Baltic Sea Cruise
Overview
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In 2005 Polaris cruised over 2,600 miles
circumnavigating the Baltic Sea. Starting from
Dover, England,
we passed thru the canals of Holland and the Kiel Canal to reach the Baltic. We then circumnavigated
the Baltic clockwise visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg and Tallinn…
plus 42 other harbors. In addition we made 10 inland excursions to visit the Arctic Circle, castles, Viking sites and medieval cities
We departed Dover,
England on May 6th
for Dunkirk, France
and immediately became sea sick the first day out in the confused sea of the English Channel. The original plan was to cruise up the
North Sea coast along France
and Belgium to Ijmuiden, Holland and then
on to Amsterdam.
However a severe gale was forecast, so we changed plans and headed into the
canals of Holland at the Westerschelde
River for five days of meandering
around southern Holland.
After reaching Amsterdam, we entered the Ijsselmeer, a huge man made fresh water lake, and then
back into the Dutch canal system. From there we wandered the canals again for
several days until reaching Lauwersoog, Holland
on the North Sea.
Another 125 miles and we finally arrived at
the Kiel Canal, the entrance to the Baltic.
From Kiel,
there are two typical clockwise routes to cruise the Baltic. The first is to
head north thru the islands of Denmark
to the Gota Canal in Sweden.
Instead after visiting Copenhagen, we chose to
go around the southern coast of Sweden
which has some very interesting stops such as Karlskrona, Kalmar
and Visby… we
think that we made a good choice.
Beginning south of Stockholm, Sweden
we entered the archipelago of rocks and islands that run along the north coast
of the Baltic all the way to the Russian border. This required white knuckle
navigation for 638 miles thru a maze of islands and rocks. Although it is
possible to sail in these waters, we opted for the conservative approach and
motored.
At Haapasaari
Island, the Finnish frontier border
control station, we crossed into Russia and a culture shock that we
were not prepared for. A week and a half was spent in St Petersburg visiting the Hermitage, the
cathedrals and many palaces… as well as learning to travel the subway system.
Departing St Petersburg, we had to backtrack the
109 miles to Haapasaari
Island and re-entered the
archipelago at 0200 in the pitch dark thru the maze of rocks.
From here we crossed to the south coast and
the Baltic States of Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania. This
was another eye opening experience… to see the effects of Russian occupation up
until 1991 and their amazing recovery since that time…. quite a contrast to the
crumbling city of St Petersburg. These former Iron Curtain countries are also
quite a contrast to their northern neighbors, Sweden
and Finland.
For example the Lonely Planet guide
book says that it is still not safe to drink the water in Russia or the Baltic States.
And although there are marinas, they are few and far between…. with dockage
charges considerably higher than the rest of the Baltic. Obtaining diesel fuel
and potable water became major concerns.
Holland Canal Navigation
Our navigation was based on our chart
plotter, cruising guides and local charts. The Imray North Sea Passage Pilot by Brian Navin took us to Holland. Then we followed the Imray Cruising Guide to the Netherlands for the canals of Holland also written by
Brian Navin. The Netherlands
guide offers a number of routes to cruise Holland
but lacks a continuous mast up route to pass thru Holland. As a result you need to piece routes
together which can be quite confusing. Careful attention must also be paid to
canal depths as well as whether the route has opening bridges to allow mast up
travel.
One mistake that we made was not noticing a
fixed bridge at Groningen and having to back
track about 30 miles to Leeuwarden.
With 100 percent hindsight, we would avoid the canals south of Amsterdam which have many bridges and less
than a scenic ride. It would be much faster and easier to stay in the North Sea
to Ijmuiden then head into Amsterdam. From Amsterdam,
you can sail up the Ijsselmeer, a man made sea, to Harlingen where you enter the canal system.
This stretch is the most scenic and gives you a relatively straight shot to
Lauwersoog where you can exit to the North Sea.
It is essential to have the local charts
for the canal system. There are many, many twists and turns required to follow
a route and without the chart book, your chances of staying on course are very
slim. Bridges are a major obstacle. First the railway bridges are the greatest
impediment… they only open a few times per day for a very short period at each
opening. If you miss the opening, you can sit for 6 hours or more till the next
opening. Next are the bridges near populated areas, these bridges are also
restricted during rush hour traffic. Finally is lunch break of an hour or more,
when the bridges do not operate. Combined together, progress can be
frustratingly slow.
Many towns collect a toll for the bridges.
At first we were caught by surprise when the bridge tender lowered a wooden
shoe on a pole as we passed thru the very narrow bridge opening. Needless to
say you need to be prepared to pay in an instant… which we were not. The result
was several less than happy bridge tenders and even one tender yelling that he
was going to call the police. All signs are in Dutch, so it is very difficult
to know what is required. In Haarlem,
we were in a convoy which all of a sudden did a U turn when a voice over a
loudspeaker blasted away. They went to a dock and we followed. They paid their
tolls, but we were slow in figuring out the drill. As a result we were ten
minutes late to the next bridge and had to circle for two and a half hours
waiting for the bridge to open after rush hour… no signs, no waiting pontoon,
no reply on the VHF.
Because of the delays at the bridges,
convoys of boats form up and then they jamb up on one another waiting for the
bridge to open. The whole thing was rather absurd, because the bridge tenders
would only open the bridge when the last boat in the convoy was up to the
bridge, so there was no point in being first. The British would be shocked to
see this lack of “Mind the Queue”. The last few miles of the mast up route were
very shallow and at times we wondered if we could make it with a six foot
draft. It felt very good to be back on the North Sea
again.
Baltic
Sea Navigation
Clockwise or counterclockwise
circumnavigation… we chose clockwise but now think that perhaps counterclockwise
would have been the better route. The prevailing winds in the Baltic are out of
the west and southwest, and you have wind on the nose returning from St Petersburg to Kiel.
Weather also becomes an issue on the coast of the Baltic
States where there is a long fetch from the prevailing winds. By
going counterclockwise, even though the wind is not in your favor from St Petersburg to Kiel,
much of the distance is motoring thru the protected waters of the Finish and
Swedish archipelagos where it is not prudent to sail.
