This is "Onbekommerd"!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Marstal To Lohals

We knew that yesterday was going to be a blowout day, so we needed to decide where to spend it. We could have gone to Lundeborg where we have not been before but that would have been lee shore and by all accounts not well protected. So we decided to spend Sunday as well as Monday in Marstal. We witnessed the end of the accordion festival and Lyn added some music of her own:








Today we did the 24 miles to Lohals, which is on the North Western tip of Langeland. It was a bit bumpy at times, lots of salt water all over the boat. But not bad enough to make coffee and later sandwiches.

Just after we had tied up in Lohals there was a thunderstorm with just a little thunder but plenty of rain, which was good as we could then wash the salt of the boat. All Spic'n Span again!

Lohals is very quiet tonight and quite pretty too:









Lyn predicted a beautiful sunset. She was not wrong......





Location:Lohals Havn,Lohals,Denmark

Saturday, May 28, 2016

If you like accordions, you should be here......!

This weekend is accordion festival in Marstad (they call them 'harmonica' in Danish).
This morning, there were accordion groups and single accordion players all over town. Here is a selection:














Apart from that, the island of Ærø, where Marstal is, hosts a section of the 'Archipelago trail', a walking trail in south Funen. We had done the Søby to Æroskøbing part two years ago, so this morning we took the bus to Æroskøbing to do the section from there to Marstal. It was a 16Km walk through fields, bushes and villages. Very nice!





On the way there were some typical Scandinavian 'honesty stalls' where local produce is sold.





When we got back to the boat, we felt that we had earned a good meal so we indulged in the first 'Cobb' of the season!





Location:Marstal,Denmark

Friday, May 27, 2016

Marstal

The weather has made a serious turn for the better today and it looks like in general it will be quite nice for the foreseeable future with only now and then a bit of wind or a bit of rain.
Today's short trip from Bagenkop to Marstal was Baltic at its best:







Yesterday, in Begenkop, it appeared that the Danes were still hibernating. There was not a single Danish boat in the guest harbour. Only Germans (men only, that's what they do....), one Brit and us.

Today, the nice weather plus the impending weekend has brought out the Danes in droves. It was quiet when we arrived just after 1, now it's quite full.





But there is something else attracting all these people. What?
Read all about it tomorrow!

Location:Marstal,Denmark

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Denmark!

Just a very quick and short post to say we are in Denmark.

The lock-Gods were indeed very kind to us once again: as we approached the lock the famous white flashing light came on and in addition the lock master told the 'sportboote' in German as well as in English (!) that we could lock out of the canal now.

Once out in the Kieler Förde (where the water is blue and not brown as it has been for the past week or so) there was a bit of rain but the visibility and the weather forecasts were good enough to encourage us to continue straight to Bagenkop on Langeland in Denmark.

The trip was quite comfortable with a bit of water over the deck but nothing hectic and by 5:20 we were in Bagenkop. Yes, a long day (we left at 8:30 this morning), but worth it.

We will have a lazy morning and then do the 2 hours or so to Marstal where we plan to stay a few days as the wind is expected to pick up after tomorrow.





Here I am changing the German courtesy flag for the Danish one!

Location:Færgevej,Bagenkop,Denmark

In the Kiel canal

Yesterday, we did the first part of the Kiel canal, from Brunsbüttel to Rendsburg. It is 66Km so about 5 to 6 hours motoring. Usually, it is quite busy with commercial traffic, sometimes really big ships. Yesterday however it was very quiet, jus a handful of ships. On arrival at Rendsburg, we filled up with diesel and took a mooring. On the swimming platform of the boat next to us, a happy family occasion had just occurred:





We liked the proud mother and het offspring, there are probably more eggs but she was not moving!

We had a nice 'dinner on shore' with our new friends from the 'Nine Marit' and the 'Sierd Hiddes'. We usually eat out at the 'Riverside' restaurant at Rendsburg, good food at a reasonable price to celebrate the 'one day to the Baltic' mark!

This morning I had a surprise:








You may guess the occasion.....

At 8:30 we parted from the others and went back onto the canal for the final 33Km stretch. Today the traffic makes up for yesterday:









We currently have another 25Km to go to the Holtenau lock, which is often the one with a longish wait. We have done 47 locks so far and the 'lock Gods' have smiled upon us, so who knows. At that time we will also make a final weather assessment and decide if we are going to continue to Bagenkop in Denmark as is the current plan. More later....

