From Helgoland to Cuxhaven, Through the Kiel Canal and into the Baltic at Last!

Europe » Germany » Schleswig-Holstein » Kiel
May 31st 2014

Published: June 5th 2014

Edit Blog Post

s v Tsamaya

One Last Look Back at Helgoland

as we left to head toward mainland Germany

We dropped our lines at the Helgoland Marina on May 26^that 6AM with beautiful clear skies and great 12-15 knot winds and headed to mainland Germany. We had a lovely sail and entered the Elbe River about 9AM heading in with a few others. We timed it so we had the current with us and were able to pick up a good 2 knots. Due to the large amount of ship traffic here you must call in on the VHF to let them know your intentions. It was agreed that we should travel up the North side of the river and cross to the South side where Cuxhaven is when the traffic is clear. They have a clearly marked channel for pleasure craft which we travel in separate from the “big boys”. With lots of traffic you must time your crossing of the river to go between the ships. Always an interesting thing to do as you get quite close to some of these ships and you then have to deal with their wake. Crossing completed we continued until 12:15PM when we made it to the Cuxhaven Yacht Club. The Yacht Club docks are clearly marked for the length of boats

Timing Our Crossing of the River Elbe

in order to avoid these big ships that ply these waters regularly

making it easier to decide which pier you should look for an open berth. What makes this interesting is that you have to motor down the “aisles” looking for a green sign at the head of the berth to see if it is free. Typically you can’t see these signs until you are almost past the berth. This makes it necessary to back up some so you can get yourself maneuvered into the open berth. We always enjoy the idea of having a little more challenge when coming into a marina! There is some cross current in the marina so you have to compensate for that as well. Fortunately Bob has been doing an excellent job of getting up to the dock so Janice can “hop” onto the dock and get the lines tied. Bob’s favorite saying is that a good landing is one where no boat gets scratched and no one gets hurt. We had success in Cuxhaven!

We walked around the town just a bit to find the grocery store and then went back to the boat and crashed to catch up on our sleep since we hadn’t had much since we left Vlieland on the 24^th

This One Gave Us Quite a Wake

to ride through as we crossed the River Elbe

of May. With very strong winds predicted for the next few days we figured there would be plenty of time to explore town. We found Cuxhaven to be a good location to stop before heading into the Kiel Canal with its’ stores for provisioning within easy walking distance. The weather got quite nasty with lots of wind one of the days so we stayed on the boat and did lots of “rocking and rolling” with the wind and the surge. By the late afternoon we needed to get off the boat and just get our equilibrium back so walked through the town enjoying all the gardens filled with flowers and the interesting architectural details on their buildings.

After a few days the winds finally subsided and we could plan our “escape” so on Friday May 30^th we were able to leave Cuxhaven to head into the first lock which gives you access to the Kiel Canal. With the currents in the Elbe River we waited until noon to drop the lines giving us a more leisurely morning to start our journey. Fortunately we had information from other cruisers we have met about how the system works for

The Resort Portion of Cuxhaven

with its white beach and shelters from the sun

getting into the lock which made life much easier. We called the lock keeper and were told that we needed to wait for a short time and then we could enter. Fortunately for us there were 8 other boats waiting to get into the lock so we knew it wouldn’t be too long. The other piece of very valuable information we received was that the pontoons that you tie to in the lock are very low, in fact they are only inches above the water. In order to deal with this you must drop your fenders until they are in the water and then the problem is keeping them between the boat and the wooden edge of the platform. Fortunately for us our friends, Sandi and Colin were getting rid of some old anchor chain when we were in Chatham. They were kind enough to give us a good piece of it and Bob cut it into short sections and tied it on to the bottom of the fenders. It worked like a charm keeping the fenders just below the water. We got to the lock at 2:30PM and 20 minutes later we were coming out of the lock and

Tsamaya Safely in the Harbor at Cuxhaven

into the Kiel Canal.

When the Danes and the Norwegians controlled this part of Germany in 1784 a canal was dug connecting rivers and lakes thus making a passage from the North Sea to the Baltic. However this canal was narrow and only about 10 feet deep. The current canal was built in 1887 by 9,000 workers and it took them eight years to complete. Its construction was ordered by Kaiser Wilhelm I in order to allow safe passage of the German ships from the Baltic to the North Sea without passing by Denmark or Norway. We are just beginning to understand some of the incredible history of this part of Europe. Most Americans have no idea that prior to World War I the Swedes, Danes, Norwegians and Germans were constantly at conflict over navigation of these waters.

