Wednesday 15th September 2004 Spandau N° 1.

11.8° C Sunny and warm with white fluffy clouds. Lots of traffic started moving early. Bill

Spandau railway station - Wikimedia photo by Jwaller

called to say that Ikea didn’t open until 10 a.m. (we’d arranged to take him as there was something he wanted to get). At ten we left in the car to find the store which was opposite the MBK shop in Stresow. It only took about five minutes to get there in the car. Bill wanted a new chair for computer working. He chose one with a moulded wooden back and the usual single support leg with half a dozen castor feet. A snip at 59€. He also bought some Gravad Lax, Swedish salmon and bought us a pack to try for having taken him to the shop. Back at 11.30

Spandau railway station - Wikimedia photo by Jivee Blau

a.m. Mike drove the car back to the station car park and was lucky enough to find a space. Lunch. The mooring was busy again with cruisers coming and going, several of them were charter boats. Still no WWT callback service for our ‘phone. I rang Europe Central in Coquelles (Calais) to book our French car in for its Control Technique (equivalent of the UK MoT) and got a booking for 8 a.m. on 2nd November (the 1st is a national holiday in France as it is All Saints Day). We called for Bill at 2 p.m. and went into Spandau on foot to find a Cybercafé to use the internet. Found one right inside the corridor leading to the station. The place was packed but

Spandau streets -Wikimedia photo by Dguendel

Bill had a PC and we had one between us. Started off having trouble with the fact that everything was in German. Bill said he always starts off by loading up Yahoo.co.uk which comes up in English and takes it from there. Checked our e-mail - there were several old ones from WWT, first telling us about the changes, then saying that the new system was coming in to force on the 1st Sept. The WWT website wouldn’t let us have a copy of our August ‘phone bill - it dawned later that we were using the new NAC code instead of the old one. We got a bank statement, printed that and

Spandau streets -Wikimedia photo by Alexrk2

then we booked our ferry crossing via SeaFrance 159€ (not cheap!) We tried several times to book an F1 hotel, but couldn’t get their home page to fire up. We’d had two hours on line, but the price wasn’t too bad at 1€ an hour and 25c per printed sheet. The newly built shopping arcade was right next to the station, so we went to have a look for a shoe shop, found one and I bought a new pair of Eccos, exactly the same as the ones I’d just (almost) worn out. Expensive, but worth it for the comfort. Mike wanted to get some postage stamps, but the machine in the old town wouldn’t work. He bought a 15€ top up for the ‘phone from a Vodaphone shop and then we went back to the boat. I made a pork stew for dinner. Bill came over to discuss where we were off to next. He said he wanted to have another go at the Bode museum, so the nearest mooring would be N° 5, and Mike said we’d try for it but might not get it with the number of hire boats which were still roaming around in Berlin.

Tuesday 14th September 2004 Schmergow to Spandau - Berlin mooring N° 1.

A pusher tug on the Sacrow-Paratzerkanal - Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

11.2° C Grey clouds, sunny spells, light showers in the afternoon. Set off at 7.30 a.m. Crossed the Trebelsee and on to the course of the river Havel, then turned left to shortcut back to the Wannsee via the Sacrow-Paretzer Kanal. The surface of the canal was covered in green algae. A small commercial went past, the smallest we’d seen for a long time, it was longer than a péniche (the standard French/Belgian working boat - 38m long x 5.20m wide) but narrower, called Odertal - 41.5m long by 4.60m wide, went past us empty heading

Former fish trap between Sacrow-Paretzerkanal and Fahrlandersee
Wikimedia photo by Photodocumentationbroker

downstream as we went through the Fahrlandersee. Two men in a fishing boat, a long narrow open boat powered by a large outboard motor, had just hauled in a net full of fish. They overtook us and stopped, then came back along the canal section slapping the water with a long stick with a plunger on the end. We guessed that they were chasing fish towards their nets. There were two fishermen sitting on the bank who didn’t look too impressed, but we were as we had only ever seen pictures on National Geographic TV of Africans fishing like that. We started running southeast down the Jungfernsee, a little later we saw the first tripper of the

Sacrow-Paretzerkanal nr Marquart
Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

day, Cecilienhof, returning to its base not far from the Schloss Cecilienhof. I made a cup of soup as we turned to run northeast up the Wannsee. In the narrows we met an empty heading downstream, called Annelies of Bremen, it was a little bigger than the last commercial boat at 66m x 8m. Three coxed four rowing skiffs and a lone canoe went past as we went along the narrow channel on the east side of Pfaueninsel (peacock island) with its famous white turreted Schloss. Lunch was eaten as we threaded our way through the light melée of sailing yachts. At the north end of the lake a

