Passage from Sweden

[Chris_Stannard]

I am helping to bring a boat back from the Gothenburg area in April. The boat is 46 feet and draws about 2 metres. I probably will end up doing the naviagtion and wonder if anyone has any views on the best route to follow, ports of refuge in case of bad weather and suitable stopovers on the Danish, Dutch, Belgian and french coasts.

Many thanks in advance

<hr width=100% size=1>Chris Stannard

 

[vyv_cox]

I assume you are coming via the Kiel Canal? In the Danish Baltic the problem is more where there isn't a good port of refuge. There are so many good ports that my list would be exhaustive. In a boat of that size there probably won't be too much to worry about in the way of seas but the Great Belt can be a bit choppy in a good blow. The marina about a mile north of the canal entrance is excellent, probably the best we ever stayed in.

Once through the canal the problem will be getting out of Cuxhaven. On the ebb in anything over a F4 from W or NW don't even think about leaving. At the very bottom of neaps we had 4 knots under us and green waves sweeping the decks in a NW5 and that was just off Cuxhaven town. Further out it gets much worse, apparently.

The Elbe/Jade is a very big estuary with much shipping and no shelter. Buoyage is first class though.

At 2 metres draught you don't have many options along the Freisians, it's possible to get into Nordeney but I think you would struggle to make progress in the wats behind the islands with your depth. Getting out in a blow from N or NW is impossible so you could be stuck for a while. You could get up the Westerems and through the Dutch canals but its a long way under engine. Could pay off if the weather is really bad though. I suspect you might plough a furrow for some of the route but I think you'll get through. You always have the option to come out again, either at Lauwersoog or Harlingen if the weather picks up again. Otherwise it's worth coming through Ijsselmeer and Markermeer and Noordzee canal just for the experience, emerging at Ijmuiden.

Going back to round the outside, Texel has good shelter, you can get inside the eastern end near HW and any time at the W end. Then Ijmuiden and Scheveningen, but all others require quite a trek from the sea, either Stellendam, Roompot or Vlissingen. We would normally head straight for Zeebrugge or Oostende at this stage, dependent upon weather, of course. Or in a southerly it might be worth heading for Ramsgate at this stage, usually takes us 20 hours from Stellendam.

Going on from Oostende, Dunquerke is OK, tides getting stronger. Calais is alright but I don't know current marina status. Boulogne is reputedly better than it was but watch the tides through the pontoons just after HW, can be very strong.

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[pandroid]

Between Cuxhaven and Den Helder, the only real all-states option is Borkum. There's a short cut from the East (most of the seegats face west and you end up going about 5 miles past). Borkum Yacht harbour is terrible - metal pontoons with lumps sticking out, half afloat, dodgy electrics and silted up to boot so you sit in the mud, but the harbour just a bit further down the cut is OK, and has a few pontoons. Its miles from the town, but the marina has an OK restuarant.

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