Short Watt Trip

Short Watt Trip

Moin!

You have to take advantage of such great weather as we had this year in September, I thought to myself, and that's why I went on a trip with MISS MARPLE for a few more days. I already had the 'big Baltic Sea trip' in the summer (see Baltic Sea 2020). As a person from Bremen with a boat mooring on the Lesum, only a short trip on the North Sea was an option for me. Some people simply go to Heligoland quickly with their great RIBs. I can't keep up with them. That won't work with displacement speed. But there's also the Wadden Sea - a beautiful, if also quite demanding, area - as they say. Long story short: my trip went from Bremen via Elsfleth and Bremerhaven to Hooksiel and Wilhelmshaven - and back. There are three possible routes to choose from:

1. Down the Weser shipping lane - almost to the open North Sea, then hard to port and up the Jade. With clever planning and taking advantage of the tidal currents, it can be done in one day. But it has to fit into the schedule. It's about 50 nautical miles from Bremerhaven to Wilhelmshaven, assuming you take the 'middle channel,' a little shortcut for pleasure boats.

2. Down the Outer Weser, like above, this time only to buoy '31,' then hard to port into the marked Fedderwarder Priel. At buoy 'F11,' the Prickenweg branches off - over the Wattenhoch to Kaiserbalje and to the Jade. It's about 30 nautical miles from Bremerhaven to Wilhelmshaven.

3. The shortest way goes through the Wremer Loch, Mittelpriel, and Kaiserbalje. There are two Wattenhochs to cross, first between Wremer Loch and Mittelpriel, and then the Wattenhoch between Fedderwarder Priel and Kaiserbalje (see above). This must be taken into account when planning. I had decided on this route. The destination port was Hooksiel, distance from Bremerhaven about 24 nm.

We set off on Saturday, September 11th, around noon from the mooring on the Lesum - in bright sunshine, 20 degrees Celsius, and a gentle westerly wind. Actually, we wanted to stop in Elsfleth, so we quickly went up the Hunte and checked: Oh no! There was nothing left in the city harbor, some boats were already moored in groups of three at the pier. We hadn't experienced that here before either. - But we are flexible and decide to go straight to Bremerhaven. That worked well too: At exactly 4:30 p.m. we were in front of the fishing port lock in the mouth of the Geeste and could go straight into the lock. Known (pub) lock rule: Half in and full out. ;-)

In Bremerhaven, there is also the chic Lloyd Marina 'Im Jaich' in the (Old) New Harbor. You are centrally located and have all the comforts. And within walking distance of the well-known attractions: Klimahaus, Zoo am Meer, Auswandererhaus, Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum - we know them all, and that's why we also like to be quiet and secluded in the middle of nature in the North Sea Marina in the fishing port, below the old Brinkamahof lighthouse.

We had to study the tide calendar for the trip to Hooksiel. The next day, Sunday, wasn't so convenient, we would have had to get up very early to get along reasonably. So we just hung around for another day in Bremerhaven and didn't leave until Monday: The 7:00 a.m. lock was almost all ours. Only the floating crane ATHLET was already on the move so early. Then we went against the ebb current for two hours until buoy 43. We follow the 'iron rule' for the Watt trip: Only pass Wattenhochs with rising water! For us, that meant: The second Wattenhoch in front of the Kaiserbalje must be reached shortly before high tide.

We found the entrance to the Wremer Loch without any problems: There are sea marks, buoys, and shortly afterwards you can already see the three pricks standing close together: The entrance to the Prickenweg. This goes in a winding way to the Mittelpriel, where you come back into deep water. You can orient yourself by buoys and pricks, then reach the Fedderwarder Priel, from which, as mentioned above, the Prickenweg branches off to the Kaiserbalje. We also found this waypoint without any problems. In the Kaiserbalje, you come back into deep water, and soon you have 'made it' and are in the deep water fairway of the Jade. The journey along the pricks is really fun, even if sometimes you have to look a bit closely: Where is the next prickle? It was the end of the season, and some pricks had already suffered a bit or were missing altogether. But all in all, not a problem.

We reached Hooksiel around noon. Unfortunately, too late for the 11:00 a.m. lock. So we had to wait until 2:00 p.m. In the pre-harbor there are few options for mooring, and if there are any, only at the sheet pile wall - which is not so easy with the tide change! We still tried it, but after an hour we were annoyed by the endless letting out of lines (the water falls rapidly!) and spent our time 'on drift' in the large harbor basin.

