Tuesday 31st May 2005 Yacht club Neptun on the Wisła Smiała to Przegalina.

 Wisła Smiała - Wiki photo by Pumeks

10.6º C overnight. Cold, grey clouds with a blustery westerly wind. Bill had run out of bread, so I gave him a half a loaf of rye as we’d still got some white bread and toasting sliced bread. Set off at 8.35 a.m. heading into Gdansk to see the shipyards and the Napoleonic fortress at Westerplatte. Set the video camera up on the tripod on the front deck and started filming as we went under a new suspension bridge. Beyond it was a railway bridge with a swinging centre section (which was high enough for us to get underneath) and some very battered wooden fendering around the piles on which it stood. Not long after that the shipyards began appearing on each bank. A small fast police boat (a semi rigid inflatable) came to have a look at us, he went past us, turned round and went back where he’d come

Ferry across the river at Wisloujscie
 - Wikimedia photo by  M Minderhoud

from. Loads of ships were under construction or awaiting repair. A great orange painted ship had Kingstown as its home port and a helicopter landing pad above its front deck. All the floating docks were occupied by ships. A very large crane on a barge set off from the bank on our right and went past carrying a large rectangular construction on the end of the crane hooks. A large ferry boat went across carrying cars from one side of the river to the other. A trip boat overtook us then another one came towards us, the latter was a paddlewheeler with paddlewheels on each side. At Westerplatte we went past the fortress, called Twierdza

Fortress Twierdza Wisloujscie
Wikimedia photo by  Andrezej

Wisłoujście, which looked very much like the fortifications Vauban built in France. We winded, as to go any further would have taken us out into the Baltic. The ferry was setting off again with another load of cars. A pilot boat, heading out to sea, had to stop and let it pass. Mike called me to steer while he went in the cabin. When he came back he said what’s our tripod doing in the water? The video camera and tripod had gone swimming (trying to commit suicide and join the other two dead cameras) and was being dragged along by its twelve volt cable. I pulled it back on board and water poured out of it. Well, that’s the end of another camera! Mike said I’d left the legs of the tripod at unequal lengths which made it unstable and the wind had blown it overboard. I thought I’d left it secure with one leg between the

Fortress from the river bank
Wikimedia photo by  M Minderhoud

moped and the day tank. Mike dried it out, took its covers off and hung it up in the engine room to dry out, but didn’t hold any hopes that it would survive as I had left it turned on, on standby. We decided that a circular trip around the city was out of the question as there was yet another pontoon bridge blocking the through passage. Next time maybe. I made a cup of soup to warm us up. We motored back through the shipyards. The sun came out briefly, but black clouds were gathering over Gdansk. We’d planned to arrive at the pontoon bridge at Sobieszewko at its opening time of 1 pm. The paddle wheeler was catching us up, we thought he was going

Gdansk dockyard cranes
Wikimedia photo by esbi

to go through the bridge too, but he turned and moored at a quay before the bridge. The wind picked up as another squall hit, just like the day before. The waves coming from behind us were getting quite choppy and at one o’clock there was no sign of anyone coming to open the bridge. Mike sounded the hooter. Nothing. I tried the phone number on the sheet of paper given to us by the Polish yachties. It said invalid number – there must be a Gdansk area code to go in front of the numbers. At ten past the bridge workers appeared and opened the bridge. Mike was not happy about being kept waiting while the boats were being bounced about by the waves and asked the guy if he needed a new watch as we went past. From the blank stare, he

The pontoon bridge at Sobieszewko
Wikimedia photo by Merlin

either didn’t understand or couldn’t hear with such a strong wind blowing. The black clouds rolled on by and the sun came out, but it was still windy as we ran down to the lock at Przegalina. The landing stage Bill had previously spotted in the old channel of the river had no access to the bank. The pilings by the lock had no bank access either and the dolphins looked a bit too far apart for our length. We went into the lock and asked the keeper if there was anywhere to moor overnight. He said it was OK on the other side of the lock. Bill thought when Mike said “tie up on the other side of the lock” he meant in the lock and moored on the other wall. Mike paid for the lock - Bill would pay

Old lock at Przegalina
Wikimedia photo by Nandi

for the next one. The wind was howling through the lock chamber, as it was blowing directly from behind us and covering the boat roof in sand off the lockside. It was a bit more sheltered beyond the lock and flood barriers. Three ancient accommodation barges were moored next to the dolphins on the right bank, so we went to ask if we could tie to one of them overnight. The end one looked inhabited and a bald sunburned bloke came out with something smoking as we went past. I asked could we tie up overnight, he shrugged, so Mike turned the boat around and moored next to Marta of

"New" lock at Przegalina
Wikimedia photo by Pumeks

Warszawa (Warsaw), who had seen better days, all three were very old boats. Bill moored Rosy behind us. It was 2.50 pm and the sun was out again for a few minutes before the next shower of heavy rain. The “something smoking” was some wood in a drum the guy living on Marta had just fired up to make charcoal for a barbecue. We went in and got on with some chores. The video camera wouldn’t power up to eject the tape. Mike applied power to it with batteries to get the tape out. Most likely the processor was fried. Hope we can save the tape
.

