Friday 19th July 2013 Abv Petershagen lock to Nordholz KP108 MLK. 21.1kms 1 lock

Strange little boat on skis at Petershagen

Misty grey start, but the sun had burned the mist away by the time we set off at 9.05 am. A busy road ran alongside the left bank of the lock cut, a long one, it took us an hour to clear it. At the junction with the river there was a tent city of very well sun bleached tents and we wondered if it was a Scout camp. Saw no traffic moving except for a couple of speedboats, who overtook us slowly before speeding up to their maximum throttle settings. 

Hay collecting

At KP210 there was a motorised hay gatherer and a tractor pulling a trailer that the gatherer was filling with cut grass. In front, the channel was marked with red and green cones and the distant misty Weihengebirge hills were coming into view. Behind us the steam from the coal-fired power station at Lahde puffed out paper white clouds in a cornflower blue sky. Gulls seemed to occupy every post along the riverbank. Charon, a loaded 67m barge came past us blue-boarding, so we moved left to let him have the deepest water. 

Channel markers in the Weser below Minden

The river current was noticeably faster as we got closer to the lock (about 2.5kph) and where the river narrowed as it flowed through Minden. Mike called Minden controllers on VHF to ask to lock through the shaft lock (schachtschleuse) and was told to moor on the startzplatz für kleinefahrzeuge, the waiting area for small boats. We moored on the 3m high piled wall behind a Polish tug and pan, Rentrans Cargo 1 from Szczecin, which blocked the view of the lock. We could just see the lock lights down the side of the tug. Snail came alongside. 

In Minden Shaft lock

It was 11.25 am. Fahrgästschiffe (passenger boat) Helena and a small yacht came down the shaft lock, the yacht went on downriver but the passenger boat (with only half a dozen passengers on board) made a hard turn to his right to go upriver on the Weser. Mike said the passenger boats do a round tour, down the shaft lock and up the two modern locks. The lock lights remained on red. Mike went up the ladder to have a chat with the young Polish skipper of the tug moored in front. He wasn’t going up the lock he was waiting while the river level came up a bit as they were running water from a reservoir to top it up so he could get upriver to deliver a big paper filter roll to a power station. The filter paper weighed 138 tonnes and on it was printed “Projekt Leopard”. 

In Minden Shaft lock.
Bottom end guillotine gate

At 12.15 pm Minden called us on VHF to tell us to go into the lock. We think they said tie up on the right side. We followed Snail into the shaft lock and both stayed on the right hand wall. The spacing was OK for Snail to use for and aft ropes, we used our centre rope and the incoming water between the boat and the wall shoved us out into the middle. No big problem, we just loosed the rope off and let it do it, and then as the turbulence subsided we went back against the wall and put the rope back round a bollard. It did that several times as each economiser pound put water into the deep chamber. The Snails were OK with fore and aft, they didn’t get the same effect. We left the top at 12.50 pm. We carried on to the Mittelandkanal and turned right then winded to moor by the water tap in its box. Oll came alongside and we refilled our water tanks using Oll’s key. 

Minden Shaft lock full - on to the MLK

Set off again around 1.30 pm, noting that all the available mooring space for spoortbooten on the junction was occupied. We continued along the MLK, crossing the mighty Minden aqueduct over the Weser, passing Lyko 1 a loaded Polish boat from Szczecin, then an empty tanker called Tom Burmester (1600 tonnes) followed by a cruiser. 

Leaving Minden shaft lock.

Another cruiser went by as we went under Sperrtor V, the fifth set of floodgates on the canal, these were to protect the canal from the flooding of the little river Aue, 

Water tap on MLK at Minden

and to protect the little river should there be a serious problem with the canal aqueduct. 

Moored at KP108 MLK

At 2.35 pm we stopped at KP108 to moor at the end of another 1 kilometre long empty stretch of commercial moorings at Nordholz on a 25m long mooring for spoortbooten. 

