Land Rheinland-Pfalz Sports Travel

In addition to what I wrote before about kayaking Rhein river, I wanted to point out some of the dangers separately, because this really needs to be taken serious. I don’t have actual data of how many water sport enthusiasts had to be rescued in difficult situations or even deaths, but I can assure you that even experienced locals do take this part serious and prepare before they set out into Rhein river from anywhere between Bingen and St. Goar. Always contact local kayakers or clubs to get actual information about the navigation possibilities and water levels. While Rhein river is a nice and cosy river elsewhere and does look so romantic when one sits on a cruising boat or hikes in the surrounding mountains, in the section between Bingen and St. Goar the river is full with hidden dangers. First of all, boats and ships with motors have the right of way because the river is a “transport way”, which means that the kayaker/canoeist has to move out of the way. Second, the navigations channels are quite narrow, independent how wide the river might look. This is because the river ground is rocky which results in a very different water depth at almost any part. Ages ago, it was even more difficult to navigate, but over the years, many measures have been taken to regulate the most dangerous parts. One of them is actually close to Bingen, it is called Binger Loch (something like Bingen hole) at kilometre 530,8 on the right river bank. I have a photo of nearby Binger Loch at low water in my previous tip but there is also a website with photos of extreme low water near Bingen which gives a rough idea about the ground.

The other really dangerous part is, of course, the Loreley. The lovely ballad by Clemens Brentano and the famous song by Heinrich Heine (lyrics) and Friedrich Silcher (music) was not made without a reason. Rhein river is only 145 m wide at parts and partly 25 m deep in the middle but shallow at the sides. The navigation channel is extremely narrow and allows only one boat at a time, downstream boats have the right of way. But because there is no navigation with permanent visibility possible over the whole course between Bacharach and St. Goar, special navigation aids have been implemented, so-called Wahrschau signals (scroll down for a map of this river part with locations of these signals and take note that north is at the bottom). There are five of them and each consists of 3 parts, each with a maximum of three lines (forming a triangle) and each signal covers minimum two of the five observed sections. If only the horizontal line at the bottom per section is visible this means that there is no downstream ship in sight and the upstream ship can pass. The whole signal system is too extensive to explain here in detail, but wherever you rent a kayak or canoe, the locals will be able to explain you the full meaning. Experienced boaters will be able to read the Wahrschau map anyhow. Keep in mind that even in modern days, 2003 to be precise, there was a boat accident here. It was caused by low tide though, but the captain was an experienced one and it should explain that the river is not at all “a piece of cake”.
A variation of the Wahrschau signals between Oberwesel and St. Goar are the pontoons (main photo) which also mean “attention”. They are meant to mark any construction in or near the river nearby, be it bridge work, accident sites, preliminary shallow parts (in case something has washed up between underwater rocks), etc.

Other dangers in the whole Rhein river part are the groynes (as in photo 5, where even more natural rocks can be seen during low water), which are built on both sides into the river and are not visible at high water. Consequently kayaks and canoes might get into trouble when they pass one at only a minimal distance below the water surface. The water current is dangerous and it is not only horizontal but also vertical due to the many natural rocks in the riverbed!

The last possible danger is caused by the many transport ships (photo 4): the bow waves, depending on the ship’s gauge, can be very big! Stay off these ships in a respectable distance!!

For a better view of these two danger sites, please look at:
Location of Binger Loch on google maps,
Location of Loreley on google maps.

More links with details and locations of the shallows in Rhein river (although in German Wikipedia only):
shallows in Rhein river
RU = right bank (rechtes Ufer), LU = left bank (linkes Ufer);
Felsen = rock, Felsenbarriere = rock barrier, Untiefe = shallow, Fahrwasser = navigation channel/water, Wacke = big rock in the water, Kribbe, Buhne = groyne, Strudel = swirl, Wasserloch = water hole, Furt = shallow part in the river.

An excellent collection of aerial photos of Rhein river from Bingen to St. Goar by the police of Hessen state, a collection of 19 pdf pages with detailed descriptions (albeit in German) of the possible danger parts. If you need translation, please let me know by VT mail.

The rules on Rhein river are quite simple: downstream ships have the right of way, motor driven ships have the right of way to wind or manually “driven” ones (kayak, canoue, surfboard etc). Orientation on the river is very easy, each kilometre is marked (as in photo 3), and each 500 m between the kilometre signs are marked with a sign having a + (plus) icon. There is a good website with a (nautical) description of Rhein river according to the kilometres with details about all different ports, villages, bridges, ferries etc. It is split into the different kilometre sections from 45,35 (Rheinfall at Schaffhausen) until it ends in the North Sea. And there is a website of Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationsystem (electronical waterway information system), albeit also only in German.

Update, September 2009:
I have exchanged one photo, the last one: now it is of the rock formation 7 Jungfrauen (7 virgins), which are usually fully covered by water. Rhein river has low water at the moment (Sept. 2009) and I think it is not allowed to go kayaking now. I didn't see any boats (kayak, rowers, canoe) when I drove along the river by train.

Land Rheinland-Pfalz Sports Travel

Visiting Land Rheinland-Pfalz?

Visiting Land Rheinland-Pfalz?