The Mayor of Dunkirk and his experienced team organsied many commemorative events against a background of ever-changing weather, with a flag flying from the Church Tower in Dunkirk that showed a Union Flag on one side and the Tricolor on the other, to mark the 85th anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk. There were songs from the Belgium Military Wives Choir Brussels, and visits from many school children during the Little Ships’ visit.
The Little Ships were berthed together in bright sunshine and the relative calm of the Bassin des Commerce in the port of Dunkirk, but poor weather delayed their planned departure. High waves and winds gusting in some cases up to 35-40 knots prevented the Little Ships from putting out into the Channel.
But with strong winds giving way to a calmer period on Friday 30 May and continuing into Saturday 31 May the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (ADLS) fleet had the opportunity to at last sail for Ramsgate and other locations to begin their journeys home.
A handful of larger Little Ships managed a rather bumpy early crossing on Monday 26 May, arriving in a blustery and weather-beaten Ramsgate by early afternoon, but one Little Ship decided not to risk it and returned to join us back in the Bassin des Commerce in Dunkirk. The majority of the fleet remained in the moorings of the inner harbour.
The ADLS Little Ships will depart together escorted by the Nelson boats and met by the Ramsgate Lifeboat mid-Channel. The itinerary, as always subject to the weather, is as follows:
0500 Depart Bassin des Commerce bound for Trystram Lock
0600 Depart Trystram Lock bound for Ramsgate/ South Coast/ Queenborough/
Teddington
1400 Main group arrive Ramsgate
Once clear of the Dunkirk Channel at approximately 0800 the fleet will split into four groups:
The South Coast fleet
The Teddington fleet
The Queenborough fleet
The Ramsgate fleet The South Coast, Teddington and Queenborough fleet have a slightly faster speed available to them than the Ramsgate fleet, which includes the smaller and slower Little Ships, giving an advantage of travelling a little further before the weather changes again from Monday 2 June onward.
