After the first encounter with the North Sea, we were a little bit nervous and felt like total novice sailors. We decided not to continue the next day as planned but learned more about tides and currents from other fellow sailors in the harbor before setting off again.

We decided to do a 24-hour trip from Cuxhaven, Germany to Delfzijl, The Netherlands. There were a few people who advised us to stop off on one of the islands in the Wadden Sea but we were still too nervous to be grounded despite our shallow draft of 1.12m. We set sail in the afternoon after filling up our diesel tank and heater and expected to arrive in the morning in Delfzijl. The current pulled us out really fast with a speed of 7-8knots again. A few seals popped their heads out of the water to check on us but they were so fast, I couldn’t take any photos. It was a little bit windy at the start but calmer later.

When we were in the white water, the current was against us but it wasn’t too strong out there, we were only slowed down by about 2knots. The weather was nice and calm. We saw a lot of big commercial vessels in this channel. When the sun was setting, we were slowly going past the anchorage spot of the big vessels. The view was absolutely stunning.

The sea was like a mirror and very calm at night, the night passage was easy enough for us thankfully.

We reached The Netherlands early in the morning. The current was still against us as you can see in the photo below, but it was forecasted to change soon.

Although we were both sleepy, watching the sun rise kept us awake. Enjoying a warm cup of coffee while enjoying the beautiful sky was one of my best moments on this trip. Watching the day go by from sunset to sunrise on a little sailboat in the middle of the sea was really amazing. Although the sun sets and rises every day, every day is not the same.

And… we turned to the port side to Delfzijl. Everything went well as planned and we made it at the right time just when the current changed. We were flying again at 9-10knots. We arrived safe and sound, saw the harbor master and went for a nice hot shower. The Dutch customs came to check on us as well, they were nice and friendly, and even gave us some recommendations for good restaurants in the town.

We were still awake after the shower so we decided to take a walk around the town. It was a nice little town with all the shops we needed. The outdoor food market was the best one. It was a really hot beautiful sunny day.

The next day, we took the train from Delfzijl to Groningen. We spent a few hours there exploring the city.