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Northern Light - Kiel - Bornholm



6th July - nautical miles to date 380

We dropped James off at Dusternbrook marina, Kiel, where we had moved to from the British Kiel YC (don’t go there, no bar and no breakfast). The only positive I saw was the very handsome meter yacht which is I believe the last remaining one that the Brits commandeered from Field Marshall Goering in 1945!

Rick and I then motor-sailed in light winds to Warnemunde, at the entrance of the Rostock estuary, a distance of 70 nm to the East. On the way we passed under the bridge connecting Fehman Island passing a forested coastline with lots of sandy beaches. We then stayed for three nights at the Hohe Duene Marina, an impressive development built originally for the unsuccessful German Olympic bid a decade or so ago. The most impressive thing for me was the conference centre, which I thought was an architectural gem.

This Conference Centre was the prestigious first meeting point for the various craft taking part in the 2015 Baltic Arc. Joel and Cecelia from the World Cruising set up shop to sort us all out and explained very clearly how the rally was going to work. Basically they wave us off, and then meet us with a smile when we arrive, and organise us in-between. 

I must say It is a real luxury to be organised in such an efficient manner!

Rick left un Sunday morning, having had a rather frightening experience the previous evening when he went off to take a shower. He walked in to find the showers full of very large naked German sailors, flaunting their dangly bits, which happened to be around about chest height to Rick. He decided on discretion, and beat a hasty retreat to the yacht rather traumatised. 
Therapy may be an option!!

Sunday evening James returned with his 14 year old twins, Will and Olivia, who had just finished their Summer school term. I had forgotten how run down they get by the end of term (my kids left school nearly 10 years ago)
Anyway the next couple of days would soon sort that out!

The rally duly set off from Warnemunde on Monday July 6th as planned, following some windy weather in the previous days, We cast off at 15.30.
The sail to Runne, on Bornholm was about 110 nm., and so we expected to arrive the next morning for breakfast. The wind was about 23 knots from the West, and the sea moderate, and so we expected a lively sail. After a little time the motion got the better of the young and, whilst Olivia chose to deposit the large breakfast that her doting father had supplied her with earlier, over the windward quarter, her brother quite sensibly, opted for the leeward side.

 Any way a little later they felt well enough to polish off the Skipper’s shepards’s pie, following which they retired to their bunks for the remainder of the trip!

The wind dropped to around 12 knots just before midnight but then picked up again to just over 20 knots. We poled out the genoa, and used the jibe preventer on the main (an impressive piece of kit) and had a great downhill run in building seas to Ronne where we arrived at 08.30. At one point the speed indicator registered 9.3 knots, in short 2.5 meter swells. Fastest to date!

7th July - a fun Bar B Q on the quay, memorable amongst other things for !

8th July - hired electric bikes and cycled to Dueodde Point for a swim on the extensive beaches there - about 20 miles each way. Bearing in mind that there were gale force winds from the West throughout the day, it was important to conserve power for the return journey. Well, electric bikes are fantastic as long as they have electricity and guess what happened? We zoomed off in a westerly direction, full of the joys of electric biking, had our swim followed by lunch with a steel band playing. The return was a struggle with two out of four having flat batteries, being ridden by James and I. With about 20km left to go James decided to make an executive decision, and comandeered his son, Will's bike, which was still fully charged - I think that it was something to do with the order in the pride!
Mike





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