Mercator Marina, Oostend, Belgium

Neighboring local boat showing Dutch spelling of the town's name

In order to get to this marina we motor-sailed about 10 miles northeast of Nieuwpoort and waited outside the entrance to the harbor for the green lights. The harbors here use International Port Traffic Signals. When we arrived, it was red for a ferry coming out plus a flotilla of really little sailboats for a children’s regatta. Then it switched to green-white-green, which means you need permission to enter. We waited awhile green-green, meaning we could go, but I wasn’t sure they were going to show that, so I called for permission. They said to wait. We had to wait through another red before we finally got our greens.

From our stern looking back at the entrance to the marina

Then once we were in, we called Mercator Marina. It’s inside a lock, so we needed to let them know we were coming and get instructions. The fact that we would have to go through a lock to get here was one reason I’d picked Nieuwpoort instead to start out with, but we’re going to have to do locks eventually, so we might as well get used to it. This was a good place to learn, except for the crowds lining the lock walls watching us. The short story is that we had some problems and got turned sideways in the lock, but we got straightened out again, didn't break anything, and learned from our mistakes. The major thing was that we didn’t have our lines set up right, and the bowline got fouled, so we didn’t get tied off quickly enough. When we left the lock and tied up to wait for the bridge to open, we did better.

Tall ship Mercator, for which the marina is named, securely anchored off our bow

Once we got settled, we went exploring. There’s a huge grocery store just across the drawbridge from us, so we picked up a few things and dropped them off at the boat and then walked along the Kappellestraat, the major pedestrian-only shopping street, which is on our side of the bridge. We walked all the way to the beach, not that far really, and on the way back finally found our frites and beer in a little café (more a Belgian fast-food place) that appeared to be on the edge of the respectable part of the shopping district. A bar called Bada Bing was across the way and a tattoo parlor just down the street. One medium order of frites between us satisfied our craving, so now we can see what else Belgian cuisine has to offer. It looks like it’s mostly chocolate, waffles, and pancakes. Whether the pancakes are Dutch style or French crepes, we’ve yet to discover.

Treats we have been resisting, but it isn't easy

40 hour passage + rain in Belgium = new photos

We've had time to add photos to the website. There are five new photo pages. Go to our home page and use the links under "Recent Additions." The same links also appear under "Latest Additions" on the main photo page.

Raining in Belgium

What are the odds? Well, actually in August, I guess they aren’t that great. The locals say this weather definitely isn’t normal. Summer weather is usually nice.

Yesterday we walked to town to find a baker and get more baguette. Also on the agenda was Belgian beer and frites (French fries but better). Alas, they don’t seem to sell just an order of frites where they also sell beer. We saw a couple of walk-away frites places, but when we gave up and went back, they were closed. We did have a local beer, though.

Not on the agenda but a real bonus was an outdoor art show that was going on around the town hall and market plaza. We liked several of the artists, enough so that if we were still buying art, we would have been tempted. And even though we weren’t buying, it was fun to look.

I’m using my Dutch more and more. It’s really helpful in the stores where the signs are in Dutch, but I’m also trying to speak more. Clearly my accent is terrible, and I’m sometimes misunderstood or not understood at all, but I’m trying not to switch back to English. John noticed in the marina office that the staff bore with me and didn’t switch to English until they noticed John and I speaking English with each other. So there’s hope. For his part, John really likes Normandy and is thinking of taking French lessons this winter. Pretty cool, I think.

At the dock in Nieuwpoort

We arrived and tied up at the reception dock here at 7:30 a.m. after an exciting night of threading our way through well-marked and lighted channels from Calais in the dark. We aren't sure if we'll stay here more than one night. A local has already advised us to go on to Oostend, so if they have room for us, that's what we'll probably do. Stay tuned for updates.

