11/08/22 - 13/08/22 Stampersplaat - Den Osse - Brouwersdam

Thursday

Another lazy day on Stampersplaat, with Patrick and I finally getting round to servicing the port headsail winch. It's not been turning as freely as it should since before we went to the Med but Patrick had stripped both down and found a broken bearing that we were struggling to find a replacement for. The replacement has now been on board a few months and now I finally got round to fitting it. BUT, when I stripped the winch the bearing was intact! The broken part must have been on the functioning winch. Unfortunately I couldn't completely strip the winch without removing it from the deck so we did the best job we could and put it back. Some improvement but think we'll need to try again and remove it from the deck to do the whole job as it still felt a bit "sticky". Maybe we should by some superior Harken Winch Grease rather than the standard stuff we have on the boat.

Once the winch was put back together the swing came out again and the kids had fun alternating between swinging, swimming and paddleboarding before hiding down below with electronics to get out of the hot afternoon sun.

In the late afternoon Patrick and I found a shady spot ashore to get some respite from the heat before we ate a very late evening meal.

Friday

Now we were really scraping the bottom of the barrel (or fridge) in terms of food supplies we decided to head to Den Osse as recommended to us by a motor boat we rafted alongside on Archipel. An earlyish departure from Stampersplaat and we were in Den Osse not long after 10am.

AJ stayed on board whilst Patrick, Esmé and I went to find out what was what. Paid for one night (just under 24 Euros) and got the keys to borrow some bikes. Unfortunately they were way too big for Esmé (a bit of a stretch for me) so she headed back to the boat whilst Patrick and I went on a shopping adventure. The bikes were not only huge but had no brake levers on the handles... just needed to back pedal which only took a little getting used to.

Anyway, off we went, me tiptoeing to reach the pedals and Patrick saying "that's how it should be". (When I stood next to the bike the handles were almost at my neck height!).

It felt strange not wearing a helmet but I consoled myself with the fact that we were in the Netherlands and there are cycle paths everywhere... our Dutch friends were horrified that in England we ride on the roads with cars! However as we went along I suddenly became aware that we were no longer on a cycle path and that we seemed to be on quite a "fast" road (luckily not too busy). A brief (wobbly) assessment of our surroundings and I realised that we had missed the cycle path which was down a grassy bank to our left. Shouted to Patrick and slowed to a wobbly halt. Waited for a gap in traffic, U-turn and headed back to the point where the cycle track separated from the road. Back heading in the right direction it really wasn't that far until we reached Scharenijke marina and then the "big" Plus supermarket.

 Much to Patrick's dismay the shop was heaving and so I did the best supermarket dash possible, collecting enough food for a couple of days with the intention of returning the next day. 2 rucksacks and a little use of the bike racks later we were loaded up and on our way back. Only a minor close shave on the return (stopping really isn't my strong point on these oversized, strangely braked machines) and then we were back.

Stashed the food and had a very late breakfast. After a rest and a tidy up we headed to the marina office to do laundry and arrange free hire of a Pico for AJ, the rest of us enjoying an ice cream in the shade whilst he sailed. After a brief sail in the marina he headed out of the harbour with some other kids to get some better wind.

A slightly challenging course needed to sail in and out of the dinghy dock but no problem for our boy.

Saturday

Up early for another supermarket run... I wanted a bit more flexibility than 2 days supplies but didn't fancy the bikes again so took Esmé to the closer Spar supermarket in the holiday village next door. Our attempt at a short cut got us lost in the maze of holiday bungalows so it was a 20 minute walk there, and 7 minutes back! Looked like a nice place and Esmé took time to enjoy the playground before we returned.

On our return Patrick was just finishing some hand washing of the stuff that got missed the previous day and was keen to tell me that the boat opposite (a Contest 32CS like ours but with a Pilot House) were happy to have us look round before they headed to the beach. The family were using their friends boat as a caravan whilst they enjoyed the beautiful surroundings ashore. A solid pilot house is something we have been considering as our second spray hood is looking old and tatty and we never take it down anyway. It would also give us a bigger area to mount a bigger solar panel. It was really interesting to see. The windows were bigger (and taller) which meant that I had much better visibility than on our boat. Certainly something to consider. Patrick had also been talking to a guy at the end of the pontoon about the marina and costs. He had a Contessa 32 and it cost him just 1500 Euros per year to moor there. It is a private club with a 2 year waiting list. Quite tempting! 

We headed to the marina office to say goodbye and purchase another ticket for the Grevelingenmere before dropping lines and heading out. On the way back to the marina we bumped into the owner of the Contessa 32 and he pointed out some of his favourite spots on the Grevelingenmere for us to try.We enjoyed a gentle drift towards Brouwersdam but eventually had resort to the engine. Our aim was to explore some of the public moorings close to Marina Port Zealand. I wanted to visit the beach and see if this was possible without spending money on an expensive marina. We looked into a lovely small harbour but it was hot, I wanted a swim, and there were LOTS of jellyfish so we headed back out and motored towards Brouwersdam watersports centre where we could see a collection of boats anchored. We dropped our hook for the first time since the Med and were a bit gutted to realise the holding was pretty poor. As we motored  astern the anchor was definitely dragging, however as the priority was lunch and a swim rather than an overnight stop, and it was light airs we decided it was good enough. Before the swim I paddleboarded over to the watersports area to check out the price of Catamaran hire and to have a better view of the massive waterslide. Although next to Centreparks this is a separate enterprise and we could pay 85 Euros for 3 hours catamaran hire or 17.50 Euros for an hour on the waterslide. I went back to the boat and in turn both kids came to look at the waterslide. We didn't have time that day and the jury's still out on if we'll return. Looks kinda cool but also kinda scary!

As this anchorage wasn't a good overnight prospect, come 5ish we moved on. Back to a series of pontoons outside the little harbour where we found a small space for Laurin. The Dutch opposite were very welcoming as is fairly normal for the Grevelingenmere and we got chatting before breaking off to cook tea. I really fancied a walk to the beach but was disappointed to find it was rather further than it looked due to having to walk up to a bridge to cross the busy road. AJ didn't fancy it so we reluctantly left him behind. Patrick, Esmé and I tried a slight shortcut which left us walking along the grass verge next to a railway track..... we've never seen a train go along it so might have to do some research about it. Eventually after about 1/2 hour we got to the beach, to find live music and LOTS of people. Patrick was looking less than convinced but Esmé and I were delighted with the prospect of an hour at a lively beach bar. AJ rang us and wanted to come.... but it was too far and we didn't have time to go back for him and still have time for a drink before it got dark. Patrick opted to head back to keep AJ company and Esmé and I enjoyed a drink and an ice cream, enjoying the atmosphere for a girlie evening!

It was a tough call, leaving it until the very last minute to leave but still ensuring we'd have some light left to find an alternative route back. In the end we got it just right and enjoyed the sunset and a lovely stroll "home".