Friday 15th July 2005 Haste to Minden.

Mooring at Haste KP138 MLK

13.6º C Hot and sunny with a nice cooling breeze. Thunderstorm at midday then hot, sunny and windy. Commercial traffic was busy from 6 a.m. We set off at 8 a.m. and were treated to glorious views of the Bückeberg hills to the south and the Wesergebirge behind them. At 10.20 a.m. we passed KP 130, Sachsenhagen, where there were two boats on the quay, Heikew of Tangermunde 67m x 8.2m 902 tonnes, was waiting to load and Lena, 85m x 8.2m 1200 tonnes, was loading with grain. The hotel ship Rembrandt went past at KP 124 as a group of three

Hotel ship Rembrandt. KP123 MLK

cruisers from MYCT Berlin overtook us. The water was a bit bouncy for a while. Into a cutting at KP120 as a Dutch yacht overtook us. The skipper wanted to know where we’d been. Mike told him Poland, Elblag and the lakes. He said he’d been on the Baltic. Must have been doing the round trip, round Friesland, through the Keilkanal into the Baltic and into Poland up the Oder to Hohensaaten then followed the same route we’d come, then across the Mittellandkanal back to Holland. The wind was picking up, so the sunshade had to come down before it ripped apart. I made us a cup of soup, some new stuff I hadn’t tried

Well loaded mv Altmark from Magdeburg. KP105 MLK

before, made by Maggi, little packets of dried noodles and a flavouring (we had duck and shrimp) called a taste of Asia, which were quite good if a little spicy for Mike. At KP 117.5 we were overtaken by Sequana (wasn’t she the goddess of the Seine?) 85m x 8.2m 1169 tonnes from Maasbracht.  Minutes later Deo Duce from Rotterdam went past, heading uphill followed by two cruisers, as we rounded the bend at KP 116. Two kilometres further on, a big cruiser overtook us, followed by Delphin,  a loaded German barge 85m x 8.2m 1281 tonnes from Twist, with two cars on the top - one of which was Polish. At the same time Lünen was going in the opposite

Support towers on the old Aqueduct at Minden. KP102 MLK
Far distance is Kaiser Bill memorial on the hill in Westphalian Gap

direction, 67m x 8.2m 900 tonnes loaded with sand, followed by another yacht. At midday heavy spots of rain heralded a thunderstorm. Out came the brolly and maps and GPS, etc, went into plastic bags. I made sandwiches for lunch. Mike got bitten on the leg by a cleg and one bit me on the rear through my skirt! More repellent needed! A woman on a passing Dutch barge, called Heber, leaned out of the wheelhouse and shouted something like “listen on 10” or “you can listen on ten” – which Mike did and heard nothing! He asked Bill if she’d said anything to him. No. That will

River Weser from the new aqueduct at Minden

forever remain a mystery! We paused on the aqueduct as there was nothing but a couple of cruisers going the opposite way across the old aqueduct, and Mike hopped off to take a few photos of the Weser. A man on a bike asked where we were from, he said he was a tourist too - from the Black Forest! Saw police boat WSP22 as we went into the town, we’d just passed his mooring place. We moored alongside Rosy at 2.15 p.m. on the first mooring in Minden, along the sloping edge between two signs about 15m apart, behind an empty called Schulau. Bill gave us a hand to get the moped across the roofs and round the armco. Bill went off on his bike to get supplies from a local shop and Mike went to collect the car. I put the PC on and looked in the log to find out where we went shopping last time we were here. It was on the 5^th July 2004 (wet

Boatmen's Association garden in Minden

and horrible weather) and we found the Real supermarket in a shopping centre in the middle of town and parked in an underground car park by the bus station. Mike was back at 5.45 p.m. and we reloaded the bike on the roof, just as two people with an outrigger canoe arrived to use the launching area, which we’d blocked access to as our stern rope was tied across it. They said there were some kids coming to do a training session in a dragon boat. Mike moved the rope, which wasn’t easy as it was all that was stopping both boats going forward and we were at forty five degrees to the passing traffic. The kids arrived with the huge long paddle boat on a trolley. It was 6.15 p.m. by the time we set off in the car to go to Real. Bill came with us to do some stocking up. I got most of my groceries, but not much off my long term list of non-food items as Mike was complaining that I’d got an overflowing trolley. I bought two insulated mugs as they were only 5€ each, half the price of ones we’d seen before. Mike bought himself a new pair of trainers 7.95€ (the first he’s ever had) and I picked up two light cotton shirts for him, a long sleeved one for 5,99€ and a short sleeved one for 2,99€ (he said he would wear it, but he didn’t, he doesn’t really like short sleeved shirts). The supermarket was unusually quiet, probably as it’s holiday time. When we got back to the boat I made a cheese sandwich with an onion baguette – first onion bread since the UK, it was delicious.