Sunday 29th May & Monday 30th May 2005 Gdanska Głowa lk to yacht club Neptun on Wisła Smiała.

Sunday 29th May 2005  Gdanska Głowa lock.

Map of the Wisla (Vistula) delta rivers

11.8º C overnight Sunny, cool breeze. Mike got up at 8 a.m. when Bill knocked to ask for help with getting Rosy off the bottom as the level had dropped by 6” and he couldn’t budge it. It wouldn’t move just shoving on poles, so Mike used Bill’s pole as a lever, driving it vertically in the mud then levering against the counter. The plank was just long enough to reach the bank. Mike went to work in the engine room. He cleaned Arsène’s casserole (engine cooling water filter given to us by Arsène and it’s as big as a saucepan) out again – half full of weed again. A large white cruiser came and moored by the lock, the crew went to see the lock keeper and then went through the lock, and we thought that they said the lock was closed on Sundays? At 11.15 a.m. another yacht arrived and then went away again. Mike checked on the state of the brass water pump that he had re-engineered. He intended to change the impeller, but there was no need, it was in as good a state as when he redesigned the pump. He found a water leak in the cold water supply pipe to the hot water tank (must have been all the bumping and rocking on the trollies that caused that – it would find any weak links anywhere on the boat, just like the Polish roads do for cars!) He resealed one joint, then another one started leaking when I pressurised the system. Then they wouldn’t reseal with new ptfe tape, so he decided to use hemp and Templars paste. He couldn’t find any Templars but Bill had some new stuff, so he used some of that. Lunch. Mike set the gennie up to watch the motor racing as the 12v system was down to 11V. German Grand Prix from Nürburgring. Later he had another go at the camera, it still didn’t look good. I made a stirfried pork saté for dinner.

30th May 2005  Gdanska Głowa lk to yacht club Neptun on Wisła Smiała.

Gdanska Glowa lock Wikimedia photo by Lukas Katelwa

A mild night. Cloudy with a chilly breeze (rain and thunderstorms later) as we went into Gdanska Głowa lock at 8.00 a.m. The large manually operated lock was worked for us by a very thin and fragile-looking old man. A woman did the paperwork, both looked as miserable as can be. Bill went to pay her. When he came back he said it was nice to see people who really enjoyed their jobs (sarcasm, not this pair!) The lock filled, raising the boat 1.6m on to the level of the river Wisła. Out on to the river, still looking brimful and flowing fast, turning right and running downstream with the flow. Mike stopped

Gdanska Glowa lock Wikimedia photo by Lukas Katelwa

the boat dead in the water to check the speed, it was about 6 kph. In no time we made the short fast run down to the lock at Przegalina, which was a much larger modern lock than the one we’d just come up, the lock edges were painted in bright shades of green and yellow. Before we turned left, ahead of us we could see the Baltic, looking calm and flat. Two more unhappy looking old men worked the lock, one to press the buttons and the other to take the money – we even had change from our 12 Złotys! We dropped down just 1m. As we left the chamber, I made a mental note to video the wooden lock house on our return

Przegalina lock - Wikimedia photo by Yarlu FileBot

trip. I made a cuppa as we motored on down the Martwa Wisła, an arm of the river which goes through Gdansk. Everything was going well until we came to the road bridge at Sobieszewka at 10.45 a.m. The bridge was a bailey bridge with a moveable floating pontoon section in the middle. Lots of road traffic was rumbling slowly across the bumpy wooden decking. We hooted, no signs of life. In Jerzy Hopfer’s book (Polish waterways expert, book given to us by EHS boat club) it said the bridge opens mornings and late afternoons – whatever time that means.

