The river Main infos and river cruising experiences

[notamermaid]

47 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Before Bud ate the entire US beer industry, there was a beer in the NY area called Schlitz. I wonder if it was related to that town?

 

We also had a beer called Rheingold…

I think this may have been the beer of this company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schlitz_Brewing_Company

Apparently, Joseph Schlitz cam from Mainz. It is plausible that one of his ancestors came from Schlitz, i.e. as used to happen people were known as soandso from Schlitz and that then turned into a family name.

 

There was a brewery in Schlitz, their beer is now being brewed in a neighbouring village.

 

Rheingold - good name for a beer I would say.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Rheingold - good name for a beer I would say.

 

notamermaid

😆

[Canal archive]

Rheingold brewery New York 1883 - 1976 now still being made I think.

[notamermaid]

Tons of beer around along the Main, of course. Last year I went to the beer garden of the Würzburger Hofbräu. Busy but enjoyable. Food was nice, not brilliant, and I got a (simple with logo) beer stein as souvenir. It is here:

 

notamermaid

 

[SnowshoeCat]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Before Bud ate the entire US beer industry, there was a beer in the NY area called Schlitz. I wonder if it was related to that town?

 

We also had a beer called Rheingold…

 

Thank you. Now I have the Rheingold jingle going through my head. I only remember a few of the words, so there's lots of humming  😁

[Host Jazzbeau]

My beer is Rheingold, the dry beer

Think of Rheingold whenever you buy beer

It's not bitter, not sweet; it's the extra dry treat

Won't you try extra dry Rheingold beer?

 

And to help @notamermaid get this stuck in her ear too:  "in Germany the main melody is very popular because of a song called "Spaniens Gitarren" sung by the singers Cindy & Bert in 4/4 time which was a great hit for them in 1974."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estudiantina

 

I never understood why they didn't work in something about drinking drei beers...

 

[notamermaid]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

And to help @notamermaid get this stuck in her ear too:  "in Germany the main melody is very popular because of a song called "Spaniens Gitarren" sung by the singers Cindy & Bert in 4/4 time which was a great hit for them in 1974."

All together now: "Es muß Nacht sein, es muß Nacht sein..." You have managed to put that into my ear in five seconds... Cindy & Bert, great duo.

 

I remember one beer advert from television some time in the 80's that has stuck with me, Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu. A child is asked to buy some for the grandfather I think. Walks along the path, repeating the name, gets to the shop and gets the name wrong and says Klostrerbacher Alpirsbräu". Benevolent smile and correction by the shop owner follows. Alpirsbach is in the Black Forest.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

The hull for the ship "Porto Mirante" was on the Main a few days ago and the hull for the "Amadeus Nova" is currently being pushed by the "Zasavica III" towards the Rhine. Just before leaving the Main it will most likely get a new carrier, usual is a barge that pulls the hull alongside. Handover is at or near the last lock on the Main at Gustavsburg. The lock is within Gustavsburg district but for historical reasons the lock is referred to as being at Mainz-Kostheim (on the other bank of the river). Here is a link: http://wikimapia.org/9595845/de/Schleuse-Mainz-Kostheim

Notice the kink in the graphics? If not, have a look at the photo on the page, click on it to enlarge it. One lock chamber is bent. In German that is called a Bananenschleuse. Shortly after that the Main enters the Rhine. This is what it looks like from the air: https://www.luftbildsuche.de/suche/d/luftbilder/sh-9795eb800de66a6e4fe19fbb10e07ae1aff89ed9/wiesbaden-mainz-kostheim.html

 

By the way, when the Rhine is low, so is the mouth of the Main and can be tricky to navigate, with no lock keeping the level high enough, whereas the whole Main where river cruise ships and commercial traffic sail has enough depth.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by notamermaid

[rcaruso]

Just saw post on FB. The Gymir hit an iron bridge around lunch time today close to Miltonberg.  No one was injured.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mainpost.de%2Fregional%2Fmain-spessart%2Fkreuzfahrtschiff-in-miltenberg-mit-eisenbahnbruecke-kollidiert-art-11304249%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3_lnpzoZYiFnCVaDofFZzuSXqiLap8FNZCD0g0SscZ0ndRG-EwdWgBG9Y&h=AT2fW9RY8FPBn6tmtyAoGu__b5GB_T77VR82R1mFoUtBufni1BacfdPJqD8WiljwIu5MvHil_dAzVmhp4hX38r7dn444h-qPE6ZNtfpK-xSJ8vWWycwKd85480sJHKPwFQ&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1J_ad8zlvvzMRAAmT-b331uTl2KaRp9W2T9ymmyJAd0kLelPdR6ZyWmZJcH9YFi7i-AsNV9Vhow-fKMC1jBYBcLNRaGrNNWBBJjtWdpIeuX_y6bdn7R3b-z4tOxhaIUb0X3fqU8di3EF72PAajgaX_1lOs90s8bFamkZkfSzt6lwH5dK1coNtUEw

[notamermaid]

Bridges on the Main are notoriously low. This report says the ship has sustained heavy damage at the wheelhouse and (for the time being) cannot sail: https://www.main-echo.de/ressorts/blaulicht/schiff-kollidiert-mit-eisenbahnbruecke-miltenberg-bahnbruecke-gesperrt-art-8088469

 

The railway bridge was temporarily closed.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Sincerely hope it’s nothing like the one a few years ago. Hope all are well.

