Friday 18th April 2014 Müllrose to Füstenwalde. 28.6kms 1 lock

Sunset the night before at Mullrose

5.4°C Rain with short sunny spells. We set off in the rain at 10 am, winded and headed towards Berlin. A cruiser came out of the lake at Müllrose and turned on to the Oder-Spree-Kanal just a few metres in front of us – he was very soon just a dot in the distance. As we passed the new rocks in the bank at the end of the houses there was an empty commercial coming towards us. The little cruiser went within feet of the bank as it went past him, we stayed half a boat’s length from the bank as usual. It was a

First commercial this year - a Bromberger

Polish Bromberger (no names just a registration number on the bows that started with BM), we waved and the skipper waved back. Our first proper boat of the year! A bit further on there was a fisherman camped at the top of the high bank in the cutting through the forest. Just after 11 am we went past the junction with the Spiesekanal as the rain stopped, briefly, so we put the brolly down. A lone fisherman was standing on the rock edging opposite the junction. Not long after the rain started pouring down again. Brolly back up. About half a kilometre before

Above Kernsdorf lock, note all the cameras

Kersdorf lock there were two fishermen sitting on the bank, set up with about half a dozen rods apiece, their ladies were seated by a small caravan – all smiling and waving. The lock lights were on red. Mike tried the new radio, channel 82 the sign said. No sign of 82 on our new radio, channels 80 and 84 were there, - 81, 82 and 83 were missing! Checked the handbook, they should be there, all were duplex channels. Must read the book in case we’ve set it up wrong somehow. Meanwhile, we started heading for the sport boot mooring to call the lock keeper from the intercom, the lock gates were already open and the lights changed to green and so we changed direction and sailed on into the chamber. There were cameras at both ends of the lock chamber and we deduced that the lock was now remotely operated (where from we had no idea, there was a keeper here last year as they hadn’t quite finished building the lock, ie there was no sport boat mooring to wait on below the lock chamber). I attached our centre rope threading it around a vertical bar in the piled wall. We were next to the emergency phone and a pole with loudspeakers on it. The keeper asked via the loudspeaker if we were continuing through

More working boats on the quay at Fustenwalde

Füstenwalde - no, not today, we’re stopping in the town and going down the lock tomorrow. Had to tell him twice, but we think he understood. Oue new camera refused to take a picture below the lock so I fetched my old Kodak. Mike twiddled the batteries and then it worked, contrary thing, must be the damp. Below the lock on the right there was the entrance to the Kerdorfersee (a long lake stretching northwards) which was not available for motor boats. On the left the Spree joined the canal which becomes the canalised river until Groβe Tränke, where it exits over a weir by the old flood lock as the Müggelspree. I made some lunch. We’d just eaten it when we were overtaken by a smart white yacht called Joker. More

Moored in the old mill arm in Fustenwalde

rain. Two fishermen had camped under the road bridge just before Füstenwalde and they were fishing from a small boat in one of the cut off loops of the river. At the silo quay there were two commercials, a 67m long empty former Czech boat, now called Luckau, who was by the scrap berth and a loaded boat called Lucas (67m x 8.2m, 838 tonnes). We turned right into the weir stream above Füstenwalde lock, went past the WSA moorings and the weir and went into the arm to the old mill. Mike decided to make life easier he’d back out, wind and reverse into the mooring, which was empty. The piled wall was half cabin height and had little bollards along it. There were a few people walking along the river, but not many as it was still raining. Glad to tie up and get warm and dry, very glad we’d relit the coal fire this morning. Mike did an e-mail to the supplier of our new VHF Marine radio, hoping there was something we had done wrong that we could put right to get the missing channels. He’d checked and those three were the only ones missing. What next!