Babsi and the Baltic Sea

Our Baltic sea sailing trip was a great success. We chartered a Bavaria 34 'Limited Edition' named BABSI for seven days out of Wendtorf Marina with Nancy, and Nigel and Moira Spragg as able bodied crew. Of course I was the bad tempered, Queeg-like captain. (I got all the strawberries.)

BABSI

We sailed from Wendtorf at about 1100 and headed out to sea bound across the south-western Baltic (Ost See in German) for Bagenkopp on the island of Langeland, Denmark. The wind was (yes) on the nose at about 18 knots and it was a lively sail for the first couple hours. It was also the week before Kieler Woch (Kiel Week), and there were many fabulous boats going the opposite direction. We had clouds of spinnakers going by heading south, and we saw many beautiful classic sailing ships bound for Kiel as well. The 35 mile crossing was colourful and interesting. I found it strange sailing in water so shallow. Leaving the marina at Wendtorf meant following a narrow bouyed channel until we were more than a mile offshore. Even when we were many miles offshore, the water was still only 15 metres deep.

Bagnekopp was another shallow bouyed channel entrance. The interesting thing about the marina was the unique system they had for finding a berth and paying. I was wondering how we would find a spot with the language barrier. I thought we would have to call ahead on the radio, ask for moorage, and then get assigned a spot, just like around Vancouver Island. That was not the case. You simply take your boat into the marina, find a slip you like, and tie up. Once there, you pay at a machine (like a parking lot), and the machine gives you a plastic card that gets you into the showers, bathrooms and laundry. The machine requires that you place a deposit on the card. When you return the card at the end of your stay, the cost of the services (including electricity and water) you have used is deducted from your deposit. It was very slick!

 Bagenkopp sunset

The town of Bagenkopp was classic Scandinavian style houses, built close to the cobbled roads. There was a bakery (of course) and a general store with some groceries. Everything was closed by the time we got there, but we did enjoy exploring the village.

For Sale!



The next day we left early (after eating fresh Danish pastries for breakie) for Aeroskobing on the island of Aero. We took the long way, south of the island, because there didn't look to be enough room in the shallows north of the island to sail properly.

The entrance to Aeroskobing was another long bouyed channel, but the bouys were very confusing. (remember they are the opposite to Canada to start with) They were not lit, and they looked like they had been there since WWI. I was glad we had found the place during daylight. Unlike Bagenkopp, where we found a side tie berth, in Aeroskobing we had to tie our stern to the jetty with our bow tied to two pilings. The boat was sort of suspended in an X between the four lines (kind of like a Med moor). To get on and off the boat you climbed over the stern. This type of mooring is only possible where there is no tide. The facilities at the marina were accessed the same way as at Bagenkopp, with a plastic card.

Aeroskobing bills itself as the most carefully preserved classic town in all of Denmark. It was fabulous to walk through. We spent all evening walking the streets and looking at the fascinating old cottages, some dating from 1600. Of course we visited the bakery and the grocery store and stocked up on local interesting food stuffs. (That means pastries) The Danes don't use the Euro; they still have their own currency, the crown or 'krone' in Danish. The exchange rate was 7 krone to the euro.

We left Aeroskobing the next morning bound for Sonderborg. The weather forecast was for no wind and rain the next day. We started out with the iron genny pushing us along looking for wind. While we were roundin the north end of the island in very shallow water we saw some folks on a large yacht waving their arms up and down in the classic distress pattern so off we went, BABSI to the rescue. The boat was a 40 foot sailboat that had lost its propellor and the crew were worried about going aground because there was no wind. They asked us to tow them out to deeper water, so we did. They had no English so I was unable to ask them why they didn't just drop their anchor. It was only a few meters deep and they were still a couple miles offshore. Nevertheless, we towed them to deeper water and then a light breeze came up, so they said they would be fine and we cast them off. They sailed slowly away, but not before showing their appreciation by giving us two bottles of fine Italian wine. Nice work!

Booty!

Sonderborg is a large college town with all the amenities. It was a good place to spend a of couple days exploring and eating Danishes. They had a lovely yacht club with a laundry and other servces. We used their facilities , but tied up downtown, because it was closer to the action. While we were there, the yacht club was holding the 18 foot skiff world championships. Neat boats! Sonderborg also had many classic sailing ships come and go in the two days we spent there. It seems like a popular stop on the coast.

18 foot skiffs

Disabled access Sonderborg style

  


After two days in Sonderborg we left on a nice beam reach that lasted all day. The winds were varying between 14 and 18 knots and we smoked right along to the German resort town of Damp.

Damp is what the Germans call a 'Cure'. That is, Germans who have been injured or sick get sent to places like Damp to recuperate. The Cures are funded by the health insurance that all Germans are required to have. That makes it a funny marina to stop at. We tied up bow in, using the pilings, similar to when we were in Aeroskobing. This time we had to disembark over the bow pulpit.

The resort/spa was fabulous. There were flashy hotels and lots of boutique stores along the boardwalk. It was all built on a white sand beach that stretched for miles.

The strange thing was, everyone except the boaters had something wrong with them. The number of people in wheelchairs and walkers, with crutches and limps was astonishing. I felt like I had to limp just to fit in. We went for a swim in the pool only to find that swimming was not really the idea. People were slowly walking from one end to the other, presumably exercising a gimp leg or bad knee. The swimmers were all breast stroking at a snail's pace. It was against the rules to make waves! The four of us were headed off for a sauna when we were stopped by an attendant who politely informed us that the saunas were "textile free." That is German speak for naked. When we saw the assortment of geriatric wounded heading into the sauna, we decided to give it a miss. Where were those young scandinavian girls now?

From Damp we sailed down into Kiel to have a look around. Kiel is a very busy Baltic port. It is the eastern end of the ship canal that connects the North sea and the Baltic. Cruise ships were a dime a dozen. It was interesting watching all the shipping traffic negotiating the hundreds of sailboats lallygagging around the inlet.

Finally we had to start thinking about returning the boat. The rule for the charter was the boat had to be fueled before being returned. That didn't sound like a big deal when we chartered it, but when we had to fill it we couldn't find any fuel docks marked on the charts and our Pilot books were all in German. We hailed a boat coming out of Laboe and asked about fuel and they told us that there was fuel in Laboe. In we went. Laboe is a tiny little fishing port that was hosting a Folkboat show and regatta. It was also the only fuel dock around and it was the beginning if a long weekend. We had to hover in an area about twice the length of the boat for almost an hour waiting for access to the only fueling station. There were hundreds of people watching as I careened around the confined space trying to stay out of the way of boats coming and going, and not lose my spot in the line to some unscrupulous queue jumping fuel pirate. I'm glad I was in someone else's boat and untraceable! Laboe also had a submariner's memorial. Very nice!

We spent our last night back at the dock in Wendtorf. The return of the boat was uneventful. We had finished the Baltic sailing phase of Eurodash 2011.