Jungfernsee - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

woman steering an open power boat went straight across our bows (from our left - we had right of way! - boats must give way to those coming from their right) and she got a loud hoot from us as she went past. As she passed Rosy Bill reported that she was looking very puzzled. All the space in that enormous lake and she had to pass within inches of our bow fender! A few minutes later we saw a sailing boat tack and swerve across the path of a solid square Kuhnle hire boat. Again, it was from the hire boat’s left side and with nothing else around for several hundred metres. Do they play a game of “chicken” here we wondered? Must be something in the

Wannsee - Berlin's playground - Wikimedia photo by S. Hahn

drinking water, we’ve noticed that a lot of Berliners drive like that and even walk like it too! As we entered the narrow channel heading north into Spandau we saw fifteen Canada geese swimming in a straight line under the first road bridge. There are thousands of geese here, mainly greylags gathering for their winter flap south, and these were the first Canadas we’d seen in Germany. The mooring at Spandau was only a third full, we took the second gap between the dolphins and Rosy took the third. Two cruisers had occupied the fourth and fifth bays. It was 1.30 p.m. when we tied up. At 3.15 p.m. Mike went off on the moped to get the car from

Schloss on Peacock island Wannsee-
Wikimedia photo by A. Savin

Schmergow, calling via the MBK shop, (which was just down the road in Stresow), to order a new chain sprocket for the moped. The moored cruisers changed over when the lunchtime ones left and some overnighters arrived. A Kuhnle hire boat moored upstream of us in bay one. We’d still got no callback service on the ‘phone. Later in the afternoon Bill called with a battery Mike had asked him to get from the shop in Spandau old town which specialises in batteries of all shapes, sizes and types. Mike returned at 6.30 p.m. while I was cooking his favourite chicken nuggets and chips for dinner. Passing traffic was heavy as usual, with trippers, commercials and pleasure boats, although the latter were beginning to get fewer. Bill came on board to show us a couple of treasured items he’d come across that he’d had since his army days. One was a “potty”, a navigator’s map reading tool, consisting of a short length of plastic tube with a magnifying lens which was placed on the chart or map. The top half of the tube was coated on the inside face with a phosphorescent paint which glowed in the dark - no need for lamps, wires or batteries. Very neat. The other item was a rectangular

Spandau Charlottenbrucke and a fine view of Berlin no 1 mooring
(RHS far side of bridge - unusually empty)
Wikimedia photo by Lienhard Schultz

mirror with a small circular central section half silvered and cross hatched. Bill told us he had had this since his diving days and that it had been developed as a signalling device which had saved the lives of many fishermen in the third world who couldn’t afford such luxuries as EPIRBs and who often get swept out to sea. A flashing mirror directed at a search plane gives them a much better chance of being rescued. The central section was for aiming it at the rescuing vessel or ‘plane. Cheap, but effective.

Sunday 12th & Monday 13th September 2004 Schmergow.

Sunday 12th September 2004 Schmergow.

13.5° C Rain in the night. Very windy, cloudy with sunny spells. Mike finished clearing up the

Trebelsee - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

debris from the previous night’s BBQ, set up our other satellite dish to get French TV for the racing, then went to work in the engine room doing battery checks and trying to solve the problem he had found with unequal discharging from the two battery banks. Peter sent a text to say he was setting up his radio gear in the car and asked if we wanted to play HF. Replied asking him to try HF at 5 p.m. our time (after the F1 had finished). After lunch Mike went back to sorting his 12v problem, an imbalance of current supplied from the batteries which are connected in parallel but giving half an Amp from one bank and four and a half from the other. The Italian crowd cheered when Ferrari took first and second place, Barichello first with Schumacher second. The last of the camper vans left mid-afternoon. Then the windsurfers arrived and went whizzing across the lake at speeds of over 40 mph. Mike put the pole up and listened on 40m - no British stations heard. Tried 20m, it was quieter. Sent Peter another text to say try it and changed wires for a dipole cut for 20m. No good, it was busier when we could hear more via the dipole. Bill

Havel in Brandeburg -Wikimedia photo by Matthew Black

turned Rosy round as the waves from the lake were slapping under his counter making loud noises. Mike gave him a hand to tie the boat back up again as the wind was making things awkward. Mike decided to cook his favourite recipe - spuds, corned beef and oxtail soup (one he concocted way back when he used to have his school lunch at his Gran’s) - I made myself a sandwich. A clear, starry sky.

Monday 13th September 2004 Schmergow.

9.1° C Grey, overcast and breezy, sunny spells later. Went to Werder in the car, called in the town first for Bill to get some cash and Mike went in the Vodaphone shop to get a top up for our ‘phone (15Eu=£10). Then Edeka for groceries and collected the post. Glyn had sent

Trebelsee - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

just the two replacement bank cards and our insurance broker in France had sent the insurance certificate for the moped. Bill’s post had arrived too, two packages from Veronica. Picked up some petrol for the moped and we were back at the boat for midday, stowed the groceries and made some lunch. Mike decided to do some welding, two sections of handrail and the exhaust pipe brackets for the moped. He welded the nut on the bracket the wrong way round and had to scrap it and do it all over again. I made a stirfry for dinner. Mike ‘phoned WWTelecom and gave them his new card number so we can get our call back system running again. Peter sent an text to try HF. We could hear him on 20m, but he couldn’t hear Mike. Sent text messages back and forth then Peter rang us - he’d given up on HF - and we had a chat on the ‘phone for half an hour. He was doing night driving all next week so he would be available to play radio. We took the pole and antenna wires down.

