Baltic in August September

[jimi]

Whats the Baltic like in August / September? I'm likely to be unable to get away earlier but may then have a couple of months hols!

 

[Athene V30]

Only experience of the Baltic was one week from Kiel YC mid September skippering a boat for Cambridge OTC. It blew F5+ for the first 5 days and a pleasant F3 for last two days. The F5+ set up a short chop. Was warm despite wind. Beautiful place to cruise, only trouble was we were racing against several other OTCs all under the name of adventurous training.

On one passage race in a F6-7 one boat was dismasted at the gybe mark (most of the rest of us didn't gybe but tacked round) and another put aground due to appalling navigation by a Cruising Instructor on a well marked reef - these were Hallberg Rasseys we were playing with!

 

[johnalison]

I think the western Baltic is similar to northern Holland or Germany in September. The latest I have been there was end of August, after an HR regatta at Neustadt. At the time the weather was warm and quiet but we met westerlies when coming home through Holland.

The weather is not unlike the weather at home in the summer, but sometimes a high develops over Sweden and it can give rise to settled weather for a couple of months and sometimes get very hot. By mid-August you will usually be getting westerlies in this area and may need to be prepared to wait a few days in Cuxhaven if returning. A couple of months should give you a good cruise.

 

[Pye_End]

With little tidal stream it is not as rough in high winds as here. However, returning back to the UK once the weather has turned, via the Elbe, can be challenging. Danish pastries taste just as good whatever time you are there.

 

[AliM]

The last few years we have left the Baltic in early August. It was fine - just like here. About 10 years ago, we stayed till the end of August, and had winds on the nose all the way back, but there were no real problems - you just have to take your chance with the weather, as you would expect, just like here.
However, the German schools go back towards the end of August, and so do the Dutch ones. The Danes are back mid August and the Swedes possibly a bit earlier. This means that the harbours are a lot emptier in late August and September than in July

Go for it, and enjoy it. We have loads of info and charts etc if you want to look at it - we will be going back this summer - So we cannot offer loans, but you are welcome to pick our brains!

 

[Otter]

All being well we'll be there in July for two months. Just using google earth you get a sense of the beauty of the place. Scandinavians have always kept their faith in society and the Danish branch of the family have lots of explanation about why everywhere doesn't look like Gillingham or Ipswich.

 

[david_bagshaw]

Really lovely up there then.
nights seemed to close in rapidly in September, when we were there, some 10 + years ago.

 

[johnalison]

The season for mass sailing does seem to be very short, from about midsummer day to mid August, but that is largely for social reasons than because of the weather. The long summer evenings are a great attraction in the season, and you get no brownie points for sunset photos as a result, but it can be lovely from May to September. The weather does feel different from home, however. The lack of salt in the air makes it feel less damp, and even when it is cold, a little sunshine makes life comfortable.

 

[reginaldon]

Really lovely up there then.
nights seemed to close in rapidly in September, when we were there, some 10 + years ago.

+1
Spent a week on cruise ship early September Kiel to St Petersburg and back through the Skagerrack - idyllic weather for small boats also.