Tuesday 10 – Friday 13 April
Petra the harbourmaster welcomed us warmly and proved a mine of useful information. Her beautiful English put our poor and patchy German to shame, as she explained where in town we’d find provisioning and points of interest, how to handle the Kiel Canal and where to fuel. As an experienced solo sailor herself, she understands exactly what we needed to know, and was happy to share all manner of advice and suggestions.
The facilities at the marina are really good: sparkling clean, warm and well fitted out. Laundry is reasonably priced in the ubiquitous and very efficient Miele machines, trolleys are available and wifi and recycling are offered. It is a pleasant 10-15 minute walk into town, where there is a selection of supermarkets, and a large number of restaurants and cafés.
MATE RATES
For a wide selection of fruit and vegetables, and a lovely Turkish delicatessen, head for Anka on Nordersteinstraße, the main pedestrianised shopping street that runs South from Kaemmererplatz. Anka is just beyond the post office, on the junction with Segelckestraße.
We enjoyed a good lunch at Zum Park on Sűdersteinstraße: generous portions of Balkan-inspired dishes, after an ‘on the house’ appetiser of homemade soup – delicious.
We had a couple of rather bouncy nights in a cold Easterly wind, and feel we may have fared better if we’d tucked further into the marina, to tie up alongside the pontoon that lies inside the Ro-Ro ferry terminal. Meanwhile, Skipper cleaned my topsides thoroughly ie with a sponge and soapy water, as well as a hose – I felt like I was having a spa experience. He didn’t get as far as the polish and wax stage, but there’s always another day… Mate’s still nursing a sore ankle, and took only occasional walks along the rather bouncy pontoon, but they did manage a second shopping trip on Friday morning, from which they returned too late to depart for the canal. There’s always another day… and anyway, sailors are a superstitious lot, and never start a voyage on a Friday, let alone a Friday 13th.