Cuxhaven to Kiel

Whilst it was quite bright as we left Cuxhaven, it was also very stormy. The  wind was gusting up to 37 knots and the wind over tide made the thirteen mile journey a very rough ride. It was also very cold. By midday we were approaching the locks, and were very grateful to be  sheltered from the wind. It took us only about half an hour to get  through the lock, with a small coaster and another sailing cruiser.

Once in the canal, we were able to relax a little. The wind was still very  strong, but the tree-lined banks of the canal sheltered us a to some  extent. But it was still very cold.

One of the reasons why he had to push on whilst at Cuxhaven was that  Annabel had decided to join us on the boat. The problem was that we  weren’t entirely sure just where that meeting would take place. Once we  had reached the canal we were able to phone her and agree to meet at  Rendsburg, a popular stopping place for yachties. Whilst it is possible  to transit the canal in a day, pleasure boats are not allowed to travel  at night. It is easier to break up the journey and stop somewhere.

Bill departed for home the next morning before we were all up. We had really enjoyed his company and he fitted in with us very well. We didn’t have a huge distance to cover, so we set off around lunchtime. We arrived at  Holtenau locks a few hours later, but had to wait for about half an hour for the lock to open. The wind was strong and cold, and it made it  difficult to manoeuvre in the lock. However, once through we made our  way across the Kieler Bucht to Moltenort. With our safe arrival at Moltenort, it was sadly time to say goodbye to Nick and Peter, who needed to get back to the UK to go back to work. It was a pleasure to have them both on the boat, and I was extremely grateful  that they were prepared to give up a couple of weeks of their holiday to help us relocate the boat. Nick and Peter left in the morning - the  weather was damp. They caught a ferry across to Kiel to start their  journey home. They were lucky they didn’t go later as the weather  deteriorated considerably, as shown in the photo below.