Saturday 11th September 2004 Neuendorf to Schmergow.

11.3°C – wow, the wall behind us must have kept the boat warm overnight. Grey clouds, showers in the morning, sunny spells in the afternoon. Set off at 8 a.m. The rain started at

Stadtschleuse in Brandenburg - my photo from 2013

8.30 a.m. I made tea and cooked some bread buns as we ran into Brandenburg. We came up the Stadtschleuse side by side. The old chap who was in charge of the lock was a bit concerned about the boats being side by side until we were actually both in the chamber. He asked lots of questions about the boat, was it for carrying freight, what draught, cargoes, etc? Bill asked him where the nearest bakers was, as he was out of bread. We paused above the lock while Bill went for bread. I glued the sole of my shoe back on. Must get a new pair of Eccos. Wound our way through the town and back on to the Havel. Nothing moving. Some distance further upstream, as we went between the lakes and backwaters, a Polish Bromberg tug came down river pushing an empty pan.

The basin at Deetz, very similar to the one at Schmergow
- my photo from 2013 

More cruisers were in evidence as the weekend got underway and the showers stopped. It seemed as if everyone we saw had a camera, even two women at a campsite came out to photograph the boats as we went past. Lunch. Ate it just in time to tie up in the old basin at Schmergow at 12.45 p.m. Today it was surrounded by caravans and camper vans, the occupants of which said hello as we arrived and then sat outside to watch every move as we tied up. Cabaret time again! Two small kids were using the swing hanging from the tree at the end of the quay and the people at the end caravan had a spotty dog (Dalmatian) for Fanny to

Moored in the basin at Deetz, very similar to the one at Schmergow
- my photo from 2013 

play with. Actually she kept growling at him and trying to bite him even though he was half as big again as her. Mike went to collect the car from Rathenow. It was either another “expensive” (1€) ferry trip to cross the river at Ketzin to go north, then west, or a trip south then west into Brandenburg before turning north to get back to Rathenow. Mike opted for the latter, as he said he can do 40kms on 1€ worth of petrol on the moped (middle name is Scrooge!). Mike was back at 5 p.m. having called at Kaufland in Rathenow for beer and ATU for a spare cover for the moped (we decided to get another one after the long search to get the one we’d recently bought). It rained briefly as we covered the moped and roped it down on the roof. Mike got all the gear out for a BBQ. It rained again, so Mike and Bill sat outside under their fishing brollies drinking beer. The rain stopped and we all sat outside eating chops and sausages. Lit the Tilley lamps as it dropped dark and watched for shooting stars as the clouds rolled away. 

Friday 10th September 2004 Rathenow to Neuendorf.

6.4° C overnight. Sunny with a cold wind blowing. Bill set off first at 8 a.m. Mike had a problem, one of the bolts holding the air cleaner’s bracket had broken, he had to fix it

This is a gyrfalcon much like the bird we saw
Wikimedia photo by Elena Gaillard

temporarily before we could move off. We followed after Rosy at 8.15 a.m. I made tea and cooked schrippen in the oven for Mike’s lunch. It was so cold we needed coats and woolly hats. I sent Peter a Happy Birthday text. I was going to ‘phone him later, but our D2 credit had almost expired and our callback service had been suspended until we get a new card number for them and that’s in the post on its way from Glyn’s to Werder. We should be able to collect the post on Monday. We saw a large bird of prey sitting on the bank facing into the sunshine, in a small grassy clearing in the woods, much like herons do - in fact at first I thought it was a very pale heron until I looked through my binoculars. We couldn’t identify it. It was almost completely white. The only thing vaguely like it in my bird book was a gyrfalcon and we’re too far south for it to be one of those. I made us a cup of soup to warm us up a bit. It was 11.20 a.m. as we were arrived at Bahnitz lock. Rosy was moored next to the pontoon and the lock was emptying. Just the two of us again in the huge lock chamber. As we left the lock half an hour later the wind was gusting strongly, so Mike decided to take the sunshade down. As he did so it folded up. Being oblong, the front half of it blew backwards over the back half. He had to take it on to the front deck and leave it until later to sort it out. We passed a “Tom Sawyer” raft (very popular here - wonder what our UK boat insurer would make of one of those? Think they’ve got the equivalent of a BSS cert?) with a shed and chimney stove pipe, being propelled slowly downstream by an outboard motor. In Plau we noted that the quay, which used to have a notice saying “For passenger ships only by arrangement in advance and payable by the hour”, was now being used by passing pleasure boats and three were moored on it now that the sign has gone. It was breezy going across the lake. An osprey flew over carrying a huge black finned fish in its talons - it’s a wonder it took off with the weight of that - it flew off over the forest to our left and I was surprised that the seagulls left it alone. There were lots of sailing boats taking

