27 - 28 May Middleburg

The weather became calmer and Summer arrived for a few days and while there were high winds not so far away, in the harbour at Ostend the gulls were crying, the water was flat and a steady stream of Dutch festival boats came out of the locked in harbour ready to leave for home. It was not far off spring tides with strong tidal streams to reckon with - leaving after lunch meant the they would help us on our way - we left in company with "Gamma" another Brit boat and once clear of the harbour realised that we were not going to be able to sail in such light winds making it unavoidable but to motor all the way. fast trip and the Westerschelde entrance was busy but not bad allowing us to cross to Vlissingen easily where we found the sea lock already open and waiting for us - how kind. Four or five opening bridges brought us to Middleburg bathed in the golden evening sun - it was just perfect. There was space for both Gamma and Talisman on the waiting pontoon before the harbour bridge which was a wonderful place to spend the night and wait for the first bridge opening in the morning.

Walking the town, we found ourselves in the large square lined with cafe tables lit and heated by large gas burners which threw a column of flickering flame into the air as the four of us took coffe and chocolate and discovered common threads with each others lives. Valerie was a painter too and had some interesting ideas for art sessions which she had done with her set on the East Coast.

Tuesday was a well deserved lay over day with the glorious sunshine continuing to reveal the glories of the town to us. How quaint and colourful are the tiny bricks used for road surfaces, paths and buildings, they give a warmth, texture and interest to the town which tarmac and concrete destroys, and somehow they made the Nieuwe Kerke, towering above all in its puritanical grandeur, seem to be even higher than reality as the bricks lost definition more quickly with height. In the morning light I did a sketch of the magnificent bell tower set behind the irregular roof line of nearer houses - such colour and form. The days could hardly have been better as Navionics who make my electronic navigational charts came up with a helpful suggestion to overcome a serious chart display problem I had been having since leaving Beaulieu - and the solution worked, hooray.

Jane had planned a meal with double cream but this seemed not to exist in Albert Hine the vast supermarket in the town - we were assured by customers and staff that all they had was a squirty product for obliterating cakes or tops of drinks. In desperation I had to text Ruth who once lived in Holland and replied that we needed "slagroom" - which they had of course, one of those words like Rumplestiltskin which you would never guess. The rain came back in the evening but with Gamma our new found Cruising Association chums we simply spent an entertaining chat evening in the yacht club bar not 50 mtrs away from our mooring - a splendid place fronted by a full scale wooden lady of days gone by, a Dutch bicycle of the usually rediculous stature and troughs of flowers - a great welcome - and free wifi.

A lasting memory will be the bread shop to end all bread shops 400 mtrs down the road where it would be possible to die in paradise surrounded by the best variety and quality of bread known to man and directly opposite is a strange tin shed where the young man sold everything which once swam and had now been smoked - we bought one and had it with lunch, the subtly in flavour was quite special.