We show 25 ideas and recommendations for sailors in winter from the following areas:
The best winter activities: Sport & Fun
You don't always have to pack your suitcases for feelings of happiness and exciting experiences. Little adventures and active pastimes are waiting on your doorstep, even in winter.
1. beach sailing
When sailors no longer fear sandbanks but seek them out, it's cold outside. Beaches and sands then become pistes, a course for a special pleasure: Beach sailing. Sailing along the coast on a three-wheeled vehicle with a rig similar to that used for windsurfing is probably a new and unrivalled experience for most sailors.
Those who usually travel on displacement boats or rather slow dinghies will experience what it means to be faster than the wind. Here, that means up to 80 kilometres per hour, but that is reserved for real experts. But skill is not a prerequisite. Even complete sailing amateurs learn very quickly how to steer the beach trolley with their feet and adjust the sail. Most of the time, it stays close-hauled anyway, due to the apparent wind coming in at an angle from the front. With a little practice, shells soon crunch under the wheels, water splashes up from puddles and sand flies around the markers as you drift.
In St. Peter-Ording on the North Sea, the Nordsport Strandsegelschule SPO sailing school operates a base where various courses are also offered. In addition to the training course, you can also go on more extensive courses. With a bit of luck, you can sail onto the sandbank south of St Peter at low tide - a unique experience. A tip: Despite the hot action, thick clothing is definitely advisable.
2. seminars, webinars and trade fairs
Getting active and continuing your education - there are countless opportunities. Cruise counselling, long-distance sailing seminars and lectures, for example, help you prepare for the next sailing summer. Or inspect the yacht to be chartered in the coming season at the trade fair.
3. museum visit
Follow the old merchant ships on their routes around the world, understand shipbuilding from the past to the present or browse through the maritime bookshops - a visit to a maritime museum makes grey winter days fly by. This is also a good programme for children because of the interactive themes.
4th lighthouse tour
Joint activities with fellow sailors or in a club guarantee enjoyable hours with like-minded people. Excursion idea: Why not head for the lighthouses along the coast from land? Some can be visited, for example the Hörnum lighthouse on Sylt: climb up and enjoy the view out to sea!
5th bonus tip - Just keep going
... and pretend that winter doesn't even exist. This is possible, for example, at winter regattas such as "Die letzten Helden" or "Eisarsch". If there is nothing like this on your home turf, simply organise it yourself and round off the day with mulled wine and grilled sausages.
The best winter activities: Dreaming & planning
Reading, searching, looking through photos - what better time to make new travel plans and reminisce about your last holiday cruise than a cosy winter evening?
1. cruise planning for the coming season
At the end of every cruise, when the lines are barely tied to the jetty at home, there are usually plenty of new ideas buzzing around in our heads: next time we could go here, it would be nice to go there too and definitely with more time. Then one mate raves about the island of Sowieso and the next about the ferry to Irgendwo, and so over the course of the season, a real pool of destinations comes together.
Now is the time - and more than enough of it - to sort through all these plans, brainstorms and suggestions. And to turn them into a cruise plan for next year. How will it fit in with holidays and children, which will be the men's weekend, when can you definitely not go where because of the Wuhling at the harbour festival, and which of the thousand ideas is best compatible with all of this?
Answers to these questions require research, and this can now be done perfectly with a pot of hot tea on the sofa, a large pile of books and a computer - many harbours can be viewed online from the comfort of your couch; thanks to iPads, chart plotters and open source software, it is already possible to mark out the routes. In peace and quiet, in comfort. Sofa sailing.
2. reminiscing - trip follow-up
Now is also the time to look back. Winter is not only the perfect time to prepare for a trip, but also the perfect time to look back. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of photos on the memory card need to be sorted and edited, the curse and blessing of digital photography. Then there's the film material to sift through and edit - all of this is necessary work. If they are not done now, experience shows that they will never be done.
These are time-consuming, but also very beautiful and memorable projects that almost make you forget that you would much rather be on the water creating new memories.
While cruise documentation using moving images naturally remains in the digital realm, photography often sees a return to paper. Simple programmes can be used to create high-quality, individual photo books. They are viewed more often than a jumble of digital files!
3. visit to the bookshop or library
A single trip to the bookshop can save several winter weeks, regardless of whether new releases or classics end up in the shopping basket. How about "Seven colours of blue" by Claudia Clawien and Jonathan Buttmann or Marc Bielefeld's "Logbook of passion"?
