Rhine water levels 2021 and similar topics

[texasmomoftwo]

23 hours ago, notamermaid said:

No news is good news - so here is the bad news. The level at Kaub is again down to 72cm, this time a more lasting low, since lunchtime. I am beginning to sound like talking about a patient. Not so serious yet that I think it will interrupt sailing - as mentioned before, that is impossible for me to say exactly when that happens - but I expect it to slow ships down, not pleasant sailing in the dark that is for sure, even with radar and modern equipment. Oh, yes, and the forecast being based on the current low does not make for good reading - between 72cm and 68cm from now till Saturday evening.

 

By the way, after having seen what it is like to sail in the dark in a demonstration, yup, in a wheelhouse; captains have my utmost admiration for interpreting all that data, the points, the blobs and the lines on that screen, which I find impossible to fathom out what they are.

 

notamermaid

 

Notamermaid

 

Thank you for the update!
What is the desired level?  Can you please remind me?  

 

At what level does AMA (specifically Ama in my case) have to bus people.  It looks like we should be getting rain in the next few days?  Hopefully that will help?

[notamermaid]

6 hours ago, FLGators#1 said:

Thanks for all your time and information!

My pleasure. Here is the update: 73cm. The level went briefly down to 68cm this morning but has picked up. The forecast is slightly more favourable, 73cm to 77cm, it is unlikely to get over 80cm before Monday, though.

 

4 hours ago, texasmomoftwo said:

Notamermaid

 

Thank you for the update!
What is the desired level?  Can you please remind me?  

 

At what level does AMA (specifically Ama in my case) have to bus people.  It looks like we should be getting rain in the next few days?  Hopefully that will help?

 

At 78cm the navigation channel has a reliable depth of 1.90m in the Rhine Gorge around Kaub. This does not mean a ship cannot sail if you read 1.90m in a description of a ship. It is entirely up to crew and river cruise company to give you such direct info of what the impact will be. I can only ever be approximate. We can from past years reasonably assume that 55cm is too low for sailing for many ships that are 135m. This is as close as I can be to a figure. A desired level for sailing that is comfortable in a navigational sense I would say around 90cm, anything above that is better. Again, this can only be approximate. As the level gets lower the navigation channel also gets narrower which creates additional difficult stretches and potential bottlenecks with ships not being allowed to pass each other. Something we saw near Karlsruhe - and continue to see as the traffic regulation has been extended till 9 December. Remember that all other sections of the river, give or take a few kilometres this means upstream from Bingen and downstream from Koblenz, have more navigation channel depth.

 

Rain is coming during tomorrow, first mainly around the Alps, so the impact on the river levels is little, hence the fact that the forecast for Kaub gauge is not very good. Saturday and Sunday will be rainy also, so that is promising. And the big news: it may even snow ❄️ in the valley a little, but along the Rhine ports, i.e. directly at the river it will likely be mixed with rain. Unpleasant weather really, but good for the ships. Snow is most likely in the Upper Rhine valley, but Sunday/Monday there is a slight chance of snow flakes in the air even as far downstream as Koblenz.

 

The river levels forecast will have been updated by tomorrow morning. I hope it will be a bit better. As I will be a bit busy in the next two days I am not sure when I can next post. For all those new to the map who would like to have a look themselves, here it is:

https://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/gast/karte/standard;jsessionid=89CBE1F5565CF41DD103CF2AA3AE3C54

 

Move the cursor over the dots along the Rhine, they pop up, near the word Rhein is Kaub. It is easier when you enlarge the map.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by notamermaid

[texasmomoftwo]

6 hours ago, notamermaid said:

My pleasure. Here is the update: 73cm. The level went briefly down to 68cm this morning but has picked up. The forecast is slightly more favourable, 73cm to 77cm, it is unlikely to get over 80cm before Monday, though.

 

 

At 78cm the navigation channel has a reliable depth of 1.90m in the Rhine Gorge around Kaub. This does not mean a ship cannot sail if you read 1.90m in a description of a ship. It is entirely up to crew and river cruise company to give you such direct info of what the impact will be. I can only ever be approximate. We can from past years reasonably assume that 55cm is too low for sailing for many ships that are 135m. This is as close as I can be to a figure. A desired level for sailing that is comfortable in a navigational sense I would say around 90cm, anything above that is better. Again, this can only be approximate. As the level gets lower the navigation channel also gets narrower which creates additional difficult stretches and potential bottlenecks with ships not being allowed to pass each other. Something we saw near Karlsruhe - and continue to see as the traffic regulation has been extended till 9 December. Remember that all other sections of the river, give or take a few kilometres this means upstream from Bingen and downstream from Koblenz, have more navigation channel depth.

