So this completed our Normandy trip and although we stopped off in Bolougne and Dunkirk for fuel and food refuelling we sailed on a pace and arrived in Oostende on 28 May.
We chose Oostende as our harbour in Belgium on our way north although we had heard that there was a sea festival in the city and it might be a bit crowded. Our helpful HLR for Belgium had contacted the harbour master on our behalf and assured us there would be space for us in the Royal North Sea Yacht Club and to call on our arrival. We were duly met by a most efficient young harbourmaster and shown to our berth.
Due to its position on the wide expanse of the beaches making up the coastline of Belgium and its water entry system to the city of Antwerp and beyond, Oostende was a regular receiver of bombing raids during the second world war initially by the Luftwaffe and then by the Allied forces as England was fearful that the city would be the launch pad for a German invasion of England. So much of the beautiful Belle Epoque-era buildings and way of life was destroyed by the 2 world wars as Oostende held such a strategic position and many civilians lost their lives to these awful bombing raids and capture of the city by the German army.
However it is now a bustling modern city with many high rise buildings and modern architecture. And it is home to the majestic and colourful Oostende voor Anker festival. We arrived in the middle of it and were amazed at this spectacle. It is one of the largest maritime heritage events in the north sea and over 150 historic and authentic vessels were berthed in the port. There were also fish smokers plying their wares in the quayside, nautical craftsmen and many sea shanty bands from all over Europe entertaining the crowds. We even saw some of the Dunkirk ships and took a tour around a British old barge that was flying the naval burgee and ensign. The cost of living is a lot higher than the UK but also the standard of living reflected this – at least what we could see of the country in our busy harbour.
We took a tram ride up to Blankenberge and found ourselves in a very modern seaside resort. It used to be an expensive, exclusive and fashionable bathing resort used by the royal and noble families of Europe, however the destruction of the grand hotels and villas on the seafront during the wars stopped all that and today it sports many rather ugly high rise blocks built from the 1950s onwards.
We had a rather interesting encounter with the Belgian drug police who boarded the tram near Blankenberge with their sniffer dogs and pistols obviously on display. No-one was allowed to leave the tram except one at a time if they had dogs. Everyone was sniffed and 3 young people were arrested and carted off somewhere. We were advised by our friendly Belgian neighbours that there had been a serious accident with drug smugglers and suppliers the previous week and the police were trying to control the elicit trade in ecstasy. We didn’t stop long in Blankenberge!
Our trip into Oostende came to an end on Sunday as favourable tides and winds gave us a good margin of time to get to Breskens, our landfall in The Netherlands. Fast sail in 20kts under headsail only and 1.5 to 2m waves on the stern. Just 4 hours 45 minutes to cover the 29nm to Breskens and our moving average was 6.2Kts. One of our best results.