Baltic Sea 2020 Part 3

Cruise Report 2020

Baltic Sea and more.

Part Three: From Lübeck-Travemünde to Boltenhagen and beyond.

June 27th. We want to continue eastward, explore the Baltic Sea coast. The next destination, Boltenhagen, seems like a good choice. I have been there once before with Winnie the Pooh a few years ago. The harbor is only 21 nautical miles away, about 40 km, so it can be reached in around four hours. Perfect for a day trip. The weather is ideal, sunny, calm, already very warm in the early morning, almost muggy. At 9:00 am, we cast off the lines, maneuver the Marex out of the box - not a big deal in calm winds - and off we go, past the PASSAT, past the mole, and out into the Bay of Lübeck. Soon, a large TT-Line ferry appears behind us, it is on the Lübeck-Gedser route; we stay further south, closer to the coast, and it overtakes us at a great distance. The sea is calm, almost mirror-like; it keeps getting warmer, I open the hatches, and the breeze blows fresh air into my face. Pleasant! It's a calm, almost boring journey along the coast. Only when we approach our destination, we have to pay more attention again. We have to make a wide turn around the Huk near Boltenhagen, as there are shallows with many large rocks marked on the chart. We head towards the island of Poel, then turn south and later west. The marina of Boltenhagen is protected in a bay called Wohlenberger Wiek. The fairway is well marked with buoys and towers, so finding our destination is not a problem. Shortly after 1:00 pm, we moor at an empty jetty in the modern, generously sized facility. The harbor offers everything a spoiled "yachtee" could wish for. It is a 10 to 15-minute walk to the beach in Boltenhagen. This time, I skip a walk on the beach. Boltenhagen also has a very nice, wooded hinterland. So why not take a walk in the woods for a change? It's much more pleasant in the heat!

Sunday, June 28th. We're already on the move again at 8:30 am. The weather forecast predicted thunderstorms, and it looks like it: heavy, dark clouds in the sky, almost no wind, and again very warm and muggy. We head out of the bay on varying courses, past the island of Poel, as well as the peninsula of Rerik. The sky over the land is getting darker; something is brewing. But now Kühlungsborn is already in sight. There is a big Ferris wheel on the beach, and we drive a little further to the marina on the outskirts of the town. We arrive at the jetty around half past twelve. As soon as we moored, a thunderstorm breaks out with lightning and thunder and heavy rain showers. It rattles deafeningly on the deck, but everything inside stays dry, thank God. And after a short time, the storm is over, the sun even comes out again as if nothing had happened. A chance for a walk on the beach and on the impressive pier. On the way back through the town, I hear the locomotive of the Molli resort railway whistle, but by the time I get to the track, it's already gone. No photographic evidence possible, only the empty tracks. ;-) In the evening, I make plans for the next steps. I want to explore the Bodden waters around Rügen and have set my sights on Hiddensee as the destination, clearly too far from here for a day trip. The neighboring town of Heiligendamm is off-limits. So the only intermediate destination is Warnemünde.

Monday, June 29th. The morning starts promising: sunny, warm, fresh wind from the southeast. Departure is at 9:00 am. It's only 12 nautical miles to Warnemünde, so it will take about two hours. On the Baltic Sea, the southeast wind is already building quite a nice wave, and we easily take it on a diagonal. After two hours, we turn into the Warnemünde fairway. On the starboard side, there is a bathing beach with beach chairs and, yes, a Ferris wheel. We leave the Marina Hohe Düne to the left (in the literal sense!) and instead head up the Warnow. Since we're already here, we want to go all the way to Rostock. Past shipyards, harbor facilities, and various marinas, we drive all the way to the Rostock City Harbor right in the city center. Yes, and what is there on the pier right next to the boat moorings? That's right, a Ferris wheel! We moor at the jetty at 12:15 pm. Later it would turn out that this decision was absolutely right because a low-pressure area is approaching with winds up to force 7, gusts up to 8. It would have been uncomfortable even in the Marina Warnemünde.

June 30th to July 1st. Days in port in Rostock, due to the weather conditions. The strong wind continues. We stay in the harbor. There is a lot to see in Rostock, so the two days in the harbor are not so bad. Time flies by with visits to all the "important" sights, strolling through the city, and shopping. There is not much sign of corona restrictions, except that - as everywhere else - masks have to be worn in shops, and contact details have to be provided in restaurants; at the table, the mask can be taken off. ;-) The pedestrian zone is bustling as usual, hardly anyone cares about distances, masks are rarely seen. I am always glad to be back on my boat.

Thursday, July 2nd. The wind shows no sign of letting up, but the weather forecast predicts a break for tomorrow, July 3rd, before it picks up again. So we made a decision: now or never! Tomorrow morning: off to Hiddensee. To shorten the distance, we move to Warnemünde in the afternoon and pay a short visit to the Marina Hohe Düne. In the late afternoon, a strange ship enters the Warnow: a ferry with a Flettner rotor. See photo.

