We were sailing the 35 nautical mile leg from Norderney to Borkum with already so familiar north wind. In Borkum we initially tried to enter the first marina on the left side. When the depth was two metres we quickly reversed out and continued towards the next harbour.
There are piers for both the pleasure crafts and the commercial vessels in the harbour of Burkana. At first it looked that all the boat berths are occupied and we were circling around. Then we noticed the harbourmaster who showed us a berth at a floating ship pontoon where we moored her alongside. This pier did not have electricity or water and the car tires which surely will make black streaks on our fenders but the place was well protected. The lack of services was not any problem to us because we were going to continue next day unless the wind is getting stronger.
The evening in Borkum became fun. When we went to pay the harbour fee the harbourmaster Heiko was invitating us to join a barbecue evening. After the windy day at sea it was so nice to sit down in a sheltered back yard together with the German and the Dutch sailors. Delicious grilled stakes and potato salad was quickly washed down with a dose of good German beer. At the same time we were chatting with other sailors and were following the Borkum – Helgoland regatta from the Marinetraffic web site. Latter was possible because all the participants had AIS tranceivers.
Thanks a lot to you, Jackie and Heiko, for a cozy evening at the Hafencafe Burkana. Such a joint barbecue evening was a nice surprise. We were really happy that only a day before we made a change to our route and decided to stop in Borkum on our way to Vlieland.
