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We left Bangor on 8th June to go Kiel in Germany via the Caledonian Canal, down the east coast of Scotland and England to North Shields, across the North Sea to Helgoland and then through the Kiel Canal to Kiel where we arrived on 20th June.
It is easy to underestimate just how far it is from Bangor to Torr Head and of course it’s much further to Corpach where one enters the Caledonian Canal. Altogether it’s about 160 miles. It took two days for us (Ann, and my friend Bruce from the Newtownards SC) to get to the canal with a night at anchor en route. We stopped there in the Sea Basin for a day, in glorious weather and in sight of Ben Nevis, to get the faulty engine stop solenoid diagnosed by the very helpful Corbach Boat Yard.
The Canal is 60 miles long and has 29 locks and 10 swing bridges that are operated by canal staff. It incorporates 3 lochs, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness, the latter comprising more than a third of the total ‘canal’ length. It takes at least two days to transit - but it’s worth taking a little longer. Mooring places en route are free and the Seaport marina at Inverness offers one night free (per year).
At Inverness it is easier to moor alongside the wall between the marina and the road bridge rather than in the marina, which has very few unreserved slots. A large Coop and other stores are close by, so victualling is easy. The city centre is a 20-minute walk away. Buses to and from the airport arrive there, which makes it a good place to change crews. That evening we walked about a mile along the canal to the village of Clachnaharry (near the sea locks) to eat very well at the recommended real ale pub, the ‘Clachnaharry Inn’. Ann left us next morning to fly home – she very sensibly had no intention of crossing the North Sea with us.
Bruce and I left the canal and headed for Peterhead, but soon decided to stop earlier for the night at Buckie instead. Buckie harbour has high walls but the HM was there to take our lines. He made us welcome and drove us into the bleak looking town to look for a meal. It seemed to offer chips or chips. We had chips. It’s that sort of place. Next day we went on to Peterhead with its adequate marina (£16) from where the town is a good 30 minutes walk. We next called in at Eyemouth, which I have heard well spoken about. Take it as you find it! For us it was less than brilliant. We had a problem finding somewhere to moor and there was no reply from the HM. I had to land Bruce to move a RIB to make space. The town is ‘alright’ and close-by. There was no water easily available and no electricity. By chance I came across a deputy HM who wanted to charge us £21 for the privilege of an overnight stay. Only after complaining about the lack of facilities etc did the charge get reduced to £16 - still too much in my view.
There is no great scenic interest on the voyage south as we passed Aberdeen in the gloom and entered English waters at Berwick-upon-Tweed. We sailed ‘inside’ the Farne Islands but poor visibility meant that we were able to see very little. I had looked forward to a view of Lindisfarne but everything was dull and grey. We reached the Tyne that afternoon and, having cleared our entrance with the HM, made our way 2 miles up-river to the Royal Quays marina. We entered through a lock, which was efficiently done, and we were directed to a mooring over the radio. This is a fine marina with excellent facilities (£24 per night plus a power card). We needed some marine items and I ordered these from a firm in Newcastle and they were delivered as promised before we left. Nigel, from the Newtownards SC, arrived to join us here and we had a superb meal in North Shields at the ‘Magnesium Bank’ pub, about 20 minutes walk away along the river.
We left for the 420-mile North Sea crossing next day. The first 12 hours or so were a bit rough and no one felt too well. Then things improved and we had a good sail. The three of us stood 4-hour watches and that worked well. Late in the afternoon of the third day we found Helgoland - it appeared out of the haze only two miles ahead of us - and went alongside the berthing place for visiting yachts in the outer harbour. Folks back home were telephoned to announce our safe arrival. (I have very mixed feelings about mobile phones. Without doubt they are the greatest boon when organising crew changes but always being in touch (when in sight of land at least) severely detracts from the ‘getting away from it all’ feeling that I enjoy so much about cruising. I should enjoy hearing members’ opinions about that on the ICC website!)
In mid-afternoon (in order to catch the tide) we left and crossed to the southern side of the buoyed channel into the River Elbe. On the way we passed through great areas of what looked like red sand floating in the water, but we soon realised that we were seeing an algae bloom. In the gathering gloom the flood tide swept us quickly up to Cuxhaven marina where, despite the late hour, the HM was present to let us into the showers.