At exactly 2:00 p.m., the lock opened, a few pleasure boats left, and we were allowed to enter right away. There was almost a tie between inside and outside: hardly had the lock gate closed behind us, the gate opened in front of us and we drove out. - This is followed by a calm ride a few kilometers through an almost lake-like landscape to the Hooksiel city harbor. There we found a nice berth at the quay. Supplies OK. Restaurant right above on the quay wall. What more could you want?

In downtown Hooksiel, there is quite a bit of activity: Tourism is apparently flourishing. We treat ourselves to delicious ice cream at the Italian place.

The next day, Wednesday, September 15th, we move to Wilhelmshaven. We use the 11:00 a.m. lock in the pre-harbor of Hooksiel, pay our lock fee (15 euros for in and out), and set our course up the Jade. Past industry, the Jade-Weser-Port (where not a single container ship lies), passing the breakwaters to the lock pre-harbor to go to the ships of the 'Grey Funnel Line' (Navy ships) - and finally mooring at high water at a floating dock in the 'Nassauhafen' at the Wilhelmshavener Segel-Club. Here you are in a good and inexpensive location - and have the advantage of not being dependent on locks, but being able to sail out at any time (unless you foolishly chose one of the 'edge' berths that almost dry up at low tide. But of course, that didn't happen to us!). In the afternoon, we explore the Wilhelmshaven pedestrian zone - which is not significantly different from others in other German cities. During the walk, we pass by the monument of 'Old' Emperor Wilhelm, who gave this city its name. It goes without saying that a photo must be taken.

I had actually planned a trip to Varel for Thursday, September 16th. Yes, really, Varel has a harbor and can be reached by larger boats with the tide. Unfortunately, the weather didn't play along: Fog, poor visibility, and later strong winds. A boat friend from the neighboring jetty in Wilhelmshaven warned me: With strong winds, the Jade Bay is an extremely unfriendly area. - Well, we prefer not to take any chances.

Return trip to Bremerhaven on September 17th, 2020

Map and tide calendar have to be consulted extensively again. We plan so that we still have a rising tide at the 'second' Wattenhoch, between Mittelpriel and Wremer Loch. We leave the Nassauhafen at 10:00 a.m. Miss Marple fights her way through, against the current and wind, down the Jade. At 11:40 a.m., at buoy 'K2,' we turn into the Kaiserbalje. Here we have the ebb current behind us and make up to 8 kn speed (WOW!) Shortly afterwards, we turn into the Prickenweg over the Wattenhoch at buoy 'K8' and reach the deep water in Fedderwarder Priel half an hour later. Now we continue - as usual, only in reverse - to the Mittelpriel, all marked and in deep water - until we cross the second Wattenhoch - perfectly timed - shortly before high tide. We still have a good while the current from behind on the Outer Weser and can therefore register for the 'Neuer Hafen' lock passage at the lock 'Im Jaich' after just one hour (on the outbound trip against the current, it took us two hours). So this time 'Im Jaich' - the fishing port lock had a lot to do and threatened us with a long waiting time. - In the afternoon, we take a walk in Old Bremerhaven. 'Siri' recommended the café 'Petit Four' on Prager Straße. We tried it, and? Well, quite nice. Plenty of good cake. Okay coffee. Better than nothing. ;-)

September 18th, 2020 Return trip to Bremen (Lesum)

Uneventful trip in beautiful weather up the Weser - with the flood current - to Bremen. It's always amazing: the sandy river banks on the Weser still exist. You just have to be there at the right time. ;-) And we even saw a fishing boat, with nets spread out, at anchor in the current - does it really still catch anything? Probably the last Weser fisherman. - We moor again at the mooring on the Lesum at coffee time. But it didn't turn into a coffee break: when I turned off the engine, I heard a humming sound - and a suspicious splashing from the depths of the boat. The humming was the fresh water pressure pump. Oh no! Somewhere there must be a leak in the water line, and the pump diligently pumped the entire water tank empty. I now have the water in the bilge. So, have fun! :((

Conclusion:

A nice, interesting tour. Navigatorically somewhat demanding, but that's what makes it so appealing. Next time, I would like to plan more time to visit Wangerooge and possibly other East Frisian Islands.

On request 'What is a Wattenhoch?': Here I am adding three screenshots from the navigation program. Wattenhochs are the shallowest points on the Wattweg, where you can only cross over during high tide. At low tide, there is land there!