Oceans of Hope arrives at Bahnhofskai
Oceans of Hope and her crew have arrived in the heart of Kiel where they have received a warm welcome after completing the first leg of their voyage.
The 20-metre yacht passed the footbridge, Bahnhofsbrüke, which was raised to allow her through into the inner harbour.
Bahnhofskai is a flurry of activity today as final preparations are made for the start of one of Europe's biggest sailing events, Kieler Woche. Oceans of Hope is moored next to a wide range of stalls selling clothing, food and drinks, stages for live music and sea of fluttering flags.
Skipper Kristian Bo Echwald Hansen said that there was a mix emotions amongst the crew overnight: “It has been a night of both joy and sadness as the crew celebrated the end of our first leg but gets ready to say goodbye to four members of the crew. But after a good night’s rest we are all now getting ready to enter Kiel where Oceans of Hope will be at the heart of the action for Kieler Woche.”
The crew were glad for a good sleep after sailing through the night as they approached Kiel the previous night, as you can read from today’s blog written by Lizzie Skovgaard Nielsen describing her very first night watch.
“I was both ready, but also a bit nervous for this night watch – it’s my very first night watch. But it went really well,” Lizzie said.
Oceans of Hope will be berthed in Bahnhofskai until Sunday when she sets sail for Amsterdam, the next port of call on her 61,000km round the world voyage.