Dear readers,

In the Plüschowhafen harbour in Kiel, the Schwentine fleet is threatened with a second evacuation. The navy announces its need. What looks like a local dispute could become a test case: How much should water sports enthusiasts put up with when safety is pitted against habitat?

The Schwentine Fleet is not a collection of weekend romantics, but a small community of people who live and work on their boats. In the 1980s it was moored at Kiel's fish market, but in the early 1990s it had to make way. In 1998, she found a new home in Plüschow harbour with a permanent registration address "Prieser Strand 12b". There was peace and quiet for almost three decades.

Not any more. The navy wants to take over the entire site. Landing craft and combat boats are to be moored there; civilian use would be ruled out. This would affect not only the residents of the boats, but also the Kiel Yacht Service, the German Underwater Club Kiel and the sailing community of naval aviators. Although the contract with the city runs until 2033, the community is once again faced with the question: stay or go?

The reason sounds hard to refute: changed threat situation. The situation in the Baltic Sea is serious. Damaged submarine cables, drones, shadow fleet, new NATO activities. All of this is real. Nobody can demand that we ignore security policy problems. I admit it: I also waver. If the navy says it needs the site, there must be something to it.

But does this automatically mean that civilian users have to give way completely? This is where the real conflict begins. Security is a strong argument. But it is not the same as a killer argument.

And it strikes me: This is not the first case. Things are generally getting tighter. Wind farms are taking up huge areas. Since March, there have been new nature reserves in the Baltic Sea, speed restrictions and winter driving bans are being planned. All understandable, all important. But also: less and less space. In the case of the nature reserves, the cohesion of the sailors has made a difference. Demonstrations, participation, compromises.

Now the crucial question is: Have all options really been examined? Or is it more convenient to displace civilians than to look for a solution in which the navy and water sports coexist? This has worked for decades at Plüschow harbour. Why should it suddenly only be either/or?

If the security situation continues to deteriorate, Plüschowhafen will hardly be the last place where military interests meet civilian use. The Baltic Sea is limited. So is the coastline. And if the space is redistributed, water sports enthusiasts will be pretty far down the political food chain.

This is where the counter-argument often comes in: sailing is a luxury. In times of crisis, you have to do without. Sounds sober, but it's too simple. Plüschow harbour is not about champagne on teak decks, but about people for whom the boat is their home, about established structures, clubs, workshops and community.

And even if it were only about recreational sailing: a free society also stands up for its values by leaving room for self-determined living. Access to water, nature, sport - these are not trivial extras that are sacrificed as soon as things get complicated.

Plüschow harbour shows how quickly a conflict of objectives can turn into a power decision. Yes, the navy needs space. Yes, the security situation is serious. But this should not mean that every civilian user should be dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders.

Together with the city of Kiel, the Schwentine fleet has already proven once that solutions can be found. So why not again? Peaceful coexistence is possible if it is politically desirable.

What happens in Kiel today may happen elsewhere tomorrow. Many marinas on the Baltic Sea were once used for military purposes. Water sports enthusiasts would do well to follow such developments closely and take their interests more seriously.

Because if they don't do it, nobody will in the end.

Ursula Meer

YACHT editor

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