We stayed longer than intended in Neustadt, three days. This was because the mooring was so convenient and well placed for services that we were able to complete a number of lay up chores as well as enjoying the cafes, sunshine and general ambience!
On Friday 31st we finally left and sailed the thirty miles North along the coast past Gromitz to Fehmarn. A day that started off great at 8:30 with sunshine and a F3 close reach rapidly went downhill to F5 headwind and pouring rain with thunder and lightning. The Germans make comments about how it rains in Cornwall, but Baltic rain is like being under a fire hose - you can hear it gurgling away through the cockpit drains. To cap it all after we had got well soaked and moored up at the marina berth, the sun came out and the wind dropped. Boat looked like a Chinese laundry.
We then spent a couple of days removing the sails slackening the rigging and generally cleaning ready for storage.
The big day came on 4th September when the mast was plucked out and our summer home hoisted on to a trailer to go into the storage shed until next May. After a further two days cleaning up the boat it was off to Hamburg and then home for the winter.
We have had an amazing cruise. The parts of the Baltic we have visited so far are all they are cracked up to be, no tides, short distances to cover, plenty of good anchorages and marinas, nice people, and the weather has definitely been better than in the UK.
Looking forward to Sweden next summer! Watch this blog.
When we get back and figure out how to use this blog on an IPad we will post some photos.