We used the C Map NT+ charts, which had a
serious omission in the Aland Islands in Finland…we were caught with our pants
down here, because we did not realize that there was a gap in the C Map charts.
The Aland Islands are reportedly the densest
archipelago in the world, a maze of rocks and islands. Although we had the
Finish chart books which are essential, seeing your position on the plotter and
following in the chart book is the only way to be confident of your navigation.
It is very easy to lose track of your position.
In Sweden
and Finland,
the cardinal buoy system which has buoys marked black or white without any
numbering is the norm. Since channels are often crossing one another, it is
sometimes difficult to figure out which buoy is relevant. It is critical to
always know your position, otherwise the buoys have no meaning…and all the
rocks look the same. Although some of the locals were sailing thru this
archipelago, we had our hands full just keeping track of our position.
The Royal
Cruising Club Baltic Sea cruising
guide edited by Anne Hammick was excellent until we reached Russia and the Baltic
States where it was very out of date. We were unprepared for the
decrepit condition of the Central River Yacht Club in St Petersburg. Also, we were not prepared to
deal with the lack of potable water in Russia
and the Baltic States. And finally, we did not
realize that obtaining diesel fuel would become a serious problem in the Baltic States.
Shore Power &
Docking
Shore power is always an adventure. We had
the most problems in Holland, Germany and Denmark…frugal land! Quite often
power was limited to six amps or less at 230 volts. In some situations we could
not even run the battery charger. Some of the shore power systems are coin or
card operated which can result in the power going off in the middle of the
night if you did not purchase enough electricity. We also discovered this year
that Europe has now standardized on 230 volt
power, although it is still not quite universal. In Sweden
and Finland,
electrical systems were problem free. In St
Petersburg, the electrical conduits are run across the
surface of the driveway. Inside the circuit breaker box were taped connections…
putting your hand in the box was a true test of courage. From St
Petersburg thru the Baltic States and Poland, most marinas have the old
style two pin shore power connections. Fortunately, we happened to have the
necessary adapter.
Only a few of the newer marinas in the
Baltic have finger pontoons. Docking in the Baltic is a variation of the Med
moor. You tie bow onto the dock with the stern attached to a mooring ball….
this exercise requires a bit of skill, athletics and luck. To attach to the
mooring ball, we purchased a stainless rod with a hook and latch on one end
which is used by most boaters. As you come into the dock, the crew hooks onto
the mooring ball and then hands the line to the helmsman. The helmsman pays out
the line while steering and controlling the throttle to nose up to the dock.
Most docks have rings instead of cleats or bollards, so it is then necessary
for the crew to jump off the bow onto the dock and put the bow line thru the
ring… not fun for a bunch of old farts. Fortunately, there is usually someone
around to help on the dock. Even so, with a little cross wind things can get
complicated very fast with the possibility of running over the mooring ball or
fouling the stern line in the propeller which we managed to do once.
Most boats sailing in the Baltic are set up
for this docking system. They have bow pulpit rails which are open in front,
allowing you to walk thru instead of climb over. They also have ladders mounted
on the bow to step down to the dock. And they have a reel of web strapping on
the stern rail that they use to pay out the stern line as they approach the
dock. We had none of the above and had to put a step ladder over the bow to get
off the boat. The net result was that our first mate twisted her leg in the
process and at one point could no longer stand or walk for several days. This
also happened to another cruiser that we met along the way.
Language,
Communications & Currency
Language was a challenge… we visited twelve
countries that each spoke a different language. Our advantage was that English
tends to be the universal language and even neighboring countries spoke English
to communicate among themselves. The problem is that the people that you deal
with most often… dock hands, bus drivers, store clerks are the ones least
likely to speak English. In these situations, we tried not to speak but
pantomime, point or draw pictures. One way or another we communicated even if
we had to stop people on the street.
We have a Sharp television on board which
can pick up all the different television formats from country to country. The
impact of American television on the world is astounding. Regardless of where
we went including Russia,
we watched American TV programs and movies as well as advertisements for
American products. In fact we discovered that many people learn to speak
English watching TV, because the programs are broadcast in English with the
local language shown as subtitles. This changed in Russia
and the Baltic States, however where a voice
was dubbed over top of the English making it very difficult to hear the
English. Quite often English words are spoken and shown in the written form as
part of the local language. Many of the American movies that we watched were
incredibly bad, and it was embarrassing to think that people in these countries
were forming their impression of America from these movies.
Regarding contact with the outside world…
our only source was email with friends. Many of the marinas now have computers
with internet access in their office which was usually free for customers. The
second choice for internet access was the local library (bibliotheca), which
was also usually free. One problem we had with the internet was that the
Microsoft Internet Explorer browser was formatted in the local language, so it
was necessary to ask for help for interpretations. Also the keyboard layout is
quite different in each country.
We
had a real sense of isolation. Television news was not oriented toward world
news much less the United
States. It seems that Europeans seem to have
less interest in world news than Americans. Magazines like Time are published as limited European editions so they provide
little of what is going on back home. In the future we plan to subscribe to Time or Newsweek and have it sent to us in our monthly mail drops, so we
can keep better track of what is going on.
So far the best internet site which we have
found for Baltic weather is www.weatheronline.co.uk/sail.htm.
It is easy to use and gives a 6 day forecast. Like all weather forecasts
however, it was not totally accurate all the time. We found that many marinas
use this site as their source for weather. Some sailors in the Baltic rely on
Navtex as their source for weather.
In Finland
we finally gave in and bought a Nokia mobile phone which is capable of using
all three GMS networks and therefore can work in any country including the United States.
We then bought an inexpensive local prepaid SIM card for Finland which allowed us to make calls to Russia, so that
we could coordinate our visit there. Once in Russia,
we bought another local SIM card that allowed us to be in touch with Vladimir, our only contact in St Petersburg… this proved to be invaluable.
The local SIM card however only works within the boundaries of the country in
which it was purchased.