Parts of the canal reminded us of the Erie Canal with trees lining the sides and it appearing to go for miles with only our boat on it. However around the next turn you are quickly reminded that this is very different. Large ships also use this canal and some of them kick up quite a wake, while others you

Bob Very Seriously Making His "To Do List'

and hoping the beer was a help so he doesn't get discouraged with the length of the list

don’t even notice go by (don’t worry we really did notice, it is just that they don’t create a wake). The Kiel Canal is 97 kilometers (60 miles) long and you are not allowed to travel through it at night. Fortunately there are a few places that you can stop along the way. One of the more popular stops located at the 66 kilometer post is a village called Rendsburg so we made our plans to stop there. We heard it is a nice place to explore, but we figured we would let the weather decide for us if we would stay an extra day to explore. We know that we will have to come back out through the Kiel Canal later this year so we can always stop longer at that time.

There is a very interesting transporter just before you get to Rendsburg. It hangs from the underside of the overhead bridge and carries people and cars across the river. The interesting aspect is that it hangs down so low that it is only about 6 feet off the water. There did not seem to be any lights letting you know when it would cross so you

Trying Out One of the Wicker Shade Chairs

We found out how comfortable they are - no wonder they are so popular

just watch when it is filling and of course its operator is watching the river traffic and crosses when it is clear. There are numerous ferries that cross the Kiel Canal too. They are well marked on our charts so we know to look out for them. They seem to be used quite heavily and many we saw were transporting farm tractors across. From the aromas in the air this is definitely farm country. Having grown up near a dairy farm we easily recognized it!

We were able to tie up alongside a dock (much easier to do)! At 9:15PM, checked into the Rendsburg Yacht Club and stretched our legs by taking a quick walk around the town to get an idea of if we wanted to stay another day. It definitely looked like there was enough to be of interest, but the weather report told us that it would be best to keep moving. After a quick night’s sleep we left Rendsburg at 7:00AM to complete our travels in the Kiel Canal and lock out at the other end which will lead us into the Baltic Sea – our goal for this sailing season.

We got in

When You See One of These

you know you are in a tourist town!

to quite a bit of heavy ship traffic at this end of the Kiel Canal. Parts of the canal are quite narrow and some of the ships had to stop to let others pass them making it interesting navigating around them. When within sight of the 2^nd lock we made contact by radio and were informed that we would need to wait for about 30 minutes so we should tie up on the waiting pontoon. This waiting area was much nicer in that it even had a message board both in English and Germany keeping you informed. The waiting pontoon was very low like the previous lock but it was in much better condition so the wait was an easy one. At first we were the only boat waiting, but eventually a few other boats came a long so we filled one side of the lock. Here you have to pay your fee for the use of the lock. For our size boat it cost 18 euros ($24.60). This is an automated system that you must use, but all the instructions are in German. Fortunately for Janice there was another person there that was able to help here through the

A Lovely Water Garden and Park

we came across as we walked around Cuxhaven

steps to pay. This was much faster than using just her High School German. Once everyone pays the lock keeper will open the doors and let you out.

Soon after motoring out of the lock the channel opens up and as far as you could see there were boats of all kinds! We have arrived in the Baltic! The town of Kiel is another common stopping place for yachts going through this area, but as we didn’t need provisions and we had some good winds of 15-18 knots we decided to continue on to Heiligenhafen on the North coast of Germany. It would only add an additional few hours and that would get us to a town that we knew we could catch a train to Lübeck which we wanted to see.

The Baltic Sea is large, but it is also shallow which does make for some confused seas. We had about 5-6 foot waves from the stern quarter making it a rolly ride, but the day was sunny and pleasant. The channel down into Heiligenhafen is well marked and long leading down to the marina. With space for 1,000 boats the hunt was now on for an

One of the More Traditional VW Bugs

we have seen since getting to Germany

open “box”. We saw what looked like an open one so we proceeded down toward it to find that it was not marked green (meaning free) but was red. We made a quick retreat down a narrow passage with boats on either side. Fortunately no harm, no foul and we moved on. There was a man out working on his boat so with Janice’s High School German skills (very little, but helpful) she asked if the place next to him was free – fortunately for us it was so we headed to it. The bonus of this was not only knowing that it was free, but there was someone there to help us with our lines as we maneuvered in.

Let me try to explain what a box is – it is two outer poles about 15 foot apart that you must “lasso” with your lines at the stern while heading bow first toward a dock. One of you then has to “hop” off the boat onto a dock which may be quite a bit lower than your bow to tie off two dock lines. With others helping this made it so much easier as both of our neighbors

The Homes Here are Well Maintained

with well landscaped yards

came out to help with our lines and get us settled into our “box”. This means that you do not have a dock next to you to walk on, but you must hop over your bowsprit each time you want to get to land. The European designed boats typically have a bowsprit with an opening and many times even a step and/or ladder that helps you with this process. Our American built boat doesn’t have this which makes you climb over the bowsprit and stretch whichever way you can (as Janice says she hasn’t found a very ladylike way to do this yet!) Another safe landing in the land of “boxes”.

Our plan is to stay a couple of nights so we can do a few housekeeping chores such as laundry and provisioning and taking a train to a nearby town of Lübeck. We will fill you in on that in another blog entry.