Poland

Polish waters can be divided into three areas: Gdansk Bay, the long stretch of Baltic coast, and Swinoujscie with the waters behind, which are really just an extension of the German bodden.

Gdansk Bay is a cruising area in itself, and Gdansk itself should be top on your 'must visit' list. The harbours along the Baltic coast are generally small fishing towns situated on rivers, with long breakwaters jutting out from the land. Entry into these can be interesting in strong cross winds, and they should be approached with great caution in strong onshore winds. In addition, the harbours themselves may be uncomfortable in these conditions.

The entrance to Dziwnow - very typical of the entrances to these Baltic harbours with their long narrow breakwaters.

The most common form of mooring is alongside a quay fendered with truck tyres:

This example is from Dziwnow. Box moorings are sometimes found in bigger yacht clubs, and, very occasionally, stern buoys.

Mooring fees are low (Ustka is free!), but typically around 30 zloties - perhaps £6. The person who deals with harbour queries is the bosman - there is usually someone on duty 24 hours a day.

Gdansk

Gdansk, once the German city of Danzig, was flattened by the Red Army in 1945, and has been rebuilt. The authenticity of some of the reconstruction is perhaps a little dubious, but the result is certainly spectacular. The city is a magnet for tourists in the summer. One of the advantages of the marina in Gdasnk is that it is in the heart of the city, and five minutes walk from the old city centre.

The harbour entrance is not that conspicuous, but the tall red brick lighthouse is a good landmark. The deep water for ships channel is well marked - it is a good idea to keep close outside the channel. There are a large number of ferries from Gdansk over to Hel which you will have to watch out for.

Once inside the river, there are relatively few hazards, although again you will have to keep a sharp eye open for crossing ferries, tugs, and ship movements in general, since Gdansk shipyards are busy places. It is about an hour's motoring up to the marina.

NV-pedia harbour charts for Gdansk. This chart is very helpful, since it covers the stretch from the harbour entrance all the way up to the marina.

Moorings

You know when you have arrived by the view of the city waterfront (see photos). Gdansk Marina is down to the left behind some building which are still left derelict from the war. There are an assortment of pontoon moorings, and you'd be unlucky if you found them all full. If you do, you can probably find someone to raft up against. It is well equipped with all the usual facilities.

There is also a fuelling pontoon a few hundred metres from the marina. It is a very good idea to top up the tanks here, since fuelling stations in this part of the world are few and far between.

The city

The city centre is undoubtedly a marvellous place to visit, although some of it is perhaps of dubious authenticity. That having been said, there is a lot to see and to do. Gdansk also offers facilites not found in the average port, up to and including an international airport with flights to the UK and elsewhere. To come to this part of the Baltic and not visit Gdansk is a big mistake!

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Right: the lighthouse and the Kapitanat Portu just inside the entrance. Left: the final approach to Gdansk marina.

Gdansk shipyards: this is a busy area, and you need to be alert.

Left: the waterfront opposite the marina, and, right, the main thoroughfare in the centre of the city.

The refuelling pontoon a few hundred metres from the marina.

Gdynia

Gdynia was developed as a port after the First World War, when the 'Polish corridor', cutting through Prussia, gave Poland access to the sea. It is still a busy commercial port, with a good deal of ferry traffic.

The chimneys and high rise buildings are visible for miles around, although the marina is tucked away on the edge of the harbour. A very long detached breakwater runs parallel to the shore to protect the harbour. The easiest way to find the marina is to head for the southern end of the breakwater. The marina is outside the harbour itself, tucked away next to the shore. You will see the masts as you come closer.

NV-pedia harbour chart for the marina at Gdynia.

Moorings

There are pontoons on the further side of the harbour, and box moorings for large boats on your port side as you come in. You can also use the section of quayside immediately to starboard. The marina uses VHF Channel 12, but this is also the working channel for Gdynia harbour.