4. sink into the travel guide
If you are more concerned with the destinations of the respective area during the season, the Blue water travel guide the ideal books for the cold season. Simply browse around the world and dream about it. Even with the Cruise reports yacht.de is a great place to spend icy or gloomy winter evenings.
5. watch films
Long live home cinema - especially with sailing ships as the main characters. Always worth watching: ten episodes "The riddle of the sandbank" with Davies and Carruthers. Thrilling: "In the heart of the sea". Also a nice task for the winter: Over 900 videos from all areas of sailing on YACHT TV.
The best winter activities: Travelling & chartering
When the boats in this country are under tarpaulins, it's the best time for a trip to the southern hemisphere. Not bad either: seeing the northern lights and sailing in the desert.
1st sailing trip in the polar region
Icebergs in front of the bow and snow on deck are usually missing from the idea of a holiday in the south. Bathing bays and warm days fit in better than glacier edges and penguins; a trip to the Antarctic summer is just not an ordinary one.
From November to March, the time window opens for a cruise to the polar region in the south. Cape Horn, Patagonia, the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, the Drake Passage, the South Shetland Islands, Elephant Island - just a selection of the inhospitable destinations with their very special magic. On their own keel, they probably remain out of reach for most owners. This is precisely what makes a voyage to the latitudes around 60 degrees south so exclusive, so extraordinary. Admittedly, this is also reflected in the price. But it's still worth it.
2. book a sea voyage
For example, a 14-day voyage to Antarctica on an expedition or cruise ship, preferably from South America. The port of departure is usually Argentina's southernmost city of Ushuaia, with the journey travelling via Buenos Aires.
The Southern Ocean can be explored under sail with the tall ship "Europa". The windjammer sets off on around three-week expeditions to the polar waters every year between November and February. Anchoring between ice floes, steering, looking out and (voluntary) staying in the yards are just as much a part of the travel programme as shore excursions to interesting places, visits to former whaling stations and the experience of a unique animal world.
3. exploration with an expedition yacht
The whole thing can also be experienced on specially equipped expedition yachts. German skipper Wolf Kloss, for example, offers three-week trips to the Cape Horn region, the Antarctic Peninsula and to South Georgia in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton on the 20-metre aluminium ketch "Santa Maria Australis". It also organises individual expeditions.
The same applies to a trip on the 16-metre steel yacht "Sarah W. Vorwerk", which travels the area from October to April in trips lasting from several days to several weeks. Yes, it can be tough, windy and cold - but certainly unforgettable. So, dress warmly for this somewhat different escape from winter.
4. sailing on the Gulf of Oman
The Gulf state of Oman is becoming increasingly popular for sailing and is an attractive option for a winter holiday. The country on the Arabian Peninsula offers more than camel safaris in the desert: chartering is possible with or without a skipper.
5. off to the south
Travelling to a warm destination doesn't have to be a long journey. The classics for a short escape from the cold are the Canary Islands, just a five-hour flight away, followed by the Caribbean. In the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles and Mauritius are a good choice, while a trip to the increasingly popular south-east Asian destinations takes a similar amount of time. And if you have plenty of time and resources, you can follow the summer even more consistently: Australia and New Zealand fulfil every sailor's dream!
6. off to the north
Seeing the fascinating lights of the polar region from a ship adds a whole new dimension to the experience. Hurtigruten offers the trip by mail boat - and even gives a northern lights guarantee.
7. participation in Caribbean regattas
They are fun and sport, party and palm tree idyll: anyone can take part in fun sailing races in the Caribbean, from charter crews to individual bookers. They are usually international and combine racing with travel and a colourful land programme. The majority of the events take place in November/December and March/April. The best known are the Heineken Regatta from St. Maarten, the BVI Spring Regatta on Tortola, the Antigua Sailing Week and the Caribbean Trophy with changing areas.
The best winter activities: Boat & handicrafts
Balm for hands and soul or a compulsory programme in cold halls? Why the time in winter camp is simply a must and how to make it a success.
1. burden or desire - do the most important work
Spending the cold days working on the boat in the shed - for many boat owners, this is as much a part of winter as sailing is of summer. For long-time owners, the work is usually routine unless there is a special project on the agenda. New boat owners, on the other hand, still have a lot to learn. Above all, the fact that for every construction site you start, at least one more opens up. More likely two. Maybe even three.