Friday, July 3rd. We sneak out of the harbor early in the morning at 6 o'clock. We try to leave without using the bow thruster to not wake anyone up; and it works. At least no one complained. ;-) The flags in the harbor are already fluttering, so it can't be as calm as the weather report promised. As soon as we pass the breakwaters, we are hit by a quite impressive swell from the northeast, the effects of the strong winds of the past days. The boat is still sideways to the waves and gets a few big rolls before I have the bow pointing northeast. As a precaution, I have stowed and secured everything on board. Otherwise, there would have been a big mess right here on the boat. Now, we have a nice wave from the front, from the northeast, exactly where we have to go! Miss Marple immediately starts rolling heavily. Well, at least she likes that better than having the sea on her side. At first, I think, OMG, is it going to be like this for the next few hours? The wind has already picked up again. Miss Marple rolls and shakes vigorously in between. Shouldn't I turn back and return to the safe marina? But she bravely continues to make 5 to 6 knots, not bad considering the conditions, probably because of the relatively long waves; the shocks are limited. So keep going, we have to go through because tomorrow it's going to be even worse. After almost four hours of rolling, we have Darßer Ort abeam, and we can change course to starboard. Now the waves come more diagonally, making the journey a bit more pleasant. But it still rocks quite a bit. Three hours later, we reach the fairway that leads west of Hiddensee into the lagoons. We head south and now have the waves more from behind. I think bit by bit we should get more shelter from the land, but no, the wind keeps turning more to the left and ends up coming from the west-northwest. So the waves stay with us. It only becomes really calm when we pass through the narrow passage between Hiddensee and Bock (the island is actually called that). By now, I've become quite tired and look for alternatives to Vitte/Hiddensee, our original destination. On the starboard side, there is the small pilot harbor of Barhöft. I steer the narrow fairway into the harbor and look around. Everything is full. Only on the left back there is still a place on buoys. I can't moor on buoys as a single-handed sailor, so I turn around and leave the harbor again. Now the only option, if I don't want to continue all the way to Stralsund, is a harbor before Vitte. Schaprode on the island of Rügen is a good choice, right opposite Hiddensee. Well, at least it's an hour less travel time. So that's what we'll do. At least now we are in the lagoons and have shelter from the land. The wind is still blowing strong, but the waves are much smaller, and Miss Marple plows right through them. Finally, around 6:00 pm, we moor at the jetty in Schaprode. Phew! That was quite a ride!

Schaprode used to be a small fishing village. There are still one or two fishing trawlers, but today the village lives off tourism. The boat harbor is operated by the Schaprode Anglers Association. On the outer side of the jetty are the sports boats and guest moorings, on the inside are dozens of small fishing boats with outboard engines and special equipment for professional fishing. Sport fishing with paying guests seems to be very popular and profitable here, most of the boats look fancy and modern. Next door is the small ferry harbor, from here you can cross to Vitte on Hiddensee, but large passenger ships from Stralsund also regularly dock here. There is quite a bit of activity in the harbor. It reminds me a bit of Norddeich, just smaller. When the ferry is about to depart, holidaymakers with children and suitcases come over from the parking lot, in wind and weather, often still raining; I feel sorry for them; they certainly didn't imagine their vacation like this. I can observe everything well because of the weather I stay in the harbor. The wind simply doesn't calm down, it has been blowing fresh to strong from the north to the west for days. Miss Marple is right at the front of one of the first jetties in the harbor. The wind drives short, steep waves into the sound, causing the boats to rock heavily. It would have been calmer further back, but everything is occupied by permanent moorings. The anglers apparently know why they put the guest moorings in the front. ;-) With this weather, you can't make any major trips, but every now and then the sun shines for an hour, inviting you to take a walk in the beautiful surroundings.

July 7th. It's time for us to continue our journey. Three days in the harbor are definitely enough. Actually, we wanted to circumnavigate Rügen in the north and admire the chalk cliffs from the sea. Unfortunately, the weather conditions don't allow for that. It's still blowing with five Beaufort winds, so we are now heading to Stralsund, mostly sheltered in the lagoons and the Strelasund. Miss Marple handles the short, steep waves quite well. The fairway is somewhat narrow in places, but well marked with buoys, although they are not always easy to see with the waves and foam. Every now and then, a sailboat comes towards us and rushes past at full speed. Quite brave to sail in such a narrow fairway, the motorboat driver thinks. But everything is fine, we pass each other closely, wave briefly, and move on. After three hours of sailing, we moor at noon in the city harbor of the old Hanseatic city of Stralsund - with a view of the old "Gorch Fock" across the way. - A short walk on cobblestones and beautiful, smooth granite slabs on the sidewalks, and we are already on an impressively large square, square-shaped, surrounded by beautiful old brick buildings and townhouses. In the middle, set into the ground, is a fountain that shoots up a jet of water every few moments, much to the delight of the playing children.