Przegalina lock - Wikimedia photo by Pumeks

We dropped anchor and waited, there was nowhere to tie to the banks. There were thick black clouds over Gdansk coming our way. Thunder rumbled and rain began to pour. The boat pivoted through all four points of the compass around the anchor rope. Lunch. A man in a small fishing boat came under the bridge (if only it had been a few centimetres higher we could have got underneath it too) and came to talk to us in the rain. Where were we from? (In Polish) Mike told him and tried to ask what time the bridge opened, there was no board giving times. He went away and came back five minutes later with an atlas – he wanted Mike to show him

Przegalina lock - Wikimedia photo by Nandi

where we had come from and how we got there. He said the bridge opens in an hour (or at one o’clock – as it was midday it came to the same thing). Just before 1pm several workmen appeared and shut the road barriers to prevent traffic crossing the bridge then started winding something in the middle of the bridge deck. Mike started the engine and went to lift the anchor, just as a squall hit. I had to get the brolly down quickly as the wind was blowing a howling gale, threatening to break it, and the rain was really hammering down. I powered the bows round into the wind so that Mike

Sobieszewka swingbridge - Wikimedia photo by Merlin

could lift the anchor and the fender that he’d used as a marker buoy. To our amazement the workmen opened the road barriers again for road traffic to cross, then they went away again! We circled. Lightening flashed and thunder crashed for ten minutes. As the rain eased off they came back and started up the motor to drive the centre section to one side so we could pass through. It was 1.10 p.m. The outside temperature had dropped from 24º C to 12ºC! As we pushed on down the river violet flashes of lightening lit up the sky, one hit the ground very close to us as a tremendous crash of thunder rolled down the river. We decided to find somewhere to stop as soon as

Lower Wisla looking to Baltic - Wikimedia photo by Pumeks

possible as continuing might have proved dangerous. The river swung round to the north becoming the Wisła Smiała, which emptied into the Baltic just a kilometre further on, and we turned left into a smaller river channel where there was a yacht club located on the corner. All the yachts were moored bows or sterns to the bank. As we passed the end of the line we saw a section of wooden walkway we could tie alongside, so Mike asked Bill on the radio if he wanted to tie on to it and we would carry on up the narrow channel (we were now going against the flow) until we came to a wider section by a shipyard where we could turn round and head back to the yacht club. When we winded and went back Bill had turned and was waiting for us to go alongside so he could attach to us. The rain had stopped.

Wisła Smiała - Wikimedia photo by Pumeks

Several people came out to help including a man and a woman who spoke good English. The river flow at the junction was going in a circular direction making mooring difficult. To complicate matters there were rocks along the bank edge. Mike put a pole out to keep the bows off the rocks and the club members moved a yacht which was behind us so that we could slide back a bit. Bill brought Rosy alongside and we moored up. A very chatty lot, they wanted to know where we’d come from and where we were going. Fanny got the star treatment, everyone threw sticks for her. Mike ran a cable out so we could have electricity and Bill bought some cans of beer at 2 Zł each from them. The overnight charge was 60 Zł each (a little under £10). The club was called JKM Neptun. Another downpour sent us inside to get sorted out, then when it stopped Mike ran a cable out and connected up to their electricity supply. Bill found the hoses out, we refilled our water tanks and got rid of our rubbish. Meanwhile the bloke who owned the steel yacht behind us turned up and started a barney over the fact that his boat had been moved closer to his neighbour’s boat, which was plastic and had a fancy alarm system on board (if it went off they had to get the owner to come and turn it off as no one else knew the code for it). The lady who had been helping us got very upset and went back on her boat. The man (her boyfriend) came to say how sorry he was that the man should make such a scene in front of visitors. We said it was OK, we belong to a boat club - we know what it’s like – every club has at least one member who behaves like that! Mike had another session trying to repair the camera and condemned it as being unfixable. The shutter worked again, but the electronics didn’t. He said he might have another look at it later before he finally decides to bin it (he hates to be defeated when it comes to fixing anything). 

Saturday 28th May 2005 Jagielloński to Gdanska Głowa lock.

Liftbridge over Szkarpawa at Rybina
- Wikimedia photo by Polimerek

13º C overnight. Sunny with not a cloud in the sky and a light breeze.  Set off at 8.15am pins in and the washing machine going as soon as we turned on to the Nogat. I vacuumed the floor and then emptied the dust on to a tray, I looked but couldn’t see the tiny screw that Mike had lost. He said use the sea searcher magnet. One pass and the screw leapt out of the dust! I stuck it on a piece of sticky tape so it couldn’t escape again. I did the ironing then made a cuppa and went to sit out with my coffee at 10am. A beautiful morning. Overtook a couple of little yachts, one which was obviously home built was having engine trouble and ended up being towed by the other. We turned left on the Szkarpawa river heading for the Wisła, a winding, wide, reed fringed river, 2.5m deep, passing empty meadows and the occasional farmstead. Groups of kids were swimming in the river, all wearing their underwear – no fancy swimming trunks or bikinis here. The washing finished just before eleven and Mike paused to take the pins out. We came to a large bright yellow painted lifted bridge – a giant Llangollen style cantilever bridge. At 2.58m clearance it was high enough for us to get underneath with the sun canopy lowered