A Tom Sawyer raft (taken earlier in 2004 near Vosswinkel)

advantage of the sunshine and a good breeze as we crossed the Plauersee. The big police boat WSP1 was moored by the marina at Plauenhof. An empty 80m commercial came down the channel from Quenzsee and turned to our left to head towards Plau as we turned the corner, heading southeast into the Breitlingsee, and moored on the old concrete wall by Junkers at 3.15 p.m. A young lad on a Thomas trail bike appeared on the wall as we were tying up. He was obviously gob-smacked. He said we were his first English contact and he had so many questions. Some I understood and others not. We finished packing up and then took the sunshade on the bank to straighten it out. The fabric had been torn where it had been forced down over the central boss, so I had a sewing job to do. Luckily none of the arms had been bent or broken. Mike went for a nap. I read for a while, then dozed too. It was hot with the sun directly on the side of the boat and the hot concrete behind us. I changed back into summer gear, skirt and cotton blouse, after the morning’s winter clothes it was an abrupt change. Mike went to work on his broken bolts in the engine room. I made a Ratsherrentopf, using a Maggi packet mix - pork and bacon casserole with potatoes, which was very tasty. 

Thursday 9th September 2004 Harvelberg to Rathenow.

Cold overnight 6.9° C. Sunny with mist hanging low over the river. Mike made tea twice as

Pegel notice on the Havel

the milk out of the ‘fridge had gone off! Set off at 7.10 a.m. The temperature was still dropping. 5.7° C! Bill tried to take the narrow channel at the back of the island and stopped in the entrance when Rosy grounded on some rocks. We turned and went back past the fountain, out on to the Havel the way we’d come in the day before and turned left going upstream on the last bit of the Havel we hadn’t been on before. Met Bill coming out from the mooring under the fancy footbridge. He paused to take photos and we were

Havelberg from the Havel -
Wikimedia photo by BKlugschnacker

leading the way again, back up the Havel. I made another cuppa. A cruiser was moored, bows up the banks with two slack stern lines, at KP 120. Then we met a downhill cruiser called Mollymauk at KP 135 just before we turned into the lock cut to Garz lock. A mink was running along the rocks at the water’s edge. He took no notice of us whatsoever and continued scouring the banks for breakfast. It was 10 a.m. when we reached the lock. Mike called the keeper on VHF and, after a few minutes wait while the chamber emptied, we went in. The keeper said “You’re back?” (in German) and the lad told us we couldn’t stop in the gates, we had to go in and lash to the wall. This didn’t please Mike much, but we have to comply with the keeper’s instructions (as long as it doesn’t jeopardise the boat’s safety). The top end of the chamber had a looped rope along the wall, so we threaded our centre rope through that and Mike and I fended each end of the boat off the sloping wall using short boat shafts. Bill did the same with Rosy only he couldn’t be in two places at once so he didn’t fend off the wall. Mike spoke to the kid as we left - a total waste of energy as the kid didn’t speak English - but he said it made him feel better letting him know he

Havelberg - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

wasn’t happy about tying up to a rope half way along a sloping sided lock wall. We were overtaken by a large cruiser as we just 2 kms short of the next lock, Grütz, so Mike gave the keeper a call on VHF to tell him there were three boats coming who would be with him in the next ten minutes. He replied, having understood, and said he would see us in ten minutes! The cruiser was in the lock, waiting, when we got there. Hung on the wall again as before. The workboat was still attached to the lock wall but the crew weren’t bricklaying today. After we left the lock I made some lunch. Mike’s buns were very crusty. A white tailed eagle sat in a dead tree and didn’t take off. I had a really good view through binoculars, what a beak! Ducks must have

Aerial view of moorings at Rathenow
Wikimedia photo by Ingo-Carsten Alms

nightmares about beaks like that! It’s no wonder they sleep very little! A pair of red kites circled on the thermals. We turned left following Rosy into the Hohenauerkanal, as Bill had said we must go and have a quick look at the lake. The lake was a long narrow winding one at over 10 kms long. We passed a WSA tug coming down the canal and a powerboat followed us into the lake. We circled and went back down the canal and rejoined the river. The trip boat which moors below the weir at Rathenow, called Sonnenscheine, came down the river with a top deck half full of day trippers. We waved. It was 3.40 p.m. when we arrived below the lock at Rathenow. The lock emptied and we went up the deeper, narrower lock, which had more steeply sloping sides than the other two locks. Hung on the wall like before

