Date: 28. September 2021
Author: Lotte, Alina (WL)
Position: Brunsbüttel, Hafen
Geographical Position: 53°54.105N , 09°09.426E
Etmal: 54.6 NM (total distance: 54.6NM)
Today was a special day because we left the harbour for the first time. At nine o´clock we left our dock in Kiel and had perfect conditions to get out of the harbour and into the Kiel Channel.
Paula and I (Alina) got into the rib with Ellie in order to take off the mooring lines that kept the ship in place. Paula climbed up a pillar that was covered in birdsh*t and took off the mooring line. Afterwards, we gave the ship a gentle push so it moved away from the land.
Then we picked up the linesmen who had been left in the harbour and drove back to the Pelican. Because of a special tradition the youngest person on the ship gets to steer the vessel first. In our case it was Luise. After Luise, I (Lotte) volunteered to drive the Pelican into the channel.
Shortly before the locks, a guide came to help us navigate through the channel. He and the captain gave the orders and I executed them by steering the ship in the course they told me. It is quite fun to be at the helm but you have to react to orders quickly especially if you’re about to drive into a rather small channel for the first time with hardly any practice.
We then drove into a lock and into the channel that had trees and red brick houses on either sides. On starboard side there was a bike and hiking-trail and a lot of people waved and took pictures of the Pelican. There were a few container ships and also smaller sailing yachts.
Later in the day we practiced knot tying and also had a small competition to test the gained knowledge. The weather was still perfect and so we spent the entire afternoon outside reading and listening to music and accommodating to the new motion of the ship.
In the later evening we arrived in another port in Brunsbüttel where we will stay the night to get shelter from the bad weather on the north sea. We will stay here until it’s safe to drive into the open sea and do some sailing.
