The return trip to the Netherlands takes a special turn halfway through. Never a dull moment as a long distance sailor ☺️. Now, sailing back from Sweden is always a challenge because of finding a good weather hole with prevailing winds from the south-west. But we are going to have some more challenges. More on that later.
We leave Stenungsund as soon as Eline has disembarked. As there is no clear weather hole for the time being for upstream Denmark or via the Limfjord, we choose to go back via the German Bight. The next few days the weather will be fine to sail south and go through the NOK channel. After that we'll see, since that is the route we need, at least, for the smallest weather hole in this unstable summer.
The first few hours of sailing were great. Before nightfall we put the engine on and quietly sailed through the night west of Anholt. The next day the wind is slightly against us but with a flat sea it is no problem to sail against the wind with the engine on. I go to bed in time to catch up on the sleep of the last few nights where I slept less. Around midnight we approached the entrance to Kiel and navigated together between all the illuminated barges and away from the big ships towards the entrance of the canal. Around 2:30 we find a spot along the quay at Holtenau. Time to sleep for a few hours.
Not for long, because at 6:30 the alarm clock is up again. Together with two large ships and four sailing boats, we go through the lock into the canal at dawn. In beautiful sunny weather, we cruised the 90 km through the canal and went through the lock at Brunsbüttel into the Elbe at around 3 p.m. We were moored in the yacht lock next to the canal. We moored in the yacht lock next to a large ship with a number of sailing boats. It fits exactly. Against the current we motored the 15 nm to Cuxhaven. There we tie up for a moment to refuel and we sail on immediately. The wind increases to bft 5-6 against us, but around 21 hours it should be less. We sail on the engine out of the mouth of the Elbe with the beginning of the current. Occasionally strong waves, but it is not too bad. It only became annoying when we were completely out of the Elbe estuary at around 11 p.m. and the wind did not really abate and the waves were rather higher. Are we going to continue like this on the engine against the wind through the night and the next day? We don't like that and it's asking a lot from the boat. What are the options? We don't want to go back. To Bremerhaven? That's not really ideal with the currents and shallows. Maybe we could go to Helgoland? That is 15 nm north of us and easy to sail in any type of weather, even in the middle of the night. When the huge tide with big rollers continues, the decision is quickly made. We turn north and sail another two hours on half wind through this annoying tidal sea. The wind has decreased, but the high waves remain until close to the entrance of Helgoland. Fortunately, that entrance is well beaconed with lighted buoys and two guiding lights. A few more minutes and we'll be sailing into Helgoland's sheltered outer harbor. There we have the space to take down the sails, hang up the fenders and prepare the lines. We sailed into Südhaven and moored next to a row of four larger ships. The neighbors were still awake at 2:15 a.m. (and had consumed some alcohol) to take our lines. How happy we are to be moored ☺️☺️. Quickly to bed to get a few more hours of sleep.
Well, and then suddenly you're on Helgoland. We never looked into it before. It's a real little German island with an interesting wartime past. With high, slowly crumbling cliffs on the northwest side, home to a large colony of Gannets. On top of the island there is always wind. Few permanent residents, many tourists in vacation homes and even more tourists for a day trip with the ferry. Nice to walk around and experience a day. But also nice to continue towards Borkum, on the way home, when the wind is very light the next day. At least, that is the plan. But then when we sail away it turns out that there is something wrong with the propeller. With a little more power, the whole boat starts to shake. Is there something wrong? We moor again and Toine dives under the boat. To his horror he sees that 1 of the 3 blades is missing. This is not good, we can't go on like this 😥.
Now what? We have a spare propeller, but we have to be able to get out of the water to put it on. That is not possible here. The next few days we have nowhere to go because of a big storm coming in. So we have plenty of time to think of alternatives. Our friendly German neighbors are thinking along. Would a diver be able to find the blade and could we then reassemble it? What is the nearest port where we can get out and fully sail?
We find a diver from the marina who is willing to go looking. Miraculously, he finds the leaf after looking around for a while and rooting in the mud. What a hero 😃💪. By now we also know from inspection of the propeller that the blade fell out because the retaining pin broke. Part of the pin is still in there. Also the locking pin is still there. This is strange and not possible according to the manufacturer of the Gori propeller. The pin is put in at the factory with a triple lock. That can't break. At least, that has never happened 🥲.
The nearest port where we can get out with our size boat and sail independently is IJmuiden. Then we need good sailing wind for 180 nm. Bremerhaven would also be possible, but we cannot get there independently with currents, shallows and shipping. The supplier of the Gori prop has urgently sent us a pin. Perhaps we can mount the blade underwater with the help of the diver. We'll wait it out and get back to work. The boat's 4G connection is too poor, but we manage to connect to the hotspot on our phones. In the meantime, the wind is strong and we are sloshing around on the lower shore. Fortunately, the strongest wind is from the front.