Yeah, what a beak!
Seeadler or White-tailed eagle
Wikimedia photo by Jorg Hempel

and Bill put a rope through one of the sloping ladders. Above the lock a boat with very smoky engine was waiting, it had a gloriously incongruous occupation of Landsamtumweld (environmental department). We wound our way through the sunny backwaters of Rathenow and tied up on the town quay again, in exactly the same place as we’d been earlier in the week. Nautilus was still on the pontoon (on its stern was a charter boat company logo - a hire boat - someone must be moving it at weekends to a new location, or it’s been sold off). Mike got the moped off. I put the Mac on and Bill went to e-mail at the library. He tried to get us a copy of our phone bill, but hadn’t got all the necessary codes. Later Mona from WWT ‘phoned to say that it had been their fault that they’d deducted the $100, she apologised and said they would be refunding it to our credit card company the next day. Mike was back at 7 p.m. He’d called in an Aldi and bought some bread on his way back. While I cooked dinner he refilled the water tank.

Wednesday 8th September 2004 Havelberg - Gnevsdorf - Harvelberg.

10° C. Sun shining from a blue sky, streaked with thin high clouds. Misty and chilly when we

Gnevsdorf lock, just right for two narrowboats!

set off at 7 a.m. following Rosy into the Harvelberg lock, Schleppzugschleuse (the tug boat lock), in which we rose 30cms and exited into a channel full of swirling mist reaching up to a metre and half high. Out on to the Elbe, turning right and heading north, going downstream with the flow (about 4 kph), the mist was still swirling, but it was breezy and the sun was warming the air so by 8 a.m. all the mist had gone. I made tea and cooked some buns in the oven. A work gang was busy strengthening the flood

Leaving Gnevsdorf

protection dyke wall at KP 427, lorries were depositing loads of sand and diggers were spreading it out. Four red kites were circling over a small stand of trees on the left hand bank. Further on we spotted three more large birds of prey perched in a dead tree and a smaller one, looking rather alone, in the same tree. They were too far away for identification. All along the north bank of the river there were masses of greylag geese, sitting on the bank with one or two swimming in the slow water between the stone groynes. Suddenly a white tailed eagle swooped out of nowhere and made a grab for
a

Gnevsdorf lock and barrage

swimming goose, which, to our amazement, squawked loudly and dived underwater to escape the talons of the big raptor. We crossed the river to our right, turned sharply into the Gnevsdofer Vorfluter and followed a winding buoyed course up to the lock. The keeper had just arrived on his moped and dropped his crash helmet, which came hurtling down the grassy bank faster than he did on his bike. We tied to the pontoon below the little lock and Bill kept Rosy out in the middle while the keeper emptied the lock. The chamber

Qutzobel barrage at the end of the Vorfluter kanal,
junction of rivers Havel and Elbe

was 22m long by 5.3m wide. The keeper asked me how wide the boat was, so I told him. He also asked Mike, who also told him. Mike called Bill to bring Rosy into the lock first, as he was in the middle of the channel. Then the keeper asked Bill how wide Rosy was. He was getting very concerned about whether we could get the two boats in side by side until we were actually in the chamber, with bags of room to spare. My best green sausage fender caught in the gate and broke the string, with a loud bang as we went in. I tried a knot in the string after we’d recovered it. Ropes on fore and aft. I was standing on the deck lid holding

Quitzobel lock

the front line while we came up 1.8m in the lock, I’d just been getting rid of lots of spiders and, as I was looking at the ladder alongside me, a large black crab crawled out from behind the side rail and dropped into the water. Boy did that make me jump! King sized spiders they have here!! I took a couple of photos of the boats in the lock before we left. It was 9.50 a.m. as we headed back south again down a channel that was wide and 3m deep, running between flood protection banks, which were covered with well mown

Quitzobel lock and barrage

grass. There was more shelter from the breeze, so it felt much warmer but still cool enough to appreciate a cup of soup for early “elevenses”. A flock of lapwings flew over, circled and landed back in a field out of sight behind the dyke where they just taken off from. At the end of the Vorfluter we came to the next lock, Quitzöbel, set in a series of floodgates in a long flood defence barrier where the very last bit of the Havel joined the Elbe. Rosy was already in the chamber and Bill was having a conversation with the two waterways men and a bunch of fishermen, telling them we were going to EHS (which they looked very

Lock gates at Quitzobel

disapprovingly on for some reason they didn’t share with us) and Poland next year, so he showed them pictures of the Elblag lifts. The fishermen were very keen to throw sticks for Fanny, who thoroughly approved of that. I took photos of the up and over paddles (shades of Salter Hebble) and a slowly ascending guillotine gate (shades of Salter’s Lode!) The keeper gave us a copy of the Berlin WVW mag (we’d already got one, but another copy might be useful as it had a nice map in it) plus it had got opening times for the Havel locks. Back on a level with the Elbe, we turned left heading upstream on the Havel. Mike worked it out that as the locks we had done were all uphill, 30cm at Havelberg, 1.8m at Gnevsdorf and another