Next day we made our way up-river to the Brunsbuttel entrance of the Kiel Canal (more properly known as the ‘Nordostsee Kanal’.) Along with several other yachts we waited to be called to enter. As ever with our German friends one has to accept that no one will queue and everyone will try to get in first. So it happened here. We got in to the huge lock safely, together with a long barge and were soon locked through into the canal.
The canal is 60 miles long with a lock at each end. The locks must not be entered until you are called in. Fines can be imposed! The canal passes through flat terrain from Brunsbuttel to Kiel. Yachts must motor throughout though sails may be used to supplement the engine. Movement after dark by pleasure craft is not permitted. Passage can be made in a single day. The transit cost us only €18.
There are only a few places en route to stop. We pulled into probably the prettiest and quietest of them, the lake called Flemhuder Meer. Not much of this is deep enough for a yacht but there is sufficient space for about 10 boats. The next day we went the remaining 10kms to the locks at Kiel where we paid and were let through into Kiel Bay and the Baltic.
30 minutes later we were moored at the British Kiel YC where in the late 1980s I had worked for 3½ years. ‘Going back’ can often be disappointing but this visit was a delight. It was great to see the same enthusiasm for the job that I remember so well. The club, although a military establishment, welcomes visitors and does all that it can within the restraints of its work to provide assistance. The showers are excellent – and ladies, they have a bath for you!
Another bonus was that our visit had been carefully timed to coincide with Kiel Week (always the last full week in June). This must be one of the world’s biggest regattas. The racing takes place out at sea away from most spectators but there is much else to see and do. One day we counted at least 25 Tall Ships, those with three or more masts, and many more two-masted Baltic Traders and similar. These go out from the harbour each day and make a spectacular sight. Ashore there is a fair called the Kiellinie that’s stretches along the sea front for well over a mile where one can eat food from cuisines from all over the world and watch concerts and go on fair rides. It’s huge, great fun – and it stops each evening at midnight - dead!
Ann rejoined the boat here and Bruce and Nigel left by train to go to Berlin whence they had booked a cheap flight home.
Danish marinas.
Firstly there is, in my view, no point at all in buying a pilot book for Denmark. At every harbour the HM will supply you with three free books called ‘Sejlerens Havnelods’. These provide a good chartlet and an aerial photograph of all Danish marinas and harbours. The text is in Danish and German but it is quite easy to work out the essentials.
Secondly, very few marinas have anyone on duty during the day so don’t use your mobile to ring ahead to make enquiries. Just get in, find a place and wait until the evening when a HM may appear. Some marinas have automatic pay stations for the mooring and for electricity. The machines (and the HMs) issue plastic or sticky paper tags that have to be attached to the boat for checking.
Thirdly, the universal method off mooring in Danish marinas is to go bow first between two piles. The bow is attached to the shore and a line is taken from each quarter to one of the piles. The essential is to drop a loop over each pile while passing it on the way in. It is well worth watching the locals do this to see how elegantly and easily it can be done. (If I were to offer advice it would be to not deploy any fenders until you are through the piles and to take a line from each quarter forward to the widest part of the boat from where it can most easily be deployed over its pile - and concentrate on the windward pile.) However many, even most, of the piles will not permit a boat wider than about 2.70m to get through. One has to learn to judge the width! Happily some harbours have an alongside wall where larger boats can moor, though this may involve having another large yacht or motorboat alongside.
Over the next five days we nearly circumnavigated the large island of Fyn clockwise, bypassing Sonderborg, sailing along the Als channel to the long shallow inlet at Dyvig where we anchored for the night. A severe gale warning next day caused us to take cover at Aarosund where we assembled our folding bikes and went for a long ride inland. We bought some delicious strawberries from a farm shop just up the road.
It was after lunch on the following day before the wind moderated. We made our way through the channel that lies betwen Middelfart and Frederica to Bogense where, despite a very strong cross wind, we made a very polished arrival between the piles. We doubled all the windward ropes and hung in there until the morning as the wind rocked us violently.