[notamermaid]

It does not look too bad and the report says no one was injured. If there are technical issues due to the damage then that will be problematic for sailing.You can see that some parts of the superstructure have come off in this video: https://www.sat1.de/serien/1730-sat1-bayern/videos/zu-hoher-wasserstand-im-main-kreuzfahrtschiff-bleibt-haengen-7373322

 

The assumption is that the high level of the Main could have contributed to the accident. All in all though the river is not that high. But you need to calculate carefully how much headroom there is, the recent rain has made the level rise. There is no flooding (yet). Again, the Main has many low bridges.

This is the gauge closest to Miltenberg:

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[Canal archive]

Cannot open link evidently because of location issues, never mind. In my years involved with a certain U.K. canal, I have never encountered issues with the running of it until recently and it’s been indicated as Red on a canal section nowhere near a river. I’m now tasked with researching any other instances, busy busy busy!

[notamermaid]

Sorry about the link. It seems that SAT1 a television channel does not want you to watch it in the UK. I get the same with BBC iPlayer.

 

The ship was the big news yesterday in German media, this morning I cannot find any updates. This is the railway line bridge, so I assume that dot away from Miltenberg town and the regular docking place is the Viking Gymir, no terrestrial signal accessible:

 

notamermaid

 

[rcaruso]

54 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Sorry about the link. It seems that SAT1 a television channel does not want you to watch it in the UK. I get the same with BBC iPlayer.

 

The ship was the big news yesterday in German media, this morning I cannot find any updates. This is the railway line bridge, so I assume that dot away from Miltenberg town and the regular docking place is the Viking Gymir, no terrestrial signal accessible:

 

notamermaid

 

My friend is on the ship.  That's how I found out about the collision.  Have not heard from her today, will post when I do.

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, rcaruso said:

My friend is on the ship.  That's how I found out about the collision.  Have not heard from her today, will post when I do.

Sorry to read that your friend has their cruise affected. Most important thing is that all are safe, but what an annoying thing to happen.

 

In a discussion among the folk online who know the rivers from sailing - there are some captains posting - it has been mentioned that the railway bridge is lower than other bridges. A few crucial centimetres less.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[rcaruso]

5 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Sorry to read that your friend has their cruise affected. Most important thing is that all are safe, but what an annoying thing to happen.

 

In a discussion among the folk online who know the rivers from sailing - there are some captains posting - it has been mentioned that the railway bridge is lower than other bridges. A few crucial centimetres less.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Viking has bused some passengers to Würzburg for a tour. They have been told they will transfer to another ship. Could be the Odin that appears on its way?

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, rcaruso said:

They have been told they will transfer to another ship.

So no quick repair possible. That means either a lengthy stay in Miltenberg for the Gymir or towing to a shipyard.

 

Update from Mainecho says the Gymir hit parts of the dock structure while trying to dock, so damage there as well and along the ship's hull (scraping). Crew told the newspaper that passengers went on an excursion to Rothenburg. https://www.main-echo.de/ressorts/blaulicht/unfall-schiff-viking-gymir-liegt-manoevrierunfaehig-in-miltenberg-fest-art-8092636

 

Würzburg and Rothenburg can be combined in an excursion, no contradiction there.

 

notamermaid

 

[rcaruso]

Per my friend, the reason they hit the dock was the steering was out due to collision. It has been fixed and they are sailing to Wertheim. Will swap ships in Passau.

[notamermaid]

15 hours ago, rcaruso said:

Per my friend, the reason they hit the dock was the steering was out due to collision. It has been fixed and they are sailing to Wertheim. Will swap ships in Passau.

Yes, the steering was almost out so it was very difficult to dock as per newspaper report.

 

Glad to read that they can sail on and Viking was able to react so well to the situation.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

So, for the record. The Viking Gymir is on the return journey along the Rhine without getting to Budapest. The itinerary from Amsterdam to Budapest the passengers needed to complete on another ship. Here is the log data as of a few minutes ago, a bit confusing what they have written:

 

Sailing with passengers? Going to Niehl harbour for the winter?

 

In October, the bridge was hit by a barge by the way, but the damage to the vessel was minor.

 

A lady from on board has uploaded a video. Search for Viking Gymir and the upload within last week, but be aware that she says little about the ship. The swapped onto the Egdir.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by notamermaid
added info

[notamermaid]

Happen to be visiting Frankfurt on a river cruise this winter? The botanical gardens have a special illuminations event: https://www.palmengarten.de/en/occasion.html?tx_calendarize_calendar[index]=41421&cHash=90acefadb784bf332071307abc890942

 

notamermaid

 

[greydog]

On 11/15/2023 at 6:27 PM, notamermaid said:

The assumption is that the high level of the Main could have contributed to the accident. All in all though the river is not that high. But you need to calculate carefully how much headroom there is, the recent rain has made the level rise. There is no flooding (yet). Again, the Main has many low bridges.

This is the gauge closest to Miltenberg:  notamermaid

I got surprised ☹️ on our Viking Main trip when for the last 2-3 days they cordoned off use of the sundeck (despite great weather) for safety because of the frequent low bridges.  OTOH our ship crossed low water point with 1ft below keel, per the captain.

[CastleCritic]

1 minute ago, greydog said:

I got surprised ☹️ on our Viking Main trip when for the last 2-3 days they cordoned off use of the sundeck (despite great weather) for safety because of the frequent low bridges.  OTOH our ship crossed low water point with 1ft below keel, per the captain.

I always post this picture when this comes up...definitely low bridges

 

[greydog]

On 12/14/2023 at 3:07 PM, CastleCritic said:

I always post this picture when this comes up...definitely low bridges

 

I suppose ships can add water to ballast tanks to raise draft.  Any one know how much controlling ballast can change draft?  Curious