It's the salt water that makes the difference here. An inland body of water that tastes like the open sea! Salt water also has a different, livelier odour. It's also more fun to swim in, somehow. What's more, the stern wave really roars when you drive through it. It feels like the real sea!
This was not the case for a long time: After the Veerse Meer, an arm of the sea formerly open to the North Sea, was cut off from the sea in 1961 as one of the first measures in the delta project to protect against storm surges, its water dried up and the quality declined rapidly. Only since 2004 has there been a small - albeit indirect - connection to the North Sea again: a tidal gate in the Zandkreekdam to the neighbouring Oosterschelde gives the area a tidal range of around ten centimetres. That's enough: the water is clear again and the fish population is recovering.
Need more information? You can find the Netherlands Journal with many more pictures and a service section in BOOTE issue 07/2021 from 16 June 2021 at newsstands or online at Delius Klasing Shop.
And then there is the diversity of the region! It is also a favourite for this gem in the south of the Netherlands. Quiet moorings - even if only in the low season - on one of the 13 islands in the midst of marvellous nature. Anchor wherever you like. Plus charming towns such as Veere and Middelburg. Even a day at the beach is no problem, one of the most beautiful beaches in the country is just behind the Veerse Gatdam - including a jetty on the inland sea.
There are also excellent places to eat. Restaurant Meliefste in Wolphaartsdijk, for example, has just been awarded a Michelin star. The neighbours at Den Baas en zijn Madame, on the other hand, boast plenty of cosiness. Across the road, in Kortgene, you can eat in De Houtzaagwerf, an old timber sawmill - extraordinary! And in Veere, the cuisine goes in all directions: Italian, chic, home-style. But the cuisine here, with its Burgundian flavour, is always somehow special. The proximity to Belgium and France is palpable on the tongue - no comparison with the sometimes boring warm-up gastronomy that can be found in the Netherlands.
The Veerse Meer is also good for surprises in terms of navigation. There are no waves and hardly any currents like on the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde, let alone on the North Sea. If you are looking for something extra, we recommend a complete round trip around Walcheren. It's easy to do in a weekend. But it doesn't have to be, the small Veerse Meer can also be a challenge: If the wind is blowing from the west, you will experience something special after passing the lock in Zandkreekdam on the onward journey. Although the banks are flat, the wind moves with the meandering course of the water. Until the big bend at Arnemuiden, this means that the wind usually blows directly from the front. Sailors therefore have to cross and deserve special attention when encountering it. This is aggravated not only by the fact that the fairway is often narrow. Outside, red and green and white striped buoys indicate the 1.50 metre line. Behind it, even the seagulls are already on solid ground.
Further west on the way to Veere, trees and bushes block the wind. And should the conditions become too uncomfortable: The nearest shelter is usually less than a nautical mile away. There are so many small harbours, islands, jetties and anchorages in the area. This is also the next aspect of the fascination of the Veerse Meer: You are right in the middle of a holiday destination.
Need more information? You can find the Netherlands Journal with many more pictures and a service section in BOOTE issue 07/2021 from 16 June 2021 at newsstands or online at Delius Klasing Shop.
Foreign crews sometimes take long journeys to get to where others have their home port. For the latter, on the other hand, the question arises: where should you go when it is so obviously most beautiful at home? So quite a few local skippers limit themselves to keeping the legs short, especially on hot summer weekends, in order to then anchor, swim and chill out extensively. It never gets boring. Especially as there is always something to see: other boats, sometimes a stray commercial vessel, sailing schools or birds.
In the afternoon, we set off for Veere. Naturally, the first mooring attempt is at the town harbour. If there is still a free berth there, the first stop is the terrace of the sailing club. From there, the view sweeps across the wide part of the former bay to the dam. Ships come into the harbour, turn around and moor. Others sail out. Tourists crowd the street between the Stadthuis and the Grote Kerk. It smells of waffles and Zeeuwse Babbelaars, the typical sweets offered at market stalls.
Later in the evening, when the day visitors gradually become scarce, it is worth setting off on a stroll through the alleyways and courtyards of the town. You pass old stonework and well-tended gardens. The wealth that the cloth trade with England brought to this proud town in the 16th century is still visible in many places today.
Fishing and the proximity to Middelburg, a former base of the East India Company, also helped to create a certain prosperity. This is clearly evident in the almost grotesquely large Gothic Church of Our Lady, known as the Grote Kerk. It can be visited by appointment: The Dutch have turned it into a multimedia experience. Absolutely worth seeing. Afterwards, we dine at 1611, an Italian restaurant with a special interior and a small courtyard. Very cosy!
The evening ends at the yacht club in Veere, where there is always something going on at the bar late at night. The crowd is usually quite international.
New day, new destination: if you still haven't had enough of Zeeland's pretty towns, you can take the Kanaal door Walcheren to Middelburg in just under an hour. The provincial capital has an extensive marina orchestrated by a resolute harbour master who also operates several bridges. It can get quite crowded in front of the old lift and swing bridge. However, there is almost always a space to be found and everything runs smoothly.
Need more information? You can find the Netherlands Journal with many more pictures and a service section in BOOTE issue 07/2021 from 16 June 2021 at newsstands or online at Delius Klasing Shop.
The town is only a few metres away. It too exudes the prosperity of the golden age. The town hall, abbey and numerous squares are opulently decorated. Middelburg also has plenty of shopping opportunities.
The cruise continues either in a meticulously timed canal trip towards Vlissingen and from there perhaps to Belgium, France or England. Or the bow can turn back to the tranquil delta, for relaxed cruising on the Veerse Meer or the Oosterschelde, which once again has tides and currents to contend with. Which brings us full circle.
