Arrival Kiel

28^th July

We arrived in Korsor Marina at 1725 BST.

The wind finally died from the S late yesterday evening and early this morning it was a fresh N Westerly. It was not to last.

Soren, from his Bavaria ‘Seven Peaks’, again came on board to help. It was not necessary this time but Soren, being very competent, gave me peace of mind. My young friend from the Maxi looked after our bow from the stern of his boat.

I had removed the horizontally placed fenders that had protected the port rubbing strake from the set forward pile. This was a case of sitting on deck, back to the cabin and pushing the pile with stronger leg muscles to release them both! ‘Talisker 1’ now lay fairly hard against the pile again.

Just reversing gently did not move her at all. She was wedged. Soren released the bow lines and came aft to deal with the stern line on the starboard post that was well aft of the stern. A bit more throttle and she squeezed herself out and half a minute later I dropped Soren off on the quay. They are all so laid back about these things.

When the weather had got windy the previous day boats got themselves in to the harbour in impossible places. Lots of hands to help.

Samso is an absolute delight to see from open water with its small outlying islands and shallows as we left it behind.

We sailed south today and then motored and then sailed again as the wind came and went.

In a flat calm we eventually passed under the huge Storebaeltsbroen (the Great Belt Bridge), which also has a railway line running underneath!

Korsor is just to the east on the Copenhagen side. It is also Denmark’s naval harbour.

There were more pile moorings but we managed to find a hammer head.

Just inside the hammer head is a neglected and submerged old fishing boat. Quite depressing.

The marina is not so full! Holidaymakers will probably give this place a miss with their boats. Not that it is too horrid in any way. On the western side of Fyn there are many more charming places but it would have made the passage that bit longer and I am trying to get home now.

I guess we have eight to nine days sailing before Lowestoft or Harwich. Add in weather windows and this could double to perhaps twenty days or even longer time wise.

I spoke to daughter Hannah tonight. That was lovely.

I ate out for the second time since leaving home tonight and it was very disappointing. That wasn’t lovely.

31^st July

Yesterday we had one of the best sails of the voyage from Korso to Kiel and a berth at the British Kiel YC where we are now. The club sadly closes this year.

Two large groups of Brits have chartered two of the BKYC boats. The first English people I have met since Orkney. It seems a long time. They returned from their charter yesterday. The rest of the clubs fleet of boats are out for the weekend. They have a number of very smart identical Halberg Rassy 342’s. I dare say they will all be equipped identically to the last teaspoon. Very sensible to charter one of them!

While in Korso I tried to telephone the club to make sure there was space for us. I then sent an email and got a nice reply from Adrian Pery saying there was space and to report to Duty Watch on arrival.

We received a warm welcome from Jack, the Duty Watch.

Quite what the Brits made of this scruffy man on ‘Talisker 1’ I do not know!

Jack arranged for the bar to be opened and one of the Brits, George, had kindly come to tell me. I was too tired and headed for bed. There was no reason to be so tired..

Yesterday we sailed about 70NM with wind W, then SW and W and eventually WNW. It could not have been better for the passage and “Talisker 1’ ate the miles.

We charged in to Kiel with the log touching well over 8 knots at times and consistently 7. Langeland Island stretches NNE to SSE for about 28 miles. We left Korsor at 0600 BST and motor sailed straight across to the NE side of Langeland. With strong winds off the land we were going to be in the lee of the island and away from shipping.

With a little bit of sailing and then motoring I finally extinguished the noise of the engine and with the wind more west we hugged the land and were close hauled on starboard for about 7 NM before the wind backed and setting the stay sail and a reef in the main beat down the edge of the island heading SSE until about 1300 hours when the wind veered and we were able to sail on port to the end of the island which we rounded just before 1400 to sail SW to Kiel.

Out of the lee of the island the sea was slightly short and lumpy but this settled down as we left the island behind and ‘Talisker 1’ ate the last 25 miles across the Kieler Bucht to Kiel.

There were lots of sailing boats going the other way. All German. We were well to the north of the shipping that was making its way in to Kiel for the canal. Kiel looked lovely coming in to the fjord.

It was a very busy late Saturday afternoon for sailors and their boats.

The beat lengthened the day but was great fun. It is only the second time the stay sail has been used on this trip. The last time was Orford to Lowestoft. With anything above 15 knots over the deck and 20 to 25 as it was yesterday she feels perfectly balanced with this sail and a reefed main. And she’s quick to windward.

It’s Sunday at the BKYC. It’s raining too!

1^st August

The stay sail was used on a long beat to Espavaer. I forgot about that!

I think we leave tomorrow morning quite early.

Most of the Brits left yesterday morning. One couple, the Neville-Jones’s stayed another night to do the ‘hand back’ of both boats to the club.

Yesterday I went in to Kiel by bus! Kiel was slightly depressing when I think of how vibrant other parts of Germany are. However, I managed to do some food shopping.

Last night I discovered the only other visiting Brit boat at BKYC is from Woodbridge. ‘Wild Goose’, owned by Tony Allwood, also winters at Larkman’s Ltd. The first Brit ensign we have seen since Orkney is from the next river to us in Suffolk! It’s a small world.

We talked with Tony and the Neville-Jones’s last night.

Tony is possibly going to leave his boat in Denmark this winter.

Douglas Neville-Jones and his very nice wife have done a lot of sailing. They have a Hanse 34 in Poole. I brought up the one vexing thing about the voyage! The lack of power when motoring. Raymond, ‘Drunken Duck’ felt the propeller might be the culprit and I have felt the same. Douglas immediately thought the same.

Since I have owned ‘Talisker 1’ we have sailed with very little motoring. This voyage has involved a lot of motoring. The weather has been against us, particularly going north from Suffolk to Scotland. The motor and its performance have become more important and it’s something to look at when we get home. This shake down trip has revealed a few things to modify although most things have worked excellently.

Tony and ‘Wild Goose’ headed east this morning.

The Neville-Jones’s very generously offloaded food supplies to ‘Talisker 1’ from their one week, two boat charter. We could stay alive for weeks as it is with our supplies of tins and dried food, long life milk, long life bread, cereal, choc digestives, biscuits and water. Now we have really top stuff in the galley! None of it will be wasted!

I have been to the chart agent by the lock. It was quite a walk and involved a ferry but they had everything I wanted. They are proper chart agents, like my friends in Lowestoft. So we have Admiralty ‘Entrances to the Jade, Weser & Elbe which should see us to Helgoland and a few miles west. Imray C26, Ijmuiden to Die Elbe and Netherland NL2, small scale chartlets, which will cover us from Borkum to Den Helder. I also have a chart of the canal! I have everything else to get us home.

I also went in to a small butcher. Knowing I was on a boat he separated the delicious hams and salamis into small portions and vacuum packed them. No need to worry about expiry dates.

This afternoon the fleet of identical Halberg Rassy 342’s returned. What an opportunity for the young service men and women? I had a brief chat with Adrian Pery who had just returned with one of the boats having taken a competent crew course.

It was quite impressive watching the clean up of each identical yacht.

The Kiel Kanal awaits us tomorrow.