Sunday 15 April
It was at least a peaceful night, and we made a prompt departure into a soft, misty morning, to find the canal once again busy with freight. In the open sea, yachts have to keep well clear of these beasts, which is fine for us, as close up they are enormous and quite intimidating. My crew were glad to be here before the season, when the canal is probably much busier with leisure craft – who don’t always have the desired experience, or skills in boat handling. At least the big ships maintain a steady speed, much slower than they can achieve at sea, and actually create very little wash. We saw fuel tankers, container ships, tugs and dredging vessels, one warship, river cruise ships and cargo barges, as well as one or two yachts and motorboats.
As we reached the end of the canal, we had to tie up to the ‘payment pontoon’ that has been installed since one poor yachtsman died, having fallen off the ladder he was expected to scale up the lock wall to reach the lockkeeper’s office to pay his dues. Having clarified the confusing translation on the screen, our plastic was hit with another €35 and after lunch we called the lockkeeper and waited a few minutes for the signal, while a tug manoeuvred a huge container ship into one side of the lock we were to share. We slipped in behind a small motorboat, and once again Skipper heroically saved Mate from further damage to the ankle by jumping a long way down onto a slightly less slippery but this time lumpy yacht pontoon, to fend off until we were released. Curiously, the locks at both ends seem mainly about keeping the water in the canal, as there is no discernable rise or fall of water level once inside.
Having completed our transit safely, we couldn’t help a feeling of relief that that should be the end of canalling for a while, and we may even hoist a sail again soon. For today, we simply turned South, out into the Kieler Förde (Kiel Fjord), and soon entered Harbour #4 at Dűsternbrook, just North of Kiel city centre. This marina is specifically organised for large yachts, and the box we chose proved to be much longer than we’d anticipated, so a fraught few moments ensued while Skipper added a further length of rope to the line he’d secured onto the port stern post…as we drifted past it and some ten metres further in to the quay wall, where Mate stepped off my dolphin to tie my bow onto the strong metal cleats provided. My near neighbour was a huge racing yacht called Calypso, and she was joined by a second, brand new racing yacht with a bright green hull, on which there was much activity by the commissioning crew.