Off the East Coast of England

The lights of the towns along the East Anglia coast are off our starboard side as we motor south toward the town of Lowestoft, where we hope to dock tonight after traveling since 6:40 a.m. yesterday (Sunday, September 6). The North Sea, particularly after the days of strong wind blowing across it before our departure has been uncomfortably lumpy most of the way, but we have had no problems and have maintained a good speed as we traveled beside or across major shipping lanes. Unfortunately, light winds and contrary currents prohibited us from sailing for the first twelve hours; just before 7:00 p.m., we were able to turn the engine off and sail through the night. I took the first watch from 9-12; Peter had the second watch and Rob took the last watch before sunrise. Luckily, the weather was rather warm. The skies were clear and the stars were bright. We maintained a speed of 10 knots for much of the night and through most of the morning before we again had to resort to the reliable engine for the rest of our voyage.

Far away, a huge floating oil and gas rig in the Troll field of the North Sea

We passed wind farms off the coast of the Netherlands, oil or gas rigs in the middle of the North Sea, giant cargo ships, fishing vessels and various marks for the shipping channels, occasionally having to make contact with the other vessels to confirm passing protocol. We spent the sometimes seemingly endless hours reading, eating, checking the wind and currents on phone apps and playing games--Farkle, Pass the Pigs and gin. 

Because we were able to maintain good speed, we crossed from Germany to England more quickly than anticipated, which is wonderful because I, for one, do not need to endure another night on watch. We will be docking at the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club in Lowestoft very shortly, so I am needed now as navigator.