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| Destination Gotland - but Visby on Gotland proved out of reach... |
The Baltic showed itself from the most benign side – until we
reached Visby in Gotland, just off the coast of Sweden. Swells of more than two
meters and brisk winds pushing the ship towards shore and causing her anchor to
drag (not a good thing) made tendering ashore impossible. So near and yet so
far, we waved Visby Good Bye and headed for Ystadt, hoping for conditions to
improve.
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| This view made up our visit to Visby |
However, a couple of hours after leaving the Bay of Visby the
ship turned around again and headed back. Not to offer us a belated shore
leave, but to pick up a few crew members who were supposed to join the ship in
Visby, and seemed to have been forgotten. Local Pilots – given a financial
incentive – offered to meet the ship ‘half way’ and deliver the stranded guys
to the ship.
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| Special Delivery... |
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| of Crew awaiting the ship in Visby |
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| It would have been great to visit, however Neptun did not cooperate... |
Ystadt proved to be impossible to approach as well. As an
alternative, we headed for Kiel and a REAL dock. We arrived too early to enjoy the largest
party of Germany, the Kieler Woche, which is one of the biggest if not the
biggest sailing regatta in the world. Sort of a Calgary Stampede for boats. Kiel
was plugged with tents and stages with street closures and open air party
venues, which gave an inkling of what was to come.
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| Kieler Woche, the German Calgary Stampede... |
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| Line up of Tall Ships on Kieler Quays |
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| Always a ship building city, Kiel was a prime target in WWII. Old U Boote are now Museums |
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| The Town of Kiel |
Although we had an overnight stay there, I took advantage of
the ‘rest’ to recuperate from non-stop harbour visits during the last few
weeks.
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| View from my Veranda, when entering Kiel Kanal |
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| Cross Country treck |
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| A little too breezy for a swim today... |
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| From Kiel to Brunsbuettel, and then to Hamburg |
I looked forward to another Kiel Canal transit, this time
from East to West. I insert a few Internet Photos to expand my point of view of
this engineering feat and show images illustrating different perspectives.
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| Early Morning Kiel Kanal commute |
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| Commuting via Flying Ferry |
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| Loading the 'Basket' |
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| Here we Fly.... |
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| Landing...although the basket has a radar on top, today visibility did not require its use |
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| No, I did not jump overboard... |
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| Internet photo of Prinsendam transiting Kiel Kanal. In a speed contest, the cyclists win... |
Transiting the Kiel Kanal is an intriguing mixture of a jaunt through a bucolic country side and being firmly connected to two large seas through a thin thread of sweet water.
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| Lots of ship building yards. Many luxury yachts are born here. |
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| Maple Leaf over Kiel Kanal |
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| Note Solar Panels on house in background. This is a common sight in a country that is approaching a point where most energy is derived from renewable resources. Gone Green profitably... |
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| Ah, the heady perfume of country air... |
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| Tug with unidentified floating object in tow |
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| Passing Lane in Kiel Kanal |
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| Surf and Turf a la Kiel Kanal |
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| A Highway between land and sea |
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| Historic Windmill at Kiel Kanal |
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| Modern Windmills at Kiel Kanal |
Submarines transit the Canal. With 45,000 vessels transiting the waterway, ever so often upsets happen, even in the best run canals. Here are a couple of Internet Photos.
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| Sh....Happens |
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| And it happens more than once... |
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| Submarine in Wintry Kiel Kanal |
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| Das Boot in Kiel Kanal |
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| Brunsbuettel Lock |
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| Prinsendam nosing into the North Sea |
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| Kanal Pilots are leaving... |
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| From Us to Them...Indonesian Sailors on many Ships |
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| Popping out at the West Side... |
Leaving the Kiel Canal (which was called Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal
until 1947, when political correctness changed naming conventions in Germany) at
Brunsbuettel Prinsendam made her way for 70 nautical miles (150 km) up the Elbe
River to Hamburg. The Elbe runs for 1.165 km through Germany. 870 km are
navigable.
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| Rough Seas at the Elbe River Entrance |
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| Steaming down river... |
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| Light Houses abound on the shores of the Elbe |
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| Well, Sh.... Happend in the Elbe as well |
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| Blankeneese (White Nose) one of the first towns upriver Elbe. For many sailors the first safe harbour after leaving an angry North Sea. |
Despite being a river, it spreads out to 15 km at its mouth,
which is open to the influences of storm surges and tides. Tides influence
water levels way beyond Hamburg; and the port of Hamburg may have changes in
water level reaching 16 feet between ebb and flow.
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| Light Ships such as this one used to guide the way upriver... |
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| Literally hundreds of Pilot Boats show the way to Hamburg for thousands of ships each year |
The entire transit from Kiel to Hamburg took about eighteen
hours, which makes it one of the longest constantly fascinating ‘sea leg’ I
have had the pleasure to undertake.
