Cruising in the Baltic

[Stewart135]

I have sailed in the Baltic several times but I will admit it has been mainly offshore regattas, piling on the distance and not really looking at the views.

This year in August I am returning, taking the family and am looking for some steers from those in the know to where to visit.

We have a week, will be starting in Kiel and with a 4 and 6 year old on board, will be looking at doing short hops rather than long legs although I am not adverse to a night leg to get to more interesting ports.

Does anyone have some star tips of places to stop in at?

Cheers

[mrm]

Originally Posted by Stewart135

We have a week, will be starting in Kiel and with a 4 and 6 year old on board, will be looking at doing short hops rather than long legs although I am not adverse to a night leg to get to more interesting ports.

Does anyone have some star tips of places to stop in at?

Cheers

Well, depends what you and your family are after.

Bornholm comes to mind - a nice place and if kids get tired of sailing, the place is friendly to biking and walking.

Sopot has a new marina, finished in 2011 ( Google Maps ) - definitely a more 'touristy' place, but perhaps worth a visit and has easy access to Gdansk with nice Old Town (into which you may sail - there is a small marina too ( http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=54.34...=maps&t=h&z=18 )).

Then there is the whole area of Swedish coast around Stockholm, but for that one a month is not enough, and you have a week...

Whatever you choose, enjoy

[Stewart135]

Originally Posted by mrm

Well, depends what you and your family are after.

Bornholm comes to mind - a nice place and if kids get tired of sailing, the place is friendly to biking and walking.

Sopot has a new marina, finished in 2011 ( Google Maps ) - definitely a more 'touristy' place, but perhaps worth a visit and has easy access to Gdansk with nice Old Town (into which you may sail - there is a small marina too ( http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=54.34...=maps&t=h&z=18 )).

Then there is the whole area of Swedish coast around Stockholm, but for that one a month is not enough, and you have a week...

Whatever you choose, enjoy

Thanks, mrm. Both a little bit of a hack from Kiel and I'm more probably looking at Denmark. As you say I'd need more time to do the area justice. Next time......

[R-985-Pratt]

Stewart,

saw your post only now - I guess you will have found some information elsewhere by now, but as August isn´t here yet, I´ll write something:

- First of all, don´t worry about missing out on Bornholm, there are more than enough nice places to go to within day sailing distance from Kiel!

- From my experience, you find the nicest areas heading north along the German and Danish coast or straight across to Aeroe. To the northeast it takes a bit longer with less places to choose from, and to the east (my personal view) the nice marinas only start in the east of Germany after a day´s sail.

- The only real downside to these waters is that the ports get very crowded in summer. The later you go in August, the less crowded it will be. If you really want a nice place in port, try to sail early in the day and arrive around noon. Rafting alongside is standard procedure. Beware of empty places on the pier with tire fenders - they are usually reserved for commercial traffic.

Lots of protected waters to choose from, especially the "Danish South Sea" (between Aeroe and Fyn) with little island harbours (some quite shallow) + anchorages

Almost all ports in the area are worth visiting. Especially nice with kids are
-Sonderborg (Als) - beach, playground, barbecue all next to the marina (not the city harbour at the bridge), and a 15 min walk to the city.
- Schleimuende at the mouth of the Schlei Fjord, not accessible by car in a nature reserve
- Marstal and
-Aeroeskoebing (Aeroe), both cozy old seafaring towns
- Dyvig (Als), in an idyllic protected inlet. Don´t worry about handbooks saying that it should not be approached without local knowledge, just don´t rush and keep a close look on the sounder. Gets extremely crowded on weekends.

and a bit further north, probably requiring at least one overnight sail if you want to make it within a week and have a couple of days to spend there:
- Ballen (Samsoe)
- Langoer (Samsoe)
- Kerteminde (Fyn), mainly because of the Fjord&Belt sealife centre, educating and entertaining for the kids including a little porpoise show.

Many people I know have spent every summer for decades cruising these waters and don´t seem to feel the need of going anywhere else for a change (apart from maybe further north up the Swedish coast). Not a few are so spoilt by the protected waters and loads of marinas within close reach that sailing elsewhere becomes to stressful for them...more than 8 hours, or even over night? out of the sight of land? calculating the tide?Why bother?


Enjoy your week, I bet it won´t be the last time!

[carstenb]

I'll add
Svendborg - great town lots to do for the kids bare of the currents in the harbor they fool all but the most wary. Faaborg . nice town good food and grill. Going a little bit further the islands of Agersø, Omø, Femø Vejrø and Fejø. If your keel is under 7 feet you can get into the harbors. Lots of stuff for families and kids. All will be very crowded during July and 1st week of august, thereafter there will be lots of room.

Germany - Flensburg or Heiligehafen and the surrounding areas are great.