That's all folks!

Well nearly.....

But first a summary of our trip:

Facts and figures

Total distance travelled (through the water):  2546 Nm (2930 miles)

Total number of places visited:                      68

Total fuel used:                                             311 litres (68.4 imperial gallons)

Total cruising expenditure:                            £8000 approx.

There's not a lot to say about the distance travelled except that we used tides wherever possible to speed us on our way, so the actual distance over the ground would have been greater.

We actually moored up or anchored a total of 74 times, but we stayed in 6 of these places - Chichester, Brighton, Eastbourne, Dunkerque, Scheveningen and Rendsberg - on both the outward and return journeys. Our longest stays were in Eastbourne and Cuxhaven; in each case we were stormbound for about a week.

We used more fuel than I would have anticipated, but then we spent a fair bit of time in canals (the Sodertalje, Gota, Trollhatte, Kiel and Netherlands canals). Add to that the requirement to warm the engine before leaving harbour, motor clear of that harbour and then motor into the next, and you can expect to run the engine for a minimum of an hour on every trip - even when the passage itself is all done under sail. Cyclone sails well but struggles under motor unless it's flat calm, so we sailed whenever possible - including to windward where we might have been tempted to fire up the engine if it had more power!

When I totalled up our expenditure, my first reaction was "ouch!". However, on further analysis it's maybe not so bad. That £8000 figure includes:

• Marina fees for all but the 7 nights we spent at anchor (bear in mind that, if we hadn't used our boat at all, it would have cost us about £3000 to keep her in her home marina for the same period); 
• All our food, drink and entrance fees to museums etc. 
• Nearly £500 for the Gota canal (which included marina fees whilst in the canal) and maybe a total of about £100 for the other canals; 
• Around £1000 for charts, a new autopilot and a device to make picking up stern buoys easier;
• All fuel used - propulsion, heating and cooking.
• The £600 worth of wine (at UK prices) we brought back to keep us warm over the winter!

It doesn't include the costs associated with our unscheduled trip home.


Wear and tear

Clearly wear and tear on a boat used continuously for more than 6 months will be higher than that on one used only for weekend sailing and maybe an annual 2 week holiday.

Our actual breakages were limited to the autopilot and a pulley system on the mainsheet, but there will have been wear on the engine and sails associated with use.

Jo had to make a few running repairs to our stackpack; both that and the sprayhood could really do with replacement (although this is mainly due to UV damage to the stitching that would have occurred in any case). I also want to get the standing rigging checked - something I may have been less inclined to do if our usage was less.

Finally in this section, Cyclone's teak rubbing strake earned its keep during this trip by brushing aside posts in box moorings (you can't use fenders to protect the boat here as they won't fit between the posts) and taking a gentle knock in the Vlissingen lock without damage. A boat with unprotected topsides may not come out so well!

  
The Baltic as a cruising ground

We spent our time in Denmark and Sweden primarily. It would have been nice to spend more time in Germany and to visit Poland and the Baltic States, but there's only so much you can do in a single season. Many people leave their boats in the Baltic over the winter and continue their cruise the following year. We can see the appeal of that, but we're also keen to sail to other parts of the world. Unfortunately life's too short to do it all.

The Baltic's obvious plus points are lots of daylight in the summer months - no night sailing! - and no tides to speak of so you can sail at times that suit you. English is widely spoken so there are no communication problems and marinas are cheaper than in the UK - certainly a lot cheaper than in the Solent!

Our overall impression of the places we visited was how smart and clean they were - people really seem to take a pride in their boats, homes and towns. The marina facilities weren't always up to the standard of the better ones in the Solent, but they were always left clean by those who'd used them. The same isn't always true in the UK.

We saw many beautiful places - both natural beauty and pretty towns and villages. There were also plenty of places of interest to visit on our tour.

The best boat for the Baltic is undoubtedly one with a narrow beam. Cyclone's 3.52m meant she was too big for many of the box moorings and all the boom moorings in the Gota canal. Mooring options for bigger boats are often limited to alongside linear pontoons where rafting is common and, annoyingly for those with no other options, these spaces often seem to be occupied by boats that could fit in the boxes and booms! If you have a big boat, best plan to arrive early at your chosen destination.

So, would we recommend the Baltic as a cruising area? Definitely, and without hesitation!


Cruising in general

2015 was the first time Jo and I had been on a boat together for more than 3 weeks so, if you'll pardon the pun, it was uncharted water for us.

The plus points?

• Time. We could have continued working for a living and enjoyed the luxuries that come with a steady income. I'm not knocking people who choose to do this, but we'd rather be time rich and cash poor than vice versa. Of course it would be better to be both time and cash rich!!
• Every day is different. Different places to see, different people to meet, different experiences to enjoy (or maybe not!).
• Freedom from stress. Well, most of the time.
• A sense of adventure and achievement. OK, so we've not done anything particularly adventurous - mainly day sailing and coastal hopping - but somehow it seems like we have and I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment. It's nice to do something a bit different from the norm! 
• A healthier way of life. We got far more exercise than we would have back home. Regular walking, lifting and carrying (you can't take the car to the shops!) as well as cycling and the physical nature of the sailing itself - together with all that fresh air - must surely be good for you?  
• No TV. No newspapers. No idea what's going on in the world (well, I could look on the internet if I was interested).
• No ironing for 6 months!

The minus points?

• Money. I'd like to drive a Ferrari (OK, we'd never have been able to afford one, but you get the idea). We make do with a 13 year old Honda Jazz. We need to be careful about what we spend if we want our savings to last, so luxuries like eating out are now, at best, infrequent.
• Every day is different? Well in some ways yes, but in others not really. When you drill down, what we do is sail somewhere, explore the place, plan the next trip and then repeat! Sure, the places we see are different, but arguably there's a lot of repetition in our daily lives. Better than going to the office every day though! 
• People. We've met some great people whilst sailing whose company we've really enjoyed. However, in most cases we've seen them just once or twice, so it's not the same as meeting up with old friends and putting the world to rights over a few beers. We're also away from our families for long periods. Some may envy us that(!) but it's nice to be able to call in and see the relatives from time to time. You can't do that if you're miles away in another country.
• Stress. I don't know why, but I still get stressed before a passage. Jo says it's a good thing because it means I'm not complacent and perhaps she's right. It doesn't feel like a good thing though, when I'm lying awake for hours listening to the wind howling in the rigging! Once we're under way I'm fine in any conditions that I've yet encountered. Weird!  
• Intellectual stimulation. This isn't a minus for me because I get plenty from passage planning and boat maintenance. Jo, however, misses the challenges she used to get from problem solving at work. One thing on her "to do" list is to find ways to redress this before next year- maybe by learning a language as we go, or something similar.
• Accommodation. There's no getting away from it, a 33' boat can't rival a 4 bedroomed house when it comes to space. And a square bed (at home) is always going to be preferable to the triangular one in our forepeak!
• No "Bargain Hunt" (that was a joke!!). We didn't miss TV but, having said that, one of the things that Jo was looking forward to on our return home was sitting on the sofa and watching cr@p TV after scoffing a Chinese takeaway! 

Looking at the pluses and minuses, it might seem like the latter outweigh the former. They don't! We've no desire to go back to work. We simply need to reflect on what's been good and what's been less good so we can address the latter if possible before setting off again next year.

We hope you've found this blog useful and/or entertaining. 

All the best,

Rob and Jo