This time we had it all figured: sandwiches prepped, tidal charts and streams calculated, and Simba prepped with some ham (Danke Moni for spoiling him 😛).
We left the marina at 05:45 when it was already slowly becoming light. No winds and a relatively calm sea state. We decided to head out first for 2-3nm and cross over to Dieppe less close to the coast. A strategy that should pay off, not only in beating two larger vessels but also in seeing our first dolphin.
The dolphin was just by itself but stayed with the boat for almost 30min. A truly magical moment. It played with the waves around the boat and when our boat was stuck in a breaking wave, the dolphin even waited and looked up for the two super excited and moved humans.
3 hours before arriving the wind turned and increased and so did the waves. Due to the fact that the deeper North Sea (~30-40m) was breaking on shallower shore, we had insane waves throwing us around like being in a washing machine. Luckily we had winds from astern, so that kept the boat at least somewhat calm. Although this was our most challenging sail, we are getting into the groove of rhythm, sailing, planning and enjoying!
Then we arrived in Dieppe, the first truly French town or what one would expect a town to look French. The wind remained strong and the marina is a constant swell, but the town is truly amazing. Dieppe is a nice mix of seafarers town including fishery and deep sea vessels but also bistros, cafés and a nice promenade.
We enjoyed a beer, and had a video borrel (Dutch for drinks) with Lisanne and Fred. After that we went to bed early only to experience a horrible night: a lot of swell in the marina and very strong wind. André even became a little sea sick in the middle of the night 🤣
The next day we slept in and treated ourselves with a breakfast in a little coffee with everything a true „Amsterdammer“ needs: oatmilk cappuccino, smash avocado sour dough bread, and french boulongerie vibes.
After that we had a busy day ahead: shopping on the local market, doing the laundry, going running as well as washing and tiding up the boat. At last we had a drink in the sun and went to a local hotspot: a Libanese veggie food place and watching the sunset at the beach.
Our goal for the coming days: slow down even a bit more 😀😉