Location:Sehestedt,Germany

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Start of the Kiel Canal

My apologies for the scant information. Sunday we had a rest day in Bremerhaven with not a lot to report and yesterday we moved up the little river Geeste, the weather proof route between the Weser and Elbe rivers. Only for low motorboats or yachts with the mast flat though, as the lowest bridge is 2.70m. We spent the night at Berdekesa where the Internet signal is not good enough to upload a blogpost.
This morning, we left at 7 to get to the Otterndorf lock in time to catch the incoming tide up the Elbe to Brunsbüttel where the Kiel canal starts.
We have sort of teamed up with two other Dutch motorboats at least until Kiel where our ways will probably part.
The weather was pretty dismal today, the first 4 hours on the Geeste it rained and it was cold. When we got to the lock, the rain fortunately stopped.
By 12 we were through the lock and onto the Elbe, our last bit of tidal water this year! The Elbe is always a bit stressful as there is often a lot of seriously big shipping. Today it was relatively quiet, so that was good. The other 'problem' is that you have to float around on the river (in a prescribed 'waiting area') until you get given permission to enter the lock (a white flashing light on the lock is the magic signal). At times it can take an hour or more in a strongly flowing tide and some wind before all this happens. Our luck today however held and after less than half an hour we were invited into the lock. It's quite a big lock, with floating jetties that are just a few cm above the water line. And someone has to get off the boat to tie up as there are only rings, no bollards. This is when we wear lifejackets.





Just after the lock is the small 'pleasure craft harbour' of Brunsbüttel, where we are tied up now and will spend the night. On to Rendsburg tomorrow, two more days until we are in the Baltic!

Location:Gustav-Meyer-Platz,Brunsbüttel,Germany

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Another early morning

The trip yesterday through the Küstenkanal was easy, not the most exiting stuff, 5 hours along a straight route. The canal appears to be full of Dutch boats, a bit like the Germans in Friesland. We had a short wait at the lock at the end and had a chat about our respective travel plans.





We dropped a few metres in the lock and tied up in the quite full harbour of Oldenburg. A relatively nice old university town, but the weather was a bit iffy.
The next stretch is tidal again, first down the river Hunte to Elsfleth and then down the Weser to Bremerhaven. This can be done in a single tide as long as you leave within an hour of high tide. The only 'problem' was that high tide was at 4:30..... But the conditions today looked much better than tomorrow, so we set the alarm clock for 4:30, woke up by ourselves at 4:25 anyway and we're off the mooring at 4:45 and through the railway bridge at 4:55 (fortunately it operates 24/7 and the lady operator was not even surprised when I requested an opening via the VHF).

As always, the morning light was beautiful. It was just getting light as we left, sunrise was only at 5:19.











The heron (and the duck you can just see) were clearly up early too!

With the tide behind us, we were doing up to 9.5 knots and at exactly 9 we were in the lock leading into the marina in Bremerhaven:





This is a nice and comfortable marina with excellent facilities (including Internet) and after all these long days with lots of miles, we are going to have a rest day tomorrow!

Location:Am Neuen Hafen,Bremerhaven,Germany

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Onto the Küstenkanal

We had a really nice trip into Germany today.
Off the mooring at 6am to make use of the incoming tide up the rover.
It's nice to leave early, the sky always seems to look prettier and today there was no wind which made it even better:








The current got quite fierce, at some stage we did 10.4 knots and we were certainly not pushing the engine.








By 10am we were already at Papenburg, where the Meyer shipyard builds cruise liners.





The landscape along the river is really very attractive, the fact that it is tidal and that there are lots of little muddy creeks along the shore makes it even better. And there are sheep grazing as well.






Soon after Papenburg you get the first lock, after which the river is no longer tidal. By now we were 'stuck behind a barge, which is not a bad thing as the locks as a rule don't operate for pleasure craft on their own, but you can 'hitch a ride' with commercial traffic. We fitted into this lock (Herbrum) and the next one (Bollingerfähr) with the barge and 4 other pleasure craft. The next lock (Dörpen) is smaller and only two of us could join the barge. Actually, we would have been fourth and having to wait but two of the others (#2 and 3) wanted to travel together so they let us in first.
So all in all it was a very pleasant day with lots of good fortune!
We are now in Surwold, 10 Km up the canal. Tomorrow we will do the remaining 55 Km to Oldenburg.

