Leaving the harbour under sail

2 July 2014

Captain Bernt:
“Around 3AM, when the first daylight came trough, we left Helgoland. Under sail we sailed away from the harbour, and straight into the first rain. Depending on the wind, we sailed about 3,5 mile in 3 hours. It was clear to us that this wasn’t the best way to go, so we started the engine to help us a bit. When we came around the windmills above Borkum, as expected the wind turned and we didn’t have to use the engine anymore! With 9,2 knots we crossed the traffic seperation scheme. With decreasing winds, we sailed calmly through the night. The morning after we were still running about 5 knots and luckily the stream helped us going around Texel, so while the sun was shining, we sailed into the Marsdiep. Because we succeeded to anchor under sail in Den Helder, the captain gave us a round of Brandy! This is the deal when the ship leaves the harbour under sail and anchors under sail in the next harbor.”