Thursday 18th July 2013 Abv Landesbergen lock to abv Petershagen lock. 24.5kms 2 locks

Commercial below Schusselburg lock

Hot and sunny all day. Left the pontoon at 9.35 am heading upriver. Mike had attached the generator so we were restricted to 1300 revs 6.5kph through still water, but slowed down by the flow to about 5 kph. I made tea and buttered toasted currant buns and sat out with Mike to eat them at ten am, just as a loaded Belgian 85m boat called Diamond from Antwerp went past. Finished with the gennie conveniently for us to pause on the quay at Stolzenau while Mike took the plate out. When we arrived at Schüsselburg two cruisers that had overtaken us a couple of kilometres before were on the pontoon, leaving nowhere for us to moor and wait for the lock. We hovered. A loaded boat from Bremen called Andreas came down the lock just as an empty called Peeneland 1 went past us and into the lock. 

Waiting for cruisers to untie below Schusselburg

The cruisers were very slow to untie and get in the chamber behind the commercial, no wonder the skippers don’t like them much. We were beginning to think that they were staying there when they finally untied and went very slowly into the lock. They were both lining up for the left hand wall so Mike said to Oll to come alongside us (the Snail normally has the left hand wall at the back) and we went in on the right and had a rope round a bollard before they’d decided which ones to go for (the commercial was 67m long and had gone right to the front of the 223m long chamber, so they had plenty of room to play in) and Snail came alongside us before they’d got their ropes on bollards. As it happens the first cruiser went half way down the chamber and the smaller one stayed right at the back – so there would have been ample room for Snail on the left hand wall between them! We rose steadily up 4.5m, then we untied and went out first as the cruisers were both very slow at untying too. 

WSA workboat overtaking at KP228

Two more commercials were bearing down on the lock as we left, an empty called Otrate was first, the large cruiser overtook us as it went past, the smaller cruiser, sensibly stayed back behind Snail until the second commercial, a loaded Bremen boat called Anton went past. Another cruiser was following the two commercials downriver to the lock. 11 kms to the next lock. At KP229 we were overtaken by a WSA workboat with a digger on board and a cruiser went downstream at KP228 followed by a yet another commercial. I made some sandwiches for lunch which we ate before we got to the lock cut. We slowed down when we got into the lock cut, as there was no sign of Snail behind us. Tied on the pontoon below Petershagen lock. A commercial plus the WSA workboat and the two cruisers were going up in the lock. As Snail came into view Mike called Minden on the pontoon intercom. It was 2.40 pm. No idea what the answer was but Mike said “Danke”. Snail tied alongside us. Lüssen 14 and Bondar, Polish boats loaded with sand, came down the lock then the lights went to green and we went into the chamber, just us, and the lock filled very quickly – must be more traffic coming. Went in at 3.18 pm and came out of the top 6m higher at 3.30 pm – 12 minutes! There was one above to come down and one had just arrived below. We moored on the pontoon at 3.35 pm. Again, commercial traffic through the lock continued, busy until late evening.

Wednesday 17th July 2013 abv Drakenburg lock to abv Landesbergen lock. 24.6kms 1 lock

A cruiser heading downriver at speed

Hot and sunny. Lian, now loaded with sand again, went past us heading downriver again before we left. I downloaded yesterday’s photos before we set off at 10.15 am. I made a cuppa and then set to work to catch up with the photos and the log. Mike did time trials to check our speed. Two commercials went upriver passing two commercials coming downriver, all four were “Blue boarding”, ie wanting to take the “wrong” side of the river to pass on and they did this on a section of Z bends. We kept over on the right giving them plenty of room to pass each other. Mike called Minden on VHF and they said to follow the two empties in (Albatros and Rolf) that were already below Landesbergen lock. We tied to the pontoon and Snail came alongside. A few minutes later a three-decked cruiser came down and we followed the two commercials into the chamber. Not a lot of space left behind them, so we did fore and aft ropes up the wall. Gongoozlers on bikes were taking pictures from the road over the tail end of the lock. It was 3.55 pm when we moored on the pontoon above Landesbergen lock. Anne spoke to Minden via the intercom to ask permission to stay overnight and the guy said yes, OK. Berlemar-S from Brake, loaded with sand went past heading into the lock. The deck hand spoke English and said they were off down to Bremen again! (Mike said they’d overtaken us earlier in the day, so their sand loading quay wasn’t much further above Landesbergen, probably at Stolzenau)

