We had expected fair weather today and compared to the days following the forecast of W-NW 3-4 was quite reasonable. But there seems to be no such thing as calm weather in the Elbe and once again it turned out to be a challenging passage. We were making a trip which would skirt the southern sandbanks of the Elbe estuary beofre diving into the Jade to Wilhelmshaven. The trip begain with a lively wind against tide period off Cuxhaven as we made our way across to the starboard side of the channel, cutting across the deep wash of a police boat as we did so. The regulations are tightly policed in these parts and we were not keen for another encounter.

Once we were clear of the port we followed the Polizei back across to the south side of the channel to take the shorter route west towards Scharhörn, an uncovered sandbank at all states of the tide. We met a selection of yachts coming the other way, some with three sails, some with none, but all disappearing regularly into the metre-plus waves. As we skirted the Scharhörn riff we again had difficulty making way against the oncoming tide and turned to cut more sharply across the 20m contour, despite having to pass the wrong side of the cardinal buoys. We were reassured to see a tug boat taking the same short-cut and were soon crossing the Weser shipping lane and then joining the channel into the Jade. From here we had 1-2 knots of following tide and with the wind having gone round to the west we were sheltered by the outlying islands and then by the shore. The fast ferry tried to mow us down on the way in, but we were ready for him on his return and were even on the right side of the channel.

Wilhelmshaven is Germany's main naval port on the North Sea and the docks, which were rebuilt after heavy wartime bombing, are still home to a collection of military vessels, all protected by frequent "No Photography" signs. Our ultimate destination was the Grosser Hafen which gives access to the Ems-Jade canal but the operation of the sea-lock ceases at 1600 on Sundays and would not start again until 0600 the following morning. We contented ourselves with a night in the tidal Nassau Hafen where a wet evening kept us from venturing further than the pontoon.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 57 nm

Total to date: 1180 nm

Avg Speed: 8.5 knots

Duration: 7 hours

Diesel: 166 litres

Wind: SW-W 3-4

Mooring: €11/night

Electricity: Metered

Water: Included

Charts

BSH 3014.9

3014.11

3014.12

3014.13

3014.14

3014.15

BSH 3015.10

3015.12

3015.13