Heading West via Germany

Sailing to the Baltic, many Brits start through Holland, and keep going East through the 52 mile “Kiel Canal” that goes from Brunsbuttel on the river Elbe through Germany to the Baltic at Kiel. We did it differently, sailing more or less due North from the Dutch Friesian Islands directly across the North Sea to Norway. Now, coming down to the Southern Baltic, we made the usual choice of taking the canal, rather than sailing 500nm back north around Jutland and back down in the North Sea.

The Kiel Canal, properly called the Nord-Ostsee Kanal, is for major ships, with locks only at each end. The locks of course are huge, about 1200 feet long and 180 feet wide. Fog delayed our entrance at Kiel by four hours, so when we were given the all clear to enter the Holtenau lock, a stampede of 36 yachts jostled for position to enter – reminding us of the ski lines in Europe!  The sound of racing engines and roaring bow thrusters filled the air!

 Yachts waiting to enter the canal

 

 As we entered the canal we noticed this catamaran

flying the Stars and Stripes...the first American flag since we left Bermuda!

 

 

 Yachts in the lock along with large freighters

 

 36 yachts in the lock!

 

 

John climbs down the ladder after paying the toll

 

 

Then when we left the lock we were lined up along the canal doing 6.5 knots under motor with just a dozen yards between us. 

Adventuress survived without a scratch but we were relieved when the traffic thinned out several miles later.

 

We considered stopping at Rendsburg, the German city about a third of the way along, but reckoned we could go further in spite of the fog delay, and found a mooring a mile up a side canal (The Gieselau, which leads to the Eider River and eventually the North Sea at Eiderdamm.)

Next day we left the Kiel Canal through the yacht lock at Brunsbuttel, threading our way through four ships waiting to go through the ships’ lock. Swiftly on a SSE 15 knot wind we sailed out on the ebbing River Elbe, recording 11.3 knots over the ground.

Raymarine Chart plotter at the helm

We arrived the convenient Cruxhaven Marina, spent the night and then next day motored in calm winds over to Helgoland, where we stopped for 140 gallons of tax free diesel! Then we came to Holland via a stop in the German Friesian island of Norderney.

 Strong winds are forecast for the North Sea making a direct westerly passage from  Germany to Holland unwise   So we will make our way through the “Upmast Route” inland via Dokkum and Leeuwarden to Harlingen.  This is not hard duty……Holland is beautiful and the people are wonderful.   Here are a few pictures of Germany’s Kiel Canal:

 

 A ferry attached by cables to the bridge

 

 

German countryside 

 

 

 Freighter traffic helps ease the boredom

 

 

Leaving the Kiel Canal!!! Yeah!!!

Best to all,

John and Nancy
Lauwersoog, Holland

August 25, 2015

 

Kiel, Germany

It's 9:00am, August 20, and we are at the British Kiel Yacht Club waiting for the fog to lift.  We will motor the 50 miles across Germany to the North Sea and begin our journey back to England.

Adventuress in fog

 

Our very best,

John and Nancy

Not Just Sailing and Scenery…..

.….but also meeting fun people!

But first, the sailing:

Sometimes we get a wind forecast that is too good to be true!  So as we went to bed on the eve of our departure from Norway we were quite skeptical about the perfect  20+ knots South West winds forecast for our crossing from Lyngor to Skagen, Denmark.  But at dawn there they were! Healthy South Westerlies to speed us on our way!  Adventuress did not disappoint us as she averaged 8+ knots in fairly flat water on an 80 degree beam reach. What a sail!



Once again, we pass a Norwegian square rigger

After the rugged coastline of Norway it was quite a change to see the flat coastline and endless beaches of Denmark.

 Denmark coastline



We arrived early, at 3:30pm at Skagen marina, but still had to raft up.

 Skagen Marina

 This harbor is a useful stopping point but not the friendliest, so we left early the next morning and sailed to Laesso Island, where we went to the Eastern harbor at Osterby.  The harbor was very crowded; but to our surprise, a friendly Norwegian couple beckoned to us to raft along side of them. 

Sissel and Einar in Norway

Now life took a weird turn: we introduced ourselves to “Sissel and Einar” and then discovered after just one minute of conversation that their best friends were ……Shannon and Ornulf, our new Norwegian  friends in Flekkefjord!

By the end of the day, a Swedish boat and a German boat had joined our raft.  Only two of the 150 boats in the harbour were Danish:  most were Swedish due to the proximity to Sweden. 

Laesso Island has two harbours, a central town and miles of dunes:

 Endless Dunes

Sissel and Einar Alme were great fun……introducing us to a Norwegian cheese called Gamalost, served on Knekke  -what JFK calls ‘cardboard bread’ - with lots of butter, and decent swigs of Aquavit.  (Do not ask what JFK called the cheese!)

Gamalost Cheese

In Laesso we had also met a funny and charming Danish couple, Birte and Henning, and we sailed along with them to the next island, Anholt.  This tiny island stunned us with its beauty.  Next to the marina, just 25 yards from our berth, was a magnificent beach.  We spent four nights on this largely uninhabited island, exploring on our bikes and having a fun time with Birte and Henning.