Our Icom M802 is a lemon and broke down
again. Therefore our Sailmail system including our Grib weather forecasts were
not available. We have had many problems with the M802 and there has been no
help from Icom America.
To add to the difficulties, the Icom M802 is not certified in the European
Union so that the Icom service center in England is not familiar with the
radio. Also we never found a radio technician in Europe
who was familiar with single side band radios.
Currency changed as often as the language
and we were surprised how few of the Baltic European
Economic Community are actually using the Euro currency. Credit
cards were accepted in most places except Belgium,
Germany, Holland
and Denmark.
Many marinas accept only cash which means that if you stop in a new country,
you need to obtain local currency to pay the marina. Converting from one
currency to another every few days can make your head spin… ten different
currencies in all. Imagine driving from Florida
to Boston and
using a different currency and speaking a different language in each state.
Historical
Background
The Baltic region is a relative late comer
to civilization. The Roman Empire stretched as far as the Danube and Rhine Rivers
but never reached the shores of the Baltic. A series of Roman fortifications
kept the Germanic tribes at bay although considerable trading took place
between the two groups. About 500 AD, the Roman Empire collapsed and all hell
started to break loose in Europe as the hordes of raiders from Mongolia and
the eastern steppes raped and pillaged. Their horses and the invention of the
stirrup gave them the element of speed and surprise that brought the remnants
of the old Roman Empire to its knees. This
resulted in a great migration of people from central and Eastern
Europe to the north and west who then populated the Baltic region.
The next step toward civilization was the
Crusades when the Teutonic Knights invaded the Baltic area to bring
Christianity. Around 900 AD the Vikings, the word means pirates, began their
reign of terror on Europe as they took
advantage of the power vacuum. Finally William the Conqueror about 1100 AD
gained control and brought the Viking era to an end. The Baltic then became a
chess board for regional power struggles. Denmark,
Sweden and finally Russia in
progression controlled the Baltic.
The Russians have perhaps had the greatest
impact. In 1703, the Russian czar, Peter the Great broke the stranglehold which
the Swedes had on the Baltic. Eventually the Russians gained control over the
area from Poland around the
Baltic coast to and including Finland.
In 1918 the Russian revolution took place and in its weakened state, the
peoples around the Baltic saw their chance to break away. Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared independence.
Once the Soviet government was stabilized in 1920, the Soviets tried
unsuccessfully to recapture these territories.
Independence was short lived however. In 1939, Russian
and Germany
signed a treaty to divide up the Baltic. Russia quickly occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania… Germany took Poland. A time of terror began for
these occupied countries which continued right up to 1991. Russia upon occupation immediately began to
depopulate the local inhabitants by the hundreds of thousands and sent them to
a slow death in Siberia. At the same time,
they repopulated the area with Russians… a violation of the Geneva Convention.
When the Germans invaded the Baltic States in
World War II, the Germans at first were viewed as saviors, but it was soon
realized that the oppressed had gone from the frying pan into the fire. The
Germans sent hundreds of thousands more including most of the Jews to their
death in concentration camps.
The end of World War II did not end the
suffering. The Russians again occupied these countries and held “elections”
which firmly put the communist party in control. Tens of thousands more were
hauled away to die in Siberia. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in 1989, the
realization of independence once again began to surface. Finally in 1991, Russia
recognized their independence.
You can still see the effects of this
terror on the face of the people even today in Russia
and the Baltic States. When people pass you on
the street, they look straight ahead and do not acknowledge your presence… a
very strange feeling for Westerners used to a smile or nod in passing.
The Baltic States
have made an amazing economic recovery. They are now trying to establish their
ethnic identities which have been substantially diluted by years of Russian and
German exterminations. Today, only half of the population of Latvia is
actually Latvian…. Russians and Slavs account for the other half. So now the
original Latvian ethnic group which is almost a minority is trying to establish
their ethnic heritage on an immigrant population… a very sensitive situation.
While the rest of Europe is bonding together in an economic union, the Baltic
States are just now trying to establish their own identity… a bit out of step
with the rest of Europe. Several people in
different countries expressed concern about the impact of the Baltic
States joining the European Union. They feel that the economies of
their own countries will be harmed because of the lower cost of labor in the Baltic States. Others especially in Finland see the Baltic
States as a business opportunity bonanza as they gear up to
western standards.
Ports & Places
Highlights
Dover, England
– The gateway to England since prehistoric times. Dover Castle
was first started by the Romans and has been upgraded through WW II when it was
the Allies Combined Headquarters. A must see is the 3000-year-old Bronze Age
boat at the museum. We traveled by train to visit Canterbury
Cathedral and Leeds
Castle. This is also a
great departure point for the Continent with Calais only 25 miles away. We left our boat
here last winter, so we could cruise the Baltic in the spring.
Dunkerque, France –
Just 37 miles across the English Channel, our American dollar went fifty percent
further than England
not to mention better wine and liquor prices. The town is on the rebound and
not exactly scenic but an excellent place to stock up supplies for an extended
cruise. There is also a well stocked chandlery across the street from the YC de
Dunkerque.
Wonderful food including pastries, chocolates and bread were now
readily available… a major improvement over England.
Oostende, Belgium – We
stopped here to ride the very inexpensive and efficient trains to visit Brugge,
Brussels and Antwerp. Brugge originally began as an old
Viking port used to plunder England
and eventually became the wool trading center for Scotland
and England.
It is a wonderful old well preserved medieval city. Brussels is both a world center for commerce
and a great old medieval town…. The Pissing Boy is one of the tourist
highlights in the old section of town. Antwerp, one of the world’s largest
diamond processing centers, has blocks and blocks of jewelry stores as well as
a very nice old town.
We had an amusing incident in Oostende
with a local policeman the night before we were about to depart. The young man
came on board to check our passport and inform us that we had 90 days to remain
in the Schengen Treaty countries. When we asked what countries were included,
he said he did not know. The conversation somehow changed to his former wife
who apparently had met someone on the internet and taken off to Florida with him… so
much for the Schengen Treaty. But we did manage to learn all the juicy details
about his ex-wife.
