Wed 5th – We still had a couple of hours to go from Cuxhaven to Brunsbüttel where the Kiel Canal begins. We passed a rig used for installing wind generators …
… and
were overtaken by some even more massive container ships. Most seemed to be carrying goods from China
and made surprisingly little wash at the low speed required in the River Elbe …
The
smaller ship is dwarfed by this monster …
The banks
of the River Elbe are quite thickly forested – with wind farms!! Not very pretty …
We
reached the entrance into the Kiel Canal at Brunsbüttel …
… and
they opened the lock just for us …
… then we
were in the Kiel Canal, where we still met some sizeable container ships, most
also carrying goods from China!
There are
no more locks till the end, and no waiting for bridges to open, as all the
fixed bridges are high enough for us to get under – though it doesn’t always
look like we’ll make it!
Looking
up, it appears that the top of the mast will hit the bridge until the very last
moment … it’s an optical illusion – you just have to believe what it says on
the chart!
We had a
pleasant, warm, sunny day travelling through the canal …
It didn’t
seem very busy – some stretches were completely empty …
…
sometimes, several ships would come along at once …
As well
as the road and rail bridges, there are many small car ferries to take minor
roads across the canal. They have ‘right
of way’ and can suddenly set off right in front of you!
This is a
combination road and rail bridge – the trains go across the top of the fixed
bridge, and the cars are transported inside the white carriage suspended on
wires underneath …
We anchored in an idyllic little bay called Flemhuder See, just past Rendsburg, for the night …
Some of the big container ships
completely filled the entrance to the bay as they passed by …
The three
of us – Di, Charles, Caroline …
Thurs 6th – The next morning we completed the last hour or
so of the Kiel Canal in perfect weather – warm sunshine and blue skies …
… and
waited for about an hour for the lock-keeper to let us in.
It’s a
massive lock – as well as two large ships, about a dozen yachts got in and it
was by no means full …
And we’re
out into the Baltic!
Planning
our route …
At the
helm …
We passed
more lovely sailing ships …
We were
chased into port by a little flotilla …
… and tied
up for the night in Sønderborg Marina, a very pretty spot.
Some nerdy/cheeky/jealous comments from someone with far too much spare time ...
ReplyDeleteThe green container ship, the Ever Laurel, was delivered in September 2012 and can carry 8,400 containers (the largest carry over 16,000!) Since you saw her she's called at Antwerp and left last last night for Port Said.
I remember the rail bridge at Rendsburg from hitchhiking through there in 1973. I missed the car transporter bridge underneath (like the one in Middlesbrough, where I was born) because our driver of the day took a much less scenic route through the tunnel.
I love the flotilla photograph.
And finally ... how did you managed to get so far without Caroline as photographer, helmsman and navigator ... and as ballast to counter the deadweights at the stern?