Monday 8th July 2013 Verden KP113.5 to Rethem KP82 R. Aller. 30.9 kms, no locks

Mooring for passing boats on R.Aller at Verden

Hot and sunny with a light breeze. Mike went on foot to the supermarket to get some bread and lemonade, then he took the key for the water back to the guy in the workshop and asked him if he could dispose of some used engine oil, which he did. We set off at 10.05 am following Snail back out into the flow, heading upriver on the Aller. 

Sunbathing cows. Westen

We passed a medium sized cruiser going the opposite way (but decided that he must have set out from the yacht club, gone upriver then turned round and we’d seen him on his way back to the club). I made tea and toast then mended two tears in the canopy of our sunshade. Mike was glad when I’d finished as his arms had started to burn and he’d had to roll his shirtsleeves down. He put the sunshade up and the echo sounder out on the roof so we could see how deep it was – or wasn’t! And he set the GPS to give us our speed. When I sat out there was 1.7m of water under our bows (where the echo sounder’s transponder is) and we were travelling with engine revs set for 8 kph in still water and were doing around 

Muddy marks indicate flood height.

4 kph against the flow of the river. Lots of bends and lots of birds. A stork flapped lazily over the river behind us. A couple paddling a canoe downriver looked amazed to see us. As the numbers dropped below 100 (KP99) just before the town of Westen, there was a herd of cows sunbathing on a sandy beach. In the town there was a little offline harbour with several small boats moored and a little further on there was a ferry, which was either used rarely or out of use. Just around the next bend was an old wagon on the bank with a high water muddy mark halfway up it, which indicated that they have some serious floods here of between two and three metres over the current levels. I made some lunch. 

Oystercatcher searching the sand between groynes

Mike killed a picture-winged bloodsucker, so out came the heavy duty insect repellent with deet. I’d already got two bites on my arm and Mike had one on his back. Oll called on the radio to get Mike to take a look at some large grey animals in a field with his super binos, as he couldn’t make out what they were. They looked like large sheep with curly horns, white with black legs (some were entirely black) and they had been recently shorn. Egyptian geese were grazing the edge of a meadow and then a few Canada geese (we hadn’t seen any before in Germany) as we came into the town of Hülsen. Around the big bend the speed dropped to 2.7 kph – the river was flowing at 5.3 kph.

Two storks in a nest at Donnerhorst

 There were chalets on top of a high tree-covered bank on our right before we came into the middle of the town and there were stone groynes sticking out into the river from the left hand bank. An oystercatcher was busily feeding along the sandy beach between two groynes around KP92. A big flock of Egyptian geese were grazing with a herd of cows at KP91 and one goose had a new brood of about half a dozen little goslings. Around the bend we met five young lads with three inflatable boats tied together, paddling gently downriver. Between KP91 and KP85 the river flows around bends that resemble a letter N on the map. Travelling West then East the first 180° bend really knocked the speed down and we kept seeing a distant wind farm from different angles. Not long before the next 180° bend and we were travelling West again. Two youths were fishing on the apex of the bend, sheltered from the sun by a huge tree. 

Moored in the WSA haven at Rethem

Our first exposed sandbank came into view around KP 85.5, at first we thought it was wind blown debris then we could see where the wind had formed little ridges in the sand. It extended out halfway across the river! Note that one on the map, to avoid when coming back downstream. A tractor towing a hay turner was kicking up clouds of dust that drifted across the river like fog. The first road bridge across the river since Verden came into view. Snail had already turned into the WSA haven at Rethem and moored to some vertical posts along the bank edge and we turned right into the basin and moored alongside them. There was one small WSA inspection launch called Aue moored in the haven – and us. It was 5.55 pm.

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.

Friday 28th June 2013 Bad Essen KP61.5 to Hille KP89. 27.4 kms no locks

Silvia with a load of scrap metal. Bad Essen. MLK

Grey skies all day, pouring with rain when we got up. The commercial moorings were now empty. At 8 am one had come in to moor right behind us and left his prop turning, when Mike looked out he said it was a wonder it wasn’t going over our stern deck. He’d gone again before nine. Fleeces, jackets and winter boots on as it was 12°C when we set off in the rain at ten. We’d stayed for three days while Mike took his Mum home and were pleased to find that Oll’s key worked in the blue electric boxes and we had one near enough to the boats to plug into. 

