I departed Lauwersoog well set for the night sail but a close run thing occurred. Now, to confess, in the words of the immortal Johny cash “ I had a beer for breakfast, it tasted so good I had one more”.
Being head down and looking at the electronic charts is something all sailors are guilty of, head inside the cockpit rather than visually navigating, following the bouyage. Having said that the bouys are shifted and if is really not obvious when you look at the chart plotter and then try and relate that to what you can see, the slight and critical movements are not so obvious. Close to spring tides, coming into the channel (s) that run down to clear water I was seeing the charted depths on my Navionics app did not agree with the actual depth information coming from the depth instrument, seemed a bit odd, it should have rung a louder bell, the height of the tide was a good 2M and I was seeing different numbers. I had updated (I think) the charts, certainly downloaded them, installed them etc. anyway to cut to the chase I grounded the ship, it wasn’t the first and won’t be the last but some are more serious than others and this one has generated a memory I shan’t forget. Close to springs on a falling tide is not such a good thing, the range is close to maximum. Laid over at perhaps 45 degrees with a 60Cm swell it had the potential to loose the ship and possibly self. However dexterous application of engine and sail (to keep ship laid over and reduce draft) found me arriving in the broad sunlit uplands of deeper water with no damage, other than my only bottle of Lea & Perrins ! The decision to continue made and a fairly busy navigate through a lot of ships, but since no one shouted at me on the radio I consider that a plus.
Worth saying that the German VHF calls all boaties “Leisure Vessel” and it must be said that perhaps 15 calls on this passage from Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) to such vessels remained unanswered, you can imagine the Teutonic pronunciation of LV!
So, always follow the bouys, I had navigated the channel’s with the same app three years before, I thought the data and supplier good but… The channels do shift a lot with time as I learnt today. You can always watch the riddle of the sands for some more texture including the adorable Jenny Agutter with a German lilt or lisp!