It's a tradition that we are only happy to keep up with each other. The sailweek with a group of men from the Tempo 34 veteran hockey team. In 2019 the first one from Sardinia with a charter sailing ship. A week of only laughing, screeching, roaring.
In 2021 for the first time with our own sailing ship Abayomi along the Zeeland and Belgian coast.
Our plan was to sail to England, but due to the Covid ssituation we had to postpone.
Now, in 2022 we go for it. Who are we?
Our keeper and Italian cook Raimondo,
Sometimes has a bit of trouble boiling water, but alway able to serve a great lunch in the cockpit.
And don't forget the snacks with the drink.
He travels to Italy early to stock up on the best Italian cheeses, sausages and wines.
Our caretaker Joost, controller and also our OBR (On Board Reporter)
Joost arranges everything down to the last detail together with Raimondo. Always helpful and attentive. And has the Go-Pro under control. Time-lapse, photo and video reports you name it, he makes it.
Our striker Peter, the ship's Chief Mate
Peter, has many years of sailing experience and steers the boat over the choppy waters.
He can also knows well how to hols a wine or beer glass.
Our Nestor Cees, the storyteller
Cees, First a full born "Hagenees", bon vivant and chief pacesetter, keeps the overview, checks decisions made and ensures relaxation.
The days before departure, a lot of provisions are stored. Wine, Beer, Limocello, snacks and ingredients for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea (read beer). Abayomi lays at least 5 cm deeper in the water. On Friday, September 3, the first men arrive on board in the evening. And after Cees also arrived on Saturday morning, we say goodbye to the ladies and at 09:30 we sail out onto the Oude Maas with destination Breskens.
So this year again from Rhoon out to sea with destination London.
Quite a journey for the 9 days we have. Via Breskens and Ramsgate to London and than back via Scheveningen. In total we will cover about 463 miles.
Saturday 03/09
Via the rivers Oude Maas and Nieuwe Waterweg we sail into the North Sea and we make a hard port turn towards Breskens. Unfortunately there is not too much wind so in order not to arrive too late we motor sail a large part of the voyage. Around 18:30 we moor in the Breskens marina after a beautiful sunny journey of 67 miles. There we are immediately visited by my old sailing buddy Ben and his wife with whom we sailed the Azores race in 1985. In the evening we enjoy a delicious meal at a Steak House "The Bull". One of the best steaks eaten in years.
Sunday 04/09
We depart early on the tide at 6:20am with destination Ramsgate.
Due to the Brexit, we now have to raise our Q-flag and officially clear customs again.
The whole procedure can be completed online via Gov.UK and in the end it turns out not to be too complicated and above all a formality. No customs or immigration service seen on board.
The wind is hopelessly weak again and we also motorsail this crossing for most of the trip in order to arrive before the restaurant kitchens close. Although Raimondo and Joost's lunch and afternoon snack are delicious again. During the voyage we casually wonder how old Queen Elizabeth would fare…. not knowing what would be announced a week later… After 87 miles we arrive in historic Ramsgate at 6:30pm. After putting on the brothel slippers we step ashore in search of a pub and restaurant.
And much to our delight there is a live performance in the pub too.
In all colors I tell about the Tunnels of Ramsgate and how nice it is to visit them.
The tickets are immediately reserved online for the following morning.
The plan is to visit the tunnels in the morning and then sail to Queensborough at the mouth of the river Thames in the afternoon.
Before going to sleep I check the weather, the tides and make the voyage planning for the following days. I find out that on Tuesday evening the lock for the St. Katharine dock is no longer operated as the high water is after 21:00. from that day there will be no night lock operations for the next two weeks. That would mean we wouldn't be able to dock until Wednesday morning and lose a whole day.
In order to stay on schedule, we have to go directly to London on Monday morning, because that evening the lock will still be operated for the last time at 20:00 hours. Oh oh how do I tell the men.
Monday 05/09
In the morning everyone is already awake early and I bring the news….. we have to leave soon otherwise we won't be able to get in until Wednesday morning and we will waste a whole day.
The men are relaxed...., no stress... no issue we will skip the tunnels. Sail the trade. What a great bunch of men!