Starting in Belgium
we had a problem with credit cards not being accepted… this continued in Holland, Germany
and Denmark
as well. And welcome to the wonderful world of pay toilets. There is nothing
like a couple of ladies sitting in front of you at a table with flowers
drinking a glass of wine while you are trying to pee! Frugal best describes the
mindset that we encountered from here thru Denmark.
Vlissingen, Netherlands – We entered the Schelde
Delta here and the Westerschelde River which is the beginning of the southern canals
in Holland to avoid a gale on the North Sea. From here thru Denmark, getting adequate shore
power was a continuing problem. Expecting scenic cruising, we were disappointed
to follow meandering rivers with industrial sites with many bridge and lock
delays. With 100 percent hindsight, we would have been better off to wait out
the gale and continue up the coast to Ijmuiden
and then into Amsterdam.
Williemstad – This was
our one highlight on the southern canals. This old town is very scenic with a
wonderful operating windmill which you could hear whirling on your boat. The
marina is very popular, small and crowded with a lot of rafting. We stayed an
extra day just to soak up the ambiance.
Amsterdam –
Surprisingly, Amsterdam
has very limited marina facilities. The preferred marina is called Six Haven
and is actually on the other side of the river from the city. Free ferry boat
service nearby shuttles you to and from the city. The problem was that a subway
tunnel is being built next to the marina and has in fact cut the marina size in
half….it is very, very tight inside. We actually needed about six people
handling lines to turn our boat around so that we could get back out.
A customs patrol boat stopped us just as we were about to enter the
marina. We were escorted across the river where six customs people interrogated
us and thoroughly searched the boat for about an hour. The final issue became
the red diesel fuel that we had purchased in England
which is not allowed in Holland,
because it is not VAT taxed. For a few moments the young female officer
appeared to be ready to put the cuffs on us, but a lengthy consultation with
her superior must have decided that it was not going to worth the trouble. We
were now sent on our way back to Six Haven to enter this tiny little marina in
the pitch dark.
The canals of Amsterdam
are a must see especially from one of the canal tour boats… the busman’s
holiday. The Red Light District is the main attraction at night when hundreds
of young ladies stand in their store front windows encircled in red neon light
trying to drum up business. The area is surrounded by bars and restaurants
catering to the tourists that come to see the exhibition. Beware of “coffee
houses”… they are actually places where it is legal to buy and smoke small
amounts of marijuana.
Hoorn – What a special place! Four and a half hours north of Amsterdam on the Ijsselmeer,
we pulled into a very large marina… actually a huge marina. We set out to
explore the town and found a quaint old Holland
village with a harbor filled with working antique sailboats now used to take
tourists for rides. This was probably the most scenic place that we visited in Holland.
Leeuwarden – With a hundred percent hind sight, we would
have re-entered the canals at Harlingen…
a much shorter and direct route. The junction point for the two different
mast-up routes which lead to the North Sea is Leeuwarden. We tied along the canal in a park
in this picturesque old town. Other than hitting a tree limb when docking and
being showered with debris that almost killed us, this was a nice quiet stop
along the way. We found the northern canals much more scenic…windmills
especially those that still work however were not as frequent as we expected.
Norderny, Germany – This is a very nice resort
town halfway between Lauwersoog (the exit from the Holland
canals) and the entrance to the Kiel Canal.
Timing your departure with the tidal current is critical on this leg of the
North Sea especially since you must go up the Elbe River for several miles.
Kiel
Canal – A very pleasant passage which
we did in a long day. The weather was perfect and the air was fragrant with
blossoms. Most of the canal is a park like setting and very scenic. Careful
attention is required for ships approaching from the stern to make certain that
you are out of the way. Their propeller wash can drive your boat up onto the
canal bank if you are not paying attention. It took 9 hours to transit the 55
mile canal.
Kiel – Although the
city is not particularly scenic, it provided an excellent location to
re-provision and obtain charts. We stayed at the Dustenbrook Marina which is
closest to the town center….their coin operated power was quite expensive.
Copenhagen, Denmark –
Rather than run all the way to Copenhagen, we stopped at Brondby Havn marina
about 25 miles south of Copenhagen
and took the train into town for sightseeing. Power was again a problem with
only 3 amps at the outlet. Finally we had to plug into someone else’s outlet
and pay them for the power used. It was a 2 mile, 40 minute walk through a very
attractive park and lagoon setting to catch the train. This got a little old
however after a few days when we had to walk back after an exhausting day
sightseeing in the cold, rain, and wind.
From here we also hopped on the train to visit Koge, a wonderful
medieval city. And also Roskilde,
a Viking town with an excellent Viking museum and a working boat yard that
builds Viking boats with the tools and methods originally used… a very
worthwhile visit.
At this point, we had two options to cruise the Baltic…. Go north to
the Gota Canal and from there, cut across Sweden or alternatively you can go
south around the coast. We opted for the southern route because of the
interesting towns to visit along the way…. we were not disappointed.
Karlskrona, Sweden – This town was an unexpected surprise and
we would definitely add it to our must see places. Until a few years ago, it
was the primary harbor for the Swedish navy. The huge complex is now an
outstanding naval museum… possibly second only to the British naval museum in Portsmouth, England.
Several days could be spent here going thru all the exhibits and ships. Models
which were built to explain to the workmen how the work was to be done are
still preserved. Our exit from this harbor included passing an incoming
submarine with only its periscope visible as we departed.
Kalmar – Another must see. This old town has much of its original town walls
still in place as well as a beautiful cathedral. The highlight however is the Kalmar Slot… an
absolutely beautiful castle built at the edge of the harbor. As far as castles
go… this one is a ten.
Visby – Located on the
island of Gotland, this ancient trading town has its roots going back to the
Viking days. The well preserved medieval town and walls are quite scenic. The
most striking thing about this town is the number of medieval churches that are
now all in ruins.
Stockholm – From Nynashamn, we entered the vast
Swedish archipelago and followed the much shorter Baggensstaket “back entrance”
into Stockholm.
Although the cruising guide says that this route is unbuoyed, we found that it
was indeed a well marked and easy to follow channel… at one choke point however
only one boat could pass thru at a time.
