Sailing in Baltic archipelagoes

To sail in Baltic waters, you need good charts ! Russian ones are of highest quality. Newly corrected Russian charts are sold in Sweden, and probably in many other countries. Recently the Estonians have printed excellent charts.

In general, Baltic waters are very shallow. At most places it is wise to sail in the marked fairways. Sometimes you have to sail 5-6 NM from the nearest land. The shallow waters makes harbours rare. But there are small and charming fishing harbours ! Some of them have excellent service for yachts. Here you can often find a sauna, electricity and a bar. The ports are often manned both day and night.

When you approach a fishing harbour, you have good help by the harbour plans. Excellent charts and booklets are sold at marinas and harbours.

The typical navigational situation is that you approach a harbour steering well out from the shore. You find the buoy (a safe water mark) marking the beginning of the fairway to the harbour. From that position, you only have to follow the buoyage towards the port. In the chart you find the course leading in. Coming closer, and with a little luck, you can also find the beacons marking the leading line.

Buoys and beacons are OK - but beware of the lights!

Buoys and beacons  show up as expected. Leading lines are often hard to see, but with the help of buoys and harbour plans, you can managed anyhow. But beware of the lights! The lights are often out of order. Do not rely on the lighthouses either. Hopefully things have improved since 1998, but we feel that a warning should be passed. Don't navigate in darkness! You can navigate without problem at daytime. In darkness - that's totally another story. Plan your visit to June and July!

Planning your sailing route, you have to consider what harbours are "ports of entry". You have to visit a harbour with customs and passport control as your first and as your last port in every one of the Baltic States you visit. (But you don't have to use the same port for arrival and departure). You are also supposed to fill in a crew list form. It's often written in three copies and stamped in a highly official manner. Making crew lists becomes soon a part of the ships daily routine!