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Jumbuck - Baltic Rally - Delivery Cruise Vlieland to Rendsberg



Had our first taste of berthing, German style. Seems it's popular across most Baltic states.

It's called a box mooring and quite normal in this region. It scared the life out of us today. You enter between two posts and drop a couple of stern lines over the posts as you come in, then someone dashes forward and secures the bow to the dock, whilst the driver stops the boat whilst juggling the two stern lines. Sounds easy eh? Well it's not. Not in a stiff breeze.

It didn't help that Sue refused to jump the gap from the bow to the dock, so we are in negotiations to resolve who does what next time round.

Then to get ashore you've no option but to clamber over the pulpit and spread your legs, knuckles white as they try to grasp the furled headsail. So. Note for tomorrow. Remove the anchor and bow roller until we really need them!

We are inland in Northern Germany, half way up the Kiel Canal, and now ahead of our delivery schedule. Yesterday started at 0500 from Vlieland with an early start to do a 70 mile run to the German Island of Borkham. It morfed into a 210 mile passage missing all the German Islands to end up here in Rendsburg in the German countryside.

It didn't help that Sue refused to jump the gap from the bow to the dock, so we are in negotiations to resolve who does what next time round.

I still haven't got these local tides sorted, but when we left Vlieland it was flooding eastward, and with solid 10/15 knots from the NW, we sped off on the passage towards Borkham at pace. Sue sorted breakfast underway, and as the sun came up Jumbuck was swooping along on a broad reach under Code 0 and full main.

We were paralleling maybe 5 miles north of the Dutch Islands in company with maybe 10 yachts (who all FULLY understand the tides) and by early arvo, had cleared the last Dutch Island and had Borkham in our sights.

But by then we had settled into being underway, and rationalised that if we had these favourable breezes and unplanned, also got the tide, then maybe we should use them and skip Borkham completely.

And so it was.

The wind first went slightly forward and eased, so back to headsail, then backed and filled in, so up went the asymmetric. Never a dull moment as we surged along under hot sun really enjoying the ride. Lots more Dutch and German gas platforms and wind farms in this bit of water, but we hardly had to deviate a few degrees off our course towards the mouth of the River Elbe.

We took turns grabbing some sleep when we felt like it during the day, and after dinner, I'm guessing 2000, I went down for three hours whilst Sue drove onward under kite and main. At 2300 it was still twilight (wonderful stuff) but the wind had built to 15/18 knots, so we hauled down the asymmetric and still kept up good speeds with the jib set on a reaching line, as Sue went down for some shut eye.

I continued sailing eastward through the night, taking a course towards the end of the main shipping channels that run from the North Sea and into the big German ports for Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven and Hamburg. Very vey busy shipping lanes, which yachts have to stay a mile south of, under penalty of a €1000 on the spot fine.

We had lost the tide mid arvo but maybe 0300 it came back in our favour, and as I piloted Jumbuck around the shallows of the Elbe estuary in a big clockwise loop, staying just outside the big boat channel, we often touched 9 knots SOG. Great sailing.

There's not a lot of space twix the main shipping channel up the Elbe and the shallows to the south, and as we turned SE to wind our way in before the 17 knot NW wind, several times we were close to gybing whilst still doing 9-10 knots SOG. All very surreal.

The deserted big ship jetties of Cuxhaven slid past 50 metres off our starboard side at 0400, and by 0500 we were closing Brunsbuttle, the lock entry to the Kiel Canal, set on the Elbes northern shore.

Sue came up to help dump the sails and by 0530, we were in one of the big ship locks, alongside two large coasters, and 30 minutes later motoring up the canal itself.

Warm as. Green countryside sliding past on either side. Swans paddling to avoid our bow wash, and birds creeping in the trees. Nice.

Midday saw us hanging a hard left at Rensburg, where there are several marinas to stopover, and we ended up in the one closest to the town, the Regatta-Verein, a sailings club - and finding out about this box moorings......

Fortunately, this form of mooring is also quite common in Western Australia, so were weren't quite as new to it all as it sounds. And we got in without even threatening to scratch the paintwork. Just.

Rating for the marina, maybe 8/10. Price is low, €14.50 all in. Showers good. Box moorings not my favourite. Little marina cafe bar did a fine curry wurst and chips for late lunch, before a well needed mid arvo kip, then to walk the streets of a pretty but tiny town, before typing this.

Our French pals left Vlieland one hour behind us, so they didn't get quite the same conditions as us, and ended up in Borkham at 2100. They sail onward today for Cuxhaven, and will probably get to Kiel by late Thursday.

Us? We will be there tomorrow midday, giving us several days to chill, re-provision, do some laundry, sight see and link up with other crews, well before the rally events start this coming weekend.

Cheers



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