Sailing Germany: Helgoland To Cuxhafen

Nice resort town, but for us it was just a stopover on our way to the Kiel Canal. After a 5:00 a.m. start to catch the rising tide and ride the current into the mouth of the Elbe, we reached Cuxhaven (Segler-Vereinigung Cuxhaven) at about 11 oclock. We didnt know where to tie up, so we took a side tie, and someone helped us with our lines. Then we took Märzen with us and went up to the office to find out where we were supposed to be and pay our fees. There we discovered that the office hours were 8-10 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. Oops. But there was a machine where we could pay to get electricity, so we took care of that and went back to the boat to take a nap.

About 3 p.m. the harbormaster knocked on the boat and told us that we had to move. Where we were was reserved for boats 15 meters and longer. He showed us a slip toward the end of the dock where we should go. It had a finger dock, so we were relieved that we could side-tie there too. With the wind blowing us off the dock, however, it wasnt our best docking adventure, but we finally got tied off and plugged in again and headed for town to buy some groceries.

Harbormaster speaks English but doesnt keep regular hours. When we got back from town, it was after 4 p.m., so we tried the office. It was locked. John took the groceries to the boat, and I waited. About a half an hour later, John came back and said that the harbormaster was working on a dock repair near us and wasnt in any hurry to go to the office. He told us he would be there about 6:30 or 7:00. All in all, we werent too impressed with Cuxhaven, but it was convenient.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Sailing
• Helgoland
• North
• Sea
• Elbe
• Cuxhafen
• Sceptre

[pabstman57]

I hope you took a lot more video than is on you tube, it could easily be a mini series on travel chnl or history chnl.maybe there's more to take video of when your in port.

[jforbe]

Our last patch of rough weather was crossing the Bay of Biscay last September. We had gale force winds and seas at 20'. In those conditions it is not comfortable, but we do feel safe. Overall our boat has been a good home for the last four years. Currently we are wintering in Spain and we'll be on the move again once spring arrives and the storms go away.