Breehorn 37 - Twêrk

This page is for the English visitor sailing to beautifull Zeeland.

Zeeland is the Southwest part of the Netherlands and it is a fabulous trip only 12hrs sailing East from Ramsgate. On the other pages of this website, you can see tons of pictures of the area and though you might not understand Dutch, you get a pretty good idea of how it is over here.

My name is Guillaume, I live with my wife Kris and two grown up kids Joline and Mattias in Antwerp, Belgium which is only 50′ away from where our house in Zeeland is.

When you cross the channel, you have different choices for arrival. You could make a stop in Ostend or Zeebruges, or you can come straight to Flushing, Neeltje Jans or Stellendam. (Stellendam is no longer Zeeland, it is South Holland, but the sailing is pretty much the same.

Our house is near Neeltje Jans.

Neeltje Jans is an artificial island, created after the floods of 1953, in order to close the Oosterschelde from the Northsee which can get very high with Northwest stroms at springtide. Neeltje Jans is connected to the islands of Zuid Beveland and Schouwen Duiveland with one of the world’s greatest pieces of engineering. The Oosterscheldekering. A huge system of gates that close at storm, but leave the Oosterschelde open for fish and fresh water. A lock - Roompotsluis with a bridge of 20m high tide - brings you inside. Allthough it is the same water level, the lock is necessary because the currents are too high at some time. Once you are inside, it takes only 15′ to get to Roompot Marina, a pretty and quiet yacht harbour with all facilities. That is where our house is and our boat, Twêrk.

From Roompot Marina, you can reach wonderfull pitoresc places that used to be fisher towns, but are now converted into tourist places. Allthough tourist is a big word. The Zeelanders are very quiet people and have a huge respect for nature. Towns like Zierikzee, Colijnsplaat, Goes, Bruinisse and  Yerzeke are within half a daytrip and they are all worth it. You land your boat in the old town center and you enjoy the historic scenery. Ask the locals where you can get good mussels, oisters or mussles and they”ll tell you. Now Holland is not the world’s most gastronomic place, but Zeeland is close to Belgium and it is beginning to show. There are top restaurants like Nolet or In den Wijngaard in Yerzeke and Vluchthaven in Bruinisse, and you can have the best Oosterschelde lobster in the yacht harbour of Kats. And the yacht clubs of St.-Annaland and Colijnsplaat serve excellent fish. As a matter of fact, the chef of yachclub Colijnsplaat is amazing. He can fry small soles like nobody else. It is an art. There are many more restaurant in the area, but they also have some bad ones too.

Once you’ve visited all these places at the Oosterschelde - do not forget Wemeldinghe next to Yerzeke, excellent mussles at the Bon Dia - you can go through locks to other areas such as Veerse Meer with the beautiful historic Veere, Grevelingemeer, with historic Brouwershaven or through Volkerak to Willemstad. On your way to the right there is a small river that should not be forgotten but it is on few nautical maps. It is called the Steenbergse Vliet, it is 3m deep and it takes you between cows and sheep to the heart of Steenbergen which has a couple of good bars and lots of fashionable shops. From Willemstad you can reach the Haringvliet with the quiet friendly little harbour of Den Bommel, the historical center of Middelharnis and the lively pubs of Hellevoetsluis. From there you can reach the North Sea through the lock of Stellendam and head back.

It is a marvel to do. You can easily spend three weeks or even a month in an area that offers quiet but exciting sailing with always good winds - I forgot to say that the people in Zeeland like to claim the micro climat / I think they have an avarage of two hours less rain per year than the rest of Holland - and beautiful short trips. Most of the harbours have free bicycles and since there are no hills, it is a thrill to ride.

If you plan a sailing trip to this area, don’t hesitate to send me a comment below. I’ll answer if I can. And if you feel I’m incorrect in my judgement, or forgot to mention some good hints, let me know.

Have a safe trip to Zeeland.