Next day I was very pleased with myself as I thought that I had found a place on the chart that looked perfect for a nice solitary anchorage. This was at Korshavn, an inlet just south of Fyns Hoved, the most northerly point of Fyn. Needless to say it was a popular spot but it was pretty and we went ashore and walked for many miles. We stayed there at anchor all the next day and then rounded Fyn Hoved and went south to Nyborg. We had to go under the Great Belt (Storebælt) Bridge. The span that it is preferred yachts use is 18m high. I double-checked the height of our mast and it came to 16.5m. Ann went below as we got near the bridge, convinced that we were about to lose the mast. It looked close, and it was!
On passage next day we had trouble with the engine starting system and so we diverted to Nyborg to get it fixed. The next night we anchored off the marina at Karrebæksminde (don’t worry, there is no test on these names!) - because we couldn't bother to go into the marina! We then passed therough ther channel and under the bridges between Falster and Sjaelland, run along under the white cliffs of Mon and into the harbour ar Rodvig. There we had a sensational meal at a smoke house - fish freshly smoked and and served on the basis of 'you can eat all you can'. It was wonderful grub! Next day we made our way up the east coast of Sjaelland and The Sound (Øresund) towards Copenhagen. I rang ahead to the marina in the centre of the city. The HM happened to be there and told us that he had no spaces free but he could take us after 1400 the next day, 8th July. While talking to him he told us about the underground bombs in London and that set us all to ringing all those we knew who might be in London.
I decided to go to Flakfort which is an island made to defend Copenhagen against the British in the early 19C. It was basically a big earth gun turret with a moat all around it built about 4kms from the city. Now it is a perfect base for yachts and provides a picnic retreat for the city yotties at the weekends. The people that we met there were amazed to know how we Brits had even heard of the place. Of course it’s in the pilot books. The weather was perfect and we had a very pleasant scramble around the fortifications and had showers ashore.
Our friends left us here and Ann and I had another night at Flakfort before heading north to Helsingor with its ‘Macbeth’ Kronborg Castle. That is only a 15-minute walk from the marina. Its Shakespearian relationship is its main interest but it’s worth a walk around. The town is pleasant too.
The weather had turned vile and we had electrical storms and lashings of wind and rain. It was therefore no hardship to stay there for two days while an electrical problem was fixed competently by a mechanic who was fluent in English. There is also an excellent chandlery shop at the marina.
Two publications are necessary for happy cruising in Sweden. The first are the chart folders called Båtsportkort. These are really excellent and essential if one is cruise the rock-strewn coasts of Sweden with any degree of confidence. The second is a book of rock mooring places in Bohuslän , the west coast of Sweden, (Tre Veckor i Bohuslän) produced by the Swedish Cruising Association. This contains chartlets and aerial photographs of the sites that the Club have set up with mooring spikes. The book is rather clumsily indexed but the contents, once understood, are useful. The problem however is that these sites can become very crowded.
The normal method of mooring in Sweden is take the bow up to a rock, leap ashore and tie-up to a hook pushed into a crevice or to a spike already there. We used some of the sites from the book but by looking carefully at the charts it is often possible to find one’s own rock mooring places as many of the rocks go straight down into the water with adequate depth to bring the boat’s bow near enough to jump ashore with a hook and rope. The special hooks with rings can be bought at any chandler in Sweden.
Plenty of people anchor too but rock moorings or marinas are more favoured.The tradition of 'Allemansrätt' (Everyman’s Right) means that one can land and walk anywhere in Sweden (and I think Norway too) subject to sensible provisos such as not interfering with people’s privacy, respecting crops and animals, etc. There are hundreds of islands to explore on this coast – most are rocky though some are covered in woods and fields.
After a blustery night we headed north towards Göteborg (or Gothenburg). We had hoped to get into the marina of the Royal Göteborg YC at the mouth of the River Göta some 5 miles or so from the city centre. It had been highly recommended but it was totally full and so we motored up river to the Lilla Bommen marina, which is as near the city centre as it is possible to get.
They are nearly all private and they may or may not have room to take you. Every slot is personally owned. There are however many ‘Gasthamns’ marked as such on the charts and clearly signposted in situ. It is rarely difficult to find somewhere to moor overnight or for shopping and most marinas seem to have power and water available. Most of them have alongside mooring for bigger boats (i.e. over 35ft LOA).
We had had a great week with a lot of rock scrambling, walking, ice creams and meals ashore.
