We left Otterndorf at 6 this morning as planned. For a change it was nice and sunny, the wind was 4bft from the North. The last of the incoming tide took us to the lock at Brunsbüttel at a speed of 8 knots. Not much traffic, but this was the biggest one!
The wait for the lock was short, which was a bonus as you have to wait whilst floating free on the river. Not a problem today as it was very sheltered and the tide had almost run out, but sometimes it can be quite uncomfortable! We were in the lock at 8 and on our way again half an hour later, having enjoyed our breakfast in the lock!
After the lock, you are in the 'Nord-Ost See Kanal', also called the Kiel canal as that is where it ends. It's a total of 100KM, so theoretically it could be done in a day, but most people stop in Rendsburg, about two thirds of the way up. There are no locks and the bridges are 40m or more high! There is always something happening: ferries crossing, spectacular bridges to be seen, big ships passing. But today we had two new experiences: around noon, a fancy racing yacht just ahead of us steered too close to the shore of the canal and ran aground! When we approached a few minutes later, the (German) crew asked in English if we could give them a pull (do Germans only speak English to the Dutch when they are in trouble? We don't know..). Of course we obliged and a very easy pull later they were afloat again. Sorry, no picture as we were too busy!
The traffic in the canal is very tightly monitored and controlled. The big ships have pilots and there are intricate traffic light systems, telling them (and us) what to do.
Halfway the canal, they change the 'West' pilot for the 'East' pilot:
Pleasure craft like us can almost always proceed unhindered, only the 'three red lights' signal tells you to wait at a 'Weiche', a place where big ships can pass or overtake. This 'three red' signal is very rare, but look:
A relatively big ship was coming from the other side, three others wanted to pass him and there were three big ones going our way. Add a handful of pleasure craft and you get this:
We were held for probably about 45 minutes, floating on the side of the canal.
Finally, just before the turnoff for the town of Rendsburg, there is the famous 'hanging ferry'. This is suspended from a railway bridge. Quite amazing!
After over 8 hours on the water we tied up in Rendsburg. Good Internet and still nice weather. Tomorrow, we'll move on, enter the Baltic at Kiel-Holtenau and continue three more miles to Laboe. We'll probably spend Sunday there as well as it might be a bit windy for the first Baltic crossing to Schleimünde and Monday looks good!
Location:Rendsburg
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