The city of Stockholm
itself is located on a group of islands creating a very scenic setting…but
requiring much walking to get from place to place. We docked at the Wasahammen
Marina next to the Wasa museum… a convenient location but very cramped for
space. The highlight of our visit here was the Wasa museum which houses a huge
1600’s warship which capsized upon launching and was only raised a few years
ago to be restored. Wherever possible, we hop on a city sightseeing bus upon
arrival to get an overview of the city and the general layout. Then we take off
on foot to explore the attractions that we would most like to see.
Aland Islands, Finland
– Located in the densest archipelago in the world between the mainland of
Sweden and Finland, this area called the Aland Islands
is an incredible maze of rocks and islands that would challenge any
navigator….celestial navigation will not work here! It is absolutely critical
to always know your exact position because the channel buoys are unnumbered and
all the rocks look the same… very often the channel is only a few feet from
rocks just below the surface. Channels criss cross in every direction to add to
the confusion. A lifetime could be spent gunk holing here… conversely, if you
were stranded on an island here, it would take an air search to find you.
Helsinki – We left the month of July open incase we encountered weather or
breakdown delays. Since our Russians visas were not effective until August 1st,
we had an incredible month to just hang out in one place…. and we could not
have picked a nicer spot than Helsinki.
We docked at the new City Marina
within a few blocks of the center of the city. Not only were we able to tie
alongside the dock thereby avoiding the dreaded bow tie up, but we also had a fantastic
view of the harbor and city, free high speed internet access, great laundry
facilities, a nearby open air market, trolley connections a block away and the
nicest most friendly marina staff we have ever met. Combined with perfect
weather, this was our favorite stop over of the entire trip.
Tops on our list of things to see are the Orthodox Cathedral, Lutheran
Cathedral, the Church in the Rock, and the Suomenlinna Island
Fortress. The nude beach which is really a giant rock island was also an interesting
visit…visualize a bunch of walruses sunning themselves on the rocks. Almost
daily we passed by the central open air market to buy strawberries, vegetables
and smoked salmon. The No 4 tram stopped a block from the marina and this connected
us with the entire city. We did some serious provisioning at Stockman’s… a very
large department store with the best selection of groceries that we have seen
in Europe.
We met a lot of nice people here and really felt at home. Twice we saw
large motor yachts arrive flying American flags. When stopped by to greet them,
we were surprised to find out that they were Russians. We guessed they must
have had the boats documented in the United States to avoid taxes.
Since we had the time and were so close… we hopped on the train for a
300 mile ride north to Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle.
This is the main town of Lapland and quite
cosmopolitan considering that it is on the Arctic Circle… beside our required
stop at McDonalds we also visited the Arktikum museum which provided an
excellent presentation of the history and lifestyle of the Lapland
people. During the summer here it is light outside almost 24 hours per day…
conversely it is also pitch dark almost 24 hours a day during the winter.
Porvoo – This second
oldest city in Finland
was established in 1346. The old wooden city is a major tourist attraction. Our
cruise guide left some doubt that a 6 foot draft boat could make the two hour
trip up the river, but this was not a problem. We were pleasantly surprised to
find a brand new marina and a lovely old town. We spent a couple days here
wandering around this old trading town.
Haapasaari Island – This is a frontier outpost on the
Russian border complete with a huge stone guard tower and very friendly border
control guards. The island is essentially a giant rock split in the middle
which provides a hurricane hole type anchorage… although the facilities are
very sparse. The harbor entrance was only a few feet wider than our boat with
rocks projecting out on each side. The population of the island is 200 during
summer and 5 (not including the border control) during the winter.
St Petersburg, Russia
- The highlight of our journey was St Petersburg, Russia…. a land of startling
contrast from glittering palaces to a crumbling city. Much of what we have read
about St Petersburg
now seems like it was written from the window of a tour bus commuting from the
cruise ship to the Hermitage.
Getting There
In order to visit St
Petersburg by private boat, it is necessary to first
obtain an invitation from a yacht club. This is most easily accomplished by
contacting Vladimir Ivankiv, email
address vladimir@sailrussia.spb.ru.
The next step is to obtain a visa from the Russian consulate in Washington DC,
allowing plenty of time for this confusing application document to be properly
filled out. It is also important to realize that the visa will only be valid
for a maximum one month stay between given dates. Therefore if you are cruising
from a long distance, you need to consider a weather and breakdown allowance in
your planning. Also while in this stage, it would be worthwhile to read the
Pulitzer Prize winning book, Peter the
Great by Robert K Massie to gain a perspective and background on how St Petersburg was founded.
Our navigation was based on our chart plotter using C Map NT+ and
the British Admiralty Chart 2395 both of which are seriously out of date. In
addition the Royal Cruising Club
guide, The Baltic Sea, second edition
2003, edited by Anne Hammick was
invaluable but also very out of date.
The jumping off point is usually Hapasaari
Island, Finland
a small remote Passport Control Station within a few miles of the
Finland-Russian border. It is necessary to clear passport control here to
obtain the departure document which will be required in Russia. Also Vladimir needs to know your arrival date so
that he can alert Russian authorities…a mobile phone becomes very useful at
this stage. We departed at 0400 hours just as the sun came up. We passed the
Russian border and a guard station on Sommers Island
at 0600. It is necessary to call them on Channel 16 and identify yourself.
Our first encounter with Russia came soon after when a 100 plus
foot patrol boat came up from behind, fired a flare and came alongside within
25 feet as we continued underway. A smile and wave from us was greeted by an
icy stare from those on the bridge. By radio contact, we were reminded that we
were still flying the Finish courtesy flag in Russian waters. We apologized and
immediately corrected the problem. The patrol boat took off but soon returned
to check on us again… this time from a distance. The patrol boat then proceeded
ahead of us about one mile and anchored in 150 feet of water on our rhumb line…
causing us to alter course to avoid hitting them broadside. Other than
wondering what the purpose of this exercise was, we had to admire their
navigation skills to anchor out in the middle of the Baltic
Sea so accurately. We were told by Vladimir that it is important not to stray
too far from the shipping lanes and that cutting thru restricted areas could
result in a 300 euro dollar fine.