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Verden to abv Drakenburg lock. 41.5 kms 2 locks

Tug Buffel waiting to swap pans for the dredging gang

Grey, misty, murky start; sunny and hot later, getting murky again in the late evening. It was only 15°C when we set off at nine but that was soon to change. Down the last four kilometres of the Aller and turned left to go upriver on the Weser. A small speedboat cruiser was heading uphill fairly slowly until it cleared the junction, then the steerer wound it up and soon disappeared from sight. The first commercial went past at KP 323.5 by the first road bridge, Wilka 80m long from Magdeburg, loaded with sand, followed shortly after by another loaded boat Lübbenau (80m). 

The dredger at Nedderhode

Upstream of the road bridge Liane (67m) was unloading sand and a WSA tug Büffel with an empty pan was waiting by a dredger in mid-river with the bows of the pan stuffed up the bank and prop turning to keep it there. We went past the dredger to its left on the left side of the river as it was taking sand out of the bend on the right hand side at KP 322.5, Neddernhode. More sand, Wesertrans (77m x 8.20m) came downstream. The sun was starting to burn off the mist just after ten. The flow wasn’t as bad as we expected, around 1.5kph, and the depth ranged between 4.5 to 6m. Next loaded boat, Jupiter (80 x 8.20m 1058 tonnes), went past on a left hand bend at KP320.5 and a container barge, Dione (84.75m x 9.50m 1,338 tonnes) about a kilometre later. 

Britta 85m long heading for an 85m long lock
with cruisers following 

Two kayaks loaded with camping gear were being paddled downriver by two men at KP317. Shortly afterwards a black kite flew over and landed in the field on our right. We arrived at Dörverden lock as an empty called Ambulant (68.5m) overtook us. He went into the empty chamber of the short lock (85m) as a tug and pan and two cruisers left the lock heading downriver. The small WSA pan and tug that was moored in Verden haven and left while we were there at 6.30 am the day before, was working on the building site that was the big lock chamber. We tied on the pontoon below the lock and Snail came alongside. About an hour later the cry went up, it’s our turn we’ve got a green light! 

Sheep sheltering from the sun under bridge 54

The bollards in the right hand wall were very old ones with bars attached to them, so I had to thread the rope through each one as the lock filled. No problem, it filled very slowly. As we left the lock we moved over to the left so that the loaded sand barge, Britta (85 x 9.20m, 1307 tonnes), had a straight run into the chamber. There were four cruisers following it, one had already tied up on the pontoon, but a large Dutch cruiser kept following, as did a large German cruiser behind him. No sooner the barge was in the lock than the gates started to close and the red lights came on. Sorry, no room, only 85m long and the boat filled that! There was a whole flock of sheep crammed in together in the shade under bridge 54 at Lohof. More sand went downriver at KP303.5 carried by a barge called Hildegard. 

Liane rushing upriver to get another load of sand

Took photos of a now empty Liane (67m x 7.11m 724 tonnes) rushing upriver to get another load of sand, overtaking Snail. A downstream barge hooted, the skipper had a big grin on his face, he waved madly. Mike hooted back and waved enthousiastically. Two storks were walking the edge of a field where the farmer had just been cutting grass. Two cruisers came downriver; the first one was trying to water the fields with his wash. The sand quay at KP290.5 was empty. The flow rate had increased a bit as we were down to 5.5kph. There was hardly a breeze, several wind generators were revolving so slowly you could barely see the movement. The red roofs of Schweringen came into view and there were cows grazing the flood defence banks. A couple were launching a speedboat just downstream of the ferry at Schweringen and, as there was no quay to tie to, the wife was standing in the river holding on to the boat while husband drove the car and trailer back up the ramp and young son (already in the boat) put his lifejacket on. The lady ferry operator at Schweringen waited until we’d passed before nipping across the river between us and Snail to pick up a guy on a motorbike from the other bank.

