Kiel Canal

Thursday July 4th
Brunsbüttel and the first ship through the lock

Brunsbüttel boat marina is a small cranny in the Kiel canal North Sea end. Dieter checks the bow moorings in the morning and I think he was satisfied with my performance the previous night after having seen what was under the bow. At night I had been hanging from the bow in the dark, blinded by the strong lights from the shore and trying to hit the small dock type slippery wooden construction which floated on the water. I managed to tie the bow mooring without needing to swim, without tripping or even hurting my little toe. The dock had no connection to the land. We were attached to other boats and there were two boats between us and the shore. We tip toed over the other boats to find bread. When I say tip toed, I mean that I slipped and fell hard enough to wake everyone inside the boat next to us.

We motored the Kiel canal during the day. In the picture you can see Hamu on the plotter far from the sea, firmly in the middle of the land. This took us to Holtenau and to the Baltic in the evening. It almost felt like coming home.

Dieter and Ylva left us and Hamburg VII in Holtenau. We could only guess what they felt after 15 years. We raise the Finnish flag together, drink the classes together and say Auf Wiedersehen. Marina and I sleep the first night together alone on Hamburg VII.

Hamu in Kiel canal
Ships in Kiel canal
Slippery planks

From England to Finland 2013

Hamburg VII 2013