How a North Sea week is shaped
7 daysRather than one route — four waters in three countries — this is the shape each takes. The country pages carry the specifics.
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1
Handover and the first short leg
On tidal water the first question is the tide, not the distance. On the IJsselmeer it is simply the wind.
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2
A harbour three or four hours on
Northern European harbours are close together and well equipped. Distances are modest by design.
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3
The first real passage
Across the IJsselmeer, out through a Zeeland channel, or along the coast from Nieuwpoort — each with its own constraint.
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4
The far point
Usually mid-week, and usually less far than you planned. Wind and tide here are both capable of taking a day off you.
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5
A sheltered night
Behind a dam, inside an archipelago or in a lock-protected basin. Every one of these waters has somewhere genuinely calm.
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6
Working back
With the tide where there is one; with the forecast where there is not.
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7
Base
Saturday on 39 boats, Friday on 28.