In Drakenburg lock with Theresia and a speedboat

Another speedboat was fast catching up with Snail. At KP285 there was another stork’s nest with young ones on top of an old chimney stack. The first speedboat went past with two young lads in it; we wobbled in the wash for a few minutes. Not long after that the one that had been launching came past, again we wobbled in its wash. Our speed had dropped to 5.3kph as we were approaching the lock cut so Mike wound it up a bit. He called Minden on VHF channel 61 and got a torrent of German back! Not a word did we understand. Mike said we didn’t understand and got another long sentence and guessed something was coming down. Liegeplatz? Liegeplatz, ja! The two lads with the speedboat (the other one must have gone up the long weirstream) were tied to the pontoon, they moved to the top end and I asked if they were waiting for the lock. Yes. Twenty minutes they’d been told. We tied front and middle to the pontoon and Snail came alongside. Soon after we arrived the lock emptied and loaded sand barge Lüssen 14 came down. The gates remained open with red lights on. Ha! Something coming to go up the lock, hope we can get in too. Loaded boat Theresia (67m x 8.20m, 849 tonnes) arrived and went in slowly, the lights changed to green and we went in following the speedboat. The lock filled slowly with the commercial right up the front, rising ropeless as most of them seem to do in these river locks. It was just 6 pm as we tied on to the pontoon. The kids in the speedboat continued upriver.

Thursday 4th July 2013 Abv Dörverden lk to WSA haven Verden 17.1kms 1 lock

In Dorverden lock with five cruiser.

Grey skies, but no rain, light breeze. Mike unloaded the bike from the car and, after yesterday's soaking, started work on it to make it more waterproof by adding self-amalgamating tape round the plug cap end of the H.T. lead. I made some lunch. After lunch a cruiser arrived and tied alongside Snail. Mike had plans to do further maintenance but we had a visit from a WSP (Waterways police) officer in a plain 4x4. Not allowed to stop here, this pontoon is only for boats waiting for the lock. OK. We’ll continue to Verden. He wanted to see our Führerscheins (boat driving licences) so we found ours out, so did Anne and Oll. 

Waterways (WSA) boat hurrying downstream. R.Weser

We told him we’d called the controller via the intercom the day before while there was a thunderstorm and didn’t think the intercom had worked, he checked it – it worked OK now. He told us there was a quay provided by the town in Verden, which was only for tourists like us. We said we had trouble finding moorings because the boats were too long. While he was making phone calls another cruiser arrived following a commercial, the latter went down the lock and the cruiser tied alongside Snail behind the first one, then another three cruisers arrived and moored along the quay wall. The policeman said we could go to the WSA haven and moor in there until Monday, but we must move from the pontoon. 

Verden from the R. Aller

OK. He called the controller and they said we must wait. Fine. He left. A string of commercials came up and went down and there was no room for us in the 85m long chamber – they wouldn’t let us go alongside any of them even though there was plenty of room. Two young girls in a canoe arrived; they tied to the pontoon and joined the wait. We told them there was a trolley to transport small boats around the lock, but they declined. Several hours later they changed their minds. One of the girls and Oll went to get the trolley from by the lock, we all helped to carry their canoe up to the top of the bank and put it on the trolley for them. 

WSA basin, slipway workshops and offices. Verden.

Mike, Anne and Oll went with them to the other side of the lock to relaunch it and Oll brought the trolley back. Mike took our rubbish to the bin and still we waited. The old guy off the first cruiser to arrive used the intercom several times, but each time they said we must wait. Eventually at 4.35 pm the controller called on the intercom, the old guy scuttled over the two boats to answer them, they said we could go down when the boat that was coming up cleared the lock. The skipper of the commercial leaving the lock shouted (in German) hurry up, hurry up, there’s another working boat waiting to come up. The cruisers piled into the lock and left big spaces between them, so there was no space for us on the right hand side and we ended up tying alongside the Snail. 

Temporary mooring overnight. WSA haven Verden.

We dropped down 4.6m and all the cruisers went off at high speed. A loaded 80m boat called Matthias Oelrich, loaded with smelly cut scrap metal (995 tonnes) was just arriving to go up the lock. As soon as he reached the next bend the old guy with the little cruiser Eire III went up on the plane – max speed on here is 35kph! At KP317 an 80m empty called Atlantis went past. We caught up with the two girls in the canoe, they were looking for somewhere to camp. We all waved. At KP320 a family with a small speedboat moored by a sandy beach was having a BBQ, more waving. Two kilometres further downstream another empty went past, Berlemar-S. 

