We spent the whole day doing the stretch from Aurich to Wilhelmshaven. It's about 25 miles, but the 4.5 knot speed limit, 4 locks and 16 bridges that have to open make the progress a bit slow.
But it's a very nice experience. And the service one gets from the lock- and bridge keepers is fantastic! Once you are 'in the system', you get 'passed on' from bridge to bridge / lock. Either the bridge keeper comes with you on his bicycle or in his car or he 'phones the keeper of the next 'set' so that the bridge or lock is normally ready for you when you arrive.
And they are all very friendly and helpful, which seems to be the case with most people here in 'Ostfriesland'!
Some of the bridges are still manually operated:
They would do all of this even for one boat, but there were 4 of us:
We had a bit of a scare when one of the bridges would not open, but half an hour's wait solved the problem.
And the railway bridge which caused the concerns in Emden a few days ago also lifted to our relief:
So we are in Wilhelmshaven now. We'll take a day's rest (the wind is a bit too strong to go 'out in the open' anyway) and make a decision on when to leave and how to get to the Elbe later on.
Location:Südstrand,Wilhelmshaven,Germany
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