Back Home: 26.08. to 30.09.2023,
Jersey, Solent, Belgium, Amsterdam, Ijselmeer, Dutch Canals and North Sea.

September 29^th; I am sitting on board at my home berth after 5 months, 5 countries, 3020 nautical miles and 57 ports and write about the last leg of the trip.

Diethard left Fleetwood on Wednesday night, after the obligatory visit to the Greek restaurant Syrtaki in Büdelsdorf; Uwe left yesterday afternoon after arrival in Kiel. I spent the last night lying at anchor again and let the voyage end for me.

It was exciting, this last leg, Channel Island Jersey, Solent, via Amsterdam, Ijsel  the channels in Holland along the standing mast route to dodge bad weather on the North Sea, to Norderney and Cuxhaven through the Northeast Sea Channel. More about that below.

My personal conclusion about the whole time:
every day was worthwhile, impressions, people, sailing.

My sailing highlight:
the tidal navigation in France and the English Channel. For me a great challenge, which brings navigation to a more complex level than we Baltic sailors generally need. Great thinking challenges for me.

My cultural highlight:
the days in La Rochelle, music, chansons, Mediterranean feeling.

My biggest challenge:
the crew changes with the associated timing and the recurring adjustment to the changing people on board. This worked best for me when I was alone for a few days in between, the most difficult was after Saint Malo, where my family disembarked and the return crew came directly afterwards. For this, Fleetwood is a relatively small boat, which offers little space for evasion.

In addition, I had already collected so many impressions during the voyage that I was tired of sightseeing programs. In contrast, the new crews always wanted to have an extensive sightseeing program, mostly the last crew, while I wanted only to sail home during the last weeks!

Now enough conclusion; how was it:

Jersey! St. Helier
Saturday afternoon, my family is off the boat, Diethard is here. Actually we wanted to stay one more day in Saint Malo, but I am tired of sightseeing and burning to sail again.

So, a bit later the day we decided to sail to Jersey. We left with the water running out (height of tide in Saint Malo is 35ft that day…). Jersey is a good thirty miles away, course north, should go quickly, although the wind turn to NW 16knts and thus just before the finish, together with the current, comes from the front. A challenge especially for Diethard: not quite there yet and the last 8.5 nm will be a three hour affair. In the end we make it and the next morning we first refuel tax free real marine diesel and then sail at high tide over the wall into the inner harbor. (What is real marine diesel? Diesel fuel without organic contend, that is legally prescribed up to 7% for standard diesel fuel at patrol stations.)

And then: “sightseeing”, opposite the port you can book a tour and so we sit the next day for a full day island tour with George in his bus. George talks "without point and comma", whether it is the stories about the legendary Jersey cows or the comments on the driving skills of his fellow islanders, such as "three locals and a bus at the intersection is called on Jersey traffic jam", in the end I no longer understood English language caused by fatigue.

Cherbourg
From Jersey we sailed to Cherbourg, here Uwe comes on board and we are complete for the trip to Kiel. But before the trip to Kiel there is one more highlight, which was not planned at all, namely the

Solent
Once across the canal, through the major shipping lanes, which are only allowed to sail through at right angle. We leave at 07:30 in the morning and with an initial northwest wind, later a westerly wind, we sail a total of 73.2 nm until 20:10 across the canal and then from the west with the tide into the Solent. It is impressive, the water boils on the right and left, the entrance is a real eye of a needle and also between the Needles, the towering rocks at the entrance, a lot of water comes through laterally. Our first port is

Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.
An all-round convincing service in the harbor. Three inflatable boats and a harbor cab provide berth assignment, maneuvering assistance, and transfers from mooring rings or the two long jetties that have no direct land access. Maneuvering assistance is also necessary here because the harbor is located in an estuary and thus the tidal range is superimposed on the current speed of the river. We think about what to do to get the best possible impression of the island and book again a tourist bus, there is cheaper for seniors, which applies to the crew. We drive in the afternoon still to the Needles and want the next day to the south and east side of the island, where the well-known seaside resorts are. And then it goes, for that the card does not go namely, but one needs in addition still the ticket for the public bus. Peter at the ticket counter finally agrees to exchange our already purchased cards with an upgrade. For this I promise him to mention him especially in my next travel report. But this service is really also extraordinary. I experience the people altogether as super friendly, and all berate on the Brexit....(why have they then only elected it....?)

Speaking of Brexit: how does it work when entering the country by boat? The harbor master and his assistants are not interested at all. Our yellow flag as a signal that we have not yet completed border formalities is only taken note of by the neighbors horrified, because it is also known as quarantine signal, for example, if someone is contagiously ill on board.

So, at the harbor master office hangs the phone number of the border guard. There you have to call by phone; you get an e-mail address to which you then send photos of boat data and passports. Three hours later comes then the "release for entry" also by e-mail and only then you may officially ashore. For departure again log out by e-mail. I have no idea what happens if you don't do that....no one checked it.

