Heatstroke while waiting at the gate.

This was a rather boring day until the liberation came! I took my time to start, since there wasn't much distance to cover until reaching the exit. And there was next to nothing worth noting until I reached the approach of the lock. There I tied up to the waiting dock, and waited and waited. I overheard on the VHF that they were waiting for some commercial vessels to get in before preparing a lock for the recreational people like me. So I waited for about 2–3 hours… not much else to do but listening to music, playing some a bit, reading and cooking. Gosh, it was warm there and not any hint of shade… Of course, when the lock opened for us, everyone rushed in! There was quite a pack of sailboats and tiny motorboats all waiting to get through.

It was a bit funny on the other side. I hadn't quite decided what to do for the night. But when seeing a few other solo-sailors all eager to set sails to wash some of the canal's frustration on some salty sails (one of them even hoisted main and genoa in the lock while being untied and just floating in the middle of it), I immediately joined in! Soon enough the 4-5 of us were running close-hauled north bound to different places. One or two turned to Laboe, I then lost sight of another, and I finished the “race” on my own. It was a shortish sail but with nice gusts and there was a feeling of last day at school. Everyone leaving the lock being just very happy to be under sail and everyone waiting more than necessary to put reefs because it felt good to feel the boat heel quite some 😅. Upon arriving in Strande, it was a bit of a tricky challenge to find a spot for me and Elvira, but it worked out in the end.

More encounters with those massive stuff

Yeeeeeheeeeee sailing! (and heeling!)