Chichester Yacht Club Magazine December 2017 | Page 18

Lecture: The Baltic and Back in a Season,
12 November - by Helen Jupp
Bob and Sue Garrett are a very energetic
sailing couple. We first met them in France
where we joined a Cruising Association rally
which they were running. They are joint
secretaries of the Channel Section of the CA.
You may have seen them on the water in and
around Chichester as they keep their yacht
“Intrepid”, a Dufour 36, in the Itchenor channel.
They also race with the Chichester Cruiser
Racing Club of which Bob is the Commodore.
In Denmark they visited Heligoland, a tax free
island visited by crowds of German visitors
stocking up on duty free goods, Copenhagen
where the Eurovision Song Contest was being
held in a nearby hangar, and Helsingor – the
castle which inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet –
to name but a few.
In Sweden they told us that the common
method of mooring was in “boxes”, similar to
Birdham Pool, or tying close up to rocks and
So, when they retired they decided to cruise to dropping a kedge anchor astern. The local pilot
the Baltic leaving from Chichester in the spring books were essential as many areas were very
and returning six months later.
shallow and there were byways marked by
leading lines.
They planned to make the trip by day sailing in
the main, via Belgium and Holland and the Keil The facilities on many of the small islands
Canal – where they encountered many very big included toilets, saunas, picnic areas and
ships.
barbecues, catering for the many Swedes who
come here in the summer.
They told us how quiet it was in the sping as
the Baltic sailing season only really lasts from Midsummer, when there was only about two
mid June to the end of August.
hours of darkness, was celebrated in style in
Sweden and Estonia with fish buffets and
dancing. We learnt that there
are no fish to be caught in the
Baltic due to its poor water
quality.
An overnight passage was
made to Happassari in Finland,
the easiest place to check out
of Europe before entering
Russian waters. The Customs’
formalities there included
breathalysers as there are strict
rules about drinking alcohol
while in charge of a boat.
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