Borkum was today's target, one of the places mentioned in the glorious spy novel The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. The book is on board and Lesley is reading it for the third time. This time is particularly delicious as the shallow and treacherous coast featured in the story is where we are sailing now.
We left Delfzijl early to catch the tide to take us down the river Ems towards Borkum. Soon we had plenty of wind in the nose and so much wind over tide that we were bucking and plunging like a fairground ride. We had the main sail up but had to motor as we were too close to the wind. Very uncomfortable, cold and peppered by salt spray, we set our jaws and motored onwards for a total of 5 hours. It was a salutory reminder of what seaways are like compared to the tameness of canal chugging.
Borkum is a sleepy harbour. Our first Frisian island. Slightly otherworldly...
Every where we go we hear oyster catchers peeping plaintively. There are trawlers and wind cats here as well as a good many yachts, many of them German or Dutch.
It's a quiet place to stay before our next venture to the shallower waters of Nordeney (which also stars in Riddle of the Sands). A man at the harbour master's office told us sternly that the approach to Nordeney is 'very dangerous' and we must hug the buoys. There are no spies in our story but there may be adventures.
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