Germany

We weighed anchor at Vlieland, The Netherlands, at 5.00am on Sunday 24^th 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.