The harbour master on Texel greets the skipper who has just arrived by name: "Oh, Mr Müller, back on the islands again?" Yes, once again; like every year! Mr Müller has long harboured the desire to explore further afield. England would be great. The Channel Islands. Or even the Baltic Sea. But how to get there on his own keel?
Many other sailors who have long known their home waters inside out ask themselves the same question. Regardless of whether they are moored in Holland, on the North Sea or Baltic coast or somewhere in the Mediterranean. In most cases, the ship is even ideally equipped for longer trips. What is missing is time. More than three weeks at a time is simply not possible for most people in summer. But not much can be done in three weeks. At least that's the widespread opinion.
Even on a normal holiday, many seemingly unreachable destinations are not utopian - if you plan well. With a few tricks, the usual cruising radius can be significantly extended.
So before the fun of the hobby is lost due to acute boredom of the area, it's worth reaching for a compass and an oversailer, a little calculation and logistical effort. But which sailing destinations are realistic in practice? To find out, a few assumptions have to be made. The examples on the following pages are based on a conventional 30-foot cruising yacht. The distances sailed are estimated very conservatively at an average of 20 miles per day. However, this also includes harbour days. And the desire of many family crews for short, relaxed trips has also been taken into account. For a three-week holiday (20 days), this results in a maximum total distance of 400 nautical miles.
We sail according to the one-third/two-thirds rule. This means that the crew turns round after about a third of the trip. This is the only way to ensure that there is enough of a buffer to avoid running out of time - and therefore stress - on the way back due to a calm, storm or persistent headwind. The actual radius of action is therefore 150 nautical miles (a good third of 400 nautical miles) around the home harbour.
This radius can be extended to up to 400 nautical miles. We will show you how to do this in relation to typical sailing areas for German yacht owners: the Baltic Sea, the IJsselmeer and the Adriatic Sea. The rule is that at the end of the trip the boat is back in the harbour of departure, i.e. no long-term change of area is intended. An exception to this is spending the winter in a distant harbour in order to continue the trip from there the following spring.
Each crew will of course make different assumptions when planning their cruise. However, whether larger or smaller distances or shorter or longer holiday periods are used as a basis is irrelevant for the general considerations; they also apply with other distances. Only the achievable destinations change.
Night drive: the long stroke
Our sample yacht covers around 100 nautical miles within 24 hours. This corresponds, for example, to the distance from the Roompot lock at the exit of the Oosterschelde to Ramsgate south of the Thames estuary. An ideal starting point if your holiday destination is London. From Kiel, Samsø could be reached in one sailing time. If the island is worthwhile in itself, you can also set off from there on a leisurely circumnavigation of Zealand with a visit to Copenhagen as the highlight. In the Adriatic, the yacht coming from Izola has already left Kvarner behind after a night of sailing. The Kornati islands are then open as a holiday destination.
A power stroke at the start of the trip is particularly useful for areas that stretch along the coast. Examples include the Côte d'Azur, the Turkish Aegean coast or the Baltic coasts of Mecklenburg and Poland. If you sail to the turning point of the voyage with a long beat at the beginning, you can relax on the way back from bay to bay and harbour to harbour.
The same applies to island destinations. Rügen can be easily reached non-stop from the Schleswig-Holstein coast. From Wismar, the destination could be Bornholm. The West Frisian Islands can be reached within 24 hours from Cuxhaven and Corsica from the Côte d'Azur.
But what happens if the family doesn't want to take part in a long stroke at the beginning?
Weekend work: Transfer
On a Friday afternoon, a crew meets in Makkum on the IJsselmeer. The boat is quickly made ready and off they go. The destination: across the North Sea to Cuxhaven. The owner and his family want to continue a week later, from Kugelbake to Brunsbüttel and then through the Kiel Canal to spend a relaxing sailing holiday in the Danish South Sea.
To ensure that none of the actual holiday time is lost and because the wife and small children do not want to or should not take part in the trip across the North Sea, the owner has looked for a transfer crew one weekend before the start of the holiday. On the way back, the whole thing will be done in exactly the same way.
If we had sailed westwards from Holland, the ship would be in Hull at the mouth of the Humber on Sunday evening. From there, you could spend three weeks exploring the English west coast. From Kiel, Sölverborg in Hanö Bay can be reached within two days, and if you sailed northwards, Gothenburg would already be on the harbour master's receipt. On holiday, you could then sail the Kalmar Sound and even explore Gotland or the western Swedish archipelago. After all, the ship's journey home is only scheduled after the holiday.
From Slovenia, Split can be reached after 200 miles. However, it is important to bear in mind that a permit is required for Croatian waters. In addition, at the beginning of the season, all persons who will be on board during the course of the year must be named, including a transfer crew. This makes the planning of such a project in the Adriatic a little more complex than elsewhere.
