The British Kiel Yacht Club, Kiel Germany

After we left Volendam, we motored north through the dam and lock at Enkhuizen and then through another dam and lock at Den Oever back into the North Sea. Following the channel we were able to motorsail with tide to proceed outside the Friesian Islands and go north around them.The wind and tide was favourable and made good progress under sail around the top of Holland and the German Friesian Islands and then into the Elbe River.
If you think the outer reaches of the Thames Estuary are bleak then I would suggest that the Elbe is worse. Fortunately, we had favourable wind and tide to take us past Cuxhaven and up into the massive locks at Brunsbuttle, where we found shelter at a tiny marina.
We looked around the small town, which seemed typically German but after a long 36 hours at sea were not inclined to do much except go to sleep.
Yesterday, was a bright clear day, perfect for the 60 mile meandering run up the Kiel Canal. This a massive canal project completed in 1895 but still works very well, even though we have to share with some enormous ships.
Very strange to hear birds and see cows and sheep while sailing but there it is.This must be what the narrow boaters see every day on their travels.
We locked out of the north end of the canal at about 1530H into the Baltic Sea and on to the British Kiel Yacht Club. We chose this place from a recommendation in my pilot book and a member of the Little Ship Club in London who said it was a must see.
Perhaps the information was a little out of date, as there really isn't much here. The place seems to be run as a training center for the remaining British Army and even though it is well maintained there was nothing going on. Even on a Saturday night, it was occupied by four or five post adolescent squaddies watching the soccer on TV. We couldn't even make any jokes about not mentioning the war.
They wouldn't even give us the internet password as it was seemingly " classified information"
With the magic of Google we found a very nice Balkan restaurant about a 20 minute walk from here.
It was called Bato's and was situated in the local municipal airport. Very friendly staff and great value.
The weather seems to have taken a turn for the worse today, with a strong front coming through and strong easterlies for a few days and its raining quite hard right now.
We would like to head east and north toward Copenhagen but that's not going to happen until Wednesday at the earliest. It the rain settles down, we might go 30 miles north to the small Danish fishing village of Bagenskop on the southeast tip of the island of Langeland and wait for the weather to improve.
Photos of the Kiel Canal to follow.

Volandam, Holland

Leaving Amsterdam Marina

tied up to the dock at Volendam. Lots of touristy shops and restaurants

the lock and the bridge entering the Ijsselmeer

traditional Dutch barge on the Ijsellmeer

Amsterdam, holland

We spent the day in Amsterdam yesterday. After leaving Scheveningen at the crack of dawn we went up the west coast of Holland to Ijmuiden and since strong northerlies were forecast we decided to go inland to Amsterdam via the North Sea Canal. It was a mild sunny day and the navigation was easy.

We got to the Amsterdam Marina, which is about 2 miles north of the city center at about 1300H and what a nice marina it was. Great staff and the best shower facilities I've  seen since Singapore's 118 marina. They even had a bath!

We took the ferry boat into the town center and had a walkabout and some dinner and generally played the tourist.

After a good boat wash down we left at about 1000H and motored  through the city to a lock and a drawbridge and then into the Ijselmeer. 

Very brisk northerlies as predicted and the lake is very shallow. We stopped for the night at the delightful village of Volandam/Edam.

Tomorrow, we go north again and out of Den Helder. Hopefully, the weather will comply for us going around the corner and into the Elbe Estuary.

the facilities at the Amsterdam Marina

A bathtub with a view!

the famous red light district in Amsterdam. That is not a mannequin in the window.

some big shoes

typical Amsterdam canal scene

the lock and bridge entering the North sea Canal

Scheveningen, Holland

We are now in Scheveningen, which is the port for the Hague. We came in here on Saturday morning after a cold and wet sail from London dodging ships most of the way. Getting out of the Limehouse lock was easy and we had a nice run down the Thames out to Southend with the tide even though it was very cold and murky. We motor-sailed out of the estuary and we had some nice sailing from about 2000H in brisk north-easterlies, until about 0500H when the wind went forward and then died completely. Visibility was poor overnight and diminished to less than 100 m. by 0600H. We decided to go into Scheveningen as strong north-easterlies were predicted at some time in the day.
I'm glad we did as the wind piped up 2 hours after we got in and they still persist.
The marina here is very well protected and the staff have been excellent.
Very few foreign boats here.
We did some boat chores yesterday. Mainly changing out the bungee cords that tension the topping lift on the main and mizzen booms.the mizzen was easy but the main required removing the housing of the outhaul motor and gearbox to get access. A major PITA but we got it done.
Today we went on a bus and tram trip into the Hague and to the town of Delft. The weather was perfect inland and there was lots of beautiful architecture and scenery to see.
It's good to be out on the water again living the cruising life and being among sailors once more.
I think it's going to be a good summer!

