SV Ostinato: The Rudder goes walk about

We thought we had paid our cruising dues with the broken boom and then the lost propeller but no, apparently not. So here we are, one rudder short of a pair sitting in the Kiel Canal. After several days of researching options concerning the missing rudder, Ostinato once again untied her dock lines and headed out into the canal. We decided that returning to the UK with only one rudder (although most boats only have 1!) would not make either of us comfortable so our destination was Gluckstadt, located on the Elbe River near Hamburg. Not only was the yard highly recommended by Bert and Marlene on SY Heimkehr but also independently by a catamaran sailor tied up near us at the yacht club. We spent the day dodging the big boys in the rain as we headed toward the western end of the canal. The weather turned chilly again so the long johns were back on. King also kept the diesel heat going so we could occasionally slip inside to get warm. Did I mention the rain and fog? Ostinato moved along smoothly. You would never know she was missing a rudder. Discussions are now about how long its actually been missing! Last time it was actually seen was Scotland! Not much to see as we moved along in low visibility until we reached Noah's Ark tied up along side a small town on the canal. I have to say we were both a bit surprised. Who knew! No animals appeared on board so we took that as a positive sign and kept going. At the end of the canal, just inside the locks, we found plenty of space for a starboard side tie-up to spend the night. The power, however, left something to be desired. Only after switching off the hot water heater, leaving on only minimal lighting and refrigeration, could we plug in without immediately blowing fuses. The diesel heat remained on for the night.

Noah's Ark in the Kiel Canal. Who knew!

Following a quick grocery run, we popped out of the Canal and motored south on the Elbe...in the rain. Again, the locking process was easy with no turbulence as the water level changed what appeared to be only a few inches. The traffic on the river was light but we stayed well out of the channel to avoid any excitement (which is a good thing since the German marine police issue fines on the spot for wondering in to the shipping channel). The entrance to Gluckstadt has a lock that only opens at 2 hours before high tide so timing was critical. We arrived an hour before opening and secured Ostinato to the waiting pontoon. While there, the manager of the boat yard came by to introduce himself and to point out where we would live for the next 2 weeks. The local yacht club had picked that day to have a race so once the lock opened, movement in front of the lock got a bit dicey until the lock master finally blew his horn to clear the way for Ostinato and a power boat attempting to enter. We tied up to the dock with plenty of time to do a quick stroll around the town before dark.

Gluckstadt...Can you find Ostinato?

Bert joined us the next morning as our interpreter during the meeting with the boatyard manager. Can't over emphasize how much his assistance has meant to us. This is especially true this day after learning he was on his way to get a root canal. King had hauled out the Rosetta Stone course for German. It started off with learning to say something about Sally throwing a ball....obviously, not what we needed at this point in time. As a result of our meeting, we were able to reduce the time estimate from 4 to 2 weeks. This is great news! We may make the UK before the first snow after all. By the end of the day the remaining rudder was already off and work was underway.

Our research had shown that we could do customs and immigration check into Germany in Brunsbuttel but again, we got blank looks when we asked the Harbour Master. After five attempts, King finally called a phone number for German Customs. They asked where we were headed and told him someone might stop by to see us in Gluckstadt so it was no big surprise when three Customs Agents knocked on the boat one morning. They asked the usual questions...how long we planned to stay, how much booze and cigarettes we had on board and a quick call to somewhere on our passports. This was followed by a check-in with the boat yard that we would indeed be there 2 weeks. No boat information requested and no passport stamps. Odd, but what do we know. Three days later....another knock on the boat by different group. They did not seem to be aware of the first group of visitors. This time they stamped our passports and again checked with the yard to confirm we were getting work done. They didn't ask about the wine cellar, which I might add is getting alarmingly mighty low. Still no one seemed to care about the boat.

A few days after our arrival, we noticed the yacht behind us had a large American flag flying from its starboard spreader. An odd place for the U.S. flag to fly in Germany. It was several days later that we finally saw someone outside and were able to ask if they were American. "Nope", the German replied. "Its up in recognition of 9/11". It was displayed all week. My pictures of this along with those of Marlene (of Marlene and Bert fame) were unfortunately lost. : (

With reduced prices in Germany, I am ready to stock the cabinets again. This, however is a challenge. Our Internet access in only on the boat and without a German translation book even figuring out how to weigh the fresh produce becomes a challenge. So what is cucumber in German? My strategy was simply to just plunk it down at the cash register without being properly weighed and let them deal with it. I got a few looks but overall that seemed to work well. Then it comes to the other stuff. Sometimes you can look at the picture on the can and figure it out but while items such as flour have pictures, they also have numbers. What the heck do they mean? Spices....forget it. Coffee? Does green mean decaf here? Eggs. Why do some have feathers on them? Yea! They have good pretzels!

Bert and Marlene were our
guardian angels while in Germany!

