Travelogue: the Elbe River 

Germany – August 26
Date and time: 26.08.25
Location: LAT 53.52°, LON 09.06°
SOG (speed over ground): 9.3 knots
Wind: 6 knots

We are on the Elbe River, making our way slowly into Hamburg harbor. The passage takes about ten hours and requires three different pilots. One joined us last night, but after three hours he turned us back to the anchorage, as there was not enough draft for us to pass through.

This morning at 09:30 another pilot came aboard. We lifted anchor at 10:00, and he will leave us again at 15:00. A new pilot will then take us to the edge of Hamburg harbor, where yet another will guide us to our berth at Hansaport Pier 3.

I have spent most of the day sitting on one of the bridge wings, watching the landscape slide by on either side. I may have had too much sun, but it has been fantastic to see the land so close after so many days at sea.