Emden - Kesselschleuse

After all the nice things I said about the organisation of the Ems - Jade canal yesterday (which still stand), today was a lot less pleasant. We started off ok, but soon we came to a bridge which would not open. The young itinerant bridge keeper told us there was a broken component, the electricians were going to get a new part and install it. Thus happened. In the meantime, a tourist excursion boat had joined us and once the bridge opened (about an hour and a half later), they went through and chased down the canal at 6 knots (the speed limit for all craft is 8 KM per hour, about 4.5 knots.....). So the three 'sportboote' (that's what they call us here) decided to hang on so that we could go through the bridges with them (a single opening is better than two, we thought). This worked fine for the first bridge, but at the second one, they closed it right in front of us! So we tied up, started to make lunch and - totally unexpected - after 15 minutes the bridge opened..... This happened twice more, so we are now totally unimpressed with the organisational skills: as long as all goes to plan, OK, but as soon as there is a disturbance and the rules can't be applied anymore: chaos!
Anyway, we tied up just before Emden, hoping the weather tomorrow will be better for the short stretch to Delfzijl in the Netherlands. See yesterday's blogpost for the pitfalls there.

As I don't have a fresh picture to show, here is one of the only South African flagged yacht we have seen this year. Anchored in Thurø Bund, diving to look for / inspect something.

Location:Achterdiek,Emden,Germany

Ems - Jade canal: Aurich

The Ems-Jade canal is a protected way to get from Wilhelmshaven on the Jade to Emden on the Ems (Eems in Dutch).
Although not particularly exciting, it is quite scenic. The 70KM cannot really be done in a day as there is a 8Km/hr speed restriction, there are 6 locks which takes some time and the operating times are from 8:30 to 17:30. There are also numerous bridges, many of which need to be operated. The nice thing is that once you are inside 'the system', there are no worries about waiting for locks or bridges: usually a bridge- or lock keeper will operate several locks or bridges and he moves in his little black car to the next one which you will find ready to pass when you arrive. And when you leave this particular 'keeper's' domain, he'll phone his colleague down the road to tell him you are on your way, and the bridge or lock will still be ready for you. Add to that that these people are all very friendly and you have a pleasant day!
Here is one of the swing bridges being opened:





But as you have to steer by hand all day in a narrow and shallow canal, it's actually quite tiring.

When we got to Aurich, the most obvious place to stop, there was a kayak festival on the go.





We did a few loads of washing, visited the local supermarket and are ready for the last German stretch to Emden tomorrow.
The snag is that the weather conditions for the 10 miles or so between Emden and Delfzijl (where we enter the Netherlands again) are pretty bad for tomorrow. So we may well stay over in Emden and try for Sunday (which looks a bit better but not great either). It's not far, but the 'wind against tide' scenario on the river Elbe, which is quite wide and exposed here, is not something to be taken lightly.
As they say: a patient skipper always has good conditions.
We'll keep you updated.

Location:Tannenbergstraße,Aurich,Germany

Wilhelmshaven

The trip from Bremerhaven to Wilhelmshaven goes over the 'Hohe Weg', an extensive shallow area North of the 'Butjadingen' peninsula. There are two separate shallow crossings, the Mittelpriel and the Kaiserbalje for us. As you go against the tide when going from East to West, it requires quite a bit of careful planning but that's part of the fun of doing these type of trips.
We left the berth at Bremerhaven in time for a 7:30 lockage, but there was a problem with the electronics of the lock and the technicians had to be called out. Fortunately the problem was solved quickly and by 8 we were on our way. Everything went to plan (or a bit better than plan) and by 12:15 we were at the Wilhelmshaven lock. I had spoken to them on the VHF earlier and unfortunately there was a wait until 13:15. So we floated around in front of the lock and had lunch. Just after 13:15 the doors opened, a Coast Guard ship came out and we were allowed in. A bit later we were tied up in the now familiar 'Cramer Marina', a somewhat dilapidated harbour where we have stopped every time we have come to Wilhelmshaven.
Tomorrow we'll continue along the Ems - Jade canal to Aurich.

As we don't have any pictures to show of today's trip, here are a few 'old' ones:


Thurø Bund, at anchor, a quiet moment on the foredeck:



The harbour at Birkholm:




Bagenkop sunset:

Location:Südstrand,Wilhelmshaven,Germany

Bremerhaven

We have a very good deal for iPad data from 'O2' in Germany (€25 for 5GB compared to €20 for 0.7GB in the Netherlands). The only problem is that the coverage is not ideal which is the reason for missing blogposts from Brunsbüttel (2 nights ago) and Lintig (last night).

In Brunsbüttel we stayed in the small yacht harbour just inside the locks. Quiet it is not, but it has a very special atmosphere which we enjoy: the yachts are either coming from or going to the Kiel canal, and are from many nationalities. The harbour is small but packed and when the tide outside the locks on the Elbe is right, there is an armada trying to get into the lock.
And all night, big ships pass literally metres from where you are tied up.
Here are two impressions:








Yesterday morning we got up in time to be in front of the lock at 8am. Again we were lucky, the wait was about half an hour, add another 20 minutes to lock out and before 9 we were on the Elbe where big ships from Hamburg to the North Sea need to be watched out for:





As you can see, there was no wind and we had an easy trip to Otterndorf where the next lock awaited, but only a small one onto the waterway connecting the Elbe to the Weser.