Gdynia has been a yachting centre for decades, and is a good place to get charts or chandlery, including electronics. I needed a rather obscure part for my autohelm, and it was ordered and delivered quite swiftly. There is free Wifi for those with laptops.

The city

On the other side of the quay are two museum ships, one being the ORP Blyskawica destroyer, which was built by Samuel Whites in Cowes in the 1930s. Well worth a visit.

The town is obviously a busy commercial centre, but the nearest supermarket for provisions is some way away.

There is a railway station with links to Gdansk and the Hel peninsula. You can also get a bus to the airport, about 40 minutes drive away.

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Hel

Hel is at the end of the long peninsula that partly encloses Gdansk Bay. From the Baltic side, there is a tall red lighthouse visible; from the shore side there is the 'snail' building which is prominent on the skyline. The harbour approaches are straightforward, but you should call the Kapitanat on Channel 10 first in case of ferry movements. It is busy at the height of the holiday season. You then make your way thro0ugh the outer harbour to the yacht basin.

NV-pedia harbour chart for the Hel harbour at Hel.

Moorings

There are some pontoon moorings of the variety where you get a space to yourself - one side is the step ashore pontoon, the other is a more lightweight affair to which you can tie mooring ropes. Ther is water and electricity. If the pontoons are full, you can go on the harbour walls, which are hung, as in most Polish harbours, with truck tyres. Here you will find electricity but not water.

There is free Wifi for those with laptops.

The town

Hel is very much a holiday resort. Hordes of ferries bring people over for the day from Gdynia and Gdansk, and they flood along the breakwater past the yachts, sometimes stopping to have their photograph taken by (or even, sometimes, on!) your boat.

The church has now been converted into a fishery museum - which is more interesting than it sounds. You can climb up to the top of the tower, where you get some excellent views over Gdansk Bay (see below).

There is a small but adequate supermarket about 500m from the harbour.

If you are waiting in the harbour for a weather window, one option is to take the train which runs from Hel along the peninsula to Gdynia. A change of train takes you to Gdansk.

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Left: the curiously shaped white building is an excellent landmark if coming over from Gdansk or Gdynia. Right: the harbour approaches.

Right: the pontoon moorings. Left: a view of the harbour taken from the top of the church tower. You can see the hordes of people who have just disembarked from the ferry.

Polish Baltic Coast

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This is very much a passage making coast. The ports are a mixture of fishing harbours and tourist towns. The harbour entrances tend to be narrow with long breakwaters: caution is needed in cross or onshore winds!

 

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Dziwnow

This is a small town on the edge of the bodden, but you cannot get there from the bodden since there is a low bridge in the way. Enter from the Baltic, and you have the chjoice between the fishing harbour and the small Marina Polmax. Alternatively, you can wait for the lifting bridge [call Port Control] and go down to the town quay.

You may be stopped at the Boreer Guard quay near the entrance and asked for your passport.

The town is about a half hour walk, but there is a small grocers not far away.

NV-pedia harbour charts for Dziwnow.

Left - the 'winter harbour', to port as you come past the Border Guard post. Tie up on the quayside fendered with tyres. Right: Marina Polmax.

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Kolobrzeg

Kolobrzeg is quite a sizeable city, and it is the only harbour along this coast which has any commercial traffic. The entrance is narrow and curved, with wave baffles which block the view round the corner, so caution is needed. The marina is about a mile from the entrance.

There are some stern buoys, but otherwise mooring is alongside with the usual rubber tyres. It is about fifteen minutes walk into town, where there are several supermarkets.

NV-pedia harbour charts for Kolobrzeg.

Kolobrzeg marina, built around what remains of the fort of Kolberg.

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Darwolo

Access to the main harbour is blocked by a bridge which opens every hour on the hour. Once inside, you tie up on the quay immediately to port, although you will be more comfortable if you go as far down as you can. The usual tyres are provided. There is electricity, but the only water tap is down the far end. The ablutions are adequate.

The harbour around the town is given over almost entirely to holiday makers, but there are a couple of grocers.

