We weighed anchor at Vlieland, The Netherlands, at 5.00am on
Sunday 24th May. It was cold and calm as we motored half way back
round the island to be sure of clearing the many shoals. The wind died away and
the sun came out. We took the Hubert channel into the River Ems. This was well
marked at first but then the buoys disappeared and we found ourselves with only
2m of water beneath us at high tide. We found deeper water in the River Ems
channel and pushed the tide to the harbour at Borkum, one of the German
Friesian Islands.
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| The distinctive wind turbine at Borkum |
We had another early start the next day and left at 5.15am.
The conditions could not have been more different in the Westerems. The sea was
boisterous, the sky dark and threatening and the wind on the nose quite strong.
We bounced and slammed for 10 miles until we could turn into the inshore zone.
A few miles north of us was a traffic separation scheme (TSS) where the big
ships had to go. We could see them but they were of no danger to us....until....the
TSS ended and a buoyed channel from the River Jade came up to meet it. I was on
the helm and had to cross this channel and pass through a big ship anchorage
beyond it. There were ships everywhere, some anchored and some moving. I called
Jeremy to help me see a way through but still steered too close to the bow of a
huge anchored ship as the strong tide swept me on to it. We passed too close
for comfort but with no harm done.
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| Waiting for the fuel berth at Helgoland |
The tide eased and we made it safely to Helgoland, an
unusual German island as it has cliffs and stacks. We saw a large number of
yachts leaving the harbour and learned that a North Sea offshore race had just
left, bound for Edinburgh. We were offered a berth at the yacht club. We walked
into the town and had good meals at a pub behind the seafront.
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| Wind turbines on the Kiel Kanal |
Helgoland is a duty free island so we stocked up on wine and
spirits the next morning. We had to queue for diesel so it was 10.00am when we
left. We had a decent wind behind us and we were able to sail with the genoa
poled out until early evening. A strong wind warning was issued and we were
thankful that we were entering the River Elbe with the flood tide. There were
some steep confused seas just before low water and a few breaking waves. As we
sailed past Cuxhaven it was much calmer but we were going to be late for the
last locking up to the Kiel Kanal if we didn’t get a move on. Jeremy put the engine
on and soon we were doing 9 knots as the wind strenghtened as well. We made it
with only 20 minutes to spare and tied up in the huge ship lock with three
other yachts. The floating pontoon inside the lock is only 6 inches above the
water, so it was quite a drop down from Sal Darago’s decks. We tied up for the
night in the yacht harbour next to the locks. The space was tight but Jeremy
managed to fit us in. Lovely, hot showers were included in the 10 euro berthing
fee. We celebrated our arrival with a meal in a cafe/restaurant nearby.
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| One of the last transporter bridges in Germany |
The Nord-Ostee kanal (Kiel Canal) is a fascinating piece of engineering. It is 100
kilometres long and wide enough for two big ships to pass each other. There are
only two sets of locks at each end. It cuts through fairly flat land from the
River Elbe at the North Sea end to Kiel at the Baltic Sea end. Along the way
there are a few places where yachts and small craft can safely tie up or anchor
away from the swell of the passing ships. We soon learned that we could ignore
most of the lights along the way unless we saw three vertical reds, which meant
we must stop. Our next stop for the night was at Weiche Duckerswisch where we
tied up to our first “box”. There were many poles sticking out of the water and
we had to choose four of them to tie to – two lines for the bows and two lines
for the stern. It took a while for us to work it out, but the practice we had
here was invaluable for the future.
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| We won't leave the anchorage yet |
We had two more stops – Rensburg Yacht Haven and the
Flemhuder See. Rensburg has all facilities and a supermarket nearby. The
Flemhuder See is for anchoring only, in a surprisingly quiet and attractive
spot.
At the Kiel end of the kanal we paid 18 euros for our
passage. We shared the lock with three yachts and a ship, making the lock in
just before the gates were closed.
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| It's behind you! |
Our final stop in Germany was at the British Kiel Yacht
Club. This British Army sail training base is a quiet place on a Sunday. The
bar and restaurant closed at lunchtime but we had access to the toilets and
showers. To my delight there was a bath with a shower over it. I enjoyed the
luxury of a hot bath and hair wash. We walked about a mile into town, where
everything was closed except for a few fast food outlets.