 

Rain is coming during tomorrow, first mainly around the Alps, so the impact on the river levels is little, hence the fact that the forecast for Kaub gauge is not very good. Saturday and Sunday will be rainy also, so that is promising. And the big news: it may even snow ❄️ in the valley a little, but along the Rhine ports, i.e. directly at the river it will likely be mixed with rain. Unpleasant weather really, but good for the ships. Snow is most likely in the Upper Rhine valley, but Sunday/Monday there is a slight chance of snow flakes in the air even as far downstream as Koblenz.

 

The river levels forecast will have been updated by tomorrow morning. I hope it will be a bit better. As I will be a bit busy in the next two days I am not sure when I can next post. For all those new to the map who would like to have a look themselves, here it is:

https://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/gast/karte/standard;jsessionid=89CBE1F5565CF41DD103CF2AA3AE3C54

 

Move the cursor over the dots along the Rhine, they pop up, near the word Rhein is Kaub. It is easier when you enlarge the map.

 

notamermaid

 

 

I cannot thank you enough for all of the posts you do.  I have learned to watch for your name !  Thank you

[notamermaid]

It has been snowing in the hills! This is Nürburgring, Northwest of Koblenz at around 600m above sea level (height of the village Nürburg, not sure about the race track itself).

 

Kaub gauge at 77cm now. Forecast/prediction says staying below 80cm into Monday.

 

notamermaid

 

[sjde]

And what does it have to be for smooth sailing? 

[notamermaid]

31 minutes ago, sjde said:

And what does it have to be for smooth sailing? 

Depends on ship, but 90cm makes sailing more comfortable. See also long post above.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Kaub at 76cm. It will continue to stay low and possibly fall a little further but rain and snow are definitely in the air.  Maxau gauge graph is already showing a nice rise in the forecast. Could this bring Kaub closer to 90cm? Yes, on Wednesday there is a chance.

 

notamermaid

 

[Coral]

46 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

You really think its really that important? I believe it goes up and down quiete often. Its not like its the first time it happend. I am sure there are way out of this 

Yes. Cruises can be interrupted with low rivers. Ship swaps can happen, some ships can not go forward, ports can be changed. It can be disruptive. Yes - it is important.

Edited November 28, 2021 by Coral

[notamermaid]

It is good to have 10 extra centimetres between hull and riverbed.

 

River still busy with ships from various companies.

 

Christmas markets in full swing, all of them adapted to the situation with varying types and degrees of restrictions and measures. As we know from other threads, some have been cancelled, the ones that are on are not guaranteed to be open till 23 December.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Kaub at 76cm. It will continue to stay low and possibly fall a little further but rain and snow are definitely in the air.  Maxau gauge graph is already showing a nice rise in the forecast. Could this bring Kaub closer to 90cm? Yes, on Wednesday there is a chance.

 

notamermaid

 

I understand that rain makes a difference, but I would think that snow is irrelevant unless it melts right away.

[notamermaid]

6 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I understand that rain makes a difference, but I would think that snow is irrelevant unless it melts right away.

Yes, of course, snow is actually not helpful as it does not fill the river right away unless it falls into the river. In our weather it melts fast as it is only in Celsius around 3 plus during the day to minus 5 degrees during the night. It is also going to be a little warmer during the week. But I did not mean that. Snow was a general comment, sorry about this not being clear.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by notamermaid
aded info

[notamermaid]

It has been raining in the Middle Rhine valley - the unpleasant rain that gets you really wet through and is cold, the temperature just before it comes down as snow. No snow yet in the hills at Rüdesheim: https://www.feratel.com/en/webcams/germany/ruedesheim-am-rhein.html

 

Kaub at 76cm. 90cm still coming into view in the prediction for Wednesday.