The quayside is subject to a fair amount of wash from fishing boats as they go in and out, and also from local speedboats. It is also very exposed to the west, despite its distance from the entrance. In a strong westerly breeze, the swell would make the quayside very uncomfortable.

NV-pedia harbour charts for Darwolo.

The sliding bridge which opens every hour on the hour. On the left is the view of the moorings from the bridge. The small boat closest to the camera is a ferry which runs a few miles up the river to the town.

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Ustka

Ustka is rather more attractive than many of the harbours along this coast, and mooring is free! There are no facilities, however. (You may be able to get electricity, but the bosman may want to read the meter before and after!) You tie up on the quayside past the SAR boat, but preferably as far down as you can go. You may also find yourself a tourist attraction.

The town is quite pleasant, and smarter than many. There is a good supermarket about ten minute's walk away.

NV-pedia harbour charts for Ustka.

Left: Ustka entrance. Right: the main harbour. Yachts find a space anywhere past the SAR boat.

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Leba

Leba boasts a new purpose built marina, with all the facilities. There is water, electricity, diesel, washing machines, respectable ablutions, and Internet access.

There are two downsides to Leba. The first is that both the entrance and the marina are prone to silting due to the sand that blows about, and the entrance needs a cautious approach. The second is that it is on the wrong side of the river for the town, which is about twenty minutes walk over the bridge. If you have a dinghy, it might be easier to row across! There is no supermarket within easy reach, but various provisions stores.

NV-pedia harbour charts for Leba.

Leba entrance on the left, and the marina on the right.

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Wladyslawowo

Wladyslawowo itself does not have a lot to offer the visiting yacht, but it has some good pontoons with water and electricity, but fuel is difficult to find. You may be able to get it delievered in cans. The moorings are to be found at the far end of the harbour, and will be well sheltered in almost any weather. The entrance is a little exposed to the north or east, but perhaps more sheltered than some of the others along this coast.

It is a good jumping off point for the Baltic States: it is marginally closer to Kalipeda than Hel, and the route takes you a little further from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

NV-pedia harbour charts for Wladyslawowo.

The yacht moorings at Wladyslawowo. The tower seen in the right hand picture is a good landmark for the approach.

Swinoujscie

Swinoujscie (formerly Swinemunde) is at the eastern end of the German bodden. From here you can go inland as far as Berlin, if you take your mast down.

There is a large new marina, which is expanding as boat owning and sailing becomes more popular in Poland.

The harbour entrance is easy enough to find, as it lies in a bay between the island of Usedom and the Baltic mainland. Cranes are visible for several miles away as a useful reference point. This is a busy commercial waterway, and it is a good idea to keep close to, but out of, the main buoyed channel. There is plenty of water around the entrance, however, so you can approach it from any direction.

The entrance itself is not all that conspicuous, but the breakwaters are marked with towers and lights. Night entrance should not be too much of a problem. There can be quite a strong current in the entrance, and this is not at all predictable - it depends mainly on the wind over the past day or two.

The marina is about half a mile down the river: there is a new SAR post built by the entrance, making it easy to recognise. Take note of the small starboard hand buoy. The actual moorings are a few hundred meters further down the basin.

NV-pedia harbour chart for the marina at Swinoujscie.

Moorings

There are a variety of moorings: alongside pontoons, very small finger pontoons, stren buoys, and quayside with truck tyres. You may be greeted by the harbour master, who will blow a whistle very loudly and point imperiously to the place he wants you to go. It isn't worth arguing.

There are new ablutions which are quite respectable, and free Wifi for those with laptops.

The city

The city does not have a lot to recommend it. It is a long way to find supplies or anywhere to eat other than rather cheap cafés. The German pre-war influence has been neglected or obliterated, and while the new buildings are quite presentable, they are nothing special.

 

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Entrance to the marina on the left with the new SAR centre. On the right is the new marina office and ablution block.

Views of the marina. It can get quite crowded in the summer.