Liftbridge over Szkarpawa at Rybina 
- Wikimedia photo by Martin Poljak

and the mast taken down. A board stated the opening times 8.30 a.m. 11.00 a.m. etc etc. Two men were on duty, they came out to see if we needed it opening. A swing railway bridge was in the open position for river traffic. Lunch, sitting under the sun shade. We passed half a dozen small yachts from Elblag yacht club, they must be doing the circular tour via Malbork and down the Wisła and back along the Szkarpawa. Shortly afterwards we came to Drewnica, where bridge rebuilding works were going on apace. A barge was being used as an access

Liftbridge over Szkarpawa at Rybina 
- Wikimedia photo by Gregy

pontoon for cement mixer trucks and another for cranes and a pile-driver. We tied to a wooden pontoon placed there for the purpose and Rosy came alongside. Within minutes a three man delegation came to show us where to go to get through the blockage. They moved the accommodation barge, called Rekinn, and we went through the gap and the bailey bridge which had a moveable middle section powered by a motor in the end flotation tank. We counted twenty cars which had been

Liftbridge over Szkarpawa at Drewnica
- Wikimedia photo by Aktron

stopped by the moving of the bridge. Two kilometres to the lock on to the Wisła. It was 2.15 p.m. getting hotter and we decided discretion was the better part and decided to stop below the lock at Gdanska Głowa. There were only green painted metal pilings arranged as unlinked dolphins 10 metres from the bank, so Rosy went at the back of the left hand ones and we went between Rosy and the dolphins, tied our bows to one dolphin with Rosy attached to our port side. Then Mike got the plank off Rosy’s counter and Bill knocked a couple of

Moored by the lock on to the Wisla - photo by Bill

pins in. Rosy was just grounding on the bottom. The men went to find the keeper and ask if we could stay until Monday morning. They found a lady keeper. Yes, OK. They were open until 4 p.m. but for double the fee you could go through up until 7 p.m. She told them that the lock was closed on Sundays. Then they went to have a look at the river. It appeared to be as high as when we came down to Biała Gora, but didn’t seem to be flowing as fast. The lift on the lock was about a metre up on to the Wisła. Mike put the 35mm camera back together, still not working properly. Looks like we need a new one

Friday 27th May 2005 Elblag to jnc Nogat/Jagielloński canal.

Typical shop in Elblag - Wikimedia photo by Albertyanks

15.5º C overnight – getting warmer. Sunny with hazy clouds. Mike was up first at 7.30 a.m. and we all went into town on foot. Bill took his bike to carry some beer. First we went in the little sklep by the mooring and bought bread and tomatoes. Bill cycled a bit further down the street to get some beer in cans then took all the heavy stuff back to the boat. We walked on across the footbridge into the town, most off which was flattened by the Ruskies at the end of WWII because the Nazis built U-boats there. Most of the buildings are post-war “jerry”-built! We went to the Post Office and sent off two bags containing four films to be developed and five postcards in envelopes. Calculating how much the postage costs is a nightmare. From the tariffs we’d reckoned 2,80 Zł each for the postcards and 3,90 Zł each for the films – but she charged us 16,40 Zł - cheaper than what we thought the rate was. Give up. We went in the internet café, checked e-mails (got none), had printouts of the WWT phone bill and wrote down details from the bank statements as there hadn’t been many transactions. Mike didn’t notice that Bill had come in and was sitting behind us on the far

E7 road bridge in Elblag - Wikimedis photo by Aktron

side of the room – he went to look for him while I did a bit of surfing. He got the guy from the Tourist Info Office looking for him when he was already in the café! Paid 5 Zl for the hour plus and 1 Zł (there were 6 Zł  to the pound) for the two printouts. Next stop a top-up for the ‘phone, which will expire next week when the two months from when we bought it are up. We found the Idea shop. What a setup. A smart young man stood at a small reception desk. He spoke a little English, so he told us to go to the cash desk (a window at the back of the room) and he would tell the young lady what we wanted. We bought a top-up, valid for a month, for 25 Zł and took it back to him and he charged our ‘phone with it for us as we couldn’t understand the Polish instructions. I asked if he could change the language to English, he tried but couldn’t. There were lots of people in the shop, sitting on chairs waiting for someone who was at a desk behind screens. The only ‘phones on display were behind locked glass panels on the one wall. We went back to the other end of the main street to a small supermarket

