Rather Tailwind than Headwind

We took off from Cuxhafen in Germany at 06.00 am on 14 July after a good study of the forecast. It said we would get a windward leg at first which would turn to headwind for approx. 5-6 hours with force of 14-16 kn which we considered we could handle. We had calculated the distance to Den Helder in The Netherlands to around 185 nm which would take about 36 hours bearing in mind the coming headwind and considering the tide was against us. Well, the forecast was dead wrong! The headwind increased to 28-30 kn, we had a very strong tide against us and in addition to this it was pitch black. To put it mildly, we worked hard and slept very little. Our speed is not even worth mentioning. When we got fairly close to Den Helder we moved with 1-2 kn and fought the whole night. Moored in the Marina at 7.00 am on 16 July. We were happy to get to Den Helder in one piece.