FROM POPULAR SCANDINAVIAN WATERS, TO OFF-THE-BEATEN-TRACK EASTERN GEMS, WIETZE VAN DER LAAN AND JANNEKE KUYSTERS SHARE SIX GREAT BALTIC CRUISES
The Baltic is one of the best cruising grounds in Europe, with a myriad of options to choose from. But how can you make the most of this diverse sailing area – and, for non-Schengen passport holders, what can be done in 90 days?
Between late June and mid August the Scandinavian summer can be seriously warm with temperatures around 25°C-30°C. There’ll be the occasional rainy or (very) windy day, but in general the forecast is very accurate. Sweden, Norway and Finland broadcast good forecasts for the whole Baltic, and we also found the ECMWF model (through the Windy app) very accurate.
STABLE WEATHER
Prevailing winds are from the west or south-west, fuelled by a train of lows coming from the Atlantic. However, in summer a stable high pressure area forms over Scandinavia, bringing beautiful weather and moderate to light easterly winds. Make sure you have enough fuel or a large light-weather sail for these conditions.
Distances between destinations are never very far. For cruisers who don’t fancy sailing through the night, there are 20-22 hours of daylight in midsummer, giving you a wider choice of destinations to sail to. The lack of tide adds to this flexibility.
Midsummer is celebrated everywhere with food, drink, festivities and a well-decorated maypole. In the shoulder seasons it is a bit chillier, especially in the evenings. Before midsummer and after 1 August restaurants, tourist offices and attractions decrease their opening hours. The upside is that it gets quieter and easier to find a space in the popular harbours and anchorages.
Northern Baltic shores are strewn with rocks, the southern shores are sandy and shallow. Everything is well surveyed and navigation is simple if your charts are up to date and you use common sense and caution.
There’s an abundance of cruising guides detailing every anchorage and bay with the rocks marked on aerial photos – they’re worth every penny. Markers and buoys are plentiful, sometimes to an almost confusing degree.
MOORING OPTIONS
There are lots of marinas and public jetties, and average berthing fees are around €30 for a 44ft yacht. Most have an intricate system for mooring. Parallel to the jetty there is a line of mooring balls. You pick up one of these, secure a line and then motor towards the jetty to attach two lines. There are no cleats on the jetty, but rings. Most Scandinavian boats have fancy ladders ready at the bow to make this manoeuvre easier. Yachts with centre cockpits or wide sterns tend to motor with the stern to the jetty. In Denmark, mooring is done between poles.
But the best thing is just to anchor in one of the thousands of bays in the archipelagos. Free anchoring can be limite
