Information about the Baltic wanted

[r6lcc07]

We thought of taking Marelle to the Baltic last year, and attended the excellent CA seminar. Unanimous opinion there was that a holding tank is a necessity almost everywhere in the Baltic, and I am guessing Nyachilwa may not have one? We were told if we did not have a holding tank, to take a chemical toilet with us, which we did but in the end we didn't get further than Suffolk for reasons I won't bore you with.

 

[jbweston]

"True, the shoreline is mostly flat".

Stay home & watch Wallander, some of which feature that shoreline, which is indeed flat & boring.

South Sweden (Skane) is mostly flatt-ish. Bohuslan (west coast), and the Blue Coast (south of Stockholm) and the Stockholm Archipelago are rocky and to my eye more scenic. Latvia flat, Finland largely rocky and tree-lined. It all depends what you like, I guess.

 

[johnalison]

"True, the shoreline is mostly flat".

Stay home & watch Wallander, some of which feature that shoreline, which is indeed flat & boring.

What on earth makes you think that flat = boring? Friesland and Norfolk are both flat but scenically beautiful. Even sailing past the Frisian Islands has its fascination as ne watches the patches of grey change in the distance. I have sailed the whole Polish coast, which is one dirty great sand dune, and not found myself bored for a minute. The coast around Rugen is mostly interesting, with cliffs round from Dornbush to near Greifswald bodden and reed-lines shores for much of the rest, full of wildlife.
Southern Sweden has few distinctive features until you get past Ystad, where you risk being murdered according to the novels, but there isn't much of it anyway. You need to open your eyes to the delights of any such place if you hope to enjoy your cruising. I'll guarantee that if you pop into somewhere like Gager and walk up the nearby hill through fields of flowers and look at the Coast around you that you won't find the lack of "scenery' a problem.

 

[Prasutigus]

Greetings, this summer I've come though the K-canal, up the Little Belt, across the Skaggerak to Norway, now in Lindesnes heading for Stavanger. Never bothered with a box, always go straight on the town quays, they don't mind.
I'm now addicted, wish I'd done it before.
Join the CA, some one-marque clubs, yacht clubs etc qualify you for a useful discount, also if you get recommended by a member, there is some sort of cash bonus.
As the man said, 'just do it!' you won't be disappointed, regards P.

 

[Prasutigus]

We thought of taking Marelle to the Baltic last year, and attended the excellent CA seminar. Unanimous opinion there was that a holding tank is a necessity almost everywhere in the Baltic, and I am guessing Nyachilwa may not have one? We were told if we did not have a holding tank, to take a chemical toilet with us, which we did but in the end we didn't get further than Suffolk for reasons I won't bore you with.[/QUOTE

Totally disagree about the h/tank, most local yachts don't have one fitted..

 

[Prasutigus]

I am semi seriously thinking about taking my old wooden boat to the Baltic next year and maybe keeping the boat there for a couple of years. I am based E Coast UK and I'm not too worried about getting there in May 2018. A few local yachts do this and I believe that it should be an interesting and achievable trip.

I'm attracted to the Baltic rather than the Med for a few reasons:
-I can sail there fairly quickly and easily whereas the Med would be a long sail or an expensive delivery
-The Baltic climate would be kinder to my traditionally built wooden boat than the Mediterranean
-I like the look of it! And it seems that maybe there is more space and less showing off.

Can anyone recommend some sources of information? I guess I'm looking for marinas or boatyards that might have the space, that I can make a home base, and also that can take care of winter storage. I have a decent all over winter cover, but a shed might be even better.

I think I'm looking at SW region of the Baltic initially, probably like everyone else. So Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein, Southern Sweden. I'm not a member of the Cruising Association. Would that be worthwhile? But any pilot or guide books that you know of would be handy

Thank you

They all love old wooden boats, much more than the average Brits, you will get preferential treatment and pride of place on town quays etc. in my experience. Are you a gaffer?

 

[r6lcc07]

We thought of taking Marelle to the Baltic last year, and attended the excellent CA seminar. Unanimous opinion there was that a holding tank is a necessity almost everywhere in the Baltic, and I am guessing Nyachilwa may not have one? We were told if we did not have a holding tank, to take a chemical toilet with us, which we did but in the end we didn't get further than Suffolk for reasons I won't bore you with.[/QUOTE

Totally disagree about the h/tank, most local yachts don't have one fitted..

Wish we had known that before, it would have saved us a lot of hassle.

 

[Prasutigus]

Wish we had known that before, it would have saved us a lot of hassle.

