed a little light rain but once into the Elbe we fiddled around for a few minutes with the sails but getting no help we motored for a mile or so and then tried again. The joy of push button sailing. Then with the engine off we sailed up the Elbe in the company of some very nice English in a large Dutch motor yacht and several other boats. A lovely sail in varingy light winds got us to Brunsbuttle where we stemmed the tide fo...

A long day began with a swift walk into the town of Norderney, which by the way is a smart, clean and attractive one, to purchase a data only SIM to access the Internet for weather, e-mails etc. In France, Spain, Holland it is a piece of cake…buy it preloaded…fit it in the router and off you go. In Germany however one can't do that and after half an hour of explanations about dubious complex procedures I agreed to purchase the card the voucher and the bonus...

We needed fuel and liased with the people who collected the dues from the U-Boat pens to collect at 0900 on the othewr side of the harbour, so casting off in good time we duly collected fuel from his bowser. As luck would have it the gas tap failed when I tried to make tea this morning and I asked for help and said I would take a berth on the Yacht Club on the SW side of the harbour while waiting for an engineer. The YC manager helped us in and made us very wel...

Our arrival in Oost Vlieland last evening was just fantastic with the lovely newish marina just for visitors, plenty of space to move and almost empty bar a flotilla of beautiful Dutch motor yachts in varying shapes and all in pristine condition. After suitable renditions of "Happy Birthday" to the aging crew, we left this lovely spot, with campers in the woods nearby, having met a CA member we chatted with at the Baltic seminar in London in February, and head...

Leaving Harlingen the unsettled weather of the early afternoon deteriorated as we motored across the Waddensee curling around the sandbanks until well out of sight of the mainland, then out to sea before turning to return up another channel into this tiny entrance for Vlieland. A newish largely empty visitors' marina with some facilities but in the most wonderful location. A passage of 18nm, which took just over 3 hours in squally and cold conditions.