Tram in Elblag - Wikimedia photo by Francuz-el

and bought a few more groceries: milk, coffee, eggs, butter, coffee-creamer, cheese, Mike asked for some boiled ham this time, lettuce and a treat - a packet of chocolate coated biscuits and a bottle of Fanta orangeade!  Loaded up the rucksacks as armed guards (Polish version of Securicor) were collecting or delivering cash. Walked back to the boats through a park (where the U-boats dry docks were?). I unloaded the groceries. Bill had got some decaff coffee that he doesn’t drink anymore. I said it was a pity he didn’t drink tea any more either (he drinks beer or bottled water) as I could do him a swop. He said he really could do with some Bonjella as he had a sore gum, which looked like an abcess. I thought we had some, but after a fruitless search the only thing I could think of to ease the pain of a gumboil was Veganin tablets. He said he’d try nitric acid if it took the pain away! I started making a salad for lunch as we cruised on to the yacht club to get some drinking water. They knew we were coming as the purple hosepipe was out along the wooden landing stage and there were no other boats moored there, which made life easier. Two teenage girls were sitting on the grass at the end of the landing, so I asked them if we could have some water. They giggled and said tak (yes) and one of them went off to the tap to turn it on for me. Bill brought Rosy alongside and he topped up too. The hydrofoil went past and instead of coming up the canal at a slow cruising pace, the steerer kept bringing it up on to the plane and then slowing off, which was sending big waves up the cut. Prat, he knew what he was doing. It was 2 p.m. before we finished filling up and set off again, waving bye, bye to the few locals who were by the basin. We turned left into the Jagielloński canal, if we’d taken the route straight on it goes out on to the lagoon – the way the hydrofoil goes to Kaliningrad in Russia. It was getting hotter. For the first time this year I made some ice cubes and we had cold drinks instead of tea. At 3 p.m. a small yacht went past heading for Elblag, followed by a lone paddler. Just before we got to the junction with the Nogat, the wind picked up and turned over the front section of our big blue sun canopy. Mike had to put it on the front deck and sort its bent legs out later. It was 3.30 p.m. as we arrived at the junction, where we had moored in the pouring rain on the 17^th, the weather couldn’t have been more extreme (apart

Brewery in Elblag - Wikimedia photo by  Michiel1972

from a blizzard!) We moored in front of Rosy on the piling. Crowds of local kids wearing knickers and vests (no posh cossies here) were swimming in the canal (which was a murky shade of khaki) or the river by the bridge. A woman was washing clothes in the cut at a set of steps by the house on the opposite bank. The kids decided because we didn’t speak Polish we must be German and kept saying Guten tag! Dumpkofs! Mike went back to taking the 35mm camera apart. I did the callback phone bill calculations. Our rate per minute had gone up because we’re in Poland. It was 38$c (20p) a minute in Germany, now it’s 42$c (22p) a minute (fixed ‘phone rate). Someone swimming in the cut knocked on our boat hull and said hello in English. It was an Irishman! Originally from near Athlone, he was an English teacher and had been living in Elblag for twelve years, running his own private English school (called Speak Easy) he was married to a Polish lady and they had a young daughter. He said he was very happy to live here, Poland is a wonderful country. He warned us to be careful as this was a very poor area, as there is no form of social security some people would steal anything to sell it that wasn’t nailed down. He told Bill to keep a close eye on Fanny, they’d steal the dog and sell it to the local Chinese restaurant! Remind me never to try Chinese food in Poland. We chatted for about twenty minutes while he trod water – he must be a good swimmer. This was the first time he’d been to his favourite swimming place this year and had been astounded to find us moored there. I did egg and chips for dinner (with all the chatting I’d forgotten to defrost any meat from the freezer!). Watched “Corrie” and the weather. Another fine day tomorrow. Bill came round to check on the route on his maps for where we were going over the next few days. I had the PC on again, still three days behind with the log entries. Will I ever catch up? Mike carried on working on the 35mm camera and lost a tiny, tiny screw which had flicked out of the container he was using to keep them in and gone into hiding. He searched the floor, the cushions, his clothing and still couldn’t find it. He asked Bill if he had any old clocks he could steal a tiny screw from. Bill told him that Rosy was a modern boat and there were no clockwork items on board! And this is a bloke with a collection of hurricane lamps in his engine room?! 

Thursday 26th May 2005 Below lift 3 Oleśnica to Elblag.

