At the end are the locks of Kiel-Holtenau. As in Brunsbüttel, there are 4 locks in total: 2 'old locks', which are 125*22 m and 2 'new locks', which are 320*42 m. Normally, the 'sportboote' (pleasure craft) go through the old locks, and are thus kept out of the way of the big ships which all go through the new ones. But the old locks are currently out of commission in Holtenau, so we all have to go through the new locks. The problem with that is that we as sportboote have a very low priority (we are like mosquitos, as another skipper said). So after a 2 hour wait there were about 15 of us and we were allowed in the lock, after a Navy vessel and 2 mid-sized coasters had gone in. This is all regulated with lights and you are kept out of the lock until the big boats are tied up and there propellers are stopped.
This is what it looked like when we were all in:
Once you are tied up, someone has to climb up the ladder in the lock wall to go and pay the canal dues (€12 is not a lot for all the entertainment you get in the canal!). There are floating jetties in the lock so the whole process is quite easy.
In the lock chamber next to us were two much bigger ships, one a small cruise liner:
Once you are out of the lock, you are in the Baltic, the scenery and 'feel' is suddenly quite different.
We motored the 3 miles to Laboe and tied up in the marina there. We will take one or two days rest here, firstly it is now blowing quite hard, too hard for the trip to Schleimünde we have in mind but also because after a week of quite intense travelling, we need a rest.
As I write this, it is Sunday morning, overcast and windy. The swell runs into the harbour and the boat is moving quite a bit. I need to go and find a harbour master to get an 'Internet ticket' so I can send this post.
Location:Laboe
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