Debi and Jack sailing on SV Iroquois

Here are Jack and Jens under the Olympic torch standing next to the plaque commemorating Buddy Melges' gold medal in the Soling class in the 72 olympics.

We came to Schilksee Olympic Marina because our friend, Jens of SYTENDREL, keeps his boat there. Of course we were unprepared for box stalls, don't ask why. Luckily there was no wind and we came in next to a super helpful boat who got us tied up. It turned out that the guy is a retired Kiel Canal Helmsman and he was very happy to invite us over for an information session. I tried to take good notes but I know I missed some things.

Just after we tied up a boat was leaving--it was Jens! When he saw us he circled around but we told him to go sail and see us when he got back, which he did and we had a nice time catching up. 

We had to motor the entire 40 miles from Fehmarn to Kiel but when we arrived our batteries were not fully charged and the tachometer was not working. After checking voltages at the batteries and regulator we determined that the problem must be with the alternator.  Jens knew of a mechanic so arranged to take us to see him the next day. But the shop had only one technician who was skilled enough for the task and he is working 20 hours a day, maybe we could get him in a week or two. Jens called a second place that works on cars and they said to take pictures and send them so they could say if it was something they could do. So we went back to the boat, after a delicious breakfast at Jens's beautiful home,  and started taking pictures.  That was when Jack noticed a broken wire at the back of the alternator. Yeah!!  Something we could fix ourselves. In order to redo the wire we had to remove the alternator so we could turn it around. Hmmm, one of the bolts runs into the wood of the stairside before it comes all the way out. We remembered that that wall was removed when the engine was installed. Alas, it's not so easy to remove now so Jack worked at removing a chunk of wood big enough to get the bolt out. The dang thing could have been a centimeter to either side, but no, it had to be exactly where the wall was...Eventually he got it out and he and Jens repaired the wire and replaced the alternator. Many many thanks to Jens for his multiple trips to fetch tools and phone calls for advice. It would have been much more difficult if not impossible without him. Alternator back on and tested, we discussed the next problem - refilling our US propane tanks. We decided the best solution was to find a way to use CampingGaz because Jens had an extra bottle which fit in our lp locker and it is readily available in Europe. We had about two hours before Jens had to be at his sailing class (he teaches Economics and Sailing) , which he kindly used by driving us to the gas service station where they quickly found the fitting we need to attach the CampingGaz bottle to our system. On the way back we got a driving tour of Kiel and the harbor. They build boats here and specialize in very small silent submarines. The US Navy partners with them so they can test their detection techniques. Apparently there was an incident last year when the US Navy was cruising in the Mediterranean, not a training, but actually some kind of mission. An Italian in a Kiel submarine snuck up under an aircraft carrier rose up and took pictures which he sent to them. Needless to say the navy was not amused! Jens is full of interesting stories on top of his incredible helpfulness. We couldn't have asked for a better host.

The next day Jens and Dorte (I can't make umlauts on my phone, but her name should have one) took us to see the  historic site Hedeby, an important Viking settlement for a century. It's at the narrowest land between the Baltic and North seas. They dragged their ships on rolling logs 18 kilometers to get back and forth. It was also a place they built their big boats for the oceans. The museum was closed but we were able to see the actual excavation of a graveyard  (students from Aarhus were working there) and the reconstructed village. It was an interesting place. Then in the evening we went for a sail on Tendrel with  some of their university friends. We had a nice sail down the Kieler Bucht and got a tour of the city from the water so we got to see the entrance to the canal and also maneuver around freighters and cruise ships. Back at the marina we had cake and conversation and Ulrike autographed a copy of her new sea atlas for us. There's supposed to be an English version online but I can't find it. When I do I will post the link.

We asked Jens about the whales we saw on the way here. He said the Danes call them pig whales because they shoot them and feed them to pigs. So the Germans call them Baltic dolphins which you are not allowed to shoot.