Going out between the
Friesian islands can be difficult with tides and so we opted to go through the
Waddensea. This is the area between the islands and the mainland. We were doing
our 'Riddle of the sands' bit.
There are shallow creeks running
behind the islands and the guide books say that a vessel of 1.5 meters depth
can pass through at high tide. The channels are marked each year with 'withies'
which are Silver Birch sticks with a few branches left at the top. They follow
one side of the channel at up to about 200 meters apart and it was difficult to
guess how far we should be away from them. We made our way to Langeoog for a
couple of nights and then towards Norderney. This was particularly difficult as
nearing high tide we ran aground and had fears of being stuck for a while. In
the end we only stuck for an hour before the last of the tide allowed us to
carry on.
Mo has a fit each time we see
anything resembling a withie!!!
We arrived in Norderney late
in the evening to find the place jammed with boats and we had to raft 4 deep
against the harbour wall. We had enjoyed the place when we were there before,
cycling round the island.
This time the marina manager
made it very clear he did not like Brexiteers - "Zis is der vay ve do things in Germany " etc. etc. Isn't
it a shame that out of all the really nice people we met in Germany it is the rectum that will
be remembered.
We left there early the next
morning round the outside to Borkum for a night then onto Lauwersoog and into
the Lauwersmeer which are a lake area with lots of the 3 x 24's. These are
pontoons or shore side mooring places where you can stay for 3 days for free.
We spend several days in the lake and then moved into the canal system proper
staying at a shore side mooring.
The engine repairs are
holding up despite being partly temporary, I expect they will last OK until we
are back in the UK .
Also the patch that I glued with evo stik on the forward sail seems to have
cured that problem as we have used it in some strong winds.
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