Quitzobel lock and barrage

30 cms at Quitzöbel, then that meant the river Elbe ran down a slope of 2.4m over 15 kms! Who needs locks? Had lunch on the move as we headed back to Havelberg on a very quiet placid river. A rough legged buzzard flew over the adjacent meadow which separated us from the Elbe, it hovered every now and then when something caught its attention. We went back into Havelberg via a small channel which lead past the marina by a large hotel with the floating fountain on our right. We arrived back at the place on the public quay by the trip boat at 2.30 p.m. At 3 p.m. the trip boat Jerichowerland set off with a party of tourists on board. They were away for a couple of hours. Mike went for a nap. Bill came over to talk to Mike

Leaving Quitzobel lock

about pegels, just as the ‘phone rang. It was WWTelecom (our American callback system that we used for making calls to the UK), Diana calling Mike back. She said they’d had problems getting money from our account. Alarm bells started ringing in our heads - we’d got new cards that were in the post from Glyn (which were very late coming from the bank) - WWT must have suspended the account until they get payment! That’s why it’s been continuously engaged since 1st Sept and we thought it was their new computer system playing up. It’s our annoying bank again! All for not paying a bill of $14! Bill came in and we had a discussion about Barry Sheffield’s account of how to calculate water depths using pegels. We all came to the conclusion that what he’d written in his book was misleading. 

CLICK Here for a route map of the trip down the Elbe and back up the Vorfluter kanal

Tuesday 7th September 2004 Rathenow to Havelberg.

13.5° C Sunny after a cool start. Breezy. Clouds building up from the north in the afternoon.

Stadtschleuse Rathenow - only open in July & August
Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

At 7 a.m. we went back up the weirstream to the Hauptschleuse, the big lock in Rathenow. Moored next to the pontoon to wait for the lock. Mike had called on VHF, but had no reply, so he went for a walk taking the chart with him so he could ask about the locks on the Gnevsdorfer Vorfluter (an extension of the Havel running parallel to the Elbe). The young lock keeper was just coming out of the house when Mike got there at 7.20 a.m. Mike spoke to him while the lock filled. He spoke no English and knew nothing about the two locks Mike was interested in, didn’t even know they existed, but eagerly told Mike that the town lock in Rathenow was closed, which we knew

Hauptschleuse Rathenow -Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

already. (It seems not everyone knows that it’s only open July and August, several canoeists and the crew of a small yacht asked us if the lock was open!) He wouldn’t let us sit in between the straight sided walls by the top end gates of the immense lock chamber (220m x 9.5m) while it emptied, we had to give him a rope which he passed through one of the inset iron bars in the sloping wall (which we didn’t really need) and then we had to keep the boat away from the sloping wall using short shafts. Mike was getting annoyed because at the previous lock the

Grutz lock - Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

keeper had told him we could stay between the top end gates, and he’d got a tethered workboat in the corner of the chamber that we could tie to which made life easier. Bill brought Rosy alongside and we dropped down about 1m. The river below Rathenow was much wider. We passed one small cruiser heading upstream. There were lots of cruisers moored along the river bank at a marina in Grütz. A little further downstream we passed a small open fishing boat with a large outboard motor heading upstream fast, making lots of wash. Birds of prey were plentiful, we saw a honey buzzard on

Cable ferry at Molkenberg - Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

an electricity post, several common buzzards and a red kite which was circling close to where a fisherman was fishing from an anchored boat near KP 116. Notices above the lock at Grütz said it was automatic (DIY), but the new electronic sign board said that there was a lock keeper on duty today. We tied to the pontoon and Mike went off to have words with the keeper taking the chart with him again to ask about the locks on the end of the Havel. There was a workboat in the lock, the men were repairing the brickwork on the left hand side and the lock had just started to empty. Mike went to the tail end of the lock where two men were cleaning the lock gates. He

Graz lock - Wikimedia photo by Biberbaer

asked them about the lower Havel locks, they didn’t know anything either and suggested asking the lock keeper, who was nowhere to be seen. A WSA tug and a small yacht came into the lock. Mike gave up and came back to the boat. When the two boats exited the chamber we went in with Rosy still tied alongside and Bill dropped a stern rope on the workboat. The keeper appeared and asked if we had come from Holland, we said no - England! Past wide meadows with the forest at a distance, we continued downstream on the Havel. A large cruiser, called Blue Sky, went up river near KP 125, the crew waved as we passed. Glyn ‘phoned at midday and spoke to Mike, he’d posted our mail to Werder the day before. I’d just finished making sandwiches when we arrived at

Honey buzzard - Wikimedia photo by Jo Kurz

Garz lock. Two uphill cruisers were in the chamber, so we tied on the pontoon and Bill hovered in mid river. The two boats left the lock and we went in accompanied by a small cruiser which had caught up with us. Took the left hand wall as the right was taped off - the brickies have more work to do in this lock! As we left the lock I steered so Mike could stand on the boat roof and ask the keeper about the lower Havel locks. Yes, he said, they’re OK and working. Great! As we passed the village of Strodehne, a few small powerboats were out enjoying the warm sunny afternoon. A large cruiser, called Adler III, overtook us. Arrived in Havelberg at 3.40 p.m.