At 1530, we reached Kronshtadt on Kotlin
Island about 18 miles west of St Petersburg. It was
necessary at this point to check in with Passport Control…. our first shocking
encounter with the Russian infrastructure. Kronshtadt is an old naval base and
has a number of abandoned forts dating back to the 18th century….
all in various states of decay with debris, broken windows, crumbling buildings
and rusting ships everywhere. Passport Control is on a rusting barge next to
another barge with a hotel sign. The Passport Control officer was very
courteous and efficient. Within a few minutes we were on our way again
wondering why we just did not check in with Passport Control when we reached
our next stop, Customs.
From this point the Baltic becomes very shallow and it is critical to
stay close to the shipping channels. We found that it worked best to stay on
the outside of the buoys in the major channel to avoid being run over by a
steady stream of shipping. Reaching the Customs terminal which is primarily
used by ferry boats requires following several zigzag channels. The channels
are for the most part well marked but need some fresh paint to make them easier
to identify.
At 1900 hours we were greeted by Vladimir
waving to us from the Customs yacht reception area… our next infrastructure
shock. Yachts tie up to sloping concrete wall which you climb up to pass thru a
rusted chain link fence… hardly what you would expect in a city of 5 million
people. Again the officials were pleasant, courteous and efficient. A one
minute inspection of the boat and about an hour filling out forms which Vladimir completely
handled. We had the distinct impression that the officials knew and respected Vladimir which greatly
reduced the processing time not to mention the language barrier.
The
Central River Yacht Club
Now we needed to back track about 10 miles thru the channels to the Central River Yacht Club where we arrived at
2130. Docking is bow-to with a mooring ball tied to the stern…. a process which
we were well acquainted with by now. Several people on the dock assisted our
docking and provided a warm welcome. A group of young men on the boat next to
us brought over shots of vodka and pickles to toast our arrival… a very
friendly nice feeling.
The next morning reality began to set in….first there is no water on
the dock and secondly you cannot drink the city water in St Petersburg. Shore power was about 100 feet
away up on the driveway and required the old style 2 prong European connector
adapter which we fortunately had. Electrical is provided by a series of pipe
conduits that are laid on top of the driveway. Putting your hand into the 230
volt circuit breaker box with all the taped connections was really scary…. but
at least we had power.
The cruise guide mentions the contaminated water problem, but we did
not really think about this until we were there and Vladimir confirmed the problem. We
immediately took steps to conserve our 150 gallon water supply which we needed
for drinking during our planned two week stay. Each day we hauled a bucket of
water from the tap up on the driveway back to the boat to use for washing. Our
next problem was taking a shower. We went up to the club building and asked the
man in the reception window about showers and his response was “nyet” which is
the only Russian word that we understand. We then proceeded to look around and
were led into what appeared to be a manager’s office. We did our shower
pantomime routine and arrived at the word “douche”. The manger proceeded to
make several phone calls which seemed to be related to the douche…. after
several long minutes it was clear that there was a problem. We thanked him and
left to call Vladimir.
The next morning Vladimir
showed us the shower… a cobbled up tangle of pipes in a smelly room that seemed
very unsanitary. We had second thoughts about using the shower for fear of
picking up a fungus and resorted to cold sponge baths on the boat.
The main yacht club building is a large dilapidated concrete structure
originally built for the Olympic Games back in the 70’s which never took place.
The building sits on a huge piece of property which is owned by the trade
unions and is located at the tip of a peninsula in a decaying industrial
setting. Maintenance was sadly lacking as well as any sign of landscaping care.
Even though we saw several people in the building that were apparently
employees, everyone seemed to sit around and no work was done. The floating
docks were also badly in need of repair and connected to the seawall steps by
shaky ramps. Without a doubt this was the worst marina that we have ever seen.
For this we paid 1.50 euros per meter of length per night… the highest price
that we experienced in the Baltic. The benefit to cost ratio reached an all
time low.
To add to the accommodations, mosquitoes were a major problem. Several
nights were spent awake listening to the buzzing of these little critters.
Finally we learned to seal off the interior and got some rest. But not for
long… we forgot to mention the music (?) from the bar in a tent on the quay
which blasted away until four in the morning with speakers that rattled the
windows. Their theme song was an African drum chant that repeated itself every
few minutes all night long. Welcome to the marina from hell!
Transportation
Vladimir gave us an orientation drive around the city
which helped immensely. Given his schedule with assisting other cruisers and
his rate of 25 euros per hour, we decided that we would strike out on our own.
It was a fifteen minute walk from the marina up to the traffic rotary where we
caught the number 15 bus to the Metro subway station. This ride was an eye
opening experience to the living conditions for the residents of St Petersburg. The Metro
is on par with the London
tube…. first class and dependable. Our first challenge was to obtain plastic
cards which can be used for multiple rides. A lot of hand waving and assistance
from the line backed up behind us finally got cards for the Americans. Next was
the escalator down to the subway…. perhaps ten to fifteen stories straight down
and moving at twice the rate of an American escalator. Disneyland
could add this one to their attractions. Next problem was reading the signs…
everything is written in the Cyrillic alphabet which is essentially Greek. The
names are unpronounceable. We had a subway map but the print was so small that
it was difficult to read. Finally we developed a system… we used the first two
or three letters of the station name as a code word. Then we identified
advertising signs and landmarks to figure out which direction to travel. And finally
we learned how to read the signs on the subway station walls. Pretty soon we
were transferring from one subway to the next… a major accomplishment.
Language
Barrier
So far on our travels, it was fairly easy
to find someone that spoke English… this was not the case in Russia. Older people and blue
collar type people do not speak English. In fact they do not know how to deal
with someone that does not speak Russian. The conversation quickly becomes
excited. We found the best approach in these circumstances was to try pointing
and smiling…. then politely back away if they could not respond in a similar
manner. Young people that looked affluent were the best bet for English
assistance. The speakers would always smile and go out of their way to help.
