Last year we visited the little German town Rendsburg in the Kiel Canal as we sailed home from London and we were happy to meet the friendly harbour master Silke again. Nillas German family; Ule, Volker and the fabulous dog Frido, drove all the way from Erkrath (310miles) and we had a wonderful evening. Our Swedish “friendships”; Modesty and S/SY Skyline had arrived earlier in Rendsburg and it made us feel even more at home. The German customs had a chat with the captain on Modesty and asked if they followed the national requirements of quarantine and called the police and got the answer that the quarantine scheme for Swedish citizens had been eased that morning! We were all very happy to get the news, even before the media. It is a strange feeling to be in a country, even if the Kiel Canal is international water, when you’re not allowed to go ashore.

On the waves of the Baltic Sea, we had our washing machine running, but the generator stopped and later we couldn’t start it again. We contacted the boat mechanics, but the problem is expected to be an electronically one.