Our next crew change brought Hazel Barr (ICC) and Patricia Clarke for two weeks. We covered much the same ground north of Göteborg. Going north we followed what might almost be called a road through the rocky islands. There are only a few routes through inside the islands and these are well buoyed and marked. You pass through channels with attractive villages spread along each side, squeeze through narrow gaps between rocks that you can and often have to go so close to that you can touch them as you pass.
In July the traffic density had been extremely high with yachts under full sail and high-speed motor cruisers giving no quarter as they manoeuvred through the passages. In August the main holiday period is over and there are already fewer boats around. Nevertheless, en route north, we couldn't stop at Marstrand as their big regatta was in progress and the marina was congested. But it was easier to find a good uncrowded rock mooring elsewhere. We got as far north as Fjällbacka, which is probably best known in Sweden for being the birthplace of Ingrid Bergman. The town, about 30 miles south of Norway, has a huge marina and is backed by a huge 74m-high rock that has steps up it leading to wonderful panoramic views.
On the way south again we diverted to take the long arm into the east that leads towards Uddevalla, around the large island of Orust. I thought that this route might be a mistake as it is quite a long diversion and if it were to be dull then we would have wasted at least two days. It turned out to be a delight. The shores of the mainland and the islands are covered with trees and the scenery was generally more pastoral than the offshore islands. Lovely houses dotted the shore and the sailing scene was all less frantic than outside. We found a couple of attractive and safe anchorages. We rarely sailed very far in a day preferring rather to relax and perhaps take a walk or, occasionally, eat ashore. The weather, which earlier in our holiday had been fine and sunny, had over these last few weeks turned duller. It rarely rained but we didn’t get too much Baltic sunshine either. No deep sun tans!
Back at Göteborg again on 10th August, the ladies left and David and his son Tim, and Stuart, all members of the Newtownards SC replaced them. They had all asked to help me with the return passage in order to get some passage-making experience. I allowed them only a few hours to look at the city and then we headed north to Marstrand, where we stopped while they walked around and looked at the fort, and then on north to a rock mooring. I felt that they should get some idea of the nature of the archipelago before we left Sweden.
We sailed over to Skagen in Denmark next day. I went as close to the northern tip of Denmark as I dared. The Skagerrak and the Kattegat meet here and it is shallow a good way offshore. We could see people wading out for several hundred metres – trying to reach Norway?!
Skagen harbour contained many Swedish boats loading fuel and duty free goods. Stuart and I visited the highly recommended museum with wonderful paintings from the late 19th century artists’ community that formed here to make the most of the Skagen’s renowned special light. That evening we challenged a fish restaurateur to do his best for DKr100 and he gave us a feast fit for a king – to the obvious envy of the other customers!
Next day we went south and entered the Limfiord, the natural cutting that divides the northern tip of Denmark from the rest of the country. There was a fresh wind and I had to make several attempts at mooring alongside a German yacht in Hals. The crew had a long evening at a splendid local pub but all were present and correct when we set off along the fiord next morning.
The fiord is about 75 miles long from Hals to Thyborøn. There are six bridges to pass and five of them have to be opened to allow yachts to pass through. The fixed bridge has 26m clearance. The time of the next opening is displayed on each bridge. Boats have to fly an ‘N’ flag at half-mast to show that they want the bridges to open. The 24-chart folio ‘Dänemark 4’ produced in Germany by Delius Klasing, which covers the north of Denmark and its western coast, and Limfiord is recommended. Included is a booklet with the plans of all the harbours, waypoints and more.
The scenery in the Limfiord varies from dull to a bit less dull especially when the sun doesn’t shine. The channel is often narrow and well buoyed but the water, albeit usually quite shallow, often spreads out for a mile or more on either side. The land is flat and so the views are short. There are lots and lots of wind generators.
We reached Thyborøn at the western end of the fiord having managed to sail for only about 2 hours as the wind had been, as ever, on the nose. We had to rush to reach one bridge and made it, mainly as there were only two boats wanting to go through and they waited 5 minutes for us to arrive. The channel leading to Thyborøn is long and very narrow but we arrived safely and took a berth at the very northern end of the harbour. This is a snug berth with few facilities though there is a supermarket quite nearby.