Rumour has it that there is free WiFi in this very friendly harbour, so I am going to try to upload this post now.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The 'Onbekommerd Express"

We had a very busy day and unfortunately have no pictures to show it.
We set off at 8 this morning and travelled the Prinses Margriet Kanaal (which later is called the Van Starkenborgh Kanaal) to Groningen. It was quite busy with commercial traffic, some of which are faster than us and others slower. But all have right of way. For faster ones you cling to the side of the canal to let them pass, slower ones you call on the VHF and negotiate an opportunity to pass. A few bridges have to open, but most are high enough for us to pass underneath. And there are a few locks, which you have to share with the big ships.
But having said all this, we were at the Oostersluis, the lock at Groningen, just after 2. We looked at tomorrow's weather forecast and decided to carry on to Delfzijl, another two and a half hours, including a few bridges and a lock.
So just before 5 we were safely tied up in the nice marina at Delfzijl. We did our last Dutch shop (at Albert Heyn) and are now tired but satisfied.
Lyn has a raft of ELS emails to reply to and I have also done some admin stuff.
Tomorrow we take the early (6am) tide up the river Eems into Germany. We don't have iPad or iPhone data for Germany yet and it will be a day or two before we do. So no blogs or emails until then!

By the way, did you know that by clicking on the 'Location' link / text below you get a nice map showing exactly where we are? Try it!

Location:Handelskade West,Delfzijl,The Netherlands

Destination Baltic

Two days ago we 'palavered' (a 'palaver' is the Dutch word for a meeting between skippers to make maritime decisions) with a group of 4 boats about our trip to de Wadden islands. We carefully looked at the short as well as medium term weather forecasts and found that there would be good conditions to go to Texel, the first island on Tuesday (yesterday). Looking further ahead however there were lots of problems: lots of wind on Wednesday, possibly a gap to move on on Thursday and very unstable and windy for a week thereafter. Now we are not in a hurry, but this looked like slowing us down a bit too much and the others had various commitments on shore later too. So we decided to abandon the Wadden plans and head through Friesland and Groningen to Delfzijl and take the 'weather safe' route to Kiel through the Küstenkanal. This is more or less the way we came back last year.

So yesterday morning we set off for a very nice trip across the IJsselmeer, in windless and glassy conditions:





In Stavoren we stopped to fill up with diesel (there is a place there which is known for inexpensive diesel) and to get a full gas cylinder.

Then we continued and spent the night on a jetty just past Grou (in the Doekesleat, which is on virtually no map). Today we'll continue to Groningen and Delfzijl tomorrow.

As it turns out, the weather forecasts have improved quite a bit, but we are now committed to this route. Still pretty cold though....

Location:Hôflân,Grouw,The Netherlands

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Of trucks and boats and planes (and busses and trains)

We have had a busy week, but not reported a lot, so here is a bit of a 'catch-up'.

Last Sunday there was a truck festival in Medemblik. Now we are far from being 'truckies', but it was still interesting to see over 100 trucks parked in the main street, which was closed off for the occasion. Not just trucks, but beautifully polished monsters.





On Monday we did another cycle trip. The weather was still great and the surroundings of Medemblik are nice, with picturesque villages such as Twisk. Of course still a lot of bulb fields.





On Tuesday we took a bus, two trains, a plane, and two more trains to get to Coulsdon, London. From there we had a few interesting and potentially promising meetings about expanding Lyn's business activities to the UK.
On Friday night we travelled back to Onbekommerd. The following day, the weather returned to 'cold and windy' as can be seen from the chicks of the ducks huddling together.





Last night we had a nice dinner with some 35 people from the Valk Yachts Club, who finished their 'spring Tour' here.

The plan is to leave tomorrow direction Wadden Islands. There is some promise of slightly better weather, it's blowing strongly at the moment.




Live from Onbekommerd

Location:Pekelharinghaven,Medemblik,The Netherlands

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Is it summer now?

A week ago, we were trying how many layers of clothing we could wear without looking like the 'Michelin Man'. It really felt like winter. Yesterday we opened all sides of our new tent and had dinner outside for the first time this year.





Today it was close to 30 degrees. We went for a nice cycle ride through the countryside. Unfortunately we did not bring the 'real' camera and these 'phone pictures' are not that great.











They are however typical Dutch spring scenes. The forecast for the next few days remains good, with a bit more wind. We have not packed the bikes away yet.