It's farther than I thought

We're making good progress on our way to Nieuwpoort, going faster for six hours and slow for six as the currents change. But I revisited the mileage tables and discovered that Nieuwpoort is about two full days from Cherbourg, not the day and a half I thought. It doesn't really matter; it's just two nights out instead of one. But in case anyone is counting the hours until our arrival, I wanted to let you know.

-Shirlee

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Moving on

Later this morning we’re leaving Cherbourg and heading on to Nieuwpoort, Belgium. We’ve had a wonderful time here, thanks in no small part the last few days to Sue and Laurie Stoll of Princess Sue.

Originally from the Brighton area, Sue and Laurie have been living here on their motor yacht for the past 18 months. Shirlee met Sue in the laundry room where Sue was helping the newcomers figure out how to use the machines. When we discovered we were on the same pontoon, a book exchange ensued. Then they invited us on a store run in their car, and when they learned we were thinking of renting a car to visit some of the D-Day landing sites, they offered to take us.

Getting to ride in a car to the store and cart back provisions was a much-appreciated treat, but the trip yesterday to the Normandy American Cemetery and the town of Bayeux was really wonderful. Sue and Laurie had been before and could tell us things we wouldn’t have known otherwise. For example, French servicemen from WWII visit and tend assigned graves several times a year. Sue and Laurie went with a French friend on one of his visits earlier this year. We are so lucky that we met this very generous couple and hope that we’ll see them again. In fact, we’re talking about meeting up in Amsterdam while we’re there.

Another thing I forgot to mention falls in the small world category. Between the Azores and here, we heard an American boat Dandelion on Southbound II. A few days after we arrived, I saw Dandelion come into Cherbourg, so I went over to say hello. Somehow it came out that the owner, Andrew, was originally from Eugene, Oregon. Not only that, he played in the Eugene Junior Symphony under Dick Long. Obviously, he’s quite a few years younger than we are since we played in the Junior Symphony with Dick Long. Dandelion appears to be the only other American boat here.

Andrew also brought word of the other boats we’d been traveling with: Ventura, Aphrodite, and Orinoco. He passed within VHF range of them at the entrance to the Channel, where they were hove to awaiting lighter winds. We heard a couple of days later from them that they had safely reached Falmouth.

Still in Cherbourg

When we arrived here, we paid for a week in advance. At the time, we thought that we’d go from here to Le Havre and take a train to Paris. Since then we’ve learned a lot about the prices of things here and have changed our plans. Next we’ll go on to Nieuwpoort, Belgium, and save our trip to Paris for the off-season.

The public market in front of the theater

Umbrellas of Cherbourg for sale here

This statue of Napoleon survived the WWII bombing

But first, we have to have a repair completed. Last week the wind in the harbor kicked up, and we needed to adjust our dock lines, so we tried to start the engine to back off the dock a little. But it wouldn’t start. It had been difficult to start since somewhere between Florida and the Azores, and we thought it was the battery. This time John checked the battery and it was good, so it must be the starter. We’ve been carrying a spare starter, so it wasn’t that big a deal when the mechanic told us the astronomical price to replace the one that died. We said use the spare. Pleased that the labor costs for the mechanic were very reasonable, John turned on the engine yesterday to warm the oil prior to changing it, and smoke started coming out of the engine instrument panel. Nothing burned, but some wires melted, so we got a mechanic back to the boat to fix it. It was their error that caused the problem, so there was no charge to us. However, as they were running the engine to be sure that everything was OK this time, they noticed a small fuel leak. The high-pressure fuel hose had chafed through in a spot. So now we’re going to replace that, but the shop is closed Sunday and Monday, so we’re here until Wednesday. (John still has to change the oil after the repair is complete.)

Since our last post we’ve been to the public market, had dinner in a nice restaurant, and visited the museum of the liberation. We’re walking a lot to make up for all the baguettes and Camembert we’ve been eating. The weather has turned a little rainy, so we’re hanging out on the boat at the moment. Nothing very exciting to report, but maybe John will get another photo page or two put together soon.