September 29 - Fintele

Departed Veurne having taken on water and given a bottle of wine to the very friendly lock-keeper who let us stay in the yachthaven free of charge. Passage on the Lo Kanaal was very narrow and bendy to Fintele. Nice overnight mooring just after the lock - a wildlife paradise, so peaceful.

Moored at Fintele                              Fintele village

September 19 to 28 - Veurne

We purchased our Flanders licence @ €100 for the whole country for a year (lesson for UK Environment Agency where Thames costs £1,800 for just the Thames) and no sooner were we off down the first canal when bridges started opening by remote control, fantastic facilities! Our first week was spent in the yachthaven at Veurne, a delightful small town SW of Nieuwpoort on the Nieuwpoort-Dunkerque canal , washing off the salt, sorting phones and internet and generally getting to know the Belgian way of life.

Veurne Yachthaven                              Lift bridges sometimes just open magically

September 18 - Queenborough to Nieuwpoort

We arrived in Nieuwpoort Belgium from Limehouse on Saturday 18th September in good weather if a little rock and rolly.

Limehouse to Queenborough took 9 hours with an overnight stop on the lighter and then 04:00 start around Ramsgate, over towards Dunkerque and then following the French coast up to Nieuwpoort, a further 14 hours. 

Sunrise around Ramsgate                        Arriving Nieuwpoort