As mentioned earlier, the wine cellar is getting low so I turned to our "all things German" experts, Bert and Marlene for recommendations for some affordable (aka sailor cheap) German whites. A few days later, Bert shows up with 3 bottles from Aldi, a local discount grocery. All under 2 euros. A man after my own heart! All were surprisingly drinkable. Not a high level to reach by cruiser standards, I will admit. The wine cellar is about to be restocked.

In addition to taking care of our wine and boat needs, Bert and Marlene opened up their home to us. We were greeted with a large American flag flying from a towering flag pole situated in their front yard. The house is a lovingly converted farm house/barn with breath taking views of the river where their 50 ft steel SY Heimkehr sits at the dock when not off enjoying the cruising life, including a sail to the States. Heimkehr was featured in the latest edition of the German "Yachting" magazine. Like Ostinato, Heimkehr is a kindred spirit as she was purchased and rebuilt after an on-board fire. We first met Bert and Marlene in Northern Denmark when we knocked on their boat to say hello after seeing their OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) Flying Fish flag. The OCC is a group we joined after completing our non stop, 1000 nautical mile qualifying sail, crossing the Atlantic. Bert just happens to be the Port Officer for the group in Germany. Lucky us! Our visit to their home was spent eating lovely things from their oven and sharing sailing stories.

Bert & Marlene welcomed us to their home by raising the American flag

Looking at 2 weeks of being tied to the dock, it was time to tackle some of our TO DO lists. First was mail. King was actually able to finally get a replacement drivers license thanks to our house sitters willingness to run about town. Thank you Martha! King is officially reappointed the designated driver. The list also included lots of chores that we had been putting off until we returned to the UK. While King reinforced the stern cleats that took a beating in Norway, I decided to tackle the mildew that was beginning to take root. This job did not take long to grow tiresome and we are in a foreign country. For goodness sake....What did you do while you were in Germany?...would I only have to say "cleaned mildew out of the shower stall".... so we decided it would be a shame to not take

Neuengamme: The original front gate

a day off to explore a bit. Destination: Neuengamme Concentration Camp which is located south of Hamburg. The day was gray which only added to the overall depressive atmosphere of the place. While all of the prisoner barracks were demolished by the British soon after WWII, they have done a good job of giving you a feeling of how it looked without recreating the buildings. The grounds seemed to go on forever but you can only take so much of thinking about the atrocious things we did (and continue to do) to our fellow man so we departed after several hours, leaving much unexplored.

The bright spot to the trip was the trip itself. We traveled the last hour on a bus through beautiful country side full of late 1800's thatch roofed homes and barns. The bus had a lending library on board. How clever is that!

Love the library on the bus

September 25 - Great news today! We have formal confirmation that there is space for us at St. Katharine Docks Marina. It looks like at least four of the cruisers from last year will also be there. We are both looking forward to getting "home" and catching up with our UK and St. Kat's friends. A weather window is developing with a week of easterly winds. We still have a few days to go yet but will soon need to make a decision on if we will slip inside the canals or take advantage of the easterlies and head for the barn.

Replacing the old rudder went smoothly

September 27 - The rudder was installed today. A few hiccups. The old rudder slide back in its spot with style and grace. The new one, well, it had nether style or grace. After significant tugging and pulling, a bit of cursing, repainting and voila, we have a new rudder and all is good again with the world. After a stressful afternoon, we were treated to an Oktoberfest boat parade.

Boats decked out in pumpkins and lights in Gluckstadt

September 28: Helgoland - 54.11N 07.54E

Next stop, a tiny duty free island about 20 miles off the German mainland. We had to

Check out that SOG

wait for the fog to clear but quickly made up the lost time with a 4+ knot current. Top speed was 10.7 knots as we ran down the Elbe. We motor sailed so we dutifully hoisted up the steaming cone. A first for Ostinato. If motor sailing without your steaming cone displayed you risk a hefty fine from your local Coast Guard. As we approached Helgoland, winds began to freshen. By the time we had topped off the tanks with duty free fuel and made our way to the raft up, the blow had become a bit more serious. By dinner the boat was jerking hard on its mooring lines and we knew neither us or the poor guys we had rafted to would get much sleep that night. The following morning, it was kicking in over 25kts and gusting higher. While many boats left, it seemed like a good day to stay put to us. We watched the wind continue to climb throughout the day and had no regrets we had stayed attached to the dock. This was reinforced the following morning when we noted a small trimaran had returned without their mast. We passed away the afternoon discussing anchorages with a singlehanded sailor from the Netherlands. He had planned on an overnight run but after much discussion decided that Borkum also looked like a good stopping place for him. Although we were crocheted to the dock, Ostinato was bouncing around so much from the surge in the marina that I skipped dinner and finally crawled off to bed sea sick. Pretty bad when your still tied to the dock! I think that may be an all time low, even for me.

Plans are to depart for Borkum on Tuesday when the winds are expected to be more in the 19-20 knot range. There is plenty of duty free shopping to keep us entertained!