The Elbe-Weser shipping route consists of parts of the Geeste and several canals. The 55-kilometre connection between Bremerhaven and Otterndorf no longer plays a role for commercial shipping - but it does for pleasure craft. Skippers of smaller boats and yachts in particular increasingly appreciate and utilise the idyllic waterway, as it saves them the often difficult route "around".
These skippers will have a problem over the next three years - for as long as A new lock is being built in Otterndorf The waterway cannot be used for the transfer from the Elbe to the Weser or back during this time. Until the waterway is cleared, this journey is only possible "round the outside", i.e. either through the Wurster Watt or across the open North Sea. It is understandable that some small boat skippers in particular have respect for this journey.
The Lower Saxony regional association of the German Motor Yacht Association has worked out a solution in cooperation with the Wadden Sailing Association Soltwaters. From May to August, a convoy between Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven takes place once a month when the tide is right (see below). An area expert from Soltwaters will travel on the first yacht and act as a pilot through the mudflats. The convoys from both directions will meet in Dorum on the Wurster Watt. A stopover will be made there for one night before continuing the next day after an exchange of pilots.
Dates:
Saturday, 18 May
Monday, 17 June
Wednesday, 10 July
Friday, 9 August
Start time:
The convoys from Bremerhaven to Cuxhaven start at 10.30 a.m., in the opposite direction from Cuxhaven the yachts and boats leave at 10 a.m. each day.
Costs:
76 euros per boat and trip.
Further information, including registration details, is available at on the Internet at Motoryachtverband (on the homepage in the download area) and at Soltwaters. Interested parties can also find out more by calling 05404/3041 or contact us by e-mail at: benno@wiemeyer.net.