It is very unclear where the sent pen is and how soon it will be delivered. In the meantime, a reasonable weather hole has presented itself. So we decide to just sail to IJmuiden and when the wind is a bit too weak, to use the engine in a very low setting. In the harbor we can reach a speed of about 2 knots without the boat resonating, we noticed. And so we set sail on Thursday morning, August 19. During the day things went very well. We can sail close to the wind with full sails and while cruising we make reasonably good progress. It gets worse in the evening when the wind gets less and less, the current is against us and a click of the engine forward has no effect at all in these kinds of current areas with a sea swell. What now? How much speed can we make in the coming days and will we make it to IJmuiden? It's not going to happen this way, so we need help to be towed into a harbour. We are so helpless without a functioning engine. And that can also be dangerous in these current areas with shipping and shallows. What is the right thing to do? We consult KNRM for maritime assistance at sea, because it is not an emergency. In consultation, we come to the conclusion that the best place for us to be helped is from Eemshaven. Moments later, a KNRM boat is on its way to tow us to the Eemshaven in the wee hours of the night. What a top service ☺️👍👌. In the middle of the night these men are selflessly ready to help. A lot of respect! Fortunately, we have been loyal donors for many years. We just give them one more donation.
Well, and then we are in Eemshaven. Now what? Time to call the insurer. The surveyor comes up with a creative solution to have a crane come and lift our back end out of the water so we can change the propellers from the water. The crane is arranged very quickly, it can be there in two hours. In consultation with the port authority we are assigned a place where the crane can be and we get help from a boat to reach the propeller. We have good contact with Paul from Nova to give advice. What an exciting operation 😧.
Moments later, the crane is ready, the tires are attached and the back of the SeaQuest is lifted out of the water. It squeaks and creaks and there are considerable forces on the lines that we have brought from the tires to the center bollards. Toine decides to work with wetsuit and flippers on. It's not going to work out with the boat underneath, and what if the boat falls out of the tires? Then it's better to be under it swimming than with a boat. Parts 1 and 2 of disassembling go very quickly. But part 3 (taking the sleeve off) is much more difficult. Toine even uses a grinder to saw through the sleeve of the screw. But even if he saws it through there is no movement at all. By now the bearing is becoming water and it is not a nice construction to hang in for a long time. We give up, unfortunately 😞😞. But what nice and helpful people here in the most north-eastern part of the Netherlands 😃.
All we can do is wait for a good wind to sail the 130 nm to IJmuiden. On Saturday we have a quiet day. We are moored on a fine jetty with water and electricity. Next to us there are two pilot boats that regularly sail out. We are checked by customs and a little later by the military, who ask us why we are here, because there is never a sailing boat here. We keep the port authority well informed and fortunately are allowed to stay until there is a good wind. We cycle the 6 km to Spijk where the nearest supermarket is and even go to the hairdresser there 😎. Meanwhile we study the weather and the tidal current. We can leave tomorrow afternoon right after the thunderstorm front or the day after. Tomorrow the wind will be more favourable to sail out of the Eems estuary, but stronger at sea. A day later there is a little less wind but it will be more difficult to sail out on the high wind. So we go tomorrow.
A small boat from the port authority escorted us out of Eemshaven, just to be sure. But we can do it ourselves with the sails and the current. It's no problem at all to sail out of the whole Eemsmonding with half wind bft 3-4 and 2-3 knots of current along 😃. Once out at sea the wind comes from behind and it is bft 5-6 the whole trip to IJmuiden. The first half along the Wadden Islands there is a thick bft 6 with considerable sea swell. The second half along the coast to the south a low bft 6 and occasionally 5 with a slightly calmer sea. We sail with the sails in clover, main with reef 2 and a bullet jib, and genoa with reef 2 on the boom. The SeaQuest is doing great, it sails so very controlled with a wonderful speed. But for us it is a tough trip rolling off the waves with little sleep. Halfway through we have to jibe ... that means changing everything and a storm lap; that takes us half an hour. Fortunately, we are on a good course for IJmuiden. In the meantime it has become clear and the moon, which is still almost full, is not dark at all. After the jibe I sleep 2 hours and then Toine 1,5 hour. At half past 7 we sail into the piers of IJmuiden. Now we have to moor in the crane's box in the marina with this wind and very little engine power. That is exciting for a moment but fortunately it goes very well. We feel a huge relief that we are here ☺️☺️.
Half an hour later we are already on the shore. Removing the screw is difficult. The grinder is used again. With some help from the shipyard and the right tools we finally succeed. Toine would never have managed that in the water. Mounting the spare screw is a piece of cake. Three hours later we are back in the water. What a top service from this shipyard and for very little cost 👍😃.
We decide to sail straight on to Rotterdam. The sun is shining and the wind is still bft 5-6 from behind. We set up the familiar cloverleaf position again and sail south at high speed with the tide. Once we reached the Nieuwe Waterweg canal, the tide turned and we were on our way again. Six hours later we moored in the Veerhaven harbour in Rotterdam. We had a delicious meal at Loos and fell asleep at 9.30 p.m. The next day, after a day's work, we sailed the last stretch back to Bruinisse. It's great that the tide and all the locks are with us 😃. And so we are back in our home port exactly 9 weeks after our departure to Sweden. It is a return trip full of obstacles but it gives us a lot of confidence that we have overcome them together in a good way 💪😃😊.