It's a short hop across the zeegat between Oost Vlieland and West Terschelling, easily timed to arrive at high water. There was quiet a muddle of boats leaving the busy harbour and it was all we could do to find a way out between the moored yachts and their trailing dinghies. The westerly approach to Terschelling is only passable near high water with 0.1m at lowest tide and 8 feet when we passed through. The buoys had recently been moved and although our new 1800 series charts had been corrected, the CMAP plotter charts were clearly out of date.

We followed the long harbour mole past the ferry terminal and the "brown fleet" who had arrived in numbers from Vlieland and Harlingen. The modestly sized yacht harbour is arranged according to size but there was no harbour master on duty when we arrived. We found a space outside two other boats and even managed to find a spare electricity cable at the far end of the pontoon.

A short walk from the marina, the town of West Terschelling is the centre of island activities and we enjoyed lunch at Zeezicht, watching the comings and goings of the many visitors. Beyond the town the island drifts to an end in a nature reserve of sand and dunes known as the "Noordvaarder" where boats anchor or dry out. The gently shelving beach provides an ideal playground for kite surfers and beach buggies, as well as the mud-walkers who typify this region.

To the east the island is dotted with small villages, easily accessed by well-signposted cycle paths. We stopped at Midsland, where a tourist market was in progress on the main street, and then continued on to Formerum to visit the Wreck Museum. The work of the island's diving club, the museum houses an impressive collective of finds and trophies from warships, submarines, passenger and fishing boats lost around the islands over the last century.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 7 nm

Total to date: 1167 nm

Avg Speed: 6 knots

Duration: 1:15 hours

Diesel: 22 litres

Wind: E2-3

Mooring: €25

Electricity: €0,50/kWh

Charts

1811.5(D)

1811.5(E)