We made good progress in the generous breeze and so we entered the canal and continued to Rendsburg instead - a total distance of 58 miles (the nautical type of course which, by way of reminder, are 1.151 times the length of land miles).
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| Holtenau Lock - Will we fit in with the liner? |
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| No problem! Compare and contrast Jo's attire with the gent on the other boat! |
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| Cyclone tied to rings in the lock's floating pontoon. Note height of pontoon and required fender position. |
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| Lock gate shutting out the Baltic |
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| We got to leave first... |
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| .... but were soon passed by the Albatross |
Our visit to Rendsburg coincided with the Rendsburger Herbst, a large open air party with no less than 10 stages serving live music free of charge. According to the tourist information website, gourmets were well catered for too; I treated Jo to a slice of pizza from a trailer followed by a few of my chips (with mayo!) from another van. She can't say I've not taken her out for a meal since Eastbourne any more!
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| Parade at Rendsberg Herbst |
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| Late arrival to the marina. You're not coming next to us! |
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| Go away! Fortunately, it did |
We stayed 2 nights before making an early(ish) departure (0700) for Cuxhaven on the river Elbe. Unfortunately we only got about a mile before we came across a stationary yacht who's skipper pointed out the 3 occulting red lights by the side of the canal.
Now I'm not sure whether to be grateful to him or not as, if he hadn't been there, I'd have just ignored them. That would have sped our progress but potentially cost us, as those lights mean all traffic must halt. One thing you can say about Germans is that they do like their rules. They're not afraid to back them up with fines either.
Lest you think I'm having a pop, I have some sympathy with them. Woe betide you if you don't use your motoring cone when required out here, but surely I'm not the only one to be miffed when, having altered course when on port for a yacht "sailing" on starboard tack, I've then seen the tell tale water emitted from its exhaust...
Then again, inventing a rule requiring boats to keep at least 1 mile clear of a traffic lane (which has no place in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea) and then fining people 1000€ for non compliance is, to my mind, taking the micky.
Anyway, the delay was because an enormous ship was heading towards us and, by the time it had passed, we were waiting with 2 other yachts and 3 ships - a couple of tankers and a rather large container ship.
The container ship was called Hooge which, sounding rather like the Suffolk pronunciation of "huge", was really rather appropriate. We didn't realise at the time - because we hadn't yet won it - that we were destined to race that ship. But race it we did and we beat it to Brunsbuttel! Now I suppose I should admit that this had nothing to do with our superior speed (we were obviously slower) but was rather because the ship kept getting stopped by lights that we could (legally) ignore. Still, when you've little to do but potter under engine down a pleasant but rather monotonous canal, you look for entertainment wherever you can get it...
We're now in Cuxhaven awaiting a decent weather forecast before leaving on a trip that could take us about 20 hours. If the weather's good we'll be able to stop after about 70 miles in Norderney. If there are any waves to speak of, we'll have to continue to Borkum - another German Friesian island - which is 30 miles further on.
I spent most of yesterday grouchy because the weather appeared so much better than forecast and it looked like we should have set off after all. And then the mother of all thunder storms swept in from the south. We have never, ever, ever seen anything like it. The lightning was virtually continuous - certainly less than a second between each flash. The wind went from nothing to over 30 knots in seconds and yet we were nowhere near the centre of the storm - the thunder was barely audible! I can't imagine what the wind speed would have been like closer to the storm, or what it would have been like to have experienced it at sea in a small boat. I'm so glad that we heeded the forecast.
And finally, you may have noticed a grey/black blob on a lot of our photos; very annoying. Well, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I identified the fault as a spec of dust on the camera's image sensor. A very nice man on Youtube then showed me how to remove this and, hey presto, no more blob! Cost of repair? 1 euro for some watchmaker's screwdrivers from Woolworths (remember them? They're still trading over here! So's C&A!). It wouldn't have been that much if my own screwdrivers hadn't been confiscated at Gatwick. Still, a lot cheaper than a new camera.
*Apologies to Bay City Rollers fans everywhere for this post's title (are there any? And should I really admit to remembering those lyrics?!).
Now I'm not sure whether to be grateful to him or not as, if he hadn't been there, I'd have just ignored them. That would have sped our progress but potentially cost us, as those lights mean all traffic must halt. One thing you can say about Germans is that they do like their rules. They're not afraid to back them up with fines either.
Lest you think I'm having a pop, I have some sympathy with them. Woe betide you if you don't use your motoring cone when required out here, but surely I'm not the only one to be miffed when, having altered course when on port for a yacht "sailing" on starboard tack, I've then seen the tell tale water emitted from its exhaust...
Then again, inventing a rule requiring boats to keep at least 1 mile clear of a traffic lane (which has no place in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea) and then fining people 1000€ for non compliance is, to my mind, taking the micky.
Anyway, the delay was because an enormous ship was heading towards us and, by the time it had passed, we were waiting with 2 other yachts and 3 ships - a couple of tankers and a rather large container ship.
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| The cause of the delay |
The container ship was called Hooge which, sounding rather like the Suffolk pronunciation of "huge", was really rather appropriate. We didn't realise at the time - because we hadn't yet won it - that we were destined to race that ship. But race it we did and we beat it to Brunsbuttel! Now I suppose I should admit that this had nothing to do with our superior speed (we were obviously slower) but was rather because the ship kept getting stopped by lights that we could (legally) ignore. Still, when you've little to do but potter under engine down a pleasant but rather monotonous canal, you look for entertainment wherever you can get it...
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| Our rival |
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| Ahead at this point |
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| But not any more! He's behind you!! |
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| Back in the lead.... |
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| But we got to the lock first! The victor's smile says it all.... |
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| Out of the lock and into the River Elbe |
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| A reintroduction to tides. Speed through the water 4.9 kn. Speed over the ground 8.72 kn!! |
We're now in Cuxhaven awaiting a decent weather forecast before leaving on a trip that could take us about 20 hours. If the weather's good we'll be able to stop after about 70 miles in Norderney. If there are any waves to speak of, we'll have to continue to Borkum - another German Friesian island - which is 30 miles further on.
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| Semaphore at Cuxhaven |
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| No doubt that we're in the Elbe then! |
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| Our Cuxhaven berth. We could be here a while! |
I spent most of yesterday grouchy because the weather appeared so much better than forecast and it looked like we should have set off after all. And then the mother of all thunder storms swept in from the south. We have never, ever, ever seen anything like it. The lightning was virtually continuous - certainly less than a second between each flash. The wind went from nothing to over 30 knots in seconds and yet we were nowhere near the centre of the storm - the thunder was barely audible! I can't imagine what the wind speed would have been like closer to the storm, or what it would have been like to have experienced it at sea in a small boat. I'm so glad that we heeded the forecast.
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| No lightning |
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| Lightning! |
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| No lightning |
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| Small lightning flash |
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| Brighter lightning flash! |
And finally, you may have noticed a grey/black blob on a lot of our photos; very annoying. Well, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I identified the fault as a spec of dust on the camera's image sensor. A very nice man on Youtube then showed me how to remove this and, hey presto, no more blob! Cost of repair? 1 euro for some watchmaker's screwdrivers from Woolworths (remember them? They're still trading over here! So's C&A!). It wouldn't have been that much if my own screwdrivers hadn't been confiscated at Gatwick. Still, a lot cheaper than a new camera.
*Apologies to Bay City Rollers fans everywhere for this post's title (are there any? And should I really admit to remembering those lyrics?!).
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