Yes there are free loo's everywhere as well. I'm in the CA Baltic section, although I missed the seminar, but I sometimes feel that such groups, while great for sharing tips, can sometimes exaggerate theofficial difficulties. Eg, I only took the max allowance of drink into Norway, but I have been here 3 weeks or so and haven't even seen a policeman, let alone a customs person..

 

[BabaYaga]

We thought of taking Marelle to the Baltic last year, and attended the excellent CA seminar. Unanimous opinion there was that a holding tank is a necessity almost everywhere in the Baltic, and I am guessing Nyachilwa may not have one? We were told if we did not have a holding tank, to take a chemical toilet with us, which we did but in the end we didn't get further than Suffolk for reasons I won't bore you with.[/QUOTE

Totally disagree about the h/tank, most local yachts don't have one fitted..

Some basic facts: Discharging toilet waste to the sea (within the 12 mile zone) is illegal in Sweden since 2015. Finland has had similar legislation for more than 10 years. There is no legal requirement to fit a holding tank (at least for Sweden, don't know about Finland), but in order to practically use a normal sea toilet, the boat must have a holding tank that can be emptied through a deck fitting at a pump-out station.

 

[Amphitrite]

I'm sorry to disagree with you, but although we also enjoyed the west of Sweden and Bornholm, the German Coast and especially Rugen is my favourite part of the Baltic. True, the shoreline is mostly flat except North of Sassnitz, but the combination of beautiful cities such as Stralsund and Wismar, multiple harbours both large and small, attractive scenery and wildlife, and diverse places of interest makes this coast both easy and rewarding to visit.

Perhaps one has a tendency to look only beyond once's home waters, I agree that Ruegen archipelago is very nice. The "Baltic" is perhaps a bit too generalistic when it comes to describing the area, it is very varied. Gotland for example is also truely beautiful...

Haven't seen the Limfjord mentioned here, a nice route through Denmark from the Northsea at Thyborøn and bringing you right into the Kattegat, from where a crossing to west sweden is very rewarding, with some nice small islands (Laeso and Anholt) as stepping stones...

 

[DoubleEnder]

This is all excellent stuff thank you. No, not gaff rigged but fractional bermudan. But very woody. No holding tank and no practical way of fitting one. Maybe I should get a small portable chemical bog? I'd rather not, as space is limited and I'd rather keep the lava.... I shall have a think. There are other ways of dealing with solids and I can't imagine a pee over the side would get me busted?

 

[BabaYaga]

This is all excellent stuff thank you. No, not gaff rigged but fractional bermudan. But very woody. No holding tank and no practical way of fitting one. Maybe I should get a small portable chemical bog? I'd rather not, as space is limited and I'd rather keep the lava.... I shall have a think. There are other ways of dealing with solids and I can't imagine a pee over the side would get me busted?

Harbours and marinas will all have toilet facilities. Using the boat toilet while sailing might be unlawful (in Sweden and Finland), but no one will notice, so again not much of a problem.
However, the main attraction of these two countries as cruising destinations are their vast archipelagos, with thousands of islands and hundreds of natural harbours and anchorages. The most popular spots might have simple toilets and waste bins, but most of them have not. Discharging toilet waste while moored up to rock would be regarded as very anti-social.

 

[johnalison]

Harbours and marinas will all have toilet facilities. Using the boat toilet while sailing might be unlawful (in Sweden and Finland), but no one will notice, so again not much of a problem.
However, the main attraction of these two countries as cruising destinations are their vast archipelagos, with thousands of islands and hundreds of natural harbours and anchorages. The most popular spots might have simple toilets and waste bins, but most of them have not. Discharging toilet waste while moored up to rock would be regarded as very anti-social.

There are also rules in Sweden and maybe elsewhere against lighting barbecues on rocks. It is OK on a pedestal, but directly on the rock is forbidden.

 

[DoubleEnder]

Harbours and marinas will all have toilet facilities. Using the boat toilet while sailing might be unlawful (in Sweden and Finland), but no one will notice, so again not much of a problem.
However, the main attraction of these two countries as cruising destinations are their vast archipelagos, with thousands of islands and hundreds of natural harbours and anchorages. The most popular spots might have simple toilets and waste bins, but most of them have not. Discharging toilet waste while moored up to rock would be regarded as very anti-social.

I agree completely and would not think of doing so. I just didn't want to get unnecessarily specific ....

 

[BabaYaga]

I agree completely and would not think of doing so.

Didn't mean to suggest that you would.
My point was that not having solved the toilet waste issue in some acceptable way (holding tank, chemical toilet, etc) could prevent you from experiencing some of the best aspects of cruising here.