Mediterranean or Baltic?

peteandthira

peteandthira

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 Jan 2005
Messages
786
Location
On boat
Visit site
Dear all

Having just sailed from Scotland to SW England, planning to go to the Med (living aboard, with no house) we are running into an increasing number of people who are poo-pooing the Med for being too busy, too hot and too expensive. Additionally we have met one or two people headed for the Baltic and it has caused this minor "thinks bubble".

Since we are retired, we can change our plans quite readily and head east instead of south next spring. If anyone out there has any practical experience of either, or preferably both, we would really like to hear from you.

We don't know much about the Baltic, but I do plan to do some internet research this winter. Do any of you experienced yachtspersons have any views on the "best" way to go for a cruising couple?

I know this sounds as though we haven't really thought this through, but so far we only considered the one dream of nice warm anchorages in the Med, lots of red wine, similarly coloured meat and warm water.

It might be worth adding that climate is quite important, not being well-kitted out for cold climates (plastic boat, Eberspacher etc), so any first-hand notes from the Baltic concerning summer and winter difficulties would be very much appreciated.

We also imagine that the S coast of England might be nice to see on the way, and coast-hop to the Baltic after a much less testing crossing!

We have 2500 miles under our belt but don't much like any difficult conditions.

My apologies if this should have been posted elsewhere!

Regards

Pops
 
I have only sailed the Baltic in a professional capacity, not aboard a yacht.

My lasting impression was that it was "depressive". Not the people, or even the scenery which can be quite beautiful, but the lack of sunshine got to me in a big way.

Stockholm - November - sunrise 10 am - sunset 3 pm - enough said

In summer the Swedish & Finnish islands are quite beautiful and no doubt there are lots of other places; but I would avoid the Baltic in winter.
 
I have no experience of Baltic Sea.
Have sailed Italy, Greece, Turkey and France.
Northern shore med is busy and costly especially during July/august.
Much less later or sooner. Southern shore, apart from security problems, is much cheaper and relaxed.
Much depends on timing and needs for connections.
Bad idea wintering afloat in Turkey (risk of gales in winter month with BIG sea).
Cheers
 
I live ine the Baltic ..... (various periods in Lithuania, Estonia and presently Latvia) as well as Russia.

I am biased .... I like it. Winters - cold and forget boating ... but lift outs etc. are pleasantly more economic than in the West. Summers are heaven ...

If I can help - pm me ...
 
Halfway thro' 5 year plan. Bought and refitted boat in Faro, now in Sardinia. Aguadulce last winter, no problem, friendly safe and seems to have its own microclimate.
Balearics this summer, worked the west coasts, very good, cheap, friendly and not crowded until July. Now in Porto Torregrande, Oristano. Slightly isolated but over 50% cheaper than S.E.Spain.
I've not sailed he Baltic but have sailed to Norway and back. For extended cruising the Med has my vote. I can start cruising in April and lay up in November.

ps SWMBO hates the cold an wet.
 
One month sailing in the Baltic in summer,magical in all respects,except that it was expensive as we were Sweden based and at the time we were not permitted to visit East coast.
I would have thought that a quick scan of the average temperatures and sunset/rise times for the area would rule it out for live aboard.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT004450

Edited senior moment!
 
The Baltic is gorgeous in the summer. Lovely harbours and villages, plus excellent Danish pastry.

As SBC says though, not my first choice as a winter cruising ground!
 
Too hot for me in the Med, so starting our Baltic trip in May in Denmark. Go to Cruising Association website for info on both Med and Baltic - both have very active groups.
 
I spent three months this summer in the Baltic, and it was wonderful. When the weather was good, it was perfect. And no Atlantic depressions, or anything like that. The eastern side is increduibly cheap. Not all of it is cold and dark: I've left the boat in Stralsund, which is about the same latitude as Leeds. Looking at the Stralsund weather and webcam the past few weeks, I wish I'd stayed at least another month.

I've added a lot to my website about the Baltic: you'll find it Channel Pilot.

Nicholas Hill
 
I\'d agree in part

The Med is possibly one of the worst sailing areas in the world, and I mean sailing not cruising. Either too much or not enough wind, morose, confused, short seas and definitely too hot, too expensive and too crowded, from end June to beginning of September.
But what a kaleidescope of history, a fascinating treasury of western art. You'll not find those in the Baltic, which is pretty good cruising during its short summer.

