A cancelled Saturday, a wet and wonderful Sunday, and one last goodbye to the mainsail.

Breskens Marina – 18–20 September – By Ilse & Piet

On Friday morning, after a short stop on a sunny coffee terrace in Mechelen, we drove to Adriana. We went with a touch of wistfulness: this was the last sailing weekend of the year, and the forecast was frankly poor. Strong wind, high waves, a solid dose of rain and cool temperatures.

Friday

A Sensible Decision

We decided on Friday to shelve our planned sail for Saturday. My sister and brother-in-law were due to join us, and we disappointed them. It was the right call on paper, and we’re sorry about it. But postponed is not cancelled, and we’ll try again next season.

Saturday

The Calm Before

Then came the night from Friday to Saturday, which was extremely quiet. At daybreak, with the sun shining straight onto our faces, we were rather disappointed in Friday’s decision. The forecast had won that round.

We made the best of it and took a morning walk to the Breskens lighthouse. It has been an important landmark on our sailing trips this past season, and from land it turns out to be just as impressive. It is well worth the walk, and the beach next to it is beautiful. Afterwards we treated ourselves in a lovely beach bar to a proper Dutch kroket. Honestly, so good.

Later that day the wind picked up, and the night from Saturday to Sunday was a lot less quiet.

Sunday

Rain First, Then Sun

At 07:40 our next guests were standing in the car park. Christof (my sister’s eldest son), Britt, my godson Alexander and his girlfriend Lene had made their way to Breskens in pouring rain, and even Christof, an experienced driver, thought the road was not much fun. We zipped everyone into sailing gear, handed out life jackets and waited for the rain to ease before heading out. The white horses on the water did not promise much.

With just the mainsail up, we cruised between Vlissingen, the lighthouse and Cadzand. A lively sea and busy shipping traffic gave us plenty of chances to practise tacking. One by one, everyone took a turn at the helm and faced the waves.

“After lunch the sun came through the clouds, and the smiles arrived with it.

Christof sailed us back to Breskens and turned out to be the expert at surfing down the waves. He and our son Jeroen, cousins, both spent many childhood summers at sailing camp in Nieuwpoort, and all that knowledge and experience came in useful today.

Back in the harbour it was time for gin and tonic, with a generous helping of sun. We settled in on the aft sundeck. So that nobody would have to leave on an empty stomach, Piet and Christof went to fetch pizzas from La Casa. Delicious. And then, unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye.

Closing the Season

After the washing-up and tidying away our things, Piet and I started taking the mainsail off the mast and stowing it. That is now the official end of this sailing season. The other sails come off this coming Thursday. We have ordered new sails, and the old ones will be used to determine the measurements and the design of the new ones.

What Happens Next