lunch in Delft

the marina in Scheveningen. The admiral's foot in the bottom of the photo

The New Church in Delft

Limehouse Basin Marina, London, UK

Last night in Limehouse.
It's incredible how fast a year goes by. It seems like yesterday when we arrived here in Limehouse and now it's time to leave. The weather this week has been somewhat unsettled with a major low over northern Germany causing northerlies winds and quite a bit of rain. And its very cold! So much for the English summer, it lasted a full two days so far.
We leave with the tide tomorrow and we had intended to slide up the coast to Ipswich but it appears that we have about a 36 hour weather window before the north-easterlies return so we will make a dash for Shevingen in Holland and take it from there. Otherwise it will mean waiting for another 5-6 days with no guarantee that conditions will be better.
We have enjoyed our sojourn in London and I would strongly recommend this marina to any visiting sailors.
Next stop the Netherlands.

Limehouse Basin Marina, London, UK

Spring has finally sprung in Limehouse and although the weather cannot be described as consistent, it certainly is quite a bit warmer and I think that we can now retire the dehumidifier and the space heaters but I think the electric blankets will have to remain until we get well south of here. 

I went back  to California earlier this month for my friend Len's memorial service. It was a  very sad event but I did feel the need to say goodbye to him. 

We are now making our final preparations for leaving and have a tentative date for June 3rd. The plan is to go left out of the lock and  to exit the Thames estuary and weather permitting, head for the Dutch  Friesian Islands and then on the Germany and the Kiel Canal and up into the Baltic Sea. Then on to Copenhagen and then around to Stockholm via Gotland Island.

This should take us 6-7 weeks and as we need to be out of Biscay by the end of August, we will retrace our track back to the Channel Islands and on to La Rochelle for the beginning of August.

We will pop in to see the Amel boys and get a few things checked and then on to Northern Spain, around Finnisterre and then to Portugal and the Algarve by October.

We have been on babysitting patrol in Rochester for a few days and both babies are growing well. It's amazing to see the changes in Genevieve in just a few months.

Most of my maintenance list is completed, all the sails are on and all the fluids changed. The air conditioning is misbehaving but probably needs to have  some start capacitors replaced.  I don't think we are going to need it for a few months at least.

One task I'm not looking forward to is diving under the boat to inspect the hull, propeller and the anodes in the murky, cold Limehouse Basin but it will have to be done when we get a very warm day.

We had the pleasure of having some cruising friends visit us for lunch last week. John and Cheryl from Seamist and Helen from Dignity came by and a very pleasant afternoon was spent reminiscing about cruising the world.

Evie, doing what she does best. Now mobile.

Callisto, among all the narrow boats. This has been a very good place to leave the boat for the winter

urban swans. all the birds seem to build their nests from a combination of natural debris and local trash

mum and dad guarding their nest

the first of the ugly duckings. Cygnets are really quite cute.

Being directed by Sydney(the one with the tiara) on arts and crafts

Seamist John and I fixing the world's problems and drinking a little beer.

The Admiral producing an excellent lunch

Seamists and Callistos

and Helen on the right

Limehouse Basin Marina, London, UK

It's been a VERY long time since I posted anything and it seem to be extremely simple to get out of the habit. Since we left Portland we enjoyed the easy lubberly life in San Diego, lovely weather dry surroundings and lots of room.
I was able to complete my US Coast Guard 100 Ton Master's Licence after a fairly grueling two week course. Not so easy so get up at 0600H to get to class by 0730H and spend all day in lectures, especially if you aren't used to it. I had to actually get paper charts out again and do piloting the hard way.
We went to Palm Springs and met with some old friends and got all the Admiral's doctor visits out of the way. We also looked at the possibility of moving apartments here in San Diego as we are told there is going to be all sorts of new developments in the downtown and Marina district which will seriously impact our view. Nothing was available when we were there but within a week of getting back to London it looks like we have found a winner. How exactly we are going to get this acquisition bought and our current apartment sold, we are not quite sure but we will work hard on making it so.
We also had some very sad news just before we left San Diego. Len, my very good friend of thirty years, passed away suddenly and left us all quite shocked.
I will miss him a great deal and I plan on going back for his memorial service at Eisenhower Medical Center in early May.
Meanwhile, back on Callisto, the work is endless. After three months in the cold and damp, the whole boat needs a thorough spring clean. Every locker needs turning out, contents cleaned and then replaced. We have done quite a bit but there is much more to do before we depart for Denmark and Sweden on June 1st.
London is still quite cold and rainy but at least the days are getting longer now.
Today is the London Marathon. 30,000 runners in all shapes and sizes, passing through Limehouse. Quite an event!
I promise to be more consistent with posting here in the future.

The Kenyan and Ethiopian elite ladies looking strong at about mile 15 on Narrow Street, Limehouse.