But why not look at some other equally, or even superior cruising grounds, the Western Isles of Scotland, the Rias Biaxas of Galicia or if you don't mind the crowds, Southern Brittany?

Oh! one thing the Baltic shares with Scotland - man-eating mozzies.
 
[ QUOTE ]

Stockholm - November - sunrise 10 am - sunset 3 pm - enough said


[/ QUOTE ]

You missed where Pops came from........

Glasgow - December - sunrise 10am - sunset 3pm - enough said /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Donald
 
Stockholm - July - sunrise 5 am - sunset 11 pm.

I spent a month pottering up and down the east coast of Sweden this year and never wore more than a pair of shorts. The weather in the baltic can be wonderful in the summer, and the archipelagos offer a multitude of natural - read free - harbours. It's a bit pot luck with the weather though, similar to the South of England, it can rain a lot sometimes. Also, some areas can be just as crowded as the med in peak season.
 
Season length: Baltic, 3 - 4 months; Med, 6 - 7 months

Live aboard winter: Baltic, long, cold, dark; Med, English summer.

Costs: Baltic, cheap E, expens W; Med, wide variety from eye-watering to sincerely low.

Cultures: Baltic, E vs W; Med, wide variety

Getting there: Baltic, long legs, flat coasts; Med, Brittany, N Spain Rias, Portuguese ports, S Iberia - quite fun really. You might get stuck en route for a season. We did.

Med heat and crowds? We come home for 4 weeks to catch up with friends and relations.

Baltic winter? Ditto, but longer!

My website is slowly being extended to compare the more popular European cruising areas with each other. The update should be available 14 Dec. Meanwhile you can look at the variety of N Spain and Greece there. I'll post when the major revision comes on line . . .
 
I once spent a Christmas on a bulk carrier in Klaipeda, Lithunia. Not a happy experience! This was pre-Glasnost and the unfriendly locals didn't seem to celebrate Christmas at all [not that they seemed to have anything at all to celebrate, in what one of our loony-left union leaders once described as the "Worker Paradise"]. We loaded coal right through Christmas Day and Boxing day and it snowed continuously. The mixture of snow and coal dust trampled through the accomodation did nothing to add to the festive cheer.
Several deck lights had been damaged in the severe gale that welcomed us to the Baltic and it was my job to fix them. It was so cold that, despite several layers of clothing including pyjamas , I could only work outside in half-hour stretches and bare fingers stuck to the metal.
Winter in the Baltic? No thanks!
 
Wow, thanks for your great responses guys. I hope you'll all not mind me responding individually but there's quite a lot there!

From what you have all been saying, it seems best for us to stick with plan "A" and head south.

I definitely appreciate the praise for the Baltic summers and would like to see one, but we have to stay in the boat through the winter so that really rules it out. The canals are also out (I believe) 'cos of our 2.1m draft.

Also appreciate the Med weather and sea problems but they seem to be more practical, and as Jimbaerselman says, there are lots of places between here and the Med.

Once again, your responses were excellent and given us food for thought. Thanks very much.

Pops
 
Lithuania would have been part of the Soviet Union at the time, assuming that it was pre-1991, and the Russian population in Lithuania was, and still is, very big. The Russian Orthodox church celebrates Christmas under the old Gregorian calendar on 6/7th January, not 25th December. 25th December is a normal working day in Russia, and most people there probably aren't even aware that it is Christmas under the Julian calendar. New Year was the big public celebration. Xmas on 6/7th celebrated by many privately.

That's why you had the Christmas experience you did. If you went now you'd have a different experience.

I don't think many people would care to live aboard in the Baltic in winter. In summer, it's pretty unparalleled as a cruising ground.
 
Simon

"In summer, it's pretty unparalleled as a cruising ground. "

Thats why we wondered about it. Such a shame its not feasible to stay in winter too! Would love to try it.

Pops
 
Sorry for including politics here /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[ QUOTE ]
This was pre-Glasnost and the unfriendly locals didn't seem to celebrate Christmas at all

[/ QUOTE ]

Well - in Soviet Union christmas was prohibeted like all other religion-releated things. Communists actually cheerfully blew lots of beautiful churhes up /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

New-Year was the party time.

Hopefully this is over now and forever

Peep, Tallinn, Estonia
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

M
Sounder calibration?
2
Replies
20
Views
393
john_morris_uk
J
Romeo
Inside helm position - real life experience?
2 3 4
Replies
61
Views
3K
Whaup367
W

Share this page

Top