In this publication10 photos
21 April 2024. After two and a half months without a day off — coding by day, painting at weekends — I finally exhaled. Three days sleeping aboard brought me round. Lübeck behind me, north-east towards Christiansø and Bornholm. For the first leg, I hoped to reach at least Rügen.
Ports of refuge
• First outing of the season: anything could happen. Nearby shelter in Lübeck Bay: Travemünde, seven miles, and Grömitz twenty miles.
• Wismar Bay — twenty-five miles, six to nine hours, with several suitable marinas.
• Then Kühlungsborn, 35 miles, and Warnemünde, 45. In theory, Gedser was possible at 55 miles, but required crossing a traffic separation scheme, TSS.
• Then a long stretch without shelter: only Prerow at mile seventy.
• Final destination: Barhöft, 98 miles.
At an average 4.5 knots, twenty to twenty-two hours.
Weather
The red Windy forecast three to eleven knots of headwind.
Motoring, then: to maintain the planned speed under sail, I’d need at least fifteen knots abeam or aft.
The passage
Quiet going. Followed my Navionics route; tried Savvy Navvy but didn’t take to it. Swans by the shore, gulls offshore. Near Wismar, porpoises escorted me for a couple of minutes — like small dolphins. A good sign. Reading, tea, simply being there.
I used to add a little alcohol to the stove for each boil. Now half a bottle: less fuss. Convenient.
Cold after sunset. Seven layers, warmers, sleeping bag in the cockpit. Bearable, but getting out of that cocoon was a challenge. Does proper thermal underwear for this exist?
After ten, I began dozing: an alarm every twenty minutes to check course and surroundings, sometimes more often. You never know whether the autopilot will fail or another boat will approach with its skipper asleep too. Saw a shooting star.
Light from four. Fog and drizzle in patches, condensation everywhere. A fantastic dawn, though.
Reached Rügen at seven: a protected island with narrow fairways and surrounding shoals. Hard to concentrate, with birds and scenery everywhere. I wanted to stay the whole holiday.
Aground
Near the marina, I felt uneasy: fenders still not down. I stopped two hundred metres out and went forward to prepare. The wind carried us outside the fairway. I’d just turned towards the nearest buoy when the stern jumped and the boat stopped. Aground.
Reverse: nothing. Rocking, setting sail: nothing. Firmly stuck. I called the harbourmaster. He’d already seen me and called the rescue service.
A small launch came off a larger rescue boat, two people aboard. Politely but firmly, they asked me to fill in a form first. Then gave me a line to secure at the bow. A couple of minutes later, back in the fairway.
Total
Covered 98 miles in twenty-two hours, using 23 litres of diesel.
#passage
Ports of refuge
• First outing of the season: anything could happen. Nearby shelter in Lübeck Bay: Travemünde, seven miles, and Grömitz twenty miles.
• Wismar Bay — twenty-five miles, six to nine hours, with several suitable marinas.
• Then Kühlungsborn, 35 miles, and Warnemünde, 45. In theory, Gedser was possible at 55 miles, but required crossing a traffic separation scheme, TSS.
• Then a long stretch without shelter: only Prerow at mile seventy.
• Final destination: Barhöft, 98 miles.
At an average 4.5 knots, twenty to twenty-two hours.
Weather
The red Windy forecast three to eleven knots of headwind.
Shipping Forecast
, 21.04.2025, 09:36 UTC
No warnings
Western Baltic: light and variable winds, at times misty with fog patches, later locally thunderstorms, sea below 0.5 meter.
Motoring, then: to maintain the planned speed under sail, I’d need at least fifteen knots abeam or aft.
The passage
Quiet going. Followed my Navionics route; tried Savvy Navvy but didn’t take to it. Swans by the shore, gulls offshore. Near Wismar, porpoises escorted me for a couple of minutes — like small dolphins. A good sign. Reading, tea, simply being there.
I used to add a little alcohol to the stove for each boil. Now half a bottle: less fuss. Convenient.
Cold after sunset. Seven layers, warmers, sleeping bag in the cockpit. Bearable, but getting out of that cocoon was a challenge. Does proper thermal underwear for this exist?
After ten, I began dozing: an alarm every twenty minutes to check course and surroundings, sometimes more often. You never know whether the autopilot will fail or another boat will approach with its skipper asleep too. Saw a shooting star.
Light from four. Fog and drizzle in patches, condensation everywhere. A fantastic dawn, though.
Reached Rügen at seven: a protected island with narrow fairways and surrounding shoals. Hard to concentrate, with birds and scenery everywhere. I wanted to stay the whole holiday.
Aground
Near the marina, I felt uneasy: fenders still not down. I stopped two hundred metres out and went forward to prepare. The wind carried us outside the fairway. I’d just turned towards the nearest buoy when the stern jumped and the boat stopped. Aground.
Reverse: nothing. Rocking, setting sail: nothing. Firmly stuck. I called the harbourmaster. He’d already seen me and called the rescue service.
A small launch came off a larger rescue boat, two people aboard. Politely but firmly, they asked me to fill in a form first. Then gave me a line to secure at the bow. A couple of minutes later, back in the fairway.
Total
Covered 98 miles in twenty-two hours, using 23 litres of diesel.
#passage
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