Now listen to our routined locking experiences: we planned to have breakfast while waiting for the lock! So, knowing the practice, we moored in front of the lock together with many other boats and had a quite and calm wonderful breakfast in the cockpit. Just as the last piece of dishes was done, the lock opened, we started the engine and entered. It was just as crowded, but everything went just fine. Locking is no "big deal" any longer (although I will always have respect for such a crowded place with hundreds of boats so close by).

After the lock, we had a current against us of 0.3 kts. That was exactly according to our calculations and was now confirmed by the GPS. This was astonishing! After a while we turned south towards Yrseke. Here, we had calculated with a current with us of 1 kts and YES, it turned out exactly to be like this! So we put up the sails, since we had a breeze of 12kts, 6 m/s (from what force do you call a wind a "breeze" by the way?). The fact that we only made som 3 kts through the water didn't matter at all (nor did the fact that it was raining now), since we actually moved with 4 kts over ground! We could see the many buoys making waves as if they were driving like powerboats through the water. It was difficult to think of the fact that the buoys actually stood still and the water was moving. I just wondered how it would feel getting into port with such a current!?

We took down the sails long before any other boats, just to not take any risks and motored into Yrseke. And just as predicted by Jurriaan and Christiene, there was absolutely no current in the port itself!

We were met by a harbour master in a small boat asking about length and width, then exchanged something on an handheld VHF to the harbour office and shouted "follow me" to us! I think the similarities to a medium sized airport were again valid here in Yrseke with the black and yellow Follow-Me-Car exchanged with a small powerboat. What a service! In Ystad, we often watch the guest boats entering into the harbour sailing around for half an hour, maybe more, to find a place. The more space there is, the longer it normally takes, since it seems to be difficult to take a decision. If only a few spots are available in Ystad, and especially if a number of (German) boats enter at the same time, they all seem to speed up to rush into the harbour and to take the first place they can find. And thereafter, I have even seen a couple that re-moored at 4 different places and went out again, since they found an even better place a bit further away.

Not so here in Holland.


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