Weekend in Mecklenburg Bay

Lübeck – Grömitz

3 October is German Unity Day, celebrating East Germany joining the Federal Republic. This year it fell on a Thursday, so I took a couple of days off for another sailing trip.

Grand plans: via Fehmarn to Gedser in Denmark, hire a bike, visit Biltema, renew running rigging, then back to Germany — Warnemünde near Rostock, Wismar and home to Lübeck. A tour of Mecklenburg Bay.

Day one. Up at six, aboard by eleven. Changed, noted sunrise at 7.30 and sunset at seven, checked the Shipping forecast:

03.10.2024, 0531 UTC, Western Baltic
until friday morning in the Western Baltic area strong winds are expected
NE 5 to 6, decreasing 4
sea first 1,5 meter

Departure at noon. A kite festival in Travemünde. Two reefs in both sails. Initially, gusts to 28 knots on the nose. I liked the sail configuration: almost no need to touch the tiller, no load on the rudder. A steady 5.5–6 knots.

Tacking upwind. Waves didn’t align with the wind: north-west, they struck the starboard side; east, we punched into them with the bow and lost half a knot.

The wind eased: twenty-two, eighteen, thirteen knots, sometimes ten. I fully unfurled the genoa to keep five knots of boat speed.

Tacking meant little progress towards the destination. I considered changing the route, even sailing into the night. But the deciding factor was one I hadn’t considered: at 6.30, the setting sun stopped holding back the cold, which penetrated three layers and a chemical warmer. I diverted urgently to the nearest marina, Grömitz.

Large, sheltered and convenient. Unfortunately, payment was only to the harbourmaster, who worked eight to four. Fortunately, the facilities, including unlimited hot showers, were freely accessible.

Thirty miles. Track here.

#passage

Grömitz – Wismar

Day two. Alarm at six. Granola with milk, a wash at the marina, then another check: still no harbourmaster. I’d have to leave without paying for the night. Checked the Shipping forecast:

04.10.2024, 0341 UTC, Western Baltic
An extensive high 1023 over the northern North Sea moves towards northern Germany and
weakens somewhat
NE 3 to 4, abating
for a time coastal fog patches
sea first 1 meter

Windy showed the high covering the whole western Baltic tomorrow. No wind. Revised plan: straight to Wismar instead of Denmark, and a closer look at Wismar Bay.

At eight, I left Grömitz under full sail, heading south-east. A calm passage. Shoals flank both sides of the bay entrance. Approaching, the AIS began beeping enthusiastically: a procession of yachts was leaving towards me.

Near town, sails down and fenders out. Three marinas ahead; I wanted the one fifteen minutes’ walk from the centre. Heading there, I spotted a forty-footer to starboard, apparently in shallow water. A man on the bow waved. I waved back. He waved again, insistently. I thought I understood. Approaching carefully, I heard his request for a tow. They threw a bow line, which I secured to my stern cleat. Fifteen minutes pulling in different directions and ways, but my fourteen horsepower couldn’t shift her. A large tourist boat passed and its skipper offered help. They thanked me; I took the marina’s last free berth. Finger pontoons, unusual in Germany.

€18 a night. Showers and laundry extra, but a kitchen available. Wismar is a beautiful historic town, largely undamaged in the war. Definitely among my favourite German places for a day visit.

Twenty-five miles. Track here.

#passage

Wismar – Timmendorf

Day three. Alarm at eight. The harbourmaster had asked for the facilities keys back at 9.30. Milk onto granola, wash, keys returned, checked the Shipping forecast:

05.10.2024, 03:26 UTC, Western Baltic
An extensive high 1023 over northern Germany moves towards the area east of Latvia.
light and variable winds,
first coastal tog patches,
sea 0,5 meter.

No wind. No point even hoisting the sails. In Navily I considered destinations:
• Timmendorf on Poel: small, with a beach
• Hohen Wieschendorf: small and quiet, with an Italian restaurant
• Boltenhagen: quite large, but rather out of the way
• Poel, in the town of the same name on the island of the same name: roomy and convenient, but well off my route

Timmendorf won. A leisurely ninety minutes under engine. A large flock of swans and a passing seal’s head on the way. A red-and-white buoy marks the approach near the marina; I aimed for it. About seventy metres short, we hit something. Everything seemed to jump, including me and the shrouds. Apparently, a boulder lay at 1.6m and caught the keel. No damage inside. Hopefully none outside either.

The harbourmaster works only an hour morning and evening, so public toilets until then. Electricity takes 50-cent coins at the sockets. A pleasant place: snack bars, cafés, restaurants and souvenir shops. I ordered a burger at a bistro, but they’d added remoulade, which really didn’t suit the meat. Sandy beach to the north, stony to the south. Beyond it, you can climb the cliff and return through the woods. There, I finally felt rested, with everyday work stress lifting away.

That evening, worried the electric heater would use up my paid electricity, I lit the Wallas paraffin heater I’d repaired in spring. Less than an hour to reach 23°C. Warm when I went to bed.

Six miles. Track here.

#passage

Timmendorf – Lübeck

Day four. Up at six. Granola, toothpaste, Shipping forecast, change clothes, start the engine. Breath steaming. Frost in the air.

06.10.2024, 0316 UTC, Western Baltic
light and variable winds, later SE 4,
at times coastal fog patches,
sea 0,5 meter.

I left as nearly perpendicular to the shore as possible, to avoid another rock. Full sail. Wind came and went, yet somehow I overtook every boat around. A relaxed, uneventful return to the marina.

Twenty-six miles today. Track here.

That ended my short trip around Lübeck and Wismar bays. I liked Wismar’s waters: several small, picturesque marinas, a couple of hours apart. Ideal for a family holiday with inexperienced crew, apart from the 26 miles — six to eight sailing hours — from Lübeck.

Eighty-eight miles in four days. Magical weather, like midsummer rather than early October. The route is on SailTies.

P.S. This post describes 6 October, but is published on the 31st, my 35th birthday 🎂. Greetings from Copenhagen. Thank you for reading, commenting and reacting. Your responses give the work more meaning, encourage me to take on harder challenges and keep improving how I tell the stories. I hope you enjoy them; I’ll try to make them more interesting still.

#passage