Wed 5th – Thurs 6th June – The Kiel Canal

Wed 5^th – 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 6^th – 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.

Tues 4th June – Nordeney to Cuxhaven

We left Nordeney Marina early in the morning …

… with our extra crew member, Caroline, being a figurehead!  It’s a surprisingly comfy place to sit when it’s calm …

But round the corner we encountered the waves and white horses on the shallow sandbanks off Nordeney …

… and then had a rip-roaring sail along the coast past the Frisian islands, in fairly confused seas left over from the recent strong winds.  It felt rougher than it looks in this picture!!

We were passed by some big container ships …

… and sailed past many large vessels lying at anchor in the mouth of the River Elbe …

Once in the river the waves calmed down and we had a leisurely sail upstream …

… and entered the port of Cuxhaven.

We went for a walk and bite to eat ashore, and enjoyed the lovely, calm evening …

Sun 2nd – Mon 3rd June – Still in Nordeney

The wind has just not let up, although it’s been quite sunny most of the time, so we are ‘stuck’ in Nordeney.  Not such a bad place to be stuck actually, but we have now seen most of its highlights and are keen to move on.

Caroline arrived on Saturday after a challenging journey involving 5 trains, one flight and a ferry journey!  Today Caroline and I went to the famous Badehaus in Nordeney … 

… and spent hours enjoying the sea water pools, jacuzzis and massage showers of varying temperatures, from hot enough to do the washing to freezing cold!

One was a Salt Bath where you floated as if you were in the Dead Sea.  There were 3 different saunas (one scented with lemon, and one with a spectacular view of the city), two steamrooms, and a sea water swimming pool with wave effects, fountains and a slide.  We got up a great speed on the slide by going down together!  There were rules about what you should wear – swimming costumes were compulsory on the first level, but not allowed on the second level! 

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the wind will moderate enough for us to leave tomorrow, but it’s by no means certain … watch this space!

Thurs 30th May – Sat 1st June – Nordeney

Thurs 30^th – A suitably foggy day for our trip to the Frisian islands of ‘Riddle of the Sands’ fame, but at least it’s flat calm …

We leave Holland and enter Germany in the middle of the River Ems, and Charles hoists the courtesy flag …

A mysterious ship makes its way through the fog!

Later in the afternoon, it cleared up and the sun came out.  Our first glimpse of Nordeney revealed a much more modern seaside resort than we’d expected …

We tied up in Nordeney Marina and celebrated our safe arrival – we seem to celebrate arriving quite often – it’s a good excuse!

Then we enjoyed an evening stroll in the sunshine …

Fri 31^st – I got out my trusty fold-up bike …

… and set out to explore the island (Charles had work to do, so stayed on board).

Firstly the town, which is all at one end of the island …

This is the central square with the Conversationshaus (community hall) and Badehaus (bath house).  The Badehaus has a sea water swimming pool with wave effects, and a number of baths of different temperatures which are supposed to have therapeutic qualities.  Nordeney grew up as a spa destination with healing baths.

On the beach, people rent ‘deck sofas’ rather than deck chairs, with a sort of roof and side walls – perhaps to protect them from the incredibly strong winds you seem to get here!

I then set off to explore the rest of the island by bike – most of the interior is sand dunes covered with scrubby grass …

I climbed up to a windy viewpoint …

… and gazed at vast sandy beaches and the ‘white horses’ at sea.

Then I pedalled ‘home’ along the coastal dyke round a nature reserve – a mistake as it was very exposed to the wind, and very hard work on my fold-up bike.  In all I cycled about 10 miles on those little wheels!

Wed 29th May – The end of the canal!

We had originally intended to go out of the canal system to the open sea at Lauwersoog in order to reach the Frisian Islands – and on Tuesday evening it looked like this …

… but by Wednesday morning it was blowing force 5 to 6, so we decided to complete the journey through Holland by canal.  The countryside is flat and low-lying, but very green and restful and the canals are sometimes lined with trees.

We saw some modern Dutch eco-houses with lots of solar panels and grass roofs …

… and both traditional and modern houseboats …

Several bridges are often operated by one person, who has to close one bridge, then cycle to the next.

We had time for a cup of tea …

… while waiting for the bridges to open in Groningen.

There are loading bays on the canals to allow the big commercial barges 15 minutes to load or unload the family car, which is normally parked on the back of the barge …

At last we reached the final lock and bridge at Delfzijl …

… one final look back at the canals …

… and we are out to the open sea.

In retrospect, we’re pleased that we traversed the whole of Holland, from the South West corner to the North East tip, through the canal system – with our mast up via the ‘Staande Mastroute’.  At times, the canals were barely deep enough for our 1.95 metre draft and we did a bit of ‘dredging’ through the soft mud.  We certainly feel we got a thorough impression of what Holland is like.  The trip took us 3 weeks and 2 days, although we did have one or two rest periods (such as the trip to Rome and a few days in Amsterdam).

Mon 27th – Tues 28th May – Solving a problem and on to Lauwersoog

By this time we had realised there was a nasty vibration and knocking sound coming from under the boat.  A helpful local man suggested Jachthaven Lunegat where the Harbour Master was excellent and arranged to lift Astraia out of the water first thing on Monday morning.

The strops are guided under the boat ..

… the crane lifts the boat up …

… swivels it round on to dry land …

… so Charles can inspect the problem …

The problem was fixed by moving the shaft back an inch and re-securing it.

So we’re off again.  This time Alexander took the car and Jackie sailed with us – a good choice on her part as it was a wonderfully warm day and we had a very civilised potter through the Lauwersmeer lake, past more lovely old Dutch sailing boats …

We anchored for lunch in an idyllic spot – it was even hot enough to need the bimini up …

… and we tied up in Lauwersoog Marina …

… in time to enjoy the sunset.