It’s pretty rare to have easterly winds in Europe and combined with the tidal current going mostly north-south you cannot simply run westward without fighting against wind and tidal current. So we did what most folks do, we went north to Helgoland, so we can wait for north westerly wind to have it on the beam when you go back down towards mainland Germany. The perfect wind came on the 25th but it was the beginning of a serious gale (7bft gusting into 9bft). We were a little afraid how fast we would do the 30 nautical miles. Leaving at high tide at around 7 we had only 6 hours for the stretch before it would become nasty. We made it with style, doing at least 6 knots at all time. But as any sailor would probably agree: Whenever you think something went real nice, Neptune has a card up his sleeve and will show you just hardcore he can be. At Helgoland you traditionally dock in packs. The Island is tiny and there is no space for a big marina. But the harbor is open to the south… and man… we had southerly wind coming up BIG TIME. It was pushing us into our neighbors 50 feet fibre glass boat like crazy. An unpleasant night was awaiting us. I am actually writing as this takes place. Fucking nerve wrecking. You don’t want to fuck up his nice boat, you are real tired. As we write the weather forecast calls it “the first major storm, actually a summer storm, but it makes you feel like fall”. Yeah it does…