11º C Sunny and warm. Up at 7.00 a.m. Did a few chores while Bill glued the rubber gasket on the lid for his weed hatch (the only person we know who does that!). Set off at 9.00 a.m. following Rosy to lift 4, Jelenie, arriving at 9.30 a.m. Rosy went into the trolley to go down

first. When the other side came up we got on that. Meanwhile Mike had a good look at the bearings on the wheel carrying the cable. He said the bearing was on the wrong way round for the direction of thrust. Mention of clocks and monkeys came round again (After the end of WWII an eminent British politician was quoted as saying “Handing over former German industry to the Polish – when the Germans left Prussia, retreating to west of the Oder and it became Polish - is like giving a wristwatch to a chimpanzee” – very insulting but Mike is beginning to believe there is some truth in what he said). We had to wait on the trolley as there was something coming

uphill. Two small Polish yachts were in the upcoming trolley as we went down. More video. It was ten past ten when we reached the bottom. Mike changed the film in the 35mm camera and had problems with it – the shutter had jammed. He went inside to try to fix it and I steered down the canal to lift 5, Całuny Nowe, the last lift. We passed the newest trip boat of the fleet, called Ostroda, the guide book boasts it even has air conditioning! I pressed the buzzer to call Mike and the engine alarm went off. Mike went to check it out, either the alternator was packing up or the oil pressure was falling – but he could find nothing wrong.

Photo from Wikimedia by Lestath

Could be a momentary intermittent fault. Bill called on VHF to say he was setting off down lift 5 and there was a tripper coming up and another one waiting at the bottom. We went down the last slope with Kormoran coming up. Mike filmed the steep slope from the stern of the boat as we came down. We left the bottom at 10.50 a.m. passing a swim-suited Polish couple on a tiny sailboat heading for the lifts. The engine alarm kept sounding off and Mike had come to the conclusion that mending the camera was not going to be easy, there were hidden fasteners to find. The alarm stopped going off on its own! There were lots of weeds and twigs and muck in the Elblaski canal between the lifts and below them too.  The goat willow along the banks leading to the big nature reserve around lake Druzno was shedding fluff again – it looked like snow blown by the wind. Bill called on VHF to say that some fishermen had a net out across the canal at the end of a long straight and he’d had to get them to move it to let Rosy through. He told them we were coming. There was no net out when we got there. It was ten minutes before midday when we reached the beginning of the lake. It was getting weedier, full of birds – swans, black-headed gulls, pochard and ferruginus ducks, plus coots and mallard, grebe and heron. We passed an anchored small open boat with three men with cameras on board. They waved and said hello. At midday we noticed Rosy drifting into the lilypads and thought Bill’s gone to get his lunch, when he came on the radio to say he’d got something ‘orrible on his prop. Weed hatch up and he proceeded to extract metres and metres of blue fishing net from around the blades. We hovered in the channel in case he needed assistance. We ate lunch following Rosy out of Druzno on to the canal. Common terns were diving for fish and black terns were

Elblag - Wikimedia photo by Janusz J

skimming over the weeds catching insects. Where the lake narrowed there were big groups of over forty swans on either side of us, all close together and heads down dredging something they were all particular to from the bottom of the lake. We passed another small sailboat heading across the lake towards the lifts. At the end of the lake there were lots of great crested grebe. A mink swam past then dived out of sight, right opposite some fishermen, as we entered the canal. A tiny day boat went past with two kids on the bows, several adults stood at the back and more inside the little cabin It was so far down at the bows we were surprised that the outboard leg reached the water! They were all having a great time. Two two-man canoes went past – another family having a nice day out. As we approached the outlying houses and factories of Elblag there were more and more people on the banks (which lead us to suspect that they were on holiday today) they were fishing or sunbathing, and most of them were smoking. It was ten past two when we tied up on the town quay. Loads of people were promenading up and down or sitting on the wall at the back of the quay. Mike and Bill went off on foot to do a bit of reconnoitring. The Post Office was closed (it was a bank holiday) so they went to find people to talk to about the

Elblag - Wikimedia photo by Janusz J

availability of diesel. I wrote out the postcards we’d bought from the stall by the top lift. We moved the boats over to the other side of the canal by a canoe hire place, with Rosy on the inside (sitting on the bottom) and us on the outside. The proprietor had told them where they could get diesel and had offered to take them to the garage in his van. They made two trips with as many cans as they could muster. We had 268 litres at 3.54 Zł to top up our tank and Bill had about the same. They both gave the guy 25 Zł, he said no, he didn’t want paying, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer and so Mike stuffed the 50 Zł in his ash tray! They were back at 6.40 p.m. and started siphoning the diesel into our tank (Bill had the first load). Later Mike and Bill went for a couple of well-earned jars on the ship moored next to the town quay.

