Joys of Cruising Baltic Germany

[Dockhead]

I have been cruising the Baltic Sea for a number of years, keeping the boat either in the Solent in the winter, or in Denmark near Copenhagen, then going as far North or East as possible during the summer before returning to winter quarters (to avoid ice).


This is fun and takes one through some wonderful cruising areas, and besides that means sailing a lot of miles.


This does mean, however, hurrying past Southern Denmark and the German Baltic areas.


I lived in Germany for a few years in the 1980's, studying and then teaching at German universities, so I know something about Germany, but I was always in Southern Germany, and besides that, these areas were behind the Iron Curtain, so they are entirely new to me. This year I am discovering what I was missing in those areas. I am very busy with my work this year and decided I didn't want to sail so many miles, so ended up in some German waters I had never seen before. We sailed first to Stralsund in the sound behind Rügen island, which is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the former DDR. Stralsund blew me away -- amazing medieval town, lots of culture, things to see and do, beautiful harbour area. Hated to leave that place. Then we sailed to Greifswald, which is a university town a couple of miles up a river which is accessed through a hand-cranked wooden lifting bridge.



Now Scandinavia and Germany have different vacation periods -- in Scandinavia (and Finland), it's July, when everything is closed and harbours are crowded with boats. In Germany, it's August. So in Greifswald, not only was everything open, but the university was still in session. I went to hear a lecture one evening; another evening went to a fantastic "wandering organ concert", where you hear a short concert in one cathedral, then walk from there with the whole audience to another one, hear another short concert, then on to the third one, then everyone goes drinking. Every Wednesday in Greifswald for the whole summer! Another beautiful place with seemingly endless things to do and see.


Next -- Peenemünde, where Werner von Braun developed the first German rocket program, with really interesting museums.



After that -- Saasnitz, where I have been before a couple of times. A 19th century resort town which had been the kind of Sochi of East German during Communism.


All this time the wind has been with us and I don't think we've done more than two miles at a times with the engine running at any point. One great sail after another.



Another place on this coast I've been before is Wismar, an ancient Hansa city. Then there's Lübeck -- never been there, but legendary from the works of Thomas Mann, and the capital of the Hanseatic League for centuries.



So my advice to new Baltic cruisers -- don't hurry past these areas!! The German Baltic coast is really beautiful, really interesting, with endless places to go. Berthing is cheap -- I haven't paid more than €36 a night for a 54 footer, and most of the harbors are really nice, real harbors with ancient quays and harborside pubs, not marina-parking lots. Don't forget your bow ladder, as most of the berthing is Baltic-style bows-to, using piles. If you feel like anchoring out, there are endless places to do that too.

[Na Mara]

We wizzed past the area this year on the way to Bornholm but managed to stay a few nights at Lohme, an idyllic little resort village just north of sassnitz. I thoroughly second Dockhead’s recommendation. I plan to thoroughly cruise the area in two years time. It deserves it.

[Lisa Longshadow]

Great post!!!

[Pete7]

Its a lovely coastline and can't wait for retirement to go back there. No tides to talk of and a nice breeze during the day as central Europe heats up so sea breezes which tend to die out each evening.

Pete

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Its a lovely coastline and can't wait for retirement to go back there. No tides to talk of and a nice breeze during the day as central Europe heats up so sea breezes which tend to die out each evening.

Pete

You don't need to wait for retirement, Pete. Just come join us sometime when you have a few days off.

[jsal]

I’m lucky enough to be near the coast around Lübeck and I’ve only ever been to these little beach towns and wondered what it must be like to cruise.

Thanks for this post. I’m even more excited now to be getting out there and to call this my home cruising ground.

[Lisa Longshadow]

Dockhead, with a 40' trawler how realistic is it to cruise in the Baltic during winter and spring?

~L

[Na Mara]

Assuming your trawler is glassfiber or wood, winter and early spring cruising in the Northern Baltic, bay of Riga, Finish Gulf and Gulf of Bothnia is difficult due to the ice pack that forms there. The Southern Baltic is generally ice free and can be cruised all year round on any boat. If you have a metal trawler (steel or aluminium) you can try cruising all winter up north as well, but I warn you that the temperatures regularly drop to below -20C north of Stockholm and in the far north they can go below -30C. Further south the worst you should see is -5C or maybe -10C if you are unlucky.

Winter storms are rare, maybe two or three a year, but they can be frightful and the Baltic in a storm is a horrible place with steep, confused and breaking seas and little room to run off for any length of time.

All that said, there are some beautiful places to go in the winter that are swamped in the summer, like Venn, Skanör, Christiansö, and so on. Worth it if you can put up with the cold.

[Lisa Longshadow]

Na Mara, thank you for the reply. Our trawler is fiberglass and wood. We have a hurrican diesel heater on board that's 60,000 BTUs.

It sounds like we're just going to stay put in a marina from December to April?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Lisa Longshadow

Na Mara, thank you for the reply. Our trawler is fiberglass and wood. We have a hurrican diesel heater on board that's 60,000 BTUs.

It sounds like we're just going to stay put in a marina from December to April?

Why?? In the Southern Baltic there is a whole world open to a well-found boat with a hurricane heater.

[Renegde_Sailor]

Good information, thank you!



I have just started looking at sailing over to Europe, how would you feel about wintering on a boat in the Baltic?

[Na Mara]

Southern Baltic is fine to over winter as long as you heat your boat. North of Gotland is another matter. Here you either need to winter ashore, in a special Icefree mooring, or have a metal hulled boat and take precautions with through hulls.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

Southern Baltic is fine to over winter as long as you heat your boat. North of Gotland is another matter. Here you either need to winter ashore, in a special Icefree mooring, or have a metal hulled boat and take precautions with through hulls.

Yes, sorry, I didn't answer the question.


North of Gotland the sea is subject to freezing, and all the yacht harbours are closed.


Southern Baltic is cruisable in the winter time. Denmark, Germany, South part of Sweden. Again dedicated yacht harbours may be closed but sometimes you can use them without services, and usually for free. Other harbours are also for fishing boats and commercial traffic, and they may be open. Nothing is crowded in the winter, which is one of the joys of winter cruising.


Just have good clothes, a good anchor, and a good heater, and you'll be fine.

[Lisa Longshadow]

For a 48' trawler, are there covered and heated marina slips available, or do I have to heat my boat myself for several months while I'm swinging around the Shengen flag pole???

[TrentePieds]

Lisa:

The southern islands of Denmark and the north German Coast are not particularly cold in winter, though they can be wet and blowy. Think of a cold day in Seattle :-).

As you get as far east as Kaliningrad the weather becomes less balmy than it is in the Danish "South Sea Islands".

In a trawler you'll be well protected and the numerous small harbours that used to service the fisheries are bound to accommodate you one way or the other.

However, if I were going there in a trawler I would install a "truck heater" before I went. They run about a thousand bux and are easy to install. Their real purpose is to heat the interiors of long haul 18-wheelers. And they, obviously, run on diesel fuel which you already have. If you had one of those, you'd be well away :-)

If you lay a voyage plan, it's a small matter to contact the "authorities". in any small port you might want to stop to see if they can accommodate you. Best to get your answer directly from the locals :-)! There cannot be anybody left in those parts who cannot conduct business as easily in English as in his own native language. Similarly, there cannot be an office of any authority that doesn't work by e-mail :-).

Bonne chance!

TrentePieds