How long to reach the baltic from east coast?

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steve yates

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My second thread today where I'm musing in ideas for a few years hence. I think the baltic would be a great cruising ground for my partner with it's generally benign summer weather and relatively calm seas. What sort of timescale are we looking at? and can it be done via the mast up route through hollands canals? Where would be the best route after that?

Thx.
 
I have done the following route: River Alde to Vlieland (162 N miles), Vleiland to Helgoland (121 miles), Helgoland to Cuxhaven (30 miles). Kiel Canal - Marsal - Faaborg (127 miles). Alde to Kiel was approx. 5 days.
Came back Glucksurgh, Grasten, Rensborgh, Nordeney, Delfzil, Groningen, Zoutcamp, Dokkum, Lemmer, Enkhuzen, Vollendam, Markem, Muiden to Amsterdam. That took a leisurely 14 days with mast up.
This was in 1995 so don't quiz me about it as I cant remember the details.
Just copied from my logbook.
 
May 1994: Gillingham; Nieuport; Ijmuiden; Lelystad; Dokkum; Groningen; Delfzil; Brunsbuttel, Sonderborg (and a few places in between) - about 2 weeks. High chance of easterlies at that time of year, and it was true to form, hence the easy route through the canals. If it wasn't for a break in the weather at Borkum it would have been longer. Going round the outside much quicker, but only if you are not holed up in port with yet another gale forecast.

If time is an issue, there are several places you can 'get back out'. so if you reach Ijmuiden and decide inside is a good idea, then you can always get back out say at Terschelling. Equally you could get to Den Helder decide to go inland for a few days.
 
I have done it directly three times. The first occasion was in a Sadler 29 from the Blackwater in 1990. It took in all about three days. We had to stop for an hour at Den Helder for fuel, and again at Wangerooge because we realised we would be meeting the ebb at the Elbe.

On the other two occasions it was in my HR34 and took 51 and 50 hours from Walton non-stop to Brunsbuttel, with a lot of motoring both times. As it turned out, leaving near HW allowed us to get to the Elbe at exactly the right time.

I would not recommend going via Holland because you may well be returning that way if the weather turns against you. Much better if you want a break is to go as far as you can comfortably, Ijmuiden, Den Helder or Vlieland, and work out what to do according to the weather. Lauersoog is a useful break even though it adds a few miles when going outside. From there it is an easy run to Norderney, which is much better and better placed than Borkum. From Norderney it is 60m to Cuxhaven, where you need to work the tides. My preference is to stop at Cuxhaven and then do half the Kiel Canal stopping at Rendsberg, but, as with my other recommendations, there are several alternatives.
 
If you want to do it in day-trips, partly inshore, this easy itinerary is one we have done a few times, each place representing one day.

Lowestoft, Ijmuiden, den Helder or Texel, Harlingen or Franeke, Dokkum, Lauersoog, Norderney, Cuxhaven, Rendsberg, Laboe or Moltenoort.
 
First time it was Lowestoft, Den Helder, Nordeney, Helgoland, Brunsbuttle then Kiel. About two weeks.

Second time via Lerwick and Bergen.. Four weeks.

I think we only had two overnighters on either trip.
 
We did a cruise from Hellevoetsluis to the Baltic, circumnavigating the island of Fyn and back in five weeks. On the return leg we had NW winds F6-7 the whole way, so took the Maststaande route inland from Ems as far as ijmuiden. Outward route was mostly at sea but we did go inland for a couple of days from Texel.
 
We have been to the Baltic 10 times and usually returned in August. I don't think that we ever managed to get home by going outside the Dutch islands, but usually managed the other way without delay in May. This is why I suggest taking a fairly direct route on the way out. We went round Fyn and back in the Sadler 29 in 5 weeks. Later we took more time and managed to reach Stromstad, Bornholm and Poland, but not all in the same year but sometimes combining the last two. A friend got to Helsinki and back via the Gotha canal in a Nic 32, but he is an OCC member and likes long passages (his wife less so).
 
KompetentKrew said:
Why not, please? Does it get a bit windy?
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Yes! I'm talking about sailing with a wife who is happy to do all the ordinary stuff but who will not be pleased to tack for twenty hours against a F5 in the open sea, and I can't say I blame her. We have managed Cuxhaven-Norderney on numerous occasions (60m) and often managed the next bit to Lauersoog, but somehow it always goes wrong from there on. There was one occasion when we sailed from Ijmuiden-Scheveningen under spinnaker and another time from Ijmuiden-Lowestoft with some difficulty, but usually a comfortable trip means going through Holland, sometimes all the way from Delfzijl. A fully-crewed boat might well do better, but not if they take me as a Jonah on board. It's not known as the German Bite for nothing.
 
Solent to St Petersburgh and back is quite possible in 12 weeks. Solent - Amsterdam - Kiel - Copenhagen - Helsinki - St Petersburg - Tallin - Stockholm - Kiel - Cuxhaven - Ijmuiden - Dover and home. Lots of intermediate stopovers. Summer months of course. Getting the visas for visiting Russia took a few weeks though and Mr Putin was not on charge at the time! CBT
 
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johnalison said:
We have been to the Baltic 10 times and usually returned in August. I don't think that we ever managed to get home by going outside the Dutch islands, but usually managed the other way without delay in May. This is why I suggest taking a fairly direct route on the way out. We went round Fyn and back in the Sadler 29 in 5 weeks. Later we took more time and managed to reach Stromstad, Bornholm and Poland, but not all in the same year but sometimes combining the last two. A friend got to Helsinki and back via the Gotha canal in a Nic 32, but he is an OCC member and likes long passages (his wife less so).
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I've done this trip 8 times and I'm about to do it again next week.