Temporary mooring overnight. WSA haven Verden.

On the next bend, where the echo sounder registered 8m depth, there was a whirlpool in the middle of the river. At KP323 Liane was unloading sand at a cement works on the right hand side before a road bridge, the crane driver hooted so we hooted and waved. An 80m empty called Johanna was moored on the left before the bridge. Shortly after that we were overtaken slowly by two men in an inflatable. After they passed us they wound up the power and raced off downriver. At KP324.5 we met Polish tug Fabico 4 from Wroclaw again, pushing an empty pan upriver. It was 6.20 pm when we turned right at KP326.5 on the Weser into the flow of the river Aller heading upriver (KP117 is the start of the Aller). 

Temporary mooring overnight. WSA haven Verden.

Oystercatcher on banks of R. Aller

With revs for 6.5kph on still water we’d been travelling downstream on the Weser at 9 kph (2.5 kph flow-assisted) but on the Aller our speed dropped by half down to 4.5 kph, so the flow rate was 2 kph, but after a couple of kilometres the flow had increased to 3 kph. It seemed like crawling along after flying down the Weser. Pleased to note that the banks of the river Aller were not lined with rocks like the Weser, a good sign that there would be little commercial traffic, other than trip boats. We passed the Verdener Motorboot Verein where we stayed for several days last time we were here, (the old guy’s boat Eire III was now moored there) then we were into new waters as we’d never been any further upstream on the Aller. Two black kites circled looked for a fish supper but didn’t find any. Oystercatchers went wheeling overhead making their distinctive cries. The turn into the WSA basin reminded us of the turn off the flowing tidal Trent into the lock at West Stockwith, slowing down until the bows were stationary in the flowing water opposite the gap we’d got to turn into, then putting on enough power to swing hard left into the still water of the haven. On our right was a boat slip with trolleys for lifting the work boats and tugs out for cleaning and painting, in front were two workboats next to the bank and on our left there were a couple of floating boxes, so we winded and moored alongside the latter. Snail took one of the workboats opposite the entrance. Glad to tie up. It was 7.25 pm. Mike went off to see if anyone was still around to say “Hello, we’ve landed”. Nope, all gone home. Hope the policeman left a message with them to tell them we were coming.

Wednesday 3rd July 2013 Abv Drakensberg to abv Dörverden lock. 24.7 kms 1 lock

Below Drakenberg schleuse. R. Weser

Heavy rain in the night, lots of grey clouds and sunny spells until we tied up, then we had torrential rain on the edge of a thunderstorm. Mike was going to move the car first but changed his mind. There was an empty called Wendy coming up in the lock, it cleared, then after getting the OK from Minden controllers we followed a loaded boat called Johanna into the lock. It was just after ten. Mike set the generator up (so I could do some washing and ironing), while we dropped down 6.40m in Drakenberg schleuse. Below the lock Albatros was waiting, tied to the dolphins, and Helga was catching up to share the lock. 

Stork on a chimney

When they built the new locks and weirs on the Weser they added small locks in some of the weirs and there is one at Drakenberg, 23m long by 6.60m wide, called a prahmschleuse, it’s located next to the hydroelectric power station on the weir. To work through the lock it’s necessary to call the WSA and book in advance. At KP289 there used to be a ferry a tethered to a chain fastened mid stream, which went across the river by angleing into the flow, without the use of an engine. The slipways had been rebuilt and the new ferry operates on suspended wires 7.5m above the river. A lorry went across on it just before we got there. Close by the river we passed a stork standing on a tall metal chimney. 

Cable ferry at KP289 R. Weser

Shortly after that a seagull was chancing his luck by attacking a buzzard. At KP291 a loaded boat called Anni Stühff from Minden went past heading upriver with a cruiser following it (not seen many cruisers moving the last couple of days). A loaded boat called Mariëlla and an empty called Roger went past heading upriver while I was in the cabin ironing and doing the vacuuming. We paused on the quay at Hoya while Mike disconnected the drive. The long quay in the town had no restrictions for sport boats mooring on it but the only boat there had moored right at the downstream end, leaving as much space as possible for any commercials which might want to stop there. 