We had an interesting conversation with a
young man in Estonia
about how he managed to speak English so well. Television was his reply.
Although they taught British English in school, he liked American English
better. In fact it was amazing the number of American movies and television
series that we watched in the Baltic. All were broadcast in English with
subtitles in the local language….except in Russia. In St Petersburg, the American voice was dubbed
over so that you could not understand the English. So it was okay to watch
American TV, but just do not learn the language. It was also amazing to see how
many American products are advertised using English words. Young people often
wear clothing with American sayings and logos…which according to Vladimir, they have no
idea what it means. We were even surprised to see “STOP” signs at some street
intersections in Russia.
One way or the other, English is the common language even between these Baltic
state neighbors and the world.
Getting
Mugged
No trip would be complete without getting
mugged… but it happened to us twice! First was on the cruiser Aurora, which
fired the starting shot of the revolution. With amazing ease, our Nikon camera
disappeared out of the case in a crowd. Two days later coming out of St Isaac’s
Cathedral, we were surrounded by four young punks. The front two kept pushing a
book in our face trying to get us to take it while the punks in back felt our
pockets for contents. Only by starting to yell NO, NO, NO and attracting
attention did these large size thugs back off.
The
Palaces
Peter the Great founded St Petersburg in
1703 after defeating the Swedes and opening access to the west via the Baltic Sea. He was determined to establish trade with Europe
and prove that Russia was an equal. To accomplish this, he built the City of St Petersburg on the mouth of the Neva
River employing European architects to
design a city with canals similar to Amsterdam.
The result is a well planned modern city which rose out of an empty marsh. Not only did he move the capital of Russia from Moscow
to St Petersburg,
but he required the Russian noble families to build homes there as well.
It is useful to understand the extent of the wealth of the noblemen. Russia was
operated on a feudalistic system which meant that the land was owned by a few
noblemen. The people living on the land, the serfs, were owned by the nobleman
and essentially were slaves. It was not unusual for one nobleman to own 250,000
serfs on various estates spread around the country. Often these estates would
be given to the nobleman as a reward for his loyalty to the czar. Conversely,
if the nobleman betrayed the czar, not only did he risk losing his estates but
could be sent to Siberia as well.
The main attraction of St Petersburg is the palaces built in the 18 and 19th
century by the czars and noblemen which have no equal in northern Europe. The first impression from a distance is the
immense size of the palaces, some of which are more than several city blocks
long. The most important of these is Peter the Great’s Winter Palace,
the Hermitage. There are two aspects to the Hermitage…. glitter and art. First
the glitter…. Peter was determined to impress the aristocracy of Europe. As a result, the rooms are constructed with
marble, crystal chandeliers with literally tons of gold leaf. Perhaps the only
other palace that can compare in Europe is Versailles
in France.
The second aspect of the Hermitage is the art collection… one of the
world’s greatest. There are rooms full of paintings from da Vinci to Picasso.
Surprisingly, these priceless paintings are largely unprotected from both the
public and the elements. It is the only museum that we have ever been in that
allows flash photography. Windows are left open which allows in pollutants from
the outside air as well as ultra violet damage. Combined together, the glitter
and art are mind boggling.
As soon as we had absorbed the St Petersburg
monstrosities, we rode the hydrofoil over to Peter’s Summer Palace,
Peterhof. There is nothing in America
that can compare. The setting of the estate is perhaps larger than Central Park
in New York
and incredibly opulent. The house is about three blocks long with each room
decorated with gold leaf, marble, inlaid floors, crystal chandeliers, priceless
artwork and furniture. In the park like setting, huge glittering fountains are
everywhere as well as pavilions about the grounds for “destination” places to
visit for Peter and his friends…everything is designed to equal or exceed Versailles.
And then there is the mother of all palaces, Catherine’s Summer Palace,
which makes Peterhof look a little modest. How about a room lined with amber to
cheer you up? And where would you expect the czar’s children to fire their toy
cannons? Why in the palace of course… in a room cloaked in gold leaf. The
“destination” places on the grounds are in themselves large mansions.
The
Contradictions
While directing the construction of St Petersburg,
Peter the Great lived in a log cabin on the shores of the Neva.
This was his favorite home and where he preferred to live... the cabin still
exists today and is housed within a building. Even his first Summer Palace
on the opposite shore of the Neva from his log
cabin was a relatively modest mansion. He did not like the grandeur lifestyle
and yet he built these palaces that consumed huge resources…. it does not add
up.
For us the biggest contradiction in what we saw was the fact that the
1917 revolution sought to over throw the czar as well as the bourgeoisie and
their control of the masses. Yet from the very early days after the revolution,
the Soviet communist government has spent enormous sums of money to preserve
these palaces and the priceless art. Many of these palaces were almost totally
destroyed during World War II and work is still going on today with huge
resources going to restore, refurbish and maintain these buildings. It is hard
to imagine the expenses incurred by the communists to perpetuate the lifestyle
that they sought to destroy.
On the other hand, St
Petersburg itself is literally crumbling. It has a
population of 5 million people who cannot drink their city water. The people,
both rich and poor, live in buildings that are literally falling down. We saw
expensive cars park outside apartment buildings in prime locations. Looking up
at their windows, we saw curtains falling off their rods and concrete falling
off the building.
It seems very odd that money would be spent to preserve a way of life
that was despised by the masses while denying a decent standard of living for
the average person…and clean drinking water.
Vladimir seemed very open with us and tried to explain
to us the current economic and political atmosphere. The bottom line is that
things have vastly improved since Soviet days but no one is confident that
things will continue to improve. The country is in a state of transition. One
business man that we talked to said that it was like the American Wild West…
laws, especially tax laws are quite undefined. Putin has rescinded some of the
freedoms originally granted and it is not clear what his future political
aspirations are. The elderly are especially caught in the middle with pensions
amounting to about $50 dollars US per month…. without family assistance, these
people are destitute. The apartment buildings are also caught in transition…
some people took the opportunity to buy their apartments and others still pay
rent to the state. The result is that no one is in charge of maintenance, hence
the crumbling buildings. The conclusion is… wait and see.