Red kite  - Wikimedia photo by Andreas Trepte

The quay had been rebuilt. Formerly it was a piled quay with an untidy grassy bank, where the tripper Jerichowerland loaded and unloaded. The tripper was still there, but the quay had been transformed. Now it was brick built with concrete edging and a wide paved area above and a new tourist information office. There were dolphins to tie to and a ladder. Bill brought Rosy in to moor behind us and Mike gave him a hand with getting his ropes round the dolphins. There was a lower section with some steps by Rosy’s stern, which made it easier to get Fanny on and off. A line of small boats was moored on the opposite bank at the Campinginsel and in middle the plane of water, which was the former Winterhafen, they had installed a floating fountain which was sending three jets of water into the air, two small ones and one large one - the spray from it was reaching us on the breeze. Bill went to take the dog out and called in the Tourist info office. They had no internet cafés and no library according to the man in the office and town maps cost 1,50 Eu each, so Bill said “No ta!” and went back to his boat for an overdue nap! Mike set up the satellite dish and then unloaded the moped. He went to pick up the car at 4.40

Havel at Havelberg - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

p.m. I put the Mac on and caught up with the log entries. Later, while I was rechecking what I’d typed, a gang of punks on the bank by the tripper started shouting loudly, dogs started barking, then there were some slaps and a female with red hair who had been doing most of the shouting started howling and yelling louder. I shut the cabin doors and locked them! The noise got louder and there were sounds of more blows and a dog started attacking someone, so I looked out from the side doors but couldn’t see what they were doing. A group of teenaged girls,

Havelberg - Wikimedia photo by Franzfoto

who were sitting by the tourist office when Mike left, were still sitting there chatting and didn’t turn a hair. I’d thought of ‘phoning the police, but then I thought - there were lots of other people about on the quay - so it only sounded like murder being done. When Mike returned at 6.45 p.m. the crimson-haired punk girl was sitting on the ground talking to a police officer, while a black-haired youth with a spiky haircut was standing by the road. The girls from the steps by the tourist office had checked out and gone home. Helped get the moped back on board. Packed up at 7 p.m. and cooked a stirfry for dinner. Bill had been chatting to a guy, who spoke good English, who was keen to know more about getting to Bromberg and down the Vistula. Mike went out to chat and then Bill asked the chap to use his ‘phone and call the keeper on the Vorfluter to make sure the locks would be open next day – he confirmed that they would be.

Sunday 5th September 2004 Premnitz to Rathenow.

11.0° C. Sunny and hot again. We set off late at 9 a.m. as we only had just over 10 kms to go to Rathenow, A crowd of blokes from the flats across the road came and leaned on the

River Havel nr Moegelin - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

railings to chat to Mike in German as we untied the boat. He asked them if the steam trip boat that used the rest of the mooring had stopped. They said it had. Followed Rosy down the river. A beautiful morning, sunny but still cool and fresh. There were a few fishermen along the banks and a couple went by in boats. A small cruiser went past heading upstream. A large cruiser was moored next to a stepped piled quay on the other side of the river just downstream of Premnitz at Milow. We decided to remember that one as a possibility for a mooring on the way back. Bill called on VHF to say he’d seen a large bird flying through the trees. We only caught a brief glimpse, but thought it looked like a buzzard. At K99 there was the remains of an old factory whose brick chimney had the tallest stork’s nest I’d seen yet, it must have stood over a metre and a half tall. Next to it was a new house, still under construction. Its green tiled roof and dormer windows were beautiful, but downstairs the walls were white

Canal section in Rathenow - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

breeze block with just one small window. Maybe they’d run out of cash? At 10.55 a.m. we turned into the back water above the lock, Hauptschleuse, at Rathenow and followed Rosy down the weirstream into the town. We tied on the quay wall at 11.20 a.m. Rosy moored next to the pontoon. Connected up the electricity - someone had left credit on the meter. Filled the water tank, which took three 50c coins. Put the washing machine on. Mike went to get the car and I got on with the chores. He was back at 1.45 p.m. just as the washer finished its first load. Scrooging, we changed over sockets on the electricity post to use up what had been left in credit. Mike told Bill there was a library just around the corner and that the notices on the bank said that the mooring cost 50c/m per night on the pontoon - Bill said he’d move on to the wall overnight! Put a second load of washing in. Lunch. A large cruiser called Nautilus arrived. Mike went for a nap. Later Bill called to say he was moving Rosy on to the wall, so Mike gave him a hand to tie up. The third load of washing had finished. I made dinner while the men went in the bar

Havel in Rathenow - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

opposite the quay to try the beer, which they said was quite reasonable and they’d paid 7 Euros for five beers.

Monday 6th September 2004 Rathenow.

