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We arrived at the Kiel Kanal at 0700 and then had an hour or so wait before we could get underway, bound for the western end.  The canal cuts off a significant chunk of distance between ports in the northeast and ports in the southwest of Europe.  By providing a path south of Denmark, it eliminates the long route over the north side.  However, it is not a cheap short cut for PRIDE II, as we are paying about $1,200 to pass one way.  But, we are able to go towards Portsmouth almost directly from Copenhagen.  This "short cut" also permits us to run some of the distance to Portsmouth in sheltered waters.  Even so, we need to be careful about our exit out of the canal into the Elbe River and on into the North Sea.  With an ebb current and an up-river breeze of 15 knots or more blowing against the ebb current, the sea swell can become quite large and threatening to PRIDE II's head-rig.  So, I am again looking for weather reports to help decide if we should continue on from the end of the Canal or try and wait out the weather.

PRIDE II Welcomes Government, Business, and Citizens Aboard

Our second stop in Copenhagen was focused on Maryland business.  We spent last Friday going on a day sail with Maryland's Office of Tourism and the Capital Region USA, along with the American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark and mutual friends from the Marriot Copenhagen and Icelandair.  Sadly, it was a wet and cold sail.  But we compensated with the mid-ship awning and were able to actually sail out of the harbor under square topsail. 

On Friday, we also had a late afternoon reception with Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED).  Dennis Castleman, Assistant Secretary for DBED's Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts, was in attendance along with his Maryland Tourism staff, the American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark, and again Marriot Copenhagen and Icelandair.

On Sunday we had an "all American" event on board with T. Rowe Price.  They arranged for a "barbecue" complete with a soft ice-cream machine.  PRIDE II's crew got a kick out of that!

Otherwise, the second visit to Copenhagen was pretty Pride, Inc. "mission usual" for the crew.  After the day's work was complete, the crew was free to go ashore.  But this time, there was the extravagance of access to rooms and other hotel amenities at the Marriot, such as the sauna and the exercise room.  This was an especially welcome benefit, at a really good time - between hard work finished and hard work to come.  It also gave everyone something to do that did not cost an arm and a leg.  It took them off of the ship without forcing them to "go into town" merely to escape the intimate conditions aboard PRIDE II.

PRIDE of Copenhagen?

A funny thing happened on the way out of Copenhagen yesterday.  For the events with Maryland State agencies and their friends in Europe, PRIDE II was docked way up a canal and through two bridges that split and join the city of Copenhagen.  The bridges are not high enough for PRIDE II to go under, so operators needed to lift them.  The trick here is that there is supposed to be a 3 week reservation, in advance, to open them.  Apparently, the bridges are not manned.  So, Pride, Inc. made a reservation, with the help of friends in Copenhagen, and everything worked smoothly from the start.  I did not even have to call the bridges when we arrived.  The time was preset and we were right there and up they went.  But when we went to depart Copenhagen yesterday, bound for England, there were no bridge operators.

I spent some time fumbling around, trying to figure out how to talk to the authorities - starting with the radio and then moving to the cell phone.  In the end, the Danish authorities confirmed that the arrangements had been made, but that "something went up" and caused the delay.  But, they were down to lift the bridges in half an hour, so, no harm done.  It was amusing to contemplate becoming the "PRIDE OF COPENHAGEN."

So, here we are, between ports again.  We must be in Portsmouth, England, next Monday, and have nearly 600 miles to go, which is not an aggressive schedule - although we are faced with prevailing winds against us.  But, summer is beginning to take hold, so those winds may not be as strong as they could be.  I can only hope.  So far, we were able to sail nearly all of the way from Copenhagen to the Kiel Canal.  We will need to motor from the canal down the Elbe River, into the North Sea, and into an area called the German Bight (this is an area notorious for heavy sea conditions).  I am contemplating lingering at the west end of the canal for a while to await "decent" weather.  This is a decision I will need to make by mid-day.

Cheers,
Captain Miles