That waterway (generally called the Geeste, although the river Geeste only makes up part of it) is 60KM long so most people take two days (there is an 8KM/hr speed limit and it's narrow and shallow too).

We stopped at the halfway lock in Lintig, a self service lock in the middle of nowhere and continued this morning to reach Bremerhaven by 1pm.

Our original plan was to return via the German 'Wadden' islands, but the weather - which has been most accommodating for the past months - is not supporting that plan. The next two days will be ok with a bit of rain, but after that it looks like a week of strong winds, at least in the North on the islands. We don't really want to get stuck on Wangerooge (the first island, where the harbour is 6KM from the town) and waiting almost a week in Bremerhaven is also no attraction.
So we have decided to head over the shallows for Wilhelmshaven tomorrow and from there in two days via the Ems - Jade canal to Emden and Delfzijl in the Netherlands. By that time there should be more clarity about the longer term predictions and we might go to the Dutch Wadden islands instead.

Location:Am Neuen Hafen,Bremerhaven,Germany

Rendsburg

Today was one of those days that everything worked.
We left Bagenkop at 7am in a light SE breeze. There was a bit of swell, but not a lot. Had breakfast on the way. Visibility not that great but not too bad either and the AIS helped us to 'see' all big ships long before they were within visual reach.
Just as we spotted Kiel lighthouse from just over a mile away, a rain and thunder squall hit us with a bit of wind too, but nothing too serious and by the time we reached the lock at Holtenau it was dry. The big thing was that we could go straight into the lock. There have been horror stories about 3 to 4 hour waits, but we have been extremely lucky with the Kiel canal locks so far this year. Our waiting times have been zero, 15 minutes and zero. There is one more to come though, in Brunsbüttel on Tuesday morning.....
We got to Rendsburg 8 hours after leaving Bagenkop. It's 50 miles, so good going! We put 400l diesel into Onbekommerd's tanks and treated ourselves to dinner ashore.
Sleep will come easily tonight!

I am just going to try two pictures tonight, one of 'the dinghy' (anyone suggest a name please?)





And one taken on the canal this afternoon which shows quite nicely how close you are to the 'big ones':






On to Brunsbüttel tomorrow. Then we'll have to start taking tides into consideration again and that points to an early-ish start on Tuesday morning to lock into the Elbe and catch the outgoing tide to Otterndorf.

Location:Am Eiland,Rendsburg,Germany

Dinghy!

Ever since we bought Onbekommerd, almost 5 years ago, we have known that there was an inflatable dingy lurking somewhere under our berths in the front cabin.
As we have been anchoring a few times recently and are planning to do more of that next year, we have been thinking it would be useful to have the dinghy available to go onshore whilst at anchor.
So today we dug out the parcel we knew contained the dinghy and also located the pump and the oars. Then we unpacked the thing, expecting something like a toy and a bit touched by the 'tooth of time'.
Surprisingly, we found a really nice Zodiac inflatable dinghy in excellent condition, with nice wooden oars. Just the seat appears to be missing at the moment. I rowed around a bit (pictures to follow later, sorry we are still in Bagenkop with a dicey connection).
All in all a very nice surprise which brought a smile to our faces!

Earlier we had given Onbekommerd a good clean with soapy water. The deck, which had a lot of algae stains on it, is looking better and better. The salt water plus regular brushing seems to be effective in fighting the algae, something lots of expensive bottles of 'teak cleaner' have not been able to do.....

It was blowing quite a bit this afternoon, but it's dying down now. The forecast is still good for a trip to Kiel and into the canal tomorrow. We plan to leave at 7am.

Location:Humblevej,Bagenkop,Denmark

Still in Denmark

During the night there was quite a lot of wind, which continued into the early morning so the planned 8am departure was not an option.
By 11 it had died down nicely and we decided to leave and consider our options once we got a feel for the sea outside. When the wind drops, it can take quite a while before the waves get more friendly!
Once outside, it was not that uncomfortable, but considering that: a) it would be four hours plus in a somewhat lumpy sea, b) we would not get to Kiel in time to go through the locks and get to Rendsburg and c) it would not be that easy to find a berth around Kiel at 4pm or later, we decided to go for plan B: Bagenkop. After all, we have plenty of time and we do this for our enjoyment!
Bagenkop was by then just an hour away, and there was plenty of space when we tied up just before 1pm.
Now, at 21:30, the place is very full: all boxes taken and boats rafted four abreast in the alongside area.
The atmosphere is really nice: like everywhere in Danish ports there are lots of picnic tables which are all taken. People enjoying themselves quietly and not getting rowdy. And cleaning up after themselves!
At 9pm, a wind 'band' (only 4 people) played a few tunes from a tower in the harbour. All the Dutch and Danish yachts took their flags down as is the etiquette. The Germans don't seem to have a flag etiquette, so now there are only German flags up (they seem to leave them up for the season which explains why there are so many tatty German flags around). The musicians got applause from all yachts after each tune but the repertoire was fairly limited.

Looking at the forecast we may well be here tomorrow too. Sunday may well be a good day to carry on. We'll be sorry to leave Denmark!

Location:Humblevej,Bagenkop,Denmark