We sail, from Cowes, nonstop to Helgoland if the weather serves (it often doesn't). The best tip I can give anyone for getting across the North Sea, learnt by painful experience, is to stay offshore and use the TSS lanes (stay at the far right edge). This is much safer and more pleasant than dodging oil platforms and banks and unlit fishing boats and uncharted wind farms. Helgoland is a good staging point for getting into Cuxhaven. The tide really rips in the Elbe, and in the approaches, and you don't want to be anywhere near in strong wind against tide -- these are dangerous waters (Nordsee ist Mordsee). Helgoland is a great stopover with amazing seals and weird landscapes and duty free fuel and booze (stock up before going into the Baltic, at least the Nordic part). It is possible to get all the way into the Kiel Canal from Helgoland if the timing of the tide is right, but we usually stop in Cuxhaven, where you can for sure reach Brunsbuttel and get inside on the right tide. Note that it is verboten to navigate the Kiel Canal at night. There are wonderful stopovers inside the canal including Rendsburg but our favourite is the disused lock at the entrance to the Gieselau-Kanal.

This is the fastest way to get from England, and we are generally in Kiel in six days from Cowes. Cowes-Helgoland is about 450 miles so 2 1/2 days for us -- we like to leave in the evening and arrive early in the morning on the third day -- when the weather serves.

If you don't have a weather window to get all the way into the German Bight in one go, then you will spend a whole lot more time getting there by coast-hopping or going inside. If you HAVE time, this can be fun, but beware the Belgian and Dutch coasts in onshore gales. We've been through the Ijsselmeer a couple of times via Amsterdam -- lots of fun and with splendid stops like Enkhuizen and Harlingen, but time-consuming with a number of locks, and some difficult tidal-constrained pilotage for deep-draught yachts like ours. Probably doesn't make sense unless you have time to burn or if you are ducking in out of bad weather.

But anyway, to answer the OP's question -- from say Ramsgate you can be in the Baltic in anywhere from five days to a few weeks, depending on the route and the weather, and the size/speed of the yacht.
 
ctelfer38 said:
Solent to St Petersburgh and back is quite possible in 12 weeks. Solent - Amsterdam - Kiel - Copenhagen - Helsinki - St Petersburg - Tallin - Stockholm - Kiel - Cuxhaven - Ijmuiden - Dover and home. Lots of intermediate stopovers. Summer months of course. Getting the visas for visiting Russia took a few weeks though and Mr Putin was not on charge at the time! CBT
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My routine over four summers was to take the month of May to get from the Solent to the Bay of FInland (either Finland or Estonia), then cruise for June and July (or mix cruising with working), then take the month of August to get back to Cowes.

I can testify that even fighting contrary winds, a month is plenty of time to get from here to there, or back, and enough to stop off and have some fun along the way. Cowes-Helsinki is about 1300 miles so actually only 8 or 9 full days of sailing.

Of course you don't always have weather or wind, but I can give one good tip for a trip like this -- don't try to make the distance in day sails. The effort to get out of harbour and get under way, sail 60 or 80 miles, then get into harbour and get snugged away, is more than the effort to sail for 24 hours, unless perhaps only if you are single handed. And trying to do repeated consecutive long day sails is really exhausting. Our rule was always to make miles when the wind and weather was good, and stop off and goof off or be tourists when the wind wasn't right. We liked to do 3 or 4 day passages and then slow cruise or hang out in a particularly interesting harbour for 3 or 4 days, repeat until you arrive at the end.

And if you are going to the Eastern Baltic, don't waste too much time getting there -- the archipelagos of the Swedish East Coast and the entire Finnish South Coast, and the Archipelago Sea in between, are breath-taking -- one of the best places to sail I've ever seen.
 
Dockhead said:
Of course you don't always have weather or wind, but I can give one good tip for a trip like this -- don't try to make the distance in day sails. The effort to get out of harbour and get under way, sail 60 or 80 miles, then get into harbour and get snugged away, is more than the effort to sail for 24 hours, unless perhaps only if you are single handed. And trying to do repeated consecutive long day sails is really exhausting. Our rule was always to make miles when the wind and weather was good, and stop off and goof off or be tourists when the wind wasn't right. We liked to do 3 or 4 day passages and then slow cruise or hang out in a particularly interesting harbour for 3 or 4 days, repeat until you arrive at the end.
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Sailing non-stop is one way of making progress but it is not the only way and I got the impression that the OP was not intending to do so. Continuous travel is fine for a fully-crewed boat with sailors under a certain age, and as I said, I have done it to the Baltic a few times. There are times when long day sails makes more sense and gives more rest. I have never found getting snugged up in harbour and having a hot meal and a night's sleep after a long day sail especially challenging.

The places you mention are available to one-season cruisers but most of the people I know who have been there have left their boats in the Baltic for at least one winter. The majority of first-timers tend to restict themselves to the area around Denmark. This is a gentle cruising area with plenty of places to enjoy. Personally, I have got more satisfaction from more rugged spots such as the Swedish west coast and Bornholm as well as the Rugen, but tastes differ and I know those who have not especially enjoyed places that we love. Luckily, there is such a profusion of areas within the Baltic that there is something for (almost) everyone.
 
All really useful info, and both methods relevant. I would really want to right into the Swedish islands and to Estonia, not so bothered about Denmark.
If going with my mate then nonstop two up is a great option. If going with my wife, then day sails and the inland route will be a great option.
 
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