Nancy Blackett’s penultimate week in Holland got off to a leisurely start, writes crewman Barry Goldbourne…

Our new crew took over a great-looking Nancy Blackett at midday on Saturday, spending a leisurely afternoon in Middelburg after a 5.00am start to arrive in Holland. In the evening we had a lovely meal with the crew of the Dutch Yacht Godis.

Sunday was another lovely day – we sailed around Veerse Meer in force 2-4 south-westerly winds, before heading to Veere for the night. We had a lovely sunny evening, and a demonstration of how to manoeuvre Nancy Blackett in close quarters.

Monday was a leisurely day, mainly spent motoring from Veere to Goes. We had very light headwinds with full-on sun, and shared the lock with a 500 tonne barge – passing without incident – it was less challenging than the lighthouse toilet. Nancy Blackett continues to make new friends wherever she goes, as signified tonight in Goes marina with new Canadian, Dutch, and British friends tonight, assisted by some beer at 65p per bottle.

Tuesday saw a leisurely free sail, at close fetch, from Goes to Zierikzee, in a sunny force 4 wind. We chickened-out at the Zeelandbrugge and sailed through the lifting section. We are struggling to find time to move Nancy between Ship’s Cook Keith’s gourmet meals aboard. We continue to make new friends wherever we go. Can this great fun continue?

Nancy Blackett in Zierikzee 11th July 2017. Photo: Nick Ardagh-Walter.