After the two  sightseeing days by bus we sail impressive 9.3 nautical miles to the famous Cowes.
Cowes is also located in an estuary. We are moored in the East Cove Marina. The main town is on the other side of the river. In the City Marina, close to main town, there is the world championship of the 6 mR boat class and it is really crowded. From the east side to the west side there is a continuous ferry crossing the river on two huge chains. We look at the lively place in town. Unfortunately shops and cafes and also sailing club bar close between 17:30 and 18:00. World Cup back and forth. There are a few insider tips where something is going on, but hot food should be ordered by 20:00 at the latest, because then the kitchens are cleaned. How great was that in Spain where the kitchen opened not before 20:00....

Porthmouth is our next port. In the meantime the temperatures have risen steeply and there is an almost Mediterranean atmosphere in the air. We visit the Navy Museum. Berth of the famous Victory. 44£ entrance fee I find cheeky, but somehow all this must finance itself. On the Victory, Lord Nelson won the battle of Trafalgar against the French in 1805, but did not survive himself. A very interesting tour through the Victory.

Southampton, while we are already here, of course, this city must also be on the cruise plan; there is finally a well-known football club....to make it short. The visit was worthwhile to see how ugly you can rebuild a city destroyed in World War II. Nevertheless, if you love shopping, you will find everything your heart desires in hundreds of stores, but unfortunately only a few cozy corners worth seeing. Actually, I already had enough of sightseeing, so I'm glad when we finally sail out of the Solent.

Chichester Harbour anchorage is on the cruise plan. Still accompany us the Mediterranean temperatures, it is a great evening with barbecue on board and also the next morning the temperatures invite first to swim. I dive under boat and scruple the environment of the log (speed) sensor. I had freed it the day before from massive mussel growth after it had displayed up to 25% too little.
Besides I swim 8 times around the boat, which is on one side with the current a fast fun, on the other side against the current a real challenge. Uwe goes swimming an hour later and I have to acknowledge pale with envy that he simply manages more, but the current is also close to zero.

With the appropriate current, we set off at noon for Brighton, probably the most famous seaside resort in southern England. A huge concrete pier surrounds the marina, which is artificially built into the canal. A visit to the famous pier is of course unavoidable. We, as engineers, are surprised that everything holds so well on the thin legs and piles. The English must have known why they wanted to get out of the EU's very safety-based regulations. Hard to believe if an EU directive would have restricted, or even banned, the operation of such fragile structures.
In Brighton, our time in the UK is over; we're off in one leg to France, Belgium and then Holland. Here our first destination is Amsterdam.

A storm has built up on the North Sea and we wanted to avoid it by taking the "Standing Mast Route" a series of canals with folding bridges between Amsterdam and the River Ems. In between there are also direct accesses to the North Sea from the Dutch lakes, which the Dutch call seas…?!

My conclusion: absolutely worthwhile, a very unique experience and the way through different places and through cow and sheep meadows rewards with always new impressions.

Downside: it is not easy with the strong to stormy Southwestwind from behind which forces us to wait again and again in front of the 25 bridges we had to cross. Waiting means maneuvering with the 39ft long Fleetwood on an approx. 65ft wide channel. Means circle, until the bridge then finally opens. For me very exhausting, here a modern yacht with bow thruster would be clearly in the advantage. Anyway, we enjoy a rainy evening for 14 € overnight fee in picturesque town Dokkum and after 2.5 days we are at our destination in the lock to the North Sea in Lauwersoog. I had to buy an extra nautical chart to get out of the mudflat water and sea lane actually on the North Sea.

Everything works out and we enter next target Norderney on 21.09., where the harbor master first wants to know how far we have come. 2894.4 nautical miles lie in the wake. We wait here for two days of rain. The rest is routine, in sunshine to Cuxhafen, it is Diethards wish to stop here (sightseeing), then Brunsbüttel and on Wednesday 27.09. through the Kiel Canal. In the evening we meet the Fleetwood crews and the faithful partners again in Büdelsdorf near Rendsburg for a Greek meal. Diethard lives nearby, gets off here and drives home with his family.

On Thursday it is still four hours to Kiel.

At the lock a novom: on my question to the lockkeeper how long we have to wait the first answer was "…wait a minute, …how do we do that now....?", and the further answer: "we open only for you the north lock, drive in as soon as the gate is wide enough open and moore where you want..." One sailboat in a 850ft long, huge lock.

And then Kiel harbor has us back again. First, an afternoon at the marina of the Kiel Sailing Association. Uwe gets well from here to the station. Second, a last night for me at the anchorage in Friedrichsort. Time to write this to the end.

I look forward to seeing my family and friends.

Back home!

Chanel Island Jersey, the “best cows ever”, impressing coast,  German bunker from the war

Legendary Clubs & Start Canons of Cowes -  “Attention! Canons may be used at any time”

Portsmouth, the Navy Museum with HMS Victory left, Dominating Spinnaker Tower

Spinnaker sailing  and lock proceeding on the way to Amsterdam, City Marina Sixhaven

Lock entry to Ijselmeer, chanel passage with lonely mooring place

Final crew meeting with families, lock in Holtenau and end of the voyage