Heligoland is a dramatic archipelago thirty miles offshore from mainland Germany. Attractions include incredible natural beauty, extensive seabird life, seal colonies, naval ruins and many excellent restaurants. On our second day in Heligoland, we toured throughout the main island and particularly enjoyed the views and scenery from the cliff tops at the north end. Below…
Hard Top Project, Part 5
The guys are waiting on some material to finish up the mold so they start on the support structure. Spent a whole day building a mock up, measuring and making patterns.Above: Cutting out patterns.Below: “OK it will go like this, right?” Discussing deta…
Happiness is a new Exhaust Elbow
Ten years, 4540 hours and four exhaust elbows, the genny is just fine! Northern Lights has changed the design a bit, new part number. Still a casting so not sure if they have improved the life expectancy. I use a mirror and flashlight and inspect…
Duty-Free at Heligoland
Heligoland, Germany is part of the EU, but is not inside the EU Customs Union or VAT area. The duty-free sale of fuel and luxury items such as alcohol, cigarettes and perfume make up a big part of the island’s economy. This is the reason we’ve stopped here for fuel three times in the past…
Hard Top Project, Part 4
Things are moving along nicely, I knew molds take time to build but I had no idea how much time. The sanding, faring, sealing is endless. Now we are in the late stages, Paul and his team are applying Teflon® release tape to the mold, almost ready to do the layup!
Above: Sand, fair, sand, fair, apply sealant, sand and fair, on and on, big job building a mold.
Below: The brown material you see is a very cool Teflon® release tape. It is called “tape” but actually comes in a large roll. Paul tells me “nothing sticks to it”. I am very impressed with Paul Ammon and his team, Caribbean Carbon Works Ltd. Paul understands what we want, appreciates nice lines and understands functionality. So fun to work with someone who is passionate about their art.
Kiel Canal to Heligoland
From Lake Flemihude, just inside the Kiel Canal, we made a 97-nm run to Heligoland, a small island 30 miles offshore from mainland Germany. Despite adhering to an 8.1-knot speed limit in the canal, the delays in locking through, and an initial negative current in the river Elbe, we got enough positive current later on…
Copenhagen to Kiel
After an excellent week in Copenhagen, we reluctantly departed to continue south towards Amsterdam. Over two nights, with an overnight stop in the Smalandsfarvandet, we ran 153nm to just inside the Kiel Canal at Lake Flemhude. Shortly after departing Denmark and entering Germany, our US registration again attracted an official inspection, this time from the…
Orestad
Copenhagen’s Orestad neighbourhood, southeast of the city center, is known for its spectacular modern architecture, so much so that companies run architectural tours of the area. On our final day in Copenhagen, we made our own architectural tour of Orestad by bicycle. We were really impressed with the modern and innovative architecture, including several by…
Culture Night
We were lucky to be in Copenhagen for the city’s annual culture night, where over 250 museums, churches, theatres, libraries, city buildings and businesses host a public open-house. After going through the list of participants, we selected a tour of the world-wide headquarters of Danish shipping company A.P. Moller – Maersk and the Copenhagen Opera…
