Hi -
This blog is to be published in ebook form by Amazon for use on Kindle and Android devices. The published edition has a greatly expanded text and many more photos.
I hope this does not cause inconvenience; we are not allowed to make any content of the book freely available once it is digitally published by Amazon.
There is also a hardback available from blurb.co.uk at about £40 including UK P&P. Sorry about the price - this is the main reason we have chosen to make the book available for purchase from Amazon- and I shall get nothing at all from Blurbthough the book looks very nice.
The ebook expanded version of our blog hit technical difficulties with Amazon - all the formatting was lost so what remained was just a jumble of pictures. This has now been resolved.
CONTENTS
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Introduction
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Page
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2011
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July- August
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Barth to Berlin
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8
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August- September
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Berlin to Minden
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14
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2012
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June- July
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Minden to the River Main
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17
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July- August
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The Main to the Danube
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41
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2013
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May- June
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Saal to Vienna
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55
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July
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Vienna and Budapest
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68
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Budapest to the Iron Gates
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82
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The Iron Gates
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93
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The Black Sea
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107
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The Bosporus and Istanbul
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117
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|
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Istanbul
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127
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Marmara and the Dardanelles
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131
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August
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The Aegean
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141
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INTRODUCTION
This is a book about our trip on board our motor yacht Brillig from the Baltic
through the Ardennes and down the Danube
to the Black Sea, then onward through
the Bosporus and Dardanelles to
c;e me in Turkey,
where we plan to keep Brillig for the foreseeable future. Brillig is a Linssen 12.5 metre Dutch steel motor yacht built in 1995. The photographs below are of Jan and John in the Ardennes. We expected
the Danube to be more challenging!
This
route was chosen because
our boat is designed to slow down and take our leisure
seriously. This means that we should
have difficulty in taking the direct route up the Rhine
gorge where the current against
us would be too strong.
Hence the journey
to the Netherlands, the Ardennes
and through
Northern France to Strasbourg. Then down the Rhine to Mainz, the Rhein-Main-Donau Kanal and the Danube
itself which we joined in 2013 at Saal-am-Donau, where Brillig had been kept through
the winter of 2012-13
We shall miss this lovely
cruising ground - Rugen, Hiddensee, Stralsund and the challenge of staying afloat in the shallows immediately adjacent to the well marked channels between the many lakes. Also our route, past Peenemunde to Stettin then up the Oder to the Oder-Havel Kanal will not allow
us to revisit Lake Muritz or Schwerin or many of the other places we have so much enjoyed
in Mecklenburg. That is another
story but we include a few photographs from earlier years to remind us of those times.
Our route to Berlin takes us first to the pretty town of Zingst, which has everything from music recitals
to an enormous 10Km beach.
The channels in the whole
of this region are narrow and often very close to water shallow enough for wading birds to walk about on the sand just below the
surface. The water is opaque
because of the sandy terrain - you cannot normally see the bottom even if the depth is only half a metre.
Frequently what appears
to be wide open water is in fact more suited to canoes than boats. In May and June the area is a birdwatcher's paradise, home to huge flocks of many types of birds including swans,
ducks and geese. Even when windy the water is seldom
uncomfortably rough. We are soon in the channel for Stralsund, an ancient city once pivotal in the Hanseatic League and now home to the German sail training ship Gorch Foch and to a modern
aquarium. There are many superb 16th century brick buildings, and the principal
church, St. Mary's, which originated in the 13th century, was from 1549 until 164 7 the tallest
building in the world. It contains wonderful 15th
century carvings and the internal
stonework is currently being painted in the
authentic original colours.
The Main
is turning out to be one of the most pleasing rivers we have ever cruised. The scenery is both attractive and interesting, there are many interesting places along the way and there is not too much traffic.
The only problem
is that what little traffic
there is is huge - big hotel ships and 185 metre
barges which set up a wash which prevents us from mooring
by the river bank. We have to find properly
designated moorings which at least seem to be
available at reasonable intervals. We are able to
stop at one such place, an old lock at Mainkur
and the associated channels around what must at
one time have been a weir. The 25th of July brings us to Aschaffenburg and the former summer
palace of the archbishop of Mainz. There
is a welcoming marina here with electricity so we can
have the air conditioning on in our cabin, which is a real treat as there is a heat wave now with day temperatures of 30 degrees
and more.
Boat details: Linssen 40Se built 1995
12.35m Length 3.85m Beam 1.2M Draught 4.6m Air draught 11 tonnes
1000 litres Diesel 800 litres fresh water
Volvo Tamd41 Diesel 147Kw Cruising speed 6knots [8Kph in River]
Max 8Knots
Fuel consumption at 1650 rpm, 8Kph in River 0.4 - 0.5 litres per Kilometre. At 2200 rpm, 6 knots in Sea 1.2 - 1.5 litres per Nautical mile
Essential Equipment Calibrated Echo Sounder, Good quality Binoculars - Leica/Swarowski or equivalent is desirable - in Bulgaria Port & Starboard buoys are similar shape and it can be difficult to distinguish the colours
At least 2 stout ropes 1.5 times boat length or longer, and ample balloon fenders
Highly desirable Equipment
DSC radio with AIS, or separate AIS system. It is very useful to know when approaching locks or blind bends whether there are other barges within a couple of miles. Note that it is illegal to use non DSC VHF in Germany or Austria, and that there is no point in upgrading an old non-DSC operator qualification as the RYA upgrade exam is not recognised in Europe. The older Certificate of Authority to Operate is OK
A Danforth or other anchor designed for sand/gravel with 50 metres cable. The bottom is often rock with no good holding. If the visibility deteriorates rapidly, e.g. during a rain squall, it is desirable though not always possible to stop.
GPS with anchor drag alarm.
A ships date stamp showing the word CAPTAIN and the boat name is very useful at border crossings. We also found a printer/photocopier highly desirable.
Other useful equipment
Typical small boat radar is of limited value for blind pilotage as the horizontal beamwidth of ~5 degrees gives insufficient bearing discrimination for navigation until the river is at least a kilometre wide, and even then is only adequate. Higher bearing discrimination normally implies a longer antenna than is practical on a small yacht though modern colour radars may be better in this respect.
Internet Connection I used a Mi-Fi [Huawei] with locally sourced data only sim cards to provide Wi-Fi throughout the boat. 3G coverage is sporadic especially after Budapest where the Danube is the border between different countries. It is desirable to have both windows PC and GPS enabled Android devices. Windows is needed for the Donau.Duna (Danube) chart programme, and Android enables storage of up to 6 Google maps which can be useful to verify one's position as the charts do not display Lat or Long. Google Earth is also useful to identify suitable harbours on the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara. We found the Imray guide to cruising Bulgaria and Romania very unreliable. Note that only internet dongles or Mifi purchased in Turkey will work in that country. Other devices will cut out after 15 days. We got a good deal from Vodafone for a dongle and renewable Data sim initially valid...........