Sorry for the lack of photos, first two were taken with our ancient 35mm camera (and I've posted them before!) before it broke, things will improve soon when we enter the digital age!!

Wednesday 25th May 2005 North of Miłomłyn to below lift 3 Oleśnica.

CLICK HERE for a map of today's route through the lakes and down the lifts

A cooler 4.6º C overnight. Sunny warm day. Set off at 8 a.m. with the pins and did some washing before we arrived at the lifts. I sat outside with my coffee at 9.35 a.m. half way up

Ruda Woda lake. I believe we saw the same male marsh harrier again just south of Małdyty, that was here last time we came through, hunting low over the reedbeds at the top end of Sambrod lake. Swallows were nesting under the road bridge at Małdyty. Lunch on the move. As we went into the narrow channel we passed a tripper going in the opposite direction. Through the cutting at the top of the lifts and we arrived at the top at 1.00 p.m. The next tripper, Kormoran, was loading up at the staging. We tied to the low rails along the concrete edging before the trip boat landing, noting all the green paint and the battered wooden fendering just above waterline, the notice which said no winding, and the green paint along the waterline on the tripper’s bows. Hmm. Bill and I went to look at the maps and postcards on offer at the stall by the top lift. I bought a few more cards and Bill paid for two guide books in English (he’d missed the ones in English when he bought the previous ones). I had a good look through

the maps they’d got on display and found one of the Elblag canal with the all the lakes down to Ostroda and Iława, plus a map of the Nogat and the Szkarpawa as far as Gdansk and Malbork. The maps were only 15 Złotys each (about £2.40). I also had a look at all the souvenir gifts made from amber and bought a tiny little brown frog (16 Zł) as a present for a friend. The museum which was supposed to be open from ten until four was closed. Tripboats came up and went down. We waited for a gap. At 1.45 p.m. all went quiet so we got on the first trolley and paid 28,40 Złotys to the man in the overalls who came from the (inaccessible on foot) far side of the canal. I did some videoing as we went down the slope on lift 1, Buczyniec. A short uphill run, then down the long steep slope. It was more hair-raising going downhill than uphill, but this time nothing fell off shelves. Arrived at the bottom of the first lift at ten past two. Bill came on the radio to say, “Another perishing trip boat has slipped in between us!” (Only he wasn’t quite so polite)  He was not amused. Down the short canal section to lift 2, Kąty, and went straight into an empty trolley, set out the ropes and banged on the gong to let the spotter know we were ready – being at the top of the long slope he was less than a hundred metres away. Mike measured the angle of slope, surprisingly it was only 5º. We were soon at

the bottom. It was 2.45 p.m. Bill came on the radio to say he’d had a good start, his ropes had jammed and he’d had to cut them and he’d broken a boat shaft. The trip boat following us was at the top of lift two as we left the bottom, so we hovered and waited for him to pass us. Alongside the canal was a farmhouse. A little girl shrieked when she saw the boat and ran for the fence to come and wave and shout hello. Her mother got up from sunbathing and waved too. On their barn there were two wheels on poles and two pairs of nesting white storks. I filmed them for posterity! Made a cuppa while we waited for trip boat Pinguin to go past. A smaller trip boat was coming uphill, we passed it on a bend. He hooted and I think was surprised to get a loud hoot back! The passengers were all very cheery and waving. We dropped on to the trolley at lift 3, Oleśnica, that the tripper had just left and ran up the slow short slope, then down the bumpy longer downhill slope to the bottom. As Bill was coming down 3 he called to ask if we were going to stay on the pound below it again. Mike was quite happy to keep going, but when he looked at the time it was ten to four already. We made for the bank and were quite surprised to get almost right next to the towpath, which had two tracks of concrete for vehicles to drive on. It was 4 p.m. when we tied up and half an hour later Rosy came and tied alongside. Easy access for Bill's dog Fanny – for once there was no plank! Bill told us that his ropes had got jammed under the round plates he has on the top of the dollies on his counter. They weren’t tied, he said it was his own fault for not keeping a closer eye on which way the turn was around the bollard. The pole that broke was his nicely painted short boat shaft, he pushed on it and it snapped! It must have been rotten. I read the first part of the English version guide to the Elblag canals and lifts and asked myself is this really in English! There were lots of errors in it too, locks missing from the text and dates obviously wrong. Ah well, they sell them mainly to tourists, not canal anoraks like us!

Tuesday 24th May 2005 End of Szelag lake to north of Miłomłyn.