Dorverden locks. R.Weser

It was 12.15 pm when we set off again. I made some lunch. Berlena loaded with 1,296 tonnes of coal went past heading, no doubt, for the coal fired power station at Lahde. Mississippi went past heading upstream, empty. Mike had chatted with the skipper when we were in Minden and had asked him where the chandlery was – there wasn’t one. He leaned out of the wheelhouse and waved. We rolled on down the winding river and just had time to finish lunch before we arrived at the lock at Dörverden. There are twinned locks here, the old one at 85m and the new one at 225m long, both are still here, but only the short lock seems to be in use and lots of work was going on around the long lock. Black clouds were gathering. We tried calling Minden on the intercom on the pontoon, but got no answer, maybe because there was a storm coming. Managed to get tied up before it started to pour down. It was 1.45 pm. Rain came down so hard we couldn’t see the lock for a white mist!

Tuesday 2nd July 2013 abv Landesbergen lock to abv Drakensberg lock.

Trawler moored below Landsbergen schleuse

Sunny with white clouds, light breeze, much warmer. Clouding over in the late evening. We went into Nienburg in the car to do some shopping at the Real hypermarket. There was a bike/scooter shop on the same site so Mike was able to buy a new inner tube for the moped (5€). They guy in the bike shop told him where to find a fishing tackle shop where we bought two brollies for 78€. When we got back to the boat there were some WSA surveyors marking things with orange spray paint by the moorings. Unloaded the car and Mike parked it on the road by the bottom end gates of the lock. We set off at 2.30 pm, after Dutch boat Lady Anne came up in the lock, we followed Lüssen 13 from Bremen, loaded with sand, into the lock and dropped down 5.5m. Mike moved the ropes down the bollards while I made a cuppa. House martins were nesting under the bridge over the tail of the lock and one plucky bird was having a go at getting the crustaceans off the lock wall to feed to its brood. At KP225 Umschlag, an 85m boat, was loading with gravel. A black kite followed us then soared on rising hot air from the cornfield alongside the river. 

Smooky blue-boarding around a bend

Mike spotted signs along the bank that said Begegungs Strecke with an arrow with 500 in it. Looked up the words in the dictionary, it meant a meeting place – or a passing section for the big boats. There were quite a few more along the winding section of river down to Drakensberg. An empty called Katharina from Haren-Ems went past heading upriver. A honey buzzard was using the meeting section sign at KP263 as a perch. Polarstern, a loaded (675 tonnes) Dutch boat from Delfzijl went past at KP266. As we went through the town of Nienburg (where we’d been shopping earlier) we noted on the left bank a line of campervans parked along edge before an empty high piled silo quay (which looked abandoned, but might not be) then the quay continued at a lower height under the bridge and downstream for about 150m. An empty 85m called Brittas was moored on it and a trip boat filled the rest of the space. No room for boats like ours. On the opposite bank there was an arm where the Yacht Haven welcomed visitors, again not much space for boats of our length (and we’d have to pay). No signs of the lady from the day before and her boat Pegasus, she must have continued to Bremen. Downstream of the town loaded boat Navatrans V went past heading upstream with a slow running noisy engine. A small tankership called Acidum from Bonn was unloading just upstream of the autobahn bridge. At KP273 we were overtaken by Umschlag, which was now loaded with 1,296 tonnes of sand. A Dutch boat called Smooky, loaded with cullet (broken glass) was blue-boarding coming upstream around the right hand bend before Mehlberger Yacht club (we moored in there once). Mike moved over to the left and called Oll on the radio to do likewise. Another boat was fast catching us up, Stella Maris, in a hurry to get into the next lock with Umschlag, he overtook us as the river went off to the right (where there was another yacht club) and we went straight on into the lock cut. Mike called Minden to tell them we weren’t going through the lock (so as not to hold the commercials up) and asked if we could stay overnight on the pontoon above Drakensberg lock. Yes, OK. Same guy he spoke to earlier in English. It was 5.55 pm as Snail tied up and we tied alongside on the 15m long floating steel box.

Monday 1st July 2013 Petershagen to abv Landesbergen lock. 31.7 kms 2 locks.

