The Final Push to the Baltic
18 August 2019
Michael Devany
Our sail from Delfzijl to Cuxhaven through the North Sea was uneventful. We had a quick passage downstream the Emse, out past Borkum, and turned east towards the Elbe. The wind had been decreasing over the past week, so the sea was fairly calm as we motored along the Frisian Islands. With our draft of 2 meters, we had to stay outside the islands, so didn’t get to visit these remote places. We arrived at Elbe 1 (sea buoy) around midnight, so had just made slack before ebb on the river, which meant that we could make it upstream before the current against us got too strong. Even with that timing, we were down to 4 knots by the time we reached the entrance to Cuxhaven marina. About an hour before we arrived, we could see all of the boats departing the marina to ride the current downriver. Good for us, as there were lots of vacant berths at the marina. We tied up for the morning, and finally got to bed after a long night of transit.
The next few days were spent visiting friends in Germany, cleaning the boat, and getting it restocked. Arriving at the grocery store, I was amazed to find a store dedicated entirely to beer. Good German beer! It was difficult to choose between beers, and even more difficult to not buy too much. Fortunately we had rented a car to go see our friends in southern Germany, so it was easy to haul our fresh supplies back to the boat. And yes, we got more than just beer.
Joining us for this leg of the trip was my friend Doug, who had been on the Atlantic crossing with me. This sailing would be quite a contrast to the wind and waves we had for that passage. With everyone back onboard, we caught the afternoon tide up the Elbe for the Kiel Canal. A nice easy sail to the locks, and then a quick lock through with a half dozen boats going our way. There is no sailing on the Kiel, and recreational boats are not permitted to be underway after dark. We made our way east, and found a nice waiting float on a side channel to spend the night. Perfect place to try out grilling some of the tasty German sausages we got in Cuxhaven. And to test out some of those beers.
A lazy start the next morning saw us in Rendsburg before noon, when cousin Lars and his daughter Anna Kirstina, would meet us. The yacht club was nice to let us tie up for a couple of hours while we went to the train station to fetch them. Then a few more provisions, and we were back on the canal headed east to Kiel. We have a final lock to transit to get into the Baltic, and the only one on this trip that we had to pay. The last canal where we paid was the Corinth canal at about €240 (about €80/mile), so paying €12 (€1/mile) wasn’t bad at all. We locked through with a few other sailboats and a freighter, and were soon tied up in the marina Laboe.
We enjoyed a nice visit here, as this is the center of German submarine history. A visit to the navy memorial (1918) filled in many details missing from my knowledge of German naval history. There is a U boat from WW2 that we walked through, and having seen Das Boot, were reminded of just how cramped and dangerous life was on a submarine. We took a bus into visit Kiel. Though to be honest, it was too hot during he heat wave to do much walking around. We settled for cold beers, and took the ferry back to Laboe.
The last few days had been windless, and a turn in the weather was forecast. The next morning, after filling water tanks and getting a few more stores, we bid Tracy goodbye, as she headed back to the States. We have another week to get the boat put up for the season, so took advantage of the wind and sailed for Flensberger Fiorde. And I do mean sailed! We had perfect wind conditions as we had a long, single tack sail all the way to the anchorage on the Danish side of the fiorde. Very nice. We anchored up in the lee of the Danish headland, our first visit this far north. I hadn’t actually planned to get to Denmark on this trip, so hadn’t purchased a Danish courtesy flag. Fortunately, one of the code pennants from the flag bag looks almost exactly like a Danish flag. Improvisation worked well.
The next day, we again had beautiful weather and winds, and we got underway and were quickly back under sail headed up the fiorde. Flensberg is at the head of the fiorde, and we had lots of sailing company as we hoisted Big Red for the first time since the Med. Great that Doug was onboard, since the spinnaker is named by him for his alma mater, Nebraska. We managed to sail almost the entire way to town, and were soon tied up in the city famous for Flensberger beer. Probably famous for other things as well, but not sure what that might be.
I really enjoyed Flensberg, as it is a traditional German town with an active waterfront and walking center. We spent a couple days here waiting on the wind to shift, doing some exploring, and having just a few Flensbergers on the pier. Lars and Anna Kirstina felt the tug of home, as Denmark was only a mile north of us, so they caught a train back to Copenhagen the next day. We waited another day for the weather to improve, and then we also got underway for our final destination of Kappeln in the Schlie.
Tacking our way out of the fiorde (5 tacks to get to the mouth of the fiorde) we had a quiet and fun day. The wind eventually died down, and we motored the last ten miles to the mouth of the Schlie, where we anchored in just over 2 meters of water. I think we might have had 6 inches under the keel when we dropped the hook. A boat nearby failed to swing to the wind, as they discovered that they had no water under their keel. Seems to be a new normal here for us, so we adapt and drift off to sleep. The next day it is a few miles into Kappeln, where we motored at the town quay to start preparing for our haul out. We will leave the boat at Ancker Marina, which is where our friends Horst and Janet kept their boat for years. They arrived in town the next day, and were really helpful making sure we were set up for our haul out and storage. Particularly helpful, since Tracy is the German speaker, and she is already back at home.
We had a great visit from our friends from Bavaria, who drove up to see the boat and have dinner with us. And drop off some good Bavarian Weiss beer! The remaining few days were spent getting the boat in order, stowing sails and running rigging, doing laundry, and of course, cleaning the boat from stem to stern. Haulout day was fortunately uneventful. A bit scary to watch, as this is the first haul out by crane, instead of a travel hoist. Ancker has a really professional crew, and they conducted a gentle ballet of picking the boat and placing it on the cradle.
And then we were done for the year. The boat is up on the hard. Work is on order for next year. We have the boat prepped for the winter, and we have our bus, train, and plane tickets in hand. It has been a really enjoyable journey these past months, and we have enjoyed the sights, the people, the food, and of course, the great German beer. Here’s to next year exploring Denmark, Sweden, and Norway!