Baltic Sailing-any info?

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Whiskey Bravo

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We're considering chartering somewhere in the Baltic in July/August. Anybody got any experience/recommendations etc on areas to head for, charter companies etc.

Thanks in anticipation.
 
Whiskey Bravo said:
We're considering chartering somewhere in the Baltic in July/August. Anybody got any experience/recommendations etc on areas to head for, charter companies etc.

Thanks in anticipation.
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SWMBO and I hired a Bav 42 around the Stockholm Archipelago last summer, some pics here which give a pretty good idea of what it's like:

http://fattie.freehostia.com/Baltic/

Literally thousands of beautiful islands to explore, guaranteed a remote anchorage to yourself every night if you want it. Busier anchorages if you want that.
 
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I'm lucky to be able to say that I moved to Hamburg with my job two years ago and brought my boat over to Kiel at the same time. Since then we've enjoyed some fantastic sailing in the area between Germany and around the Danish islands. I can't comment on any charter companies in the Baltic but I can say that you will enjoy every minute of the sailing you do here. The Stockholm Archipelago is on my own list of places to visit as everyone who's been there says its the best part of the Baltic to sail. The weather here in May-Aug can also urprise you as it is often much warmer than you would expect. We had 35-38 deg last July when spending a week sailing around the island of Fyn. If you want to get away from it all, much of the Baltic coastline is low lying islands, white sandy beaches, good steady winds, no tides and hundreds of small harbours. Have a great holiday !
 
Counting from West to East 1) Stockholm´s archipelago, 2) Aland archipelago 3) Sea of archipelago are all equally excellent cruising areas. (1) is most crowded and (2) the least. The peak season extends from the last week of June to the first week of August.

You could easily pass through all three areas in just two days, which we did while heading home from Ireland last season. However, you can easily spend four weeks in each of the areas without being in the same spot twice.
 
citlab said:
Counting from West to East 1) Stockholm´s archipelago,
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Agree. Stockholm archipago.

Just one word of advice, Swedish and Danish marinas and jetties are adopting parking meters for boats just like car parking. No one in the office. You need a credit card and nerves of steel. The system doesn't quite work 100% yet. Often takes the card (no pin number needed) but no reciept or ticket to display so you have no idea if you have paid OK. Do not try again, no reciept or ticket second time either. When you get home you find both worked. Takes two weeks to debit the card so no help on the internet. Press the wrong button and you get charged for a week. Don't ask how I know all this. So my advice is to wait for a local yottie to look over your shoulder while you use the blasted meter.
 
You will find a lot of information on our friend's site here: http://www.kissen.co.uk/

As well as the Stockholm area, there are chartering possibilities in the Southern Baltic, especially Germany, where there are large charter fleets, mostly Bavarias, surprise surprise. Heiligenhafen Greifswald and Lauterbach come to mind. Heiligenhafen is convenient for cruising the Danish islands and the Sound and Bornholm would be within reach, as well as the Rugen.
 
Be mindful of magnetic anomalies all over the Baltic. The bottom is peppered with iron ore which can drive your magnetic compass to show huge errors.
These anomalies are usually well marked on the charts. Also watch the ferries.
 
Greifwald area

Last year we chartered a Bavaria 31 for a week in Greifswald. We sailed mostly in the Greifswalder Bodden and surroundings. Its a nice area, the V1/V2 war museum at Peenemünde is interesting, Kröslin has a nice marina, Greifswald has great 'backfisch'. You just have to watch your depth as it can be shallow in many areas. We plan to sail around this area again in July, maybe sail around Rugen, depending on the weather!
We found our yacht on this link; http://www.pc-ostsee.de/
You would need to check what certificates are required but Day Skipper and ICC should be sufficient. Also the radio license will be required.
 
petedg said:
You would need to check what certificates are required but Day Skipper and ICC should be sufficient. Also the radio license will be required.
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I guess that's Germany. Neither myself nor SWMBO ever got any sailing certificates and none were required to charter on our Stockholm trip. Can't remember if I took my VHF ticket, but we didn't use the VHF anyway.
 
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Mark-1 said:
I guess that's Germany. Neither myself nor SWMBO ever got any sailing certificates and none were required to charter on our Stockholm trip. Can't remember if I took my VHF ticket, but we didn't use the VHF anyway.
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I'm based in Finland (Helsinki). Finland does not require any sailing qualifications, but does require a VHF licence if you use a VHF radio (not sure if this applies if you don't switch it on). I believe the rules are the same in Sweden; certainly I know lots of Finns who sail to Sweden each summer and have no qualifications.

I'm told that Estonia has the rule that you must have whatever sailing qualification your home country requires, which amuses the Finns as that means no qualification. For my own peace of mind I got the ICC last autumn just in case I meet someone with a different interpretation of the rules..
 
Thanks

Many thanks for all the replies/suggestions etc. Looks like we'll be going then.

We do have all the certificates, so should be ok.

Any extra info still welcome.
 
Sorry for the double posts, it should read:

Yes, the area around greifswald, Stralsund and Rügen is really wonderful and nice to sail - i live there :)
If you need any specific advice or help around here, just contact me.
Regards, Michael
 
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