Today's voyage consisted of retracing our steps through the lakes and mooring a few kms to the north of Milomlyn. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MAP

12.8º C Rain in the night with thunderstorms. 15º C chilly and overcast when we set off back down the lake at 8.15 a.m. The lake had been covered in a layer of white when Mike went out

first, but then the wind picked up and the waves washed the surface layer down to the end of the lake where it turned yellow – it was tree pollen. We looked at the channel into the rest of the lake as we passed it and decided that a cold, blustery morning was not the time to try it. The northwest wind was in our faces all the way back down the lake. We were sheltered from it once we’d turned into the channel leading back to the locks. The water was clear and the edges were shallow. Water weeds were starting to grow, lilies and water crowfoot. A couple of hoots and the lady keeper filled Mała Ruś lock for us. Bill had already paid for the return

passage. Mike got off and helped by closing the gate on the offside for her, as it was a long walk round via the bridge over the bottom end. Motored slowly across the lake so Bill could catch up. We moored above Ostroda lock and asked the keeper if we could stay for an hour or so to get some shopping done. No problems. Bill brought Rosy alongside and we went off to get re-supplied. Bill took his bike. Mike didn’t want to go but I threatened him, I wasn’t going to

carry it all on my own. There were three skleps (shops) across the bridge, a grocers, greengrocers and a butchers. We got all we needed from them, posted a card a birthday card to the UK, and went back to the boats. I unloaded the groceries and Mike went to pay for the lock. The pink cat was still following the lady in the green dungarees around the lock. Bill went down first with Rosy and we followed. It was 12.05 p.m. as we went across Drweckie lake with Ostroda town off to our left. We ate lunch crossing the lake and going into the Elblaski canal. This time we noticed that there was evidence here too of beaver damage to the trees. Bill was going slowly so we could overtake him and be first in the next lock. Just before the lock we saw a green woodpecker going round and round the trunk of a dead tree. We hooted and the keeper at Zielona stopped strimming the lockside grass and came to open the lock for us. There were bars recessed into the walls of the lock and I put my side rope around the bit pointing uphill. The keeper showed me it was better to hook a loop up through from the back of the cross then it couldn’t slip off as the water came up (that’s OK as long as you make sure the rope doesn’t “lock” by crossing the one under tension over the free end). We rose 1.7m with Rosy’s bows attached alongside our stern to make sure there was enough room at the tail end to clear the duckboard on the inside face of the wooden clapper gate. The gate paddle in the top end gate opened under water. I made remark to the keeper that there were no centre boards on his lock – in our little locks in Britain we would have sat with the bow fender on the gate and wouldn’t have used ropes. I stepped off to pay for the lock and showed him some photos to illustrate what I meant as he didn’t speak English. His wife came out to have a look too. She knew a few words of English. Their “Baby” speaks English! I helped wind the

gate open – there were two handles on the capstan for that very purpose. Bill had spotted a nest on the way down the canal. What he described could only be the nest of a penduline tit. We carried on along the canal looking carefully for it. Spotted a greenfinch. We found the nest just before the next lock, a delicate structure hanging from the branches of a tree, the twigs of which were woven into the construction. A neat little hole for access and the interior beautifully lined with feathers. We took photos and so did Bill. He said he’d seen weaver bird nests when he was out in Oman, but those were much larger things altogether. A marsh harrier hovered over the reedbeds a bit further on. A yacht was coming down in Miłomłyn lock as we arrived. The young man was working the lock on his own today. Same procedure, we went right to the front of the chamber to leave Bill enough room at the tail end. The lad threaded my rope through the cross in the wall, (two black frogs jumped out of the hole as he put my rope in), no chance of that coming off. In this lock there was a cill and the gate paddle opening was above it. The young man wound the paddle open carefully, a little at a time. (There was no sign of the older bloke today – Mike was very glad to note). Bill paid for the uphill lock. I took some photos of the lock and the memorial to Pope John-Paul (Bill, with his usual dry humour, asked if he used to be the lock keeper here!)  Before we could leave the lock Mike had to clean out the water filter – it was full of weeds – and he released an imprisoned backswimmer. The lad had opened the gate, got bored while we were emptying the filter contents and wandered off back to the lock house on the other side of a large vegetable garden. Round a big sweeping bend, past a wood working factory with masses of ventilators covering its roof. A large chimney near it was sending up black smoke. Before we reached the next lake we tied up under some trees. Bill took Rosy in first and slung a rope around a tree. We came alongside and Mike got a plank off to the bank across Rosy’s bows and went off to secure the stern ends. We’d seen a lady tending a garden, planting some flowers, just a bit further upstream and we thought we might be moored next to her garden, but we couldn’t see a house and no one came to say go away. A small open fishing boat went past later.