In this publication10 photos
7 May, after work: the mast was up. Running rigging and sails left, then home to Kiel tomorrow.
Unexpected lesson on arrival. Claus next door showed me servicing the Seldén headsail-furler drum. Lubricated swivels turned almost silently. He spotted the spinnaker halyard catching the upper swivel and suggested repositioning it.
Then his rig-tension gauge. The backstay seemed too long too. Only seven per cent of breaking load achievable. Not enough for proper tuning, but I couldn’t wait another fortnight. First passage as post-repair test.
Forecast and Grömitz
Morning: kicker, mainsheet, battens and single-line reefing. DWD north-easterly force 3, half-metre waves. Windy added gusts near 27 knots. Second reef prepared.
Minimum Grömitz and fuel; maximum Orth if all well. North-easterly greeted me, the worst direction for the route. Little chance under sail. Grömitz it was.
Convenient self-service fuel. Memorable price: €3.15 a litre for GTL, €900 held on the card. Fuel gained, no sense of a bargain.
Five berthing attempts, finally helped by a neighbouring skipper. Fifteen knots in the marina from the bow quarter, no time to catch stern lines. The bow platform complicated it: a metal argument capable of explaining repair costs to two owners simultaneously.
Continuing
Morning forecast easterly force 3–4, half-metre seas. Windy showed Sunday calm. Fehmarn only, or farther while wind lasted, avoiding forty miles motoring tomorrow?
Ninety minutes almost head-on, then a little farther north possible. Close-hauled, five knots, no waves. Continuing looked right. Usually when the sea reminds me it never signed my plan.
Fehmarn’s narrow point
Wind stronger at Fehmarn’s channel. Starboard tack, 6.5 knots, AIS beeping as yachts converged. Quickly assess sails or engine, tack, escape options.
An outbound motoring yacht, sails down, turned straight at me. The helm seemed occupied hoisting. No room left, no wind angle right. Air horn, short blasts. He dropped the halyard, turned starboard, passed ten metres away.
Beyond the bridge, following wind. Goosewinged to 5.5 knots, then broad-reaching at four or five. Checked Todendorf and Putlos ranges. Putlos opened at two, ETA 1.50. Avoided a ten-mile detour. At the boundary, the patrol vessel was heading ashore.
Later, calm, solar-panel investigation. Connections checked: voltage unloaded, no current under load. More likely panel or internal connections than controller temperament.
Evening Kiel. A dolphin jumped three times beside the stern. Berthed at eight. A post-repair exam in rigging, weather, berthing, collision avoidance and solar panels. My first fifty-nine nautical miles this year.
#passage
Unexpected lesson on arrival. Claus next door showed me servicing the Seldén headsail-furler drum. Lubricated swivels turned almost silently. He spotted the spinnaker halyard catching the upper swivel and suggested repositioning it.
Then his rig-tension gauge. The backstay seemed too long too. Only seven per cent of breaking load achievable. Not enough for proper tuning, but I couldn’t wait another fortnight. First passage as post-repair test.
Forecast and Grömitz
Morning: kicker, mainsheet, battens and single-line reefing. DWD north-easterly force 3, half-metre waves. Windy added gusts near 27 knots. Second reef prepared.
Minimum Grömitz and fuel; maximum Orth if all well. North-easterly greeted me, the worst direction for the route. Little chance under sail. Grömitz it was.
Convenient self-service fuel. Memorable price: €3.15 a litre for GTL, €900 held on the card. Fuel gained, no sense of a bargain.
Five berthing attempts, finally helped by a neighbouring skipper. Fifteen knots in the marina from the bow quarter, no time to catch stern lines. The bow platform complicated it: a metal argument capable of explaining repair costs to two owners simultaneously.
Continuing
Morning forecast easterly force 3–4, half-metre seas. Windy showed Sunday calm. Fehmarn only, or farther while wind lasted, avoiding forty miles motoring tomorrow?
Ninety minutes almost head-on, then a little farther north possible. Close-hauled, five knots, no waves. Continuing looked right. Usually when the sea reminds me it never signed my plan.
Fehmarn’s narrow point
Wind stronger at Fehmarn’s channel. Starboard tack, 6.5 knots, AIS beeping as yachts converged. Quickly assess sails or engine, tack, escape options.
An outbound motoring yacht, sails down, turned straight at me. The helm seemed occupied hoisting. No room left, no wind angle right. Air horn, short blasts. He dropped the halyard, turned starboard, passed ten metres away.
Beyond the bridge, following wind. Goosewinged to 5.5 knots, then broad-reaching at four or five. Checked Todendorf and Putlos ranges. Putlos opened at two, ETA 1.50. Avoided a ten-mile detour. At the boundary, the patrol vessel was heading ashore.
Later, calm, solar-panel investigation. Connections checked: voltage unloaded, no current under load. More likely panel or internal connections than controller temperament.
Evening Kiel. A dolphin jumped three times beside the stern. Berthed at eight. A post-repair exam in rigging, weather, berthing, collision avoidance and solar panels. My first fifty-nine nautical miles this year.
#passage
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