Location:Pekelharinghaven,Medemblik,The Netherlands

Friday, May 6, 2016

15 miles in 7 hours!

After Alkmaar, we had a short trip north and when we passed a jetty 'in the wild' near Oudkarspel, we decided to tie up there. It was wonderfully quiet, being woken up by the birds, followed by the crowing of the cock and finally the ducks was much more soothing than the Alkmaar traffic and police sirens.
At 10 we left and passed a few bulb fields, after the windmills a few days earlier probably the best known Dutch vista:














As we left, another motorboat passed and we followed him. No problem there. After about an hour we arrived at the first lock of the day, only to find that there was no lock keeper. He was away, apparently operating a different lock. During the wait a number of other boats appeared and they, together with the one we had followed, we part of a 'club tour', a group of 20 boats travelling together. They were the rear guard. After a wait of close to an hour, the lock keeper arrived and let us though. All 6 boats fitted in the lock. Not a lot further was the second lock. Here you drop 6 m into the 'polder' and the lock is quite a bit smaller but we all crammed in after quite a long wait. Then it was another 2 hours to lock number three. This one takes only 4 boats and with typical Dutch 'pushiness' there was a scrum to get in. If only the Dutch could learn to queue like the Brits or the Swedes.... A lock cycle takes about an hour so the total delay here was close to two hours. The fourth lock is only a mile further. But there were quite a few boats waiting already, so another wait. We finally tied up in Medemblik after 7 hours and 10 minutes, one of our 5 'longest' trips to date! But as the weather was very nice (sun, little wind and not cold), it was not all that bad an experience.

We rewarded ourselves with 'dinner on shore' and had a nice and restful sleep. This morning the weather is again excellent so we'll go and do a bit of a meander around.
We'll be here for about a week, we go back to London on Tuesday for a few days for a few meetings. So probably not too much blogging until then, unless we have something special to tell.

Location:Pekelharinghaven,Medemblik,The Netherlands

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Alkmaar

Our plan to go to the chandler (Dekker), did not work as the bridge we had planned to go under was not the advertised 2.8m but 2.4 m. We are finding quite a few inaccuracies in the inland charts this year. We could have taken another (longer) route, but the urge was not sufficient to do so and we headed for the Wilhelmina lock instead. We arrived just in time to lock together with a commercial barge and a few other pleasure craft. It was a bit of shuffling and squeezing, but in the end we all managed to fit in.
After the lock, one travels over the Zaan, along which are a lot of old industries. This was an important industrial area in the late 19th and early 20th century. Quite a bit of it remains (although of lesser overall importance) and some of the old factory buildings have been beautifully preserved or restored. This building is an example:





Also along the Zaan are a few nicely preserved windmills. Windmills were part of the early industrial establishment, they were used to saw wood or mill wheat or dye stuffs. Anything requiring 'work' before the advent of steam engines. Of course windmills were also used to pump water, but the industrial use is not as well understood. The 'Zaanse Schans', just north of Zaandam is a collection of various windmills, some operating as the would have been hundreds of years ago. It understandably is an important tourist attraction. We saw it from the river:








We continued to Alkmaar where we will stay until tomorrow. The previous owners of Onbekommerd live near here and we always enjoy catching up with them!

Location:Korte Vondelstraat,Alkmaar,The Netherlands

Monday, May 2, 2016

Still in Amsterdam

After a nice family gathering in Zevenbergen on Saturday, we returned to Onbekommerd at 11pm. During the day, 'Rebel' had arrived next to us. This is a yacht owned by Iain, a Cruising Association member who had asked some questions on the CA forum which we had been able to assist with. So although we had never met, we sort of 'knew' him through email. Yesterday morning we knocked on his boat and we had coffee together.
After that, we went into Amsterdam for our annual 'Amsterdam fix'. As the weather has improved considerably (still cold, but sunny and not a lot of wind), it was heaving with people in the city centre. We walked to the Museumplein and had 'kroketten met frites' and a beer.





Straight back after that, although we stopped to look at the Tesla dealership in the P.C. Hooft straat.








This car has two boots.... 😳

Then back to Onbekommerd, we had Iain for supper and had a nice and interesting conversation.

This morning, the weather is still nice. We'll go past my favourite chandlers (Dekker water sport in Zaandam) and then on to Alkmaar.





Location:Buiksloterweg,Amsterdam,The Netherlands