"Mr Blue Sky.....Maas centre, state your intentions please" "Maas centre this is Mr Blue Sky, we would like to cross the main Europort channel in the small vessels channel please"
"Mr Blue Sky.....Maas centre you will see two container ships on your starboard bow please pass behind those vessels and maintain a listening watch on channel 03"
"Many thanks Maas centre this is Mr Blue Sky out"
And that was pretty much it for crossing the entrance to one of the busiest ports in the world. The Europort is the destination of most of the shipping going up and down the English Channel and we had just managed to cross it in one piece, looking at pilot books and charts about crossing busy port channels and Traffic separation schemes can often fill you with dread but with good visibility and a keen watch it is never quite as much of a nightmare as you would have imagined.
An early start again
Once again it was a day on the engine with little or no wind, with the reputation of the North Sea I don't think that we mind that too much especially at this stage of the voyage. One more day and we will be in Dunkirque where Bob will leave and Tom will rejoin the crew to take Mr Blue Sky to the Solent where he will stay for a couple of weeks enjoying the Hamble river and the Solent cruising grounds.
The journey from Scheveningen to Zeebrugge was fairly uneventful other than a brush with the Belgium Navy SBS
“Quick Pagey leg it it’s the Rozzers”
Entering Zeebrugge we tied up in front of a 20 Metre catamaran headed for the summer in the Med, prices start at €38500 for the week if anyone's interested!
It certainly wouldn’t win any beauty competitions