can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Jennie B - UK to Kiel the slow way



Jennie B left Woolverstone on the River Orwell in Suffolk on the east coast of the UK at dawn on the 4th May and arrived in Kiel on the evening of the 4th of July. That's 570 slow but interesting nautical miles in two months.

We are specialists in slow sailing, having set off in 2008 to sail clockwise round the UK and Ireland - six years later we are yet to completely finish that circumnavigation! For most of that time we could only manage 2 or 3 week stints and we included 3 years on the beautiful west cost of Scotland. We had our first introduction to the spirit of the ARC rallies there when we coincided with the Classic Malts Cruise several times in Tobermory on Mull.

From Woolverstone we crossed the North Sea to Ostend with a great sail the next day to Vlissingen, entering the Dutch canals and using the Standing Mast Route to Delfzijl in northern Holland. If you are not in a rush taking this route is a great way to explore the Netherlands. Along the way we met several friendly Dutch sailors heading for the Kiel Canal. They helped us with pilotage through the shifting sands of the Waddenzee to Norderney - at one point we had 5 cm under the keel and we only draw 1.4m! After a couple of days socialising and exploring Norderney while waiting for the sea to subside, we headed for Brünsbottel and our entry into the Kiel Canal.

We've not spent all of the last two months sailing - we left the boat in the excellent RVR marina in Rendsburg just off the Kiel canal while we went home for a month. Returning at the beginning of July we motored the final few miles on the canal, out back into salt water and to Schilksee marina with a lovely downwind sail for the last few miles - nice to get the sails out again! Here we eagerly await the start of this first ARC Baltic rally with the rest of the assembled boats and crews.

Paul & Elaine


Previous | Next