Lahde coal-fired power station

White clouds, sunny spells, windy; sunny afternoon, temperature increased and wind dropped. Set off 10.05 am following Snail downstream and into the lock cut, which was 8.3 kms long and cuts off several big loops of the river. In an arm off the canal was an unloading wharf for coal for the coal-fired power station at Ladhe. We had a short wait above Petershagen-Windheim lock (again, the locks are remotely operated from Minden) while a WSA tug pulling a workboat came up the lock backwards and moored on the dolphins opposite. 

Luna in Petershagen schleuse. R.Weser

Meanwhile a little cruiser called Luna from Hamburg caught up and went into the lock while we were untying. They said they were making for Nienburg and asked what speed we travelled at. The locks on the Weser are big, 224m long by 12m wide. We dropped down 6m using our centre rope and Mike held on to it while I made us coffee. A loaded 67m tanker called Elisabeth went into the lock as we left it. It had a board on the side saying German Radio language in Germany is in German (this is about the EU plan to make all ship’s radio traffic in the EU in English) The cruiser was soon out of sight. 

WSA boats which had just come up the lock backwards

In a little over a kilometre we were back on the river. A black kite followed us, searching our prop wash for stunned fish – sorry he found none. Greylag geese and Egyptian geese were grazing the fields and we passed groups of swans as we went on downriver. The river went off to our right as we entered the next lock cut leading to Schlüselburg schleuse where sheep were grazing the sloping banks. We could see through binoculars that the cruiser Luna was tied to the pontoon above the lock. Two cruisers came up the lock then the gates closed behind them and the lights went to red. 

Moored on the pontoon above Landsbergen schleuse

As we approached the lock the gates reopened and the lights went to green and we followed Luna into the lock (we guessed they’d make him wait for us) and dropped down 4.5m. Mike held the string again while I made lunch. On downstream with a red kite soaring above the river, then a couple of rough-legged buzzards also seeking thermals just before a big sand and gravel pit. The river was edged in places with stone groynes marked with red and white posts topped with red cones. At Stolenzau there was a barge named Anton from Bremen loading with gravel opposite the quay wall where we had stopped previously. The quay was empty and it had been grassed and there was a line of campervans about 30m beyond the quay and downstream of it was a caravan site with small boats moored along the rough river edge. 

Landsbergen schleuse from the tail end bridge.

We followed the Snail on downstream. It was 2 pm and getting warmer. There were lots more birds, soaring buzzards, swooping swallows and grazing geese. At 3.15 pm we arrived above Landesbergen lock and found Luna on the mooring waiting for us. Mike put our bows on the end of the pontoon and I stepped off to ask the skipper if he would ask Minden on the intercom if we could stop overnight on the pontoon. No problem, he called them and they said OK and asked if we needed electric. Nice idea but no thanks. I told them the last time we stopped here there had been a lock keeper to ask! 

Bootsgasse for canoes and small rowing boats,
alongside Landsbergen schleuse

The loaded boat Anton arrived and went into the lock so Luna untied and followed him in. We got tied up and Snail came alongside. Gave Mike a hand to unload the moped as he was going to retrieve the car from Petershagen. A lady with a wedge-shaped fast cruiser (a Princess 18) called Pegasus came alongside and Mike and I helped her tie alongside Snail as she was single-handed. She said that Minden had told her she would have to wait an hour. As it happens she didn’t have to wait that long, a commercial came up and she went off into the lock. She told us she was from Berlin and was going to Nienburg then on to Bremen. At 5 pm a containership came up the lock. At six a commercial came up and came out of the lock doing a Grand Prix start, I thought he was trying to rip us off the bank. At 6.30 pm two came up the lock, an empty and a loaded Polish boat. Busier than we thought it was going to be.

Saturday 29th June 2013 Hille KP89 MLK to Petershagen KP213 Weser. 23.9 kms 2 lks

Above Obere Schleuse. Link from MLK to R Weser

Drizzling when we set off, grey and cold all day. Sun out after dinner. Set off at ten then stopped again for five minutes while Mike set the generator up, he had forgotten to do it. I did some washing as we were going to fill the water tank when we got to Minden. A Dutch cruiser went past in the same direction as us while we were tied up and Snail was hovering. A loaded Czech boat went past (1,100 tonnes) then Eckhard Burmester, an empty tanker, went past at KP94 followed by a Dutch loaded boat with a square bow called Nova (1,267 tonnes). 

