Another 4am start to catch the tide south to Dunkirk, a passage of approximately 40 miles from Zeebrugge, and our final foreign port. A trip of no real excitement as the motor was needed for the whole passage for the second day in a row, a south westerly kept us in irons for our approach to the English Channel. Our last port of call certainly was always going to be an emotional one, not only because our journey was nearly over and able seaman Bob was leaving the boat, but sailing into Dunkirk and all it stands for makes a fitting end to our overseas voyage.
Every good tale has a twist and this one is no exception, as we found ourselves sailing into a Warner Bros blockbuster. "Dunkirk" the movie was being filmed right inside the harbour and we were in the middle of it. Producer Christopher Nolan, with his star studded cast of Kenneth Branagh, Harry Stiles, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance were nowhere to be seen, but for us the real heros were the little ships of the evacuation which were tied up all along the visitors pontoon.
The harbour had wound the clock back to 1940, with classic war ships, torpedo boats, and the heroic little ships of "Operation Dynamo" taking pride of place amongst the GRP constructed modern craft.
The sky was buzzing with a mock dog fight between a model Spitfire and a Messerschmitt, and as we wandered around the marina film extras in battle fatigues loitered, giving a strange sense of being caught between differing times.
During a dog walk along the beach we came across an extension to the film set, with thousands of cardboard cutout soldiers lined up to give the impression of mass evacuation, and buildings transformed with false facade to represent 1940's Dunkirk.
During the walk we bumped into our pontoon neighbours, a German couple that had also cruised the same route south from Rugen in the Baltic. We discussed the film and history of Dunkirk, then out of the blue they confessed to their parents being members of the Natzi party, and taking an active role during the War. Harmuts's father worked on the V2 rocket program, and Christa's mother was a spy in the SS. Harmut & Christa are a lovely couple and we thank them for being so honest of the shame and veryrespectful with their history.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3604876/PICTURED-Soldiers-cut-figures-warships-line-beach-film-Harry-Styles-new-World-War-Two-movie-Dunkirk.html