August 25 just 20 miles away from Vienna

Written by Jack van Ommen on August 25th, 2010

I am 270 kms further since my last blog from Passau. Tomorrow I will be in Vienna. Today I made it to Danube k.m. 1963, in Tulln. Monday nigth I anchored at k.m. 2170 near Untermuehl. The moorage charges inn the marinas are steep. In Heining, by Passau, I paid 20 Euro. Tonight it is 21 Euroes. In Holland for an overnight it was usual nine Euro. So, I will be doing more anchoring. Anchoring is the best way to spend the night. Even with the wakes of passing traffic it is gentler on the boat than being tied up to a moorage. With the current the direction of the the scope is predictable. Last night I tried to go into a marina at Grein that was supposed to have a 2.5 meter draft, according to my cruising book, but I got stuck in the entrance and I doubt it was any deeper than 1.5 mtr. So, I just put the hook down at the city river front. See the below picture.  The scenery has been changing from  rolling hills to Alpine foothills to relatively flat country. Monday night,at Intermuehl I was surrounded by fairly steep hills. It was raining most of the night. Dark and still. I blew my Solomon Islands conch shell it echoed through the canyon and I was anticipating a reply by an Alpenhorn. Today, from the very scenic old city of Melk, there was a lot of river cruise boat traffic. This is a very scenic part and has a long stretch without locks, so ideal for river boats. But I have never ever encountered rougher water in all the oceans I have sailed. These river mavericks have absolutely no concern for any other traffic and plow a wake that keeps bouncing back and forth from the banks for ever. I took water through the hatch. The inside of the boat was a mess. I hobby horsed for ever and it just killed my forward motion even with the following current because these waves are so close together and so steep, unlike the barge traffic. Yesterday, while waiting for my turn to enter a lock, a cruise boat came out and threw a wake that threw the boat violently against the assigned mooring.  The next worst offenders are the careless stink potters who should be forced to install rear view mirrors to at least watch the mess they create. I keep meeting just great people. In Heining, another boater in the marina had this perfect anchor light kerosene storm lantern. I mentioned that I had been looking for one. The next day he left it for me and a bottle of kerosene. Albrecht, from Goettingen, and his Norwegian friend Stein, were done with their cruise. And then they also gave me their complete set of courtesy flags for the ten countries on the Danube. I believe I have finally parted company from the Austrian couple on “”Oliver””. Josef and Margiet. I saw their boat yesterday in a new marina in Vilshofen. My right eye is very slow healing and the vision remains blurred. But is draining less than before.

I am not planning to spend much time in Vienna and will probably not spend the weekend there.

 

2 Comments so far ↓

  1. Jo Walder says:

    Jack – I am a friend of Evert Slijper’s (since 1974)from Eugene, Oregon and have been following your travels daily since the middle of your Vietnam trip.

    I have also read all of your previous entries. I am following your current trip with a map.

    Thank you for sharing your stories with those of us who have never been to Europe but dream of someday doing just that! And thank you for the wonderful pictures!

    Jo Walder

  2. jackvanommen says:

    Thanks Jo,
    That makes even the recent struggles worthwhile afterall.