Germany outwardbound
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27/4 Very cold and raining.
The plan was to leave Holland and enter Germany, but this was not going to happen without problems. The area where the Waddenzee changes into the Dollard, and later changes into the river Eems, forms a funnel with a very strong current made by the tide. Just in front of the Eems a big rope floating just under the surface of the water snagged the propeller of the outboard motor. The tide was rising, and the Orm was being driven into the treacherously shallow Dollard. There was no time to lose. The choices were to lower the sail and struggle against the wind and current to move away from the Dollard, or to gamble that there was time to just let the Orm drift with the stream and try to get rid of the rope quickly. Henri decided for the last, but this was not without risk. He loosened the rudder so the draft of the Orm was reduced to 40 centimetres. It took him 30 minutes to free the propeller while the Orm continued to drift toward the shallow Dollard. One last tug, just in time, freed the rope when the Orm cleared the river bottom by only ten centimeters. At midday Leer was reached, but because of the bad weather Henri by-passed sightseeing in favor of the more appealing heated washing facility in the marina, where the soggy sleeping bag could be dried. 28/4 This day the trip continued towards Oldenburg, which could be reached by either of two waterways. One route follows the Eems and then the Küste Canal with three big locks for the merchant navy, and the other takes the tidal river Leda and the smaller Elisabeth Fehn Canal. Because Henri had sailed the Leda once before, he chose the first option, but it appeared to be a bad choice. The waterway was swarming with the normal merchant navy, leaving little room to maneuver the small Viking ship. Merchant vessel captains are accustomed to fastening in a lock with one spring on the bow and keeping the propeller running slowly. Even at slow speeds this kicks up a vortex of swirling water, and Henri had to repeatedly ask the lockkeeper to shut down the propeller because he could not manoeuvre without smashing things up. Transiting the three locks resulted in a delay of 4 hours, and Henri had planned to take the lock in Oldenburg to stay overnight in the marina. The lock was scheduled to close at 21.00. Because he was not sure he could make it in time, H enri radioed the lockkeeper to wait for him. But when the Orm arrived at 21.07 the lock was closed already. |
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29/4 At one o’clock in the morning a big motor vessel wanted to moor along side the Orm.
The man thought it very strange that Henri refused, but he was not willing to take the risk that the Orm would be broken by a collision in the darkness of the night.
The first lock opening was at 05.00 but because the merchant navy is given priority, the Orm had to wait till 07.00. The itinerary for this day was to reach Bremerhaven by the Hunte and Wezer, both tidal rivers. To sail on both rivers with the stream is impossible because at certain times of day, the tide overpowers the flow of the river. The Hunte is a tributary of the Weser 40 kilometers inland, so there is a time differential. If it is high tide in Bremerhaven at 12.00, it will be high tide in Oldenburg at 15.00. If you chose to travel with the tidal-stream on the Hunte, by the time you have reached the Weser the tidal-stream has already changed direction. So Henri decided to take the small twisting Hunte to sail with the stream and the wide Wezer against the stream. For the first segment of the journey the mast was taken down, to be set up again in Elsfelt. It was very difficult to moor on an iron pole in the waterway in the turning stream. Twice the Water Police offered to help Henri. On the Wezer the Orm was able to proceed by sail, and at the end of the afternoon reached Bremerhaven. There was a half hour wait to moor along side the last free place in the marina. 30/4 A resting day because the locks are out of order which gave time to do some domestic chores and make preparations for the rest of the trip. |
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1/5 This day the destination was the lock in Otterndorf, via the connecting waterway between the river Wezer and the river Elbe.
On a previous trip in 1985, this lock had been closed down for repairs, ( See : Voyage to Oslo ), but now the lock was in use.
However, it was still necessary to reckon with the water level on the Elbe. It seems that the Orm had not been forgotten, because of the visit of mayor Herman Gerken and the local newspaper. 2/5 Up-stream on the Elbe and then on the North-Baltic Sea Canal. Normally the smaller ships have to wait on the Elbe to enter the lock. Henri calculated precisely what time he had to depart from Otterndorf to be at Brunsbüttel at slack water. In this case, this was at 5.00 and he had to sail against the stream for 5 miles. Visibility was good, there were not many big sea-going ships and all went according plan. Only half an hour was spent waiting for the lock. At the end of the afternoon the Orm reached Rendsburg, where Henri stayed over night because small ships are not allowed to sail in the dark. There was a new harbour master who was very helpful. |
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3/5 The last part of the North-Baltic Sea Canal til the lock of Holtenau.
This is a double lock, one of which had been drained for repairs. Looking into this really big hole Henri was impressed with the craftsmanship which went into making it. Emperor Wilhelm had this waterway built as a connection for his fleet between the Baltic and the North Sea. On the Kielerfjord there was some nice sailing again til Laboe. Here Henri prepared Orm for the crossing to Denmark the next day. Unfortunately, the deserved night's sleep was disrupted because a charter ship from Groningen took a berth nearby, and the passengers were very noisy. Why do people so often misbehave themselves on holiday ? |
[ last updated : 9-5-2021 ]
© Copyright H.A. Houben