No internet outside Sweden

Hello to you all! I have not been able to log into this blog since I left Sweden. My internet access became totally useless. So now I have changed provider and also got a new phone number. My trip so far has been very much fun and sailing down to the German coast I had mostly fair, following winds. Since then, when I got to Germany, the winds have been a bit less in my favour. I sailed from Ystad to Klintholmen, DK. From there to Gedser, Denmark and on into Germany through the Fehnmarn sound. When I got to Kiel, it was just the end of Kieler Woche, big sail event with many square rigged ships… It was fabulous, and my last night in Holtenau, Kiel was celebrated with an amazing “over the top” fireworks show of the city of Kiel. Then on through the Kiel canal, where I met strong headwinds, had to drive the engine hard and hide under the leeward shores. When I made it out of the canal, sailed on to Cuxhaven, with following strong outgoing tide. 11 knots speed over ground at the Cuxhaven harbour entrance. Tricky to go in the right hole.

Then, as I sailed from Cuxhaven to Norderney it was very foggy, lots of merchant shipping and hit by two really heavy thunderstorms on the way. I had to heave to twice for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. Then sailed on until I got to Norderney in the dark of night. While there, I stayed 5 days, hard westerly winds (no boats came in, none left the shelter of the harbour). And then I had decided to sail on Wednesday. No way, wednesday morning the storm Poly hit hard. It was near hurricane force 7 (55+ knots winds) and everybody got a beating, even in harbour. Isabell was not damaged, only one bolt of a solar panel went missing and some shaving on the lines (triple lines). Already fixed. But there were some boats that had slipped their moorings and were heavily damaged. I continued over the Waddensee to Delfzijl, The Netherlands, where I entered the Dutch standing mast route. That’s where I am now. From there I visited Groningen, Zoutkamp, Dokkum, Leeuwarden and am now in Sneek. It is hot and muggy, still windy fron the west or southwest, but I am well and enjoying the ride… Until next time.