In addition, the realisation soon comes that completing the work list drawn up in the summer is utopian. It is a phenomenon that all too often the same unfinished tasks end up on this list again and again. At the bottom.
Finally, the winter storage novice must understand one thing: Working on a boat is not a burden, but a pleasure! And maintaining and repairing a boat in the shed is balm for the soul. In truth, it's one of the best antidepressants against the winter blues: being on board, working with your hands. It strengthens the bond with the boat and provides both inner peace and eager anticipation of the first tests of the optimisations made. And it's also practical: it's good to really know where every screw is in case of an emergency.
- How to make winter storage in the water a success
- Outdoor winter storage - what to consider
- Guide: You need these tools for winter storage
- Polishing like a pro - the right tools and techniques
- Winter storage: The best care and cleaning products for yachts
- Working indoors: tips for safety in winter storage
2. the freestyle - realising dreams and projects
But winter work can also be divided into compulsory and optional. Sanding, polishing, painting, servicing the engine and renewing the underwater coating fall into the first category for many. The freestyle varies depending on the type of boat and owner. Sometimes it's a self-build dinghy, sometimes the clever installation of an autopilot, sometimes the installation of an on-board heating system to fill the winter. Realising such projects with attention to detail on the boat is a good thing, it connects boat and person. It often makes you look forward to your time in the hall, which is certainly not a lost time.
3. organise an indoor party
If everyone is already there to look after their treasures, why not sweeten the work with a little indoor party? With beer and bockwurst in the cockpit or under the keel, on your own boat or with the "neighbouring berth holder" on board - it would almost be like summer. Other rituals have similar effects, such as fixed times for breaks together.
3. modelling
It doesn't have to be a ship in a bottle that needs to be operated on with tweezers and dexterity. But building a model boat, whether an ocean racer or a classic ship, is a great project for anyone who enjoys tinkering. That's how quickly you become a proud owner.
The best winter activities: Body & Soul
The planks still seem to groan, the water still rushes past the hull - restaurant ships invite you to go on long-distance journeys at home. But there are also other ways to go travelling at home
1. visit a restaurant ship
Germany's harbours are home to numerous traditional restaurant ships. If one of them is in the area, it offers a great opportunity to escape the dark season both mentally and culinarily.
Among other things, the "Alexander von Humboldt" is anchored in Bremen as a catering and hotel ship. She was built in 1906 as a lightship, later travelled as a sail training ship and, with her green sails, has also become world-famous as an advertising medium for beer. After being decommissioned in 2011, her future was initially uncertain. Now she is moored on the Weser and there is activity on and below deck again.
The lightship "LV 13" in Hamburg has also been cosily restored. Before the floating navigation mark, built in 1952, was replaced by a large buoy in 1989, it was in service on the English coast. Today it is a bar, restaurant and hotel in the heart of the Hanseatic city. In the areas with stylish names such as "Mannschaftsmesse" (crew mess) and "Maschinenraum" (engine room), the atmosphere is maritime and rustic, as is the menu, of course. The highlight, however, is the tower bar. Whatever the weather, it's a wonderful place to let your mind wander to sea. If it might be getting late, we recommend booking one of the seven single or double cabins - the shortest way to your bunk.
2. attend seminars and tastings of fine wines
Whether it's rum, gin or whisky - the favourite variety has long been decided. Winter is the perfect time to expand your background knowledge of high-proof spirits. Various seminars and tastings are offered throughout Germany.
3. use the beach chair in winter too
A beach chair is the symbol of a summer holiday by the sea. Anyone who owns such a good piece: How about not letting it disappear into the cellar or shed for a winter? Snuggled up in it on a cold sunny day, thickly wrapped up with a hat, scarf and winter jacket, with a thermos flask and hot water bottle, a touch of holiday feeling returns. Then put on a CD with your favourite music from your last trip or the sound of the sea - and it's summer again.
4. cook for yourself - wanderlust in a pot
The time without a sail lasts around 20 weeks, and there are at least as many recipes in the cookery book "Mediterranean galley". The idea is to try out one of the dishes from the south once a week. And then it's back to cooking in the real pantry.
5. wellness and hiking
It's finally time for all the things that aren't really fun when it's 25 degrees and sunny outside: Relaxing with a massage or in the whirlpool, unwinding in the steam bath or sauna or escaping the frosty temperatures in the tropical pool - all eternal classics against the winter blues. Also only possible now: walks along the disused areas: around the lake, along the coastal hiking trail or on an icy beach landscape. Beautiful!