We leave Ramsgate after breakfast at 09:00. A nice wind and current to sail to the mouth of the Thames. The first part of the Thames we have the tide slighty against us but gradually we get more and more current to our advantage. As soon as we sail up the Thames, the wind dies down but sailing is not an option here anyway.
It is a great experience to sail up the Thames with your own boat. The first part is not really special, just like the river Nieuwe Waterweg or Europoort area in The Netherlands. Once you pass the BARRIER however it becomes very impressive and there is a lot to see. A meandering river where you have to change course every few minutes and take into account the increasing current.
After the Barrier comes the O2 stadium, the cable car over the Thames, lovely pubs and historic buildings along the river. After 74 miles we arrive at Tower Bridge around 7 pm. Together with one of the Little Ships we pass through the lock and we moor at 20:30 in the outer harbor of the St. Katharine dock. Wow, what a unique experience. We are just next to the Tower Bridge. Just around the hotel and we are at the foot of the bridge and the Tower of London.
Finding a restaurant proves to be difficult at this time of day and we eat some snacks on board and celebrate that we have reached our goal.
Tuesday 06/09
Today we buy tickets for the hop-on-hop-off double decker bus and make a great tour through the center of London with all the highlights. Very handy because you get out if you want to see something more. In between we have a nice meal in a beautiful historic pub. What a great day.
Wednesday 07/09
We take it easy in the morning, have a look around and at 11:00 am we cast off to go down the river again on the outgoing tide.
After a leisurely afternoon of chugging and sightseeing on the river we arrive at Queensborough on the southern side of the Thames Estuary at around 5pm after 45 miles. We hear on the radio that Queen Elizabeth's health is failing. Didn't we already feel that coming? (When we are in Scheveningen a day later we hear that she has died and salutes have been fired at Tower Bridge).
That evening we moor on the buoy and fire up the COBB bbq for a party (what a super invention on board of polyester ships, you can put it everywhere on deck). After a lot of sate, beer and wine we satisfied go to our bunk .
Thursday 08/09
To make optimal use of the tide, we will sail very early this morning at 06:00.
Also because we have a long journey ahead of us to Scheveningen. Our Nestor's home base.
A total of 141 miles. The wind is changing on this trip and we occasionally add the engine to make a good average. It's a long but smooth journey. We cross several traffic separation schemes and at 01:00 we enter Scheveningen. Finally we are moored at 02:45 and we have one last beer on the successful crossing. Tomorrow we will be shown around THE city of the Netherlands (according to Cees)
Friday 09/09
This morning we sleep in and after a late breakfast we are guided through Scheveningen.
Unfortunately it is a rainy day. We are definitely back in the Netherlands!
The tour will be the visit to the best herring outery, the best beach cafe and the best pub 😊
No surprises, but it sure is fun. In the evening we eat at the best restaurant in Scheveningen 😊
A relaxed and fun day. We saw all the important sights in Scheveningen😊
Saturday 10/09
This day we leave for Rhoon. We have agreed to go out for dinner with the ladies to conclude this beautiful journey, so we have to be in Rhoon on time. We have a great backstay wind and soon we reach the mushrooms of Hoek van Ho
lland. However, it turns out that the Maaslandkering will close on this day for testing and will not open again until Sunday morning. So via the waterway to Rhoon is not an option.
So it will be Stellendam and along the way we decide that we should meet the ladies in Hellevoetsluis.
After bunkers in Stellendam inner harbor we sail on to Hellevoetsluis.After 35 miles we sail into the old harbor at 5:30 pm and are warmly welcomed by all the ladies.
That afternoon many stories are told about the experiences of this special and beautiful London trip. In the evening we all eat together at the Italian restaurant Fortezza.
In the end, there are several ladies who come along on the last day for a sailing trip to the Atlantica marina in Stad aan 't Haringvliet, the home port of Abayomi in 2022.
It was another top Tempo34 sailing week. Next year again but somewhere around the Canary Islands?
Great story guys, and so lucky to have been right by Tower Bridge. What an amazing experience. Look forward to reading more about your travels.