9.2° C overnight.Clear blue skies, sunny and hot. Off
again at 7 a.m. heading down the Havel.
 |
| Brandenburger Stadtkanal. 2013 |
I went out with a cuppa at 8 a.m. as a
very large hotel ship, the Euro Diamant, went past heading upstream at KP 42
and a small wedge shaped cruiser/speedboat overtook us as we turned right into
the Fliederhavel and went round Arkenbude island. There was a small yacht at
anchor in the entrance and two small cruisers with their bows to the bank and
anchors out from their sterns. A large flock of geese took off from the middle
of the channel as we approached them. Further round the island three
 |
| Steinturm abv Stadtschleuse Brandenburg. 2013 |
larger
cruisers were moored, two were anchored and one had its bows in the bank. We
went straight across the main channel of the Havel, intending to go around the
next large island, Lange Reine to the north of the river, at KP 47 on the
Wesertamerhavel. We were in the lead and I was steering when Bill called on VHF
to say “I’m stuck!” We’d got a few inches at least under the bottom! Mike
backed off past Rosy, who was stuck not far from the main channel, just as two
loaded commercials went upstream followed by several cruisers. The water was
swirling around the entrance to the side arm in an anti-clockwise direction. We
went past Rosy sideways. Did it again and I threw a tow rope to Bill and we
pulled Rosy off the sand. It was the first time Bill had ever been on a boat
stuck on the bottom! We crossed that arm off as unnavigable (we think) and
stuck to the main channel after that. I made some tea as we turned left into
the Stadtskanal into Brandenburg. A small powerboat overtook us as Bill was
pausing to let Fanny off for a pee at the mooring by the
 |
| Low bridge abv Stadtschleuse Brandenburg. 2013 |
fabric shop. We
followed the little boat down to the lock. The cruiser had tied on the right
hand wall of the lock, so we went in alongside on the left. The lock is only
22m long, so there was just enough room for Rosy behind the little boat. Three
young men were on the lockside, the one with the pipe and cap must have been
the keeper - he didn’t speak, but the other two did. We turned left heading
away from the town centre, but we could see the pontoon mooring which had
several cruisers tied to it. An osprey flew over us, shadowing the boat,
watching carefully for stunned fish! It was midday as
 |
| War memorial by Stadtschleuse Brandenburg 2013 |
we went out on to the
Breitlingsee. Police boat No 16 had just overtaken us, its crew smiling and
waving. At the northern end of the lake there was a concrete wall we’d noticed
when we were here before but not investigated. We went to have a look. It was
higher than the cabin roof and had the remnants of wooden fendering which was
rotting away, lots of bolts were sticking out along the waterline at the left
hand end, but the ones along the right hand edge had been removed. We moored
carefully between the ends of H girders which poked out of the wall by about
half a metre, hung a tyre on one by our stern. Found a ring to tie the bows to,
and another for the stern. Bill brought Rosy to moor bows to bows along the
wall, fitting neatly between the H girders. It was 12.20 p.m. by the time we’d
lashed the boats to the wall. I made some lunch then Mike went for a nap. I
dozed in the heat. Later Mike went for a walk, on reconnaissance. The large
area above the wall looked like some former military base or factory. The
buildings had been demolished, leaving lots of sand tracks and concrete
roadways. By the gates there were some abandoned buildings still left standing,
but nothing to identify what the area was used for. I read while Mike was out.
It was hot, over 35° C in the cabin. The wall behind us was acting like a
storage heater, absorbing the heat. It
 |
| Stadtschleuse Brandenburg. 2013 |
should keep the temperature up
overnight! I made some pasta with a German-bought bottled sauce (made by
Campbell’s!) for dinner. Mike did the engine room jobs and two young men came
over to chat. They spoke good English and explained that we were moored at the
former coal unloading quay that served the Junkers Aviation factory. They said
we (the Brits) had tried several times to bomb the factory and missed. It had
been built in the thirties and produced planes, including the
 |
| Junkers coal quay. Breitlingsee. 2013 |
famous Junkers
bombers, but also sea planes which they launched down the concrete ramp (which
is still by the lakeside further north) into the Breitlingsee. They also made
the first German jet planes there. The concrete roads were actually the remains
of runways. All the equipment and machinery was stripped out by the Ruskies and
shipped back to Russia after 1945, then they demolished all the factory
buildings and blew up the runways and that’s how it has remained to this day.
They
 |
| Precarious mooring Junkers quay. 2013 |
confirmed that the large squares of concrete at each end of the quay that
Mike had Bill had been examining earlier were indeed anti-aircraft gun
emplacements. What a fascinating bit of local history! The sun set on the far
side of the lake, turning it crimson.
No comments:
Post a Comment