In general, a long-distance weekend needs to be well planned: The crew needs to know what they are getting into - the watch rhythm, night sailing, long hours under engine if necessary - and the boat needs to be up to the task. And once they arrive at their destination harbour, the transfer crew should be able to make their way home without any complications. This is always the case in the locations mentioned as examples. Car hire stations, railway stations, ferry terminals and airports are all close by.
Last but not least, the weather also plays a decisive role: if it's coming from the wrong direction on the planned transfer weekend, it can be difficult to actually make up 200 miles. This applies to both the outward and return journey!
A challenge for the logistician: a plan B must be found, for example in the form of possible alternative destinations or intermediate ports from which a journey home is also possible. If the port actually planned is not reached, the holiday starts somewhere else.
If the imponderables or the expense of two such transfer weekends seem too great, there is another way to broaden your "experience" horizon.
Shared joy: crew change
Two thirds of the participants in a YACHT online survey would be prepared to hand over their boat to another crew without hesitation or after receiving detailed instructions. The point of this is to reach far-flung destinations - after all, the cruising radii of two holidays add up in this way.
If the voyage starts in the Netherlands, Scotland, for example, can be the destination, provided the crew and yacht are seaworthy. In the Baltic Sea, the metropolises of Stockholm and Oslo attract crews willing to change.
But where do you find a suitable replacement? Relatives - such as the families of your own grown-up children - and good sailing friends are the most likely candidates. But it can also be worth asking club mates or neighbours.
In any case, both crews should have sailed with the ship before so that they don't have to get to know it on holiday. After all, in contrast to a fairly standardised charter yacht, owner-operated vessels often have their own peculiarities. A precise briefing is a prerequisite for a successful trip for both crews.
The crew who are less confident should complete the easier half of the trip, such as the stages with the greater proportion of room sheets or the passages that are less demanding from a navigational point of view. This is more likely to ensure that the ship returns home safely even in adverse conditions.
The advantage of the crew change is that, for example, in a coastal area where you have to travel back and forth, there is only one crew on board in each direction. Nobody sees the same area twice.
Once again, the legal situation in Croatia is causing problems: the owner must always be on board when the ship is moved, otherwise the whole thing is considered a charter. And this is subject to strict guidelines. Exceptions are only granted with a great deal of bureaucracy.
The handover is quite easy to manage. If you are travelling by car, the first crew simply drives it back. Otherwise, look out for an exchange harbour with good rail, ferry or airport connections.
4th alternative: spend the winter away from home
If the holiday trip ends later in the season, you can look for a place to spend the winter at your holiday destination. Some winter storage operators, for example in Sweden, already specialise in foreign yachts and offer a complete service. However, major repairs should be avoided if possible. The cruise can simply be continued in the spring.
If you combine this wintering strategy with a crew change in the first and second year, the cruising radius suddenly corresponds to four three-week holidays. So why not think seriously about St. Petersburg, the Shetlands or Haparanda as a holiday destination?
Eastward expansion
Many dream destinations can be reached from Kiel: Stockholm, for example, or Oslo, the Curonian Spit or the Göta Canal. With some planning, they can all be completed within normal holiday intervals. A skilful combination of the options shown to extend the cruising radius offers extra scope; then even Finland is possible.
In all directions
There is a wide choice from Amsterdam. However, there are fewer stopovers than in the Baltic Sea, for example. Those travelling to Southampton or Hull can usually only change crew there. On the way to the Baltic Sea, the Wadden Islands are not always an alternative port of call, depending on the weather. Even getting as far as Scotland on holiday initially requires long journeys.
Adriatic Sea: heading south
Starting from Izola in Slovenia, the Kornati islands are open for a visit with a long stroke at the beginning of the trip. If you make transfers before and after your holiday, even the Apulian coast is within reach - one of Italy's undiscovered sailing pearls
How charter sailors extend their holiday cruise
If you charter a yacht in a certain area, you can also extend your radius of action. On the Côte d'Azur, for example. An 80-mile trip from Bormes Les Mimosas to San Remo allows you to take a leisurely stroll around the bay on the way back. This is always more pleasant than having to complete a long stage at the end. Another alternative are one-way trips. For an extra charge, the destination harbour is not identical to the starting point. There is a wide range on offer. There are often oneways in regions with a prevailing wind direction or areas that run along coastlines.
For example, the Croatian coast, the Athens-Kos/Athens-Syros routes in Greece or the cruise from Marmaris to Göcek in Turkey are popular. Arrangements with only one direction of travel are even offered in the Caribbean.
This article first appeared in YACHT 13/2011 and has been updated for this online version.