Departure
Departure requires the same steps in
reverse as entry. The problem is that Customs opens at 0800 but takes care of
the ferry boat first. It was 1030 before we departed Customs on a 95 mile run
to exit Russia
with the wind on the nose, contrary to the weather forecast. To add to the
complications, the Russians will not allow you to wander far from the shipping
channels, so shorts cuts are not possible. The best solution is to head back to
Hapasaari, Finland… the closest destination
port
Except for visiting Tallinn, Estonia, most boats turn around in Finland
without going to St Petersburg… they do not want to go thru the visa hassle
which is even more complicated if you try to do this at the last minute.
Surprisingly, most cruisers then back track their route along Finland and Sweden rather than explore the
southern shore of the Baltic. In several instances, we were told that we were
the only American boat that anyone could remember ever visiting this area.
The southern shore is very different than the northern. First of all,
geographically, the northern shore is a bunch of rocks while the southern shore
has miles and miles of white sand beaches. The coast of Sweden and Finland are dotted with thousands
of wooden summer cottages… practically all painted red. The southern coast,
thanks to the Soviets, is practically deserted. You can sail for miles without
seeing a town or even a house. Harbors are few and far between with very
limited marina facilities… Fuel availability becomes an important issue. While Sweden and Finland
have all the amenities that we expect in the West, the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania and Poland are
still recovering from years of Russian oppression. Paint sometimes seems to be
an unknown substance. The Russians also apparently did not quite know how to
mix concrete either… as a result the buildings, streets and sidewalks are
literally falling apart.
Border control stations are another change from the north coast.
Essentially we traveled from Dover, England to Finland without any formal entry
procedure into any country… most times never seeing anyone from customs. Starting
in Russia and then all the
way thru Poland,
it was necessary to stop at the border control stations to check in and again
to check out of each country. Except in Russia, no one ever inspected the
boat. They did not seem interested in any details about us or the contents of
the boat other than a crew list and to stamp our passports. The process was
undoubtedly a carry over from the good old Iron Curtain days.
Do not expect any price bargains on this coast. They are quite aware of
current prices elsewhere and are not shy about collecting the going rate. In
fact sometimes the prices seem a little steep considering that they are off the
beaten track.
Tallinn, Estonia – The economy of Tallinn was jump started by their neighbors in Helsinki just 60 miles
across the Baltic. The town is booming and shows few of the Russian scars. Tallinn has a wonderful
old walled city that is quite well preserved and is a major cruise ship
destination.
Haapsalu – From Tallinn we took the inside
route among the islands off the Estonian coast. This area is very shallow and
fortunately for us, the essential charts of the area were just published. We
pulled in among the junked fishing boats tied to the docks and found a brand
new marina with an excellent restaurant. A short walk into town and we
discovered a beautiful old resort town. Like most old buildings in the former
Eastern bloc, almost all the buildings are made of wood and seem like they have
not seen a paint brush for a hundred years. But the ginger bread architecture and
landscape are wonderful to view as you stroll the promenade.
Roomassaare – Another
new marina on the island of Saaremaa, but we would suggest now going into the
even newer marina at Kuressaare. Here you are within view of the beautiful old
castle and an easy walk into the old town. Great food and friendly people… life
is good!
Ventspils, Latvia – Perhaps this town was our biggest
surprise of all. As usual, we entered a shabby port with lots of decaying buildings
and rusting ships. However right away, we noticed that although the marina was
not modern in any way, it was immaculate. On our walk into town, we were
astonished. We saw the usual shabby buildings and unpainted wooden houses,
however this was the cleanest, most well cared for town that we have ever been
in…. including the United States. Absolutely no cigarette butts on the ground,
the grass well trimmed with parks and flowers everywhere.
From here we visited the wonderful old city of Riga. The highlight of this journey was a
visit to the Occupation
Museum which documents
the Russian and German occupations. By luck, we stumbled onto a professor from
the University of
Wisconsin on a field trip
with his students. It turned out that this guy was actually a founder of the
museum and that many of his relatives were hauled away from here by the Soviets
and Nazis. Needless to say he gave us a gut wrenching account of history.
Liepaja – At this point, our trouble free trip ended. To start off the
problems, we were weathered in for six days waiting out a gale. This coast is
exposed to a long fetch up the Baltic from the southwest… the seas are short
and steep. Several times we tried to make a run for it and turned back at the
harbor entrance. Fuel is scarce along this coast and the out of date cruising
guide erroneously indicated that jerry cans would be required from this point
to Germany.
Max, our young Russian dock master and friend offered to haul the fuel for us….
50 gallons by van to our boat. Max tried to save us money and went for the best
price on fuel… unfortunately the diesel was badly contaminated with water, dirt
and some other substance which we suspect was paraffin.
Once we were finally able to leave, after six hours of motoring, the
engine quit and we needed a tow into the harbor at Klaipeda, Lithuania.
The fuel tanks needed to be pumped out, the fuel injectors sonically cleaned
and the diesel fuel replaced… several days and about a $1000 lighter, we
departed for our only over night run to Leba, Poland. This over nighter was
necessary to bypass the Russian territory
of Kalingrad where a visa
is required to stop.
Leba, Poland – The marina here is new and fuel is
available contrary to the cruising guide. A national sea shore adjoins the
marina and we took the opportunity to walk for miles along the pristine fine
white sand beach. From Ventspils to here is known as the amber coast due to the
amber washed ashore. This prized stone is actually fossilized pine tree sap
from millions of years ago.
Stralsund, Germany – Crossing from Poland to Germany… just a matter of a few
miles is like a time warp. The West German government has pumped mega dollars
into the former East German republic. The result is that all of East Germany
that we saw is up to western standards.
This old city boasts a picturesque network of canals, half timbered
houses and a more intact sense of history than any other German city on the
Baltic coast. It enjoyed a rich trade in the days of the Hansetic League and
the buildings reflect that wealth.
Polaris is now up on the hard undercover in Travemunde, Germany and
poised to cruise up the Rhine River, down the Danube to the Black Sea and Istanbul in 2006.
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