We've made it to the Kiel Canal!!

Yes, we're finally in the Kiel Canal - or more correctly, the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal - which links the River Elbe to the Baltic Sea. In just 54 miles we'll be in the Baltic!!

If that doesn't sound exciting to you, it is to us. It's a landmark in itself, but it also means goodbye to tides for a few months! Theoretically at least, that also means goodbye to 0430 alarm calls!!

We left Helgoland at, er, 0515 after our (last for a while we hope!) 0430 alarm call. After our experience on the last trip, we made sure that we would have loads of tide in hand to sweep us up the Elbe to Brunsbuttel at the western end of the canal. It was a lumpy trip as far as the entrance to the Elbe - we had a F6 behind us - but it soon smoothed out once we entered the river. With the tide behind us we topped 9 knots over the ground at times, reaching the locks at the entry to the canal by about 1315.

I can have him...... (OK, so he got past eventually - but he had his engine on!!)

Now the locks at Brunsbuttel are a bit bigger than those at Port Solent or Chichester Marinas and I don't mind admitting to a little pre-lock nerves! In practice, apart from the issue of the very low pontoons, it was all drama free. There was no turbulence and we didn't even notice the water level changing.

Some of our lock-mates were a bit bigger than us!

Check out the height of those pontoons!

Once through the lock ,we just had to turn hard left to find our harbour for the next 3 nights. It was only going to be 2, but at 8 euros per night (yes really! And that included electricity) I just had to stay longer!

Our mooring gave us excellent views of the comings and goings at the lock. The 2 pictures below were actually taken from our boat (as you can tell by the guard rails across them!).

A ship entering the lock at Brunsbuttel...

..... and another leaving

The ships using the canal are massive compared to the yachts. The rules say we are to keep out of their way. Like we wouldn't?!!

Most of the time we've been really lucky with the weather and our photos often feature blue skys. Yesterday, however, we experienced the most violent thunderstorm I've ever known, with very strong wind and lightening flashes only seconds apart. Fortunately the centre of it was some way off and we were safely tied up in Brunsbuttel. We really felt for anyone out at sea in that. Even in the canal, the rain and hail was so intense that visibility was no more than 50m.

We were glad to be on board when this lot came through. 

Clearly Brunsbuttel's main claim to fame is its location at the entrance to the canal. There are viewing platforms that enable you to get really close to the ships in the locks and the Schleusenmuseum provides technical details of the locks as well as historical information.

Unfortunately a ship had rammed the lock nearest to the viewing platforms prior to our visit (there are 4 in total) and it's still out of action. We can still see plently from our berth though - including the repaired lock gate being towed between two huge tugs into the lock itself.

Cyclone on her berth, taken from the lock viewing platform.

The lock from the same platform. The large black rectangular things mid picture are the lock gates

The next customers lining up for the lock...

... and going in

Brunsbuttel has an old town centre which is actually set a little away from the current one. This boasts an 18th century church set on a green and surrounded by houses of a similar age - and a pub known as the Lord Nelson!

The Lord Nelson

An Irish Pub!

Brunsbuttel  has a Civil Servants' Quarter which was erected for civil servants and canal pilots during the construction of the Kiel Canal. The houses were built in the style of English Garden Cities (hurrah!) with gardens for the cultivation of fruit and vegetables. It's a really pleasant residential area as it turns out.

Anyway, 8 euros a night or not, tomorrow we need to make progress. We intend to head up to Rendsburg which is about 37 miles east of here and will probably stay there a couple of nights before venturing out into the Baltic Sea itself.

Yeehar!!