Flood!

Flood on the Rhine

June 1 - June 4

On May 30 it starts raining over Switzerland. It rains, it pours it doesn't stop. Lakes close to the alps like the Thunersee and Sarnersee reach flood marks, the Aare in Bern flows over the banks. And all this water later will reach the Rhine and Basel.

	May 3 - the Rhine water turns brown and runs faster and faster.
	All sorts of objects float by. Wood, not just small branches like this but whole trees, we also see a bed float by, a plastic box with pillows, bottles, ... - you name it!
	The water level in Rheinfelden is used as the base to establish safety for navigation. 3.5 m marks high water level. Above this level no ship with only one engine may pass through Basel without being pulled under the bridges for additional safety. Moored ships are supposed to have an additional forward line and set the anchor.
	May 3 late morning. Level 4.25 is reached and navigation through Basel is closed. The speed of the river is amazing. We especially notice it on the side we are tied up where water rushes between AvantiB and the workshop barge.
	Count the ropes! We are not tied up with four forward lines from the bow, two spring lines from the bow and two additional lines on the stern. We don't set the anchor as we don not have a running engine we can not drive upstream, drop the anchor and fall back. If we would drop the anchor with the current flow it just would be carried back under AvantiB before taking hold. But eight lines should be enough.
	Thursday May 4, 3:30pm - the water level reaches the 4.5 m mark. Navigation between Kembs and Basel is now closed. No traffic on the Rhine for more than a day! We enjoy the peace and quiet, no waves of barges rushing by, just water, water, water .....
	Flood, but the water level drops? Normally the water reaches the top of the stones on the bank, now it is about 1 m lower.
	All the way on the left in the back the Rhine separates into the artificial Grande Canal d'Alsace and the old natural arm. The flow into the natural arm is controlled by a weir. This weir is controlled by the water level in port of Basel. To keep this level constant the Weir (on German land) is opened so that more water flows away from Basel. This additional flow causes the level of the Rhein between Basel and the Märkt-Weir to drop. The century floods of 1999 caused about a 3 m slope for the 3 km between Basel and the Weir. River-rafting anybody? As we are tied up on the side of the boatyards workshop barge the drop in water level won't cause any problems for us.
	Another picture of the Märkt Weir below Weil. The island between the Grande Canal d'Alscae and the old Rhine is a spectacular nature preserve. Many birds and even wild boars.
	Friday May 4, 3:30pm: The race is on! The water level is below 4.5 m and navigation opens! One after the other they race down the Rhine to be the first at the lock at Kembs. Singa, the ship at the right doesn't seem to give a hoot (I rather would have liked to use another word but after all the web site is rated G!) about creating waves and rushes like an ^%$$&^$& Id... . The waves are back!