Taking your cruising ground ...... where have you not been but want to go to ?

NormanS said:
The Grey Dogs can be an interesting passage.
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Its on my "no thanks" list.
I have a list of Antares Charts locations visited so far (just under 300), and those on my wish list to visit - but also nearly 100 on my "no thanks" list (many due to mast concerns / bridge heights, but some like Grey Dogs due to concerns about my keel)
 
dunedin said:
That why it can make a lot of sense to take 2 seasons and over winter somewhere in the Baltic (we chose Fehmarn, in Germany). This allows time to get round to the East side of Sweden - and perhaps back through the Gota Canal.
Fortunately the 18 month rule for VAT temporary import still works with this approach, although Schengen days can be an issue for most of us.
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If anyone wants to over-winter here ... get in touch with me and I can talk to the yards .. I am the HLR for Cruising Assoc for West Coast Latvia.... and know the yards well.
 
Snowgoose-1 said:
There is great joy in setting targets.


No particular places to go for me , but a determination to do more sailing than I have done in recent years.
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I took on a former employee from one of my other companys as local manager - that has reduced my workload significantly ... and for last years I have had to support wifes Mother as Dementia took ever increasing toll .... I've finally secured a good care place for her and signed guarantees ...

Those two factors mean that this next season I acn start to think again about longer trips on the boat .... Alex who crews with me - his situation improved also - so now its island Hopping here we come !!
 
jamie N said:
Being slightly pedantic, the 'big' crater is from the exploding Operation Big Bang, where redundant munitions were exploded in the tunnels.
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My late father was a surveyor in the Royal Engineers. He was 18 in December 1945 so missed the war but still had to do national service. His unit was sent there to do a land survey of the island both before & after the big bang to document the effect. "Considerable" was an understatement but the island survived.
 
Last summer I sailed to Scotland and decided to go to anchorages new to me. I repeated Traig Gheal because its so nice but every place I stayed after that was new to me, often the only boat and a bit "tenuous" for shelter at times. I think that's what makes Scotland unique - sail the same stretch and stay in new places.

Borrodale Islands and Crossapol Bay (SW corner) were highlights.

Picture is the NW corner of Gigha.

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As Supertramp shows ... you don't always have to follow previous stops etc.

Its one of the reasons I like the Swedish and Finnish Archipelago's .... there are so many islands and little coves you duck into ... often alone - or maybe another boat there as well ... after areas like the Solent ... its such a complete change.
In fact there are so many coves etc - that you could spend a lifetime sailing there and never visit all ...

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johnalison said:
There is film of the explosives on Heligoland which is certainly impressive. It is many years since I was there, but I think there was a plaque or some kind of notice by the big crater describing it as coming from a Grand Slam. The presence of the crater and others on the surface seems to suggest that they came from somewhere near top of the solid rock.
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The explosion was definitely of a large accumulation of surplus munitions, not a bomb. Good articles here: Operation Big Bang: When the British tried to blow up Helgoland and here: Operation Big Bang - Wikipedia. The primary purpose was the destruction of the underground bunkers in order to deny their use to the Germans in case of any further unpleasantness with them.

Heligoland is an excellent stop on the way to or from the Baltic, in case one has the time for the stop. Cheap diesel fuel and booze and an interesting place to wander around.
 
During one of our many days WOW (waiting on weather) on Helgoland, my Dutch colleague and I were wandering around near to the museum, where there's a 'Tall Boy' bomb. As we passed it, my oppo said that the UK would probably want it back if they knew it was here.
Interesting what you say about diesel being cheap. We used about 1500 litres a day on average, and found it cheaper to go back to Cuxhaven to refuel, rather than pay the local price. Our client paid our fuel, and was one of the main wind farm operators there, so I wonder whether 'visiting yotties' got a better deal?
 
jamie N said:
During one of our many days WOW (waiting on weather) on Helgoland, my Dutch colleague and I were wandering around near to the museum, where there's a 'Tall Boy' bomb. As we passed it, my oppo said that the UK would probably want it back if they knew it was here.
Interesting what you say about diesel being cheap. We used about 1500 litres a day on average, and found it cheaper to go back to Cuxhaven to refuel, rather than pay the local price. Our client paid our fuel, and was one of the main wind farm operators there, so I wonder whether 'visiting yotties' got a better deal?
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I did refuel there but I don’t remember the cost. I think that we managed to avoid filling up with water, which was desalinated and very expensive.
 
Refueler said:
Never noticed that ....

Trip back to Hamburg some years ago - noted that the "Reperbaum" had gone ....
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I am from Hamburg and I am not sure what you're talking about. Do you mean the Reeperbahn? That still exists. Große Freiheit, too. It's still the raunch as always.
johnalison said:
There is film of the explosives on Heligoland which is certainly impressive. It is many years since I was there, but I think there was a plaque or some kind of notice by the big crater describing it as coming from a Grand Slam. The presence of the crater and others on the surface seems to suggest that they came from somewhere near top of the solid rock.

I considered whether to spell it Helgoland but I thought it might puzzle some of this motley crew, and in any case I don't write Deutschland for Germany, so what the hell.

It is worth going there in early mid-summer when the path on the top takes you past the nests of hundreds of guillemots, kittiwakes and gannets with an excellent view.
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It's Helgoland in german and Heligoland in english, for some reason. Same as München and Munich. Or Braunschweig - Brunswick.. But yes, the birds are spectacular and the red cliffs of course, too.

I've been as a kid once but don't remember too much. A friend of mine had sailed there recently and brought it back to my mind.
 
johnalison said:
There is film of the explosives on Heligoland which is certainly impressive. It is many years since I was there, but I think there was a plaque or some kind of notice by the big crater describing it as coming from a Grand Slam. The presence of the crater and others on the surface seems to suggest that they came from somewhere near top of the solid rock.

I considered whether to spell it Helgoland but I thought it might puzzle some of this motley crew, and in any case I don't write Deutschland for Germany, so what the hell.

It is worth going there in early mid-summer when the path on the top takes you past the nests of hundreds of guillemots, kittiwakes and gannets with an excellent view.
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Before:

The_German_Navy_in_the_Second_World_War_HU104923.jpg
After:
Insel_Helgoland_2.JPG


Notice the big crater? Big boom. :O
 
Wansworth said:
Littlehampton has the second fastest ebb in the Uk so I was told,but making sure you arrive within maximum of two hours after HW and with an engine or agood breeze the entrance is ok.Once in the harbour master has berths on the starboard side.I haven’t been there for years but it has its unique charm as a slightly seedy run down holiday destination on the east bank .The West Bank was hometo David Hillyard and Osborne boatbuilders.Its a bit more of a challenge to get there but has the air of a proper seaport
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I have always assumed that it is the sort of place to arrive and leave around HW slack! The almanac describes berths on the eastern side, hopefully space usually as off the beaten track compared to the Solent!
 
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