Voyage 2022: Chapter 3

11 Aug 2022, Schilksee to Home, 54 40.396 N/ 010 01.963 E

It was a bit of a journey from Mommark to Schleimünde, 7 hours. There wasn't much wind and it actually got a bit warm on the trip. You can see a crop of trees several hours out (the little dot on the right side of the picture). They say that these have been used as a 'nav aid' for a very long time. The marina is part of a little park that has a bird sanctuary, an old pilot house, a very small (but good) restaurant, and a gift store. Here in the marina, they use only one aft piling and one loop. It looks strange but it works.

We left Schleimünde at 1130 on the 10th for a 4 hour trip to Schilksee. They gave me the helm (i.e., tiller) and asked me to steer a bit. I warned them I hadn't used a tiller for 30 years. The said I would do fine. I didn't scare them too much so I guess I did OK. Denise took over for most of the rest of this trip. She, like Wolfgang, often put the tiller between their knees and steer by leaning to one side or the other. Those clever Germans.

We arrived outside Schilksee around 1530 where Wolfgang had to navigate through all (hundreds) racing sailboats in the Schilksee. Of course, he did! Denise pulled into the 'box' with great skill and with Wolfgang's loops, parked it perfectly. We unpacked the boat, washed it down and went home to the apartment. Mission accomplished.

12 Oct 2022, Back to Schilksee, 54 25.446 N/ 010 10.548 E

This trip has chased away much of the sadness but not the memories. A couple of days later, we went on a road trip around the 'neighborhood'. First stop was the Kiel Kanal where we watched sailboats, container ships, and tankers lock and pass through the eastern gates going West. Not far from there is the beautiful Holtenauer lighthouse (ca 1895) guarding the eastern entrance of the Kanal. We walked to the lighthouse later that day and I just sat there and admired. Ann and I have a picture of it in our den.

I wanted to go to a McDonalds to compare my last German experience with this one. Nice clean place with good McDoubles and coffee. On the way there, we took a waterless ferry across the Kanal. It is suspended under a large bridge that crosses the Kanal. And it's free too. But it is small and the ships in the Kanal have the right of way. We drove to Eckernfürde to check out the town. They changed the color of one of the lighthouses to show their solidarity with Ukraine. Ann and I were here with Wolfgang and Denise one Christmas season. There's a lot more people in the Summer. Beautiful town! Later, we took a ferry from Schilksee to the Kieler inner harbor. We stopped at many places, including Laboe, a town on the eastern shore of the outer harbor. It is near one of my favorite villages, Heikendorf. After all of this, we headed back to the garden for a farewell barbecue. Great two weeks! Hope we can do it again sometime. Tomorrow, I hop on a plane and go back to the Chesapeake to see family and the Jule III.