Tuesday 15th April 2014 Kossenblatt to S of Beeskow 22.4 kms no locks

The new weir, lock and old lockhouse (old lock has been infilled)

3.8°C Sunny spells, lots of grey clouds but no rain until late afternoon, still breezy which made it feel cold. Set off at 9.30 a.m. backing through the last pair of red and green channel marker buoys, then winding where the weir stream joined the Spree. We set off downstream doing 7.5kph with revs for 5kph which meant the river was flowing well at 2.5kph. In a big field near KP141.5 there were cranes and deer – until the deer started running and the cranes flew off! At KP141 we took a photo of

The weir running well. Kossenblatt. R Spree

the sign that said the depth was only 0.5m. That is disgraceful, making the sign read a metre less than it should to deter boats from doing the last three kilometres to Kossenblatt. Over that 3kms our echo sounder never read any lower than 1.5m. Onwards downriver, meandering gently. Near Briescht there was a herd of cows in a field, all lying down until one spotted the boat, then they all stood up one by one to get a better view. Nosey lot! In the next field there was a flock of black sheep with little black

Must be a lady ostrich?

lambs, all racing around - and a strange big bird, maybe a female ostrich? We wondered, as we went through the wooden liftbridge at Trebatsch, how often it gets lifted, if ever. I made a cuppa as we went through the village and put some baguettes in the oven to cook for Mike’s lunch. As we ran down the last river section before the lake we spotted the canoeist we’d seen the day before, a young man with two small children. We overtook them shortly after we entered Glowersee, which at around 2m deep was shallower than most of the river (3 to 5m deep in places) and now we’d lost the assistance of the flow Mike had to increase revs to keep up an average of 6.5 kph. Followed the buoyed course around the lake, where the canoe could just paddle straight across.

The top end gates of the disused lock at Trebatsch

The wind was stronger out in the open, crossing the lake, but nowhere near as bad as the day before. Through the narrows and into Leissnitzsee, again following a circuitous buoyed channel. There were lots of grebe on the left hand side, fishing by the reed beds and a pair of terns were hunting for lunch along the lake. At the northern end there was a large black-hulled cruiser called Morgendamerung (Dawn) anchored a few metres from the bank. A little further on there was a small cable ferry at Leissnitz on the right bank for taking people (max 10) and bicycles across to the far side. A convenient Imbiss (snack bar) was located by the ferry. The

What a bit of artwork!

lake narrowed and we continued following its buoyed channel north, taking photos of the first goslings we’d seen this year. Mike tried taking photos of the many birds prey that we saw soaring on thermals, but all were too far away for a decent photo. After the village of Kummerow, whose houses had long gardens sloping down to the river, the river became narrower and wilder. We kept our eyes open for a different wild mooring. Tried the east bank but the boat was on the bottom at least a metre from the tree stumps we were aiming for. Carried on

Foot passenger ferry at Leissnitz

downstream until we were within 300m of where we moored last time and found a very large dead tree, lying horizontally across the river, ideal to tie our bows to. We were sheltered from the wind, so Mike slung two anchors off the stern towards the bank and we finished tying up. It was 1.30 pm. There were many wooden stumps just below water level between the boat and the bank, which was a good two metres away – maybe the remains of a former landing stage (had to drop a tyre over one stump that was right next to the side doors) – and the

First goslings this year.

rusting remains of an old engine in the herbage on the bank. In the distance we could hear a tractor, but all other noises were made by birds. Peaceful in the sunshine. Lunch. Showers returned around 4 pm.

Moored with bows tied to another dead tree.