 

Storm warning for the Black Forest for tomorrow with large snow drifts in the highest areas.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is certainly windy even here in the Middle Rhine valley. Despite the rain, Kaub gauge has gone down to 73cm. But the forecast suggests better levels for tomorrow. Could this be the end of official low water levels? With the 100cm coming into view for Thursday in the prediction we can certainly believe this may well be the case. Note that 100cm is still low for barges and tankers who will continue to sail with reduced load.

 

notamermaid

 

[Coral]

I heard from my friend who is on a Viking Rhine cruise.  She said her ship is full, that they are planning on all Rhine cruises through Christmas but canceling New Years cruise. I don't know if this is for all of Viking or just her ship.

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

She said her ship is full, that they are planning on all Rhine cruises through Christmas but canceling New Years cruise.

Thanks for the info. Kind of what I expected from Viking. They tend to keep going when others prefer to not sail or they amend itineraries to add convenience, whereas Viking prefers to "offer the great experience as long as the respective government allows". Mind you, German lines are also still hoping to get back onto the Danube with Austrian ports visited in December. Different companies just have different policies.

 

I hope your friend has an amazing magical time on the Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

[sjde]

Interesting they have a full ship when the AMA ship my niece is on has only about 50 people.

 

In 2018 we were on the Rhine in Nov/Dec and could actually hear and feel our ship scraping the bottom near Rudesheim!  Other larger ships weren’t able to make it through. 

[notamermaid]

@sjde thanks for the info. Many Viking ships are in Cologne harbour (at Niehl), so not deployed, it appears that Viking has cancelled cruises and put passengers of two ships on to one.

 

No scraping the bottom now thankfully! ☺️ Kaub gauge has risen to 85cm. Time to relax a bit, look forward to the 90cm and quite likely 100cm appearing on the graph and to return to Lahnstein again to have a look at that menu on a cloudy Summer's day.

 

notamermaid

 

[Stutchman]

For what it's worth.. traveling on Avalon Expression 135' ship 3 km south of Kaub.  All is great.  Will pass by this pinch point in 30 mins or so.

 

Captain said there is 1.5m under ship.  Not great, but plenty..

 

Having fun but cold!!

[notamermaid]

@Stutchman Thanks for saying hello from your cruise. Good to hear you are having a great time. Enough water 💦, very good. Unfortunately, wet and cold on the sun deck today. Rüdesheim coffee or hot chocolate should help.

 

Kaub gauge: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegel_Kaub#/media/Datei%3APegelKaubRhein.JPG

 

Hope you have a splendid time at Koblenz Christmas market.

 

Which reminds me, the Christmas Garden on Ehrenbreitstein Fortress:

 

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Stutchman]

Just to add a few other comments. Covid mitigation is a real core for the Christmas Markets and the stores in general.  The markets require covid vaccination  cards and in Strasbourg, they require a  negative test as well.   Avalon was all over this and made the process smooth.  

 

Another issue was masks.  Most areas require medical quality masks,  even outdoors.  If Germany keeps this up they will be Covid free very soon.  

 

The Christmas Markets were suffering everywhere we went up the Rhine. Our next stop is Cologne.  We hope to see a little more action at the markets.  

 

Notamermaid, you are awesome.  Thanks for all your posts and keeping an eye on is all...

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, Stutchman said:

Notamermaid, you are awesome.  Thanks for all your posts and keeping an eye on is all...

Thank you for the compliments. My pleasure, it is enormous fun. As for the eyes - I see you have just docked at Engers (info via vesselfinder). I assume you are staying overnight? Perhaps a concert... That would be lovely, Engers Palace is a delight.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by notamermaid

[Coral]

My friend told me on her Viking cruise that they are testing them daily via saliva for COVID. 

 

She did say that it has been rainy so far.

[Coral]

4 hours ago, Stutchman said:

For what it's worth.. traveling on Avalon Expression 135' ship 3 km south of Kaub.  All is great.  Will pass by this pinch point in 30 mins or so.

 

Captain said there is 1.5m under ship.  Not great, but plenty..

 

Having fun but cold!!

Thanks for checking in! Glad you are having fun.

[notamermaid]

On 12/1/2021 at 7:16 PM, Coral said:

My friend told me on her Viking cruise that they are testing them daily via saliva for COVID. 

In light of the fact that there are many, many "breakthrough" infections and an enormous general virus load in the population in the river cruising countries, that was and continues to be a smart move by Viking.

 

Kaub now at 113cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[sjde]

Has there been a lot of rain this past week? Seems like it from here.