Wednesday got off to a sodden start for Nancy Blackett and her crew, as Nick Ardagh-Walter reveals…

There was solid, heavy rain for about 16 hours, throughout the night and morning, together with strong winds out on the water, so we got up and breakfasted gradually, made coffee all round (using the Ship’s Jug and teastrainer gear) and stayed at Zierikzee for a second day.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed the charming and fascinating town with its medieval fortifications, 16th century houses and cafes serving Dutch apple pie in the town square. We then climbed the massive tower (mentioned yesterday) for views over the Oosterschelde and beyond.

Onboard cuisine in the evening took us to the exotic Indian subcontinent again (using a further slug from the jar of curry paste), followed by another excellent coffee from the clubhouse, and claws out for another round of the card game.

We aim to leave at around 11am today (Thursday) to catch the tide and reach Veere later in the day.