 Obere Schleuse, now empty.
Link from MLK to R Weser

A carriage pulled by two horses went across the road bridge as a Czech boatload of wood chips overtook us, Steigerwald (1,154 tonnes). A little German cruiser was overtaking a commercial coming towards us as the one that had overtaken us went past him. Loaded Dutch boat Gratias (1,445 tonnes) went past at KP95 followed by an empty tanker called Elif (1,568 tonnes). Minden Yacht Club looked full and a new mooring area had been put in front of a campsite with just 20m at the end reserved for sport boats. At KP99 Alfa from Szczecin loaded with stone chips went past as the long moorings before Minden started. Lots of commercials were moored up for the weekend. Paused just before the junction to get some water from a box that Oll opened with his key. There were two adaptors to fit on the end of the large water pipe. Oll used his hose reel but it seemed very slow for such a huge pipe so we swopped to our hose which had a greater diameter, that worked better and the tanks were soon full. 

Docks between the locks.
 Link from MLK to R Weser

It took 2€ off the credit on the key (so the water wasn’t 32c/m3 as the guy told Oll, it’s more like 3€/m3). We set off again and turned left towards the shaft lock that leads down on to the river Weser and tied on the waiting place for small boats in front of a trip boat loaded with passengers. A commercial had just gone down. Oll called the lock via the intercom. The keeper said to hold on for a while, or words to that effect. An 85m commercial arrived and moored in front of us then a 67m boat arrived and moored. 

Theodore leaving Unter Schleuse.

Looks like we won’t get in the next locking either, might be here all day. While we waited Oll went to see if he could get his key recharged at the Waterways Office on the corner of the junction. He was back a few minutes later. They could only credit empty keys with 10€, or sell him another for 10€ plus another deposit of 8,50€. He’d still got 5€ credit and we wouldn’t be using it on the Weser or Aller as there are no blue boxes A guy with a small cruiser came alongside and told us to follow him down the two locks rather than wait for the shaft lock. We did, we followed him across the great Minden aqueduct over the river Weser (the access to the old aqueduct was now blocked off) and turned right into the Obere Schleuse, which was worked remotely. 

Aqueduct carrying the MLK over the R. Weser.

We did fore and aft ropes round little bollards set into the brick walls and dropped down 7m very slowly. Through the docks, some of which had boats moored, and on to the Unter Schleuse where a loaded 85m boat called Theodore was coming up. The wind had picked up and, as there was nowhere to tie up to wait except on sloping quays, we all sat with bows into the wind until the commercial came out of the lock. We went in and dropped down a further 6.3m, again worked from afar. This time the bollards were a bit too far apart to do fore and aft so Mike used the centre rope while I made a cuppa. 

Steam powered paddle-wheeler trip boat. Minden. R.Weser

Out on to the Weser and under the two aqueducts, old and new, with the wind blowing a gale. It collapsed the brolly, wrecking it this time, and I had to steer while Mike struggled it on to the front deck. Good job the rain had stopped. As we passed the bottom of the shaft lock there was a passenger boat making for the lock. Was it a real paddle-wheeler? Then it let off a great hoot on a steam whistle, it’s a steam-engined boat too. We hooted too so Mike could get a photo of the great cloud of steam as the tripper replied. Mike checked the speed of flow of the river, it was running at 4.5 kph through the narrows under the aqueducts but on the open river it was 3.5 kph and we were flying at 9kph over the bed. 

Moored at Petershagen. R. Weser.

There were sounds of gunfire coming from the woods on our left, must be clay pigeon shooting. Two loaded commercials were coming upriver, Anna-Eli from Minden followed by Polish tug Navigar 3 from Szczecin pushing two pans full of scrap metal; they were carefully following the buoyed channel as it zigzagged up the river. We passed a low piled quay in front of a factory and went on downstream to moor by the picnic tables where there were groups of camper vans in a field and a few speedboats on trailers plus one moored on the quay.