Antares landing at quay by KP71. MLK

Before we left Oll checked the electric supply, we’d used just over 2€ the day before for the two boats. Silvia, a Belgian boat from Antwerp went past loaded with about 1500 tonnes of scrap metal. Two kilometres further on loaded boats Alm (Dutch, 1500 tonnes) and Avaro (Belgian 1300 tonnes) went past. The canal banks along this section were covered in ox-eye daisies. At KP64 Orca from Papenburg (German 1600 tonnes) went past, followed by a Danish cruiser. Another cruiser was overtaking Serfra, a Dutch boat (820 tonnes) from Zwolle, loaded with rebar, at KP65. Another cruiser was fast catching it up. We could see glimpses of the misty hills of the Wiehengebirge where there were gaps in the trees on the right hand bank of the canal. 

Canal workmen's accommodation boat. KP74 MLK

Villages were mostly hidden by the trees and larger towns, like Preussisch Oldendorf and Lübbecke were further away from the canal at the foot of the hills. It was quiet for a few kilometres, the rain still poured down. At KP67 a Czech tug with twin props was pushing two loaded pans totalling 2387 tonnes. He was followed by a German 1500 tonner, called Heinrich from Haren-Ems. Mike made a cuppa while we had another 2 kms of calm water. Peace was shattered at KP69 when Stadt Lindenfels from Hoerstal (1,329 tonnes) went past. For some reason known only to the bridge builders the bridge after number 70 was numbered 101! Two cyclists wrapped in rain ponchos stopped to take photos of the boats as we passed them. 

Diver in the canal. Yellow helmet showing. KP74 MLK

A surprise for us at Br 102 when a passing WSA tug and workboat called Gehle shouted “Welcome in Germany!” (twice) on his PA system. Two cruisers were catching him up, we bounced around in their wash for a while. Passed a yacht haven in a layby at KP70.5 by the little town of Getmold, then beyond the next bridge was a long commercial haven, starting with a sand quay and finishing with a wood yard. A loaded boat called Antares (1,130 tonnes) was heading for the quay, so we moved off to the left out of his way. A cruiser went past followed by Lesath from Hamburg loaded with 1,500 tonnes of scrap metal. As we passed a mooring at KP73 we’d once used which was next to a country “pub” that was very busy on sunny days, a loaded Polish boat called Ola from Bydgoszcz went past. The mooring was the usual paltry 50m at the end of a quay, the rest of which was exclusively for commercials, which stretched from Br 106 to Br 107 a distance of a kilometre. 

We fill the "sport" boat moorings. Behind us, as far as you can see,
is mooring reserved for commercials. KP89 MLK

At midday it was still cold with a sky full of grey clouds, but at least the rain had stopped. We passed a workmen’s accommodation boat with a van on the towpath and a crane. At the end of the crane arm was a diver on a platform being supplied with air from the bank, he was working on something on the piling below the water, we could just see the top of the yellow diving helmet. Today the birdsong was dominated by the song of yellowhammers. Lunch on the move as we passed another yacht haven near Lübbecke. Wilka from Magdeburg was loaded with sand as he passed us at KP81. A German-flagged Dutch botter caught us up and overtook, its steerer was kitted out for arctic weather – it was only 14°C. A row of green buoys guided boats over to the left hand side of the canal passing under bridge 118 where work was in progress on the bridge. 

Mooring at Hille KP89 MLK

A sign said no passing so we hung back while loaded boat Weserbergerland (884 tonnes) from Querfort went through first. A smart Dutch cruiser was following it, nice boat shame about the wash it was creating. The first empty boat we’d seen for ages went past us in a rush, a tankership called Tessa from Oosterhout (1,112 tonnes) followed by two pans of road chippings (2,437 tonnes) being pushed by Polish tug Fabrico 3 from Szczecin. The next was a loaded Dutch boat at KP85.5 called Hendrika from Nijmegen. We tied up at Hille, KP89, on a mooring that said it was 50m long (we filled it with our combined length of 39m) at the end of another kilometre long piled quay exclusively for commercial craft. No sooner had we tied up than two loaded boats passed, one in each direction, passing right by us to test our ropes. Next to the mooring was a wooden shed that looked just like a bus shelter so we went to investigate. Actually it was a sort of “bus” shelter as a tripper runs from Minden to Bad Essen on the first and third Sundays from April until October and this is a stopping place for it.