Birte and Henning

 Adventuress in her berth on Anholt

 John takes a dip in 65 degree ocean

(in the Danish tradition)

 Beach next to marina

 Riding bikes through the countryside

 John, Birte and Henning leaving the grocery store
Only purchase what you can carry on the bike

 Danish lobster

A gift from Hemming - an inverted cone to be displayed when

motor sailing

Our next island stop was Samso where we anchored and enjoyed a walk in the beautiful countryside.

 At Samso

 When the sun is shining, Denmark has beautiful skies

Fields of heather

We took shelter from a rainy blast at Endelave, snugly anchored in the corner. From there we went to Vejlefjord, and anchored behind a little spit while it blew like stink. There JFK had an unusual role as reluctant rescuer for a crazy beginner Kite surfer, who had decided to try and learn kite-surfing in 28 knots of wind!

Crazy kite surfers row back to Adventuress

JFK is motioning the "crazy" sign!

So here we are:   it’s Tuesday August 18 and we are anchored along the beautiful farmland of the Island of Kegnaes.  Tomorrow we will be in Germany at the mouth of the Kiel Canal.  Even though the weather has been rainy and overcast for the last week we have enjoyed visiting Vejle, the home stomping grounds of our dear friend Helge Thomsen from Berks County, PA: then Als in a very secure anchorage at Dyvig in the Stegsvig: and next along the town dock of the interesting town of Sonderborg.  We left the busy dock of Sonderborg and went just south to anchor in the Horuphave, staged to sail down to Holtenau and enter the Kiel Canal. 

The people of Denmark have been very welcoming and the country is beautiful.  We hope to return to this wonderful country someday.

Our very best to you,

John and Nancy Knight

The Blindleia and a Walk Ashore

In spite of the rock strewn islets and skerries that abound in this part of Norway, we held our breath and followed the locals into the Blindleia, a natural canal that runs inside for a dozen miles through tight little passes between the islands. It is well marked and our Navionics Chartplotter program has been very accurate and up to date, so it was not as scary as it looked when reviewing the chart.  We anchored on the NW tip of Justoya in a wooded cove that reminded Nancy of Still Pond on the Chesapeake Bay - except there were only 4 sailboats at anchor, and 6 powerboats tied up to a huge rock.  The water was 35 feet deep and crystal clear.  Immediately we were greeted by swans.  A short dinghy ride to the shore and a scramble up some rocks led us to a trail that we walked, over towards Brekkesto.  Here are some pictures:

 Pretty traffic in the Blindleia

 Traditional Norwegian mooring, tied up to pitons hammered into the rocks!

 Beggin' for a treat

 Beginning our walk across to Brekkesto

 Wild raspberries were a delightful treat on breakfast cereal

After another terrific downwind sail we picked our way through to the mouth of Tvedestrand Fjord, and then motored a few miles to the town of Tvedestrand at the head of the Fjord.  And now we are beginning to look for good winds to sail the 75 miles to Denmark……our fingers are crossed, it looks like Wednesday will bring us South Westerlies for a beam reach!   Norway has been a wonderful experience, with scenery even beyond our high expectations.

Our very best,

John and Nancy

Fresh Crabs, Cod and Magic Scenery

It’s August 3^rd and we are enjoying the little town at the top of Tvedestrand Fjord.  For the last week we have hopped Eastwards exploring  towns and tiny villages and enjoying lovely downwind sailing.  Our first stop was just at the bottom of Flekkefjord on the island of Hidra: there nestles Rasvag, a picturesque tiny village with pristine homes and friendly people with gifts of crabs.  Here are some pictures:

Fish farming - mainly salmon, is big business in Norway

 Here we are in 400 feet of water!

 Motoring through the bottom of Flekkefjord

 Rasvag has an entrance about 22 feet wide!....

 ...which gave us about 4 feet clearance!

 Alongside a friendly visitors' quay

 The house across from our bow is on its own little island......

 ...and the locals all row traditional wooden craft out to their homes

 Rasvag from up the hill, with Adventuress center on the dock

 A local family stopped by for a chat and gave us 7 fresh crabs for dinner! What a treat....

 ....and the red house on the quayside is their family summer home.

We then sailed to the town of Farsund and stayed in our slip while it rained. 

The next morning we left in the rain and sailed to Mandal, where we found a berth on the quayside directly in front of the fish shop.  That evening, John made the best cod dinner I ever ate!  Then we enjoyed a lovely downwind sail to School House Bay, on Gamle Hellesund Island, and were finally able to find a cove shallow enough to anchor.  In the evening we were entertained by the haunting melodies of a Saxophone, and the next morning a local stopped by and told us that a professional musician lived in the charming cottage opposite us ashore.  We also learned that we could take our dinghy to the tiny stone dock around the corner, and visit the one-room school house where his great grandmother and grandmother went to school. 

 Leaving Mandal

 Anchored in Schoolhouse Bay, Gamle

 The former Little School House, with stone docks: the children used to row themselves to school!

 Pic through the window: there are twelve double desks and very hard wooden chairs!

Nancy explores the path from the stone dock to the Schoolhouse

Many of the homes in the small villages and on islands have been passed through several generations and are second homes for some lucky people. 

Having fun in Norway!

Our very best,

John and Nancy