We listened carefully for the weather forecast, which offered W4 becoming SW4 or 5. Our required course to Peterhead was 280º and so we really didn’t want anything with ‘W’ in it! Next morning, 16th August, David managed to find a Shell man to sell us diesel from a barge in the fish harbour and then, with the boat prepared, we were off across 400 odd miles of the dreaded North Sea again. At first we bore off to the south and later tacked back northwards - and by 1800 we had made good a mere 44 miles. We heaved-to to cook and eat our evening meal. That night was wonderfully clear and for an hour or two we had a gibbous moon brightening the dark.
Our second day at sea dawned grey with a fluky wind We motored for a few hours and then we ran into thick fog for an hour or so. Then the wind went to SSW 4/5 and suddenly we were flying and even required a reef in the Main. The waves were big but on the beam and easy. That evening from my bunk I heard David and Stuart discuss which of the oilrigs ahead to leave to port and which to starboard. They sounded confident and so I went back to sleep. We sailed well for most of the third day and so it wasn’t a hard decision to bypass Peterhead and go directly on to Inverness. Fraserburgh was abeam at midnight but then the wind died on us and we had to motor along the Moray Firth. Our fourth day at sea was cold. We were off Buckie at 0630 and Lossiemouth at 0830.
At lunchtime we anchored off Fort George in order to enjoy our food before making our way with the tide past Inverness harbour entrance to the Caledonian Canal entrance at Clachnaharry. The Seaport marina had padlocked all its power outlets since we had last visited and now produced a full A4 sheet of instructions about how they should be used before they would unlock ours. The world is going MAD!
Sheilah Bradley (RNIYC) joined us next day and Tim had to leave us. We took 3 days to pass back along the canal. In each loch the wind was against us but David quite properly insisted that we should sail. Tacking in the narrow Loch Ness in a brisk breeze is hard work! Somehow it was always me who did the winch work! Hmm. Fortunately the wind died enough to warrant a stop near Urquhart Castle. However the canal transit was fun and generally relaxing. We spent the first night on the pontoons below Fort Augustus. Next day we went through to Loch Oich and stopped to look at the fountain of the Seven Heads (the scene of a gruesome happening several centuries back). We ate Sheilah’s kind offering of smoked salmon and then watched as about 16 ladies and gentlemen of a certain age who had paddled about 8 canoes, all lashed together, upwind to this point, headed out into the loch and raise their umbrellas to go away downwind under ‘sail’! Wonderful. That night we anchored at the west end of Loch Lochy. It was a still evening and we had a stunning view across to Ben Nevis. A combination of drinks, an excellent curry concocted by the jovial efforts of David and Sheilah, and music by the Buena Vista Social Club made it a memorable evening.
Next day the forecast was for southerly F10 winds! We hotfooted off towards Corpach but we had to wait for over an hour to enter Neptune’s Staircase, the flight of 8 locks near the west end of the canal. The only people in sight were very damp and windswept Japanese and German tourists who had paid to get there! Clearly there was no sense in leaving the canal with that wind expected and so we moored on the Reach one lock away from the Sea Lock at Corpach. We made the most of our enforced stay by eating out at a very decent pub nearby.
The wind strength peaked to hooligan level at about 0300 and all next morning it remained strong from the SW – exactly the wrong direction for us to go down Loch Linnhe. We kept hoping and expecting the wind to veer to the west as the deep low went north, but it didn’t. We had to decide by 1400 whether to leave or not as the Sea Lock, because of LW, couldn’t be opened after. We decided to go at 1345. We motored hard against the wind and happily the tide was with us as we passed the Corran Narrows. We went by Port Appin at 1730 and reached Dunstaffnage gratefully at about 1900.
We were away again next morning at dawn (0540) and with the wind still SWly, albeit quite light and always promising to go to NW, but not doing so, we motored nearly all day and reached Bangor at 2230 on Thursday 25 August.
The cruise had lasted 2 months and three weeks. I had been on board throughout but had been joined at various times by 13 others. It had all gone reasonably to plan and if the weather was latterly not as good as it might have been, at least it hadn’t been too bad. For me the voyage had been a return to the Baltic cruising grounds that I had sailed around 15 or more years ago, and returning to see them again was a delight. I hadn’t been on the Caledonian Canal before. I had enjoyed it all.