The MBM Holland cruise gets off with a bang. The fleet for the Holland cruise congregates in Ramsgate after a troublesome day at sea for most of us
51°19.711N 001°25.260E
It was a traumatic day for many but despite heavy seas, high winds and engine woes 22 of the fleet made the start point of Ramsgate in time for the briefing this evening.
And in a fine show of commitment, Blue Diamond, which has been trapped in Brighton by bad weather brought the final tally up to 23 after its crew made a four-hour round trip by road to hear Neale regale the group with details of the coming trip.
Today was a busy day for the crew of Blue Fin and Time Flies. We left Portsmouth shortly after 4am and battled some pretty choppy swells to make it here by 1pm, including a particularly hairy entrance into Ramsgate harbour.
And in the true tradition of Sod’s Law, as soon as we had moored up the sun came out and the water settled; if we weren’t all so shattered from the day’s events we may well have considered setting off again straight away.
But Ramsgate lightened the mood and got the trip off to a flying start with a superb fireworks display over the east pier organised especially for the MBM Holland Cruise. *
In other news Donny Rover, which made the trip all the way from Lowestoft, has certainly had the most eventful day of everyone we’ve spoken to, including broken engines and flying fridges. Our fingers are tightly crossed that they can get their problems sorted before we set off.
We are still waiting for three boats to reach us: Castaway, which is stuck in Chichester and Blue Diamond and Joli D which are both stranded in Brighton. Hopefully they will catch us up.
Who knows what tomorrow brings? The plan is to check weather conditions in the morning with all crews on standby for a possible crossing to Nieuwpoort, weather permitting, so here’s hoping.
*Ramsgate has yet to confirm that the display was arranged solely with MBM in mind.
Caption 1: Fireworks at Ramsgate Harbour
Caption 2: Neale amuses the fleet at the briefing
Holland Cruise fleet
Akvavit Nimbus 31 Ultima
Aqaba Sunset Bavaria 33HT
Blue Diamond Sealine F43
Blue Fin Princess 42
Castaway of Falmouth Sealine S34
Delta Flyer Birchwood Commando 37
Donny Rover Broom 345
Elusiff Broom 41
Everso Birchwood 370 Commando
Ironic Fairline Phantom 46
Job Done Sealine S38
Joli D Broom 42
Mamselle Aquador 26 HT
Odyssey Broom 36
Petrolia Nimbus Nova 42
Polimar II Atlantic 37
Rosie Fairline Targa 40
Sea Turtle Motorcat 29
Seabiscuit Sealine F37
Seascamp Nimbus 320 Coupe
Silver Princess 286
Skipjack Jeanneau Merry Fisher 805
Smitten Sealine 410
Summer Breeze Maxum 3100 SE
Sunniva Broom 39kl