12.5° C Hot and sunny again all day. Bill moved Rosy back to the pontoon. I did more washing, chores, lunch. After lunch we went to get some groceries - Bill said he’d prefer to shop at the local Plus and he was going to do some e-mailing - he’d found a bar with an internet PC. We called in the Obi (DIY) first and got two small canisters of propane for the mini blow torches, noted the price of paint, etc, and saw a very smart blue enamelled solid fuel cooker for sale - the type of thing Peter was promising to install on his new boat - 800 Euros (less than £550!) - I picked up one of their catalogues for him (he later found their UK agent and bought one in maroon enamel and is still using it to this day). Went in Marktkauf to get groceries. I was beginning to dislike Marktkauf as everything is disorganised and not laid out like “normal” hypers. With all sorts of stuff mixed up together it meant we had to walk round all of it so as not to miss anything. Back at the boat Bill had moved back on to the wall and was chatting to a man off a cruiser who had taken his place on the pontoon. Mike finished his jobs in the engine room.

Saturday 4th September 2004 Neuendorf to Premnitz

10.3° C overnight. Hot and sunny again. Set off at 7.10 a.m. across the northern end of the Breitlingsee, running west into the Plauersee. I made a cuppa and sat out at 8 a.m. as we

Plauersee - Wikimedia photo by Niteshift

turned north at Plau, heading downstream again on the Havel. The river forms lots of long narrow lakes and backwaters. Lots of small cruisers were moored in the gaps between the reed beds, their occupants were just starting to show signs of life. I made a pizza to cook with some little buns in the oven. (Mike’s idea - he likes freshly baked bread buns, called schrippen, so we’ve started buying part baked long life ones) It was ready to come out of the oven as we arrived at the big lock, Bahnitz. Mike called on VHF and the keeper replied. The lock was ready in a few minutes and we went in and sat alongside a workboat, tucked in the

Plauersee - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

corner of the large chamber. Rosy came alongside us as we dropped down a little way - just the two of us - in a slightly sloping walled chamber, 215m long x 10m wide. We’d noticed that the weir above the lock was an old needle weir and had just a few of the centre slats pulled. The water level in the lock looked low. Mike asked the keeper what the drop was and he said 50 cms in summer, in winter it’s 80 cms. There was a cruiser waiting on the pontoon below the lock. Fanny needed to get off for a pee, so Bill stopped by the quay in Bahnitz which now had more bollards

Pritzerbe Havel -Wikimedia photo by Gregor Rom

and a small pontoon for little boats to tie to. We’ll remember that for a mooring on the way back! Tried the pizza. Mike had said it would be tough like old boots when he put the base to prove in the engine room - it wasn’t - gave Bill a slice to try, he agreed it was good. We passed several small fishing punts, one paddled, another with a small motor on its gunwale was propelled with a long shafted prop. We passed a scrap berth at Döbernitz and a small cruiser went upstream, after pulling out from an arm by KP 87. It was 11.45 a.m. when we moored on the old quay at Premnitz and Rosy came alongside. Two young men were fishing from the quayside,

Bahnitz lock in winter - Wikimedia photo by Gregor Rom

wandering up and down, spinning, catching the same perch (! derr...live bait!) and chucking it back in, while we tied up. They made no signs of moving off as we moored. I said it’s like being back at Condé with our “friend” David fishing round us (and sending us scatty)! They left at midday. I made some lunch. Then Mike went to get the car (he went out and bought a loaf before he left). Glyn ‘phoned, he’d been on holiday in the lovely Shropshire countryside - off to his Mum’s in Weston next week. Our new debit cards had arrived, so had the insurance

Havel nr Doberitz - Wikimedia photo by Botaurus

demand for the moped. Mike was back at 4.30 and I helped put the cover on the moped. The roof was too hot to touch and the cabin side burned my skin through my thin cotton skirt when I leaned on it. I carried on getting the log up to date. Mike had a moan about computers and clacking keys and went to sleep. I did a letter to our insurance broker in France to go with a cheque for the moped insurance, plus an envelope to send the certificate to us in Werder, poste restante. When Mike woke up we went out in the car to post the letter and ended up posting it in Rathenow as there was no sign of even a post box in Premnitz. Had a look at the mooring by

Havel from quay at Premnitz - Wikimedia photo by Clemensfranz

the Stadtschleuse in Rathenow while we were there. It was basically the same as last time we were here, but with lots more notices. Two couples were hauling two canoes out and packing up to go home. There was a home-built trip boat moored at the one end of the pontoon (which still had electricity posts and water - all coin in the slot, plus a new item - a pump out!) so we decided it looked like a good mooring for a couple of days. The Post Office had a stamp printing machine outside so Mike ran off a few stamps, then we went back to the boat via the scenic route, out towards Brandenburg then across to Pritzerbe and back via a diversion through Premnitz.

CLICK HERE for a map of today's route along the winding Havel river