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Polands Baltic Coast |
By Thomas Hillebrand
(Part 1 of a multipart article)
Monday, 25th July 2005
At 10:45 we cast off Wolgast, our port of registry and go up the Peene river toward the Baltic sea. Our destination is Kaliningrad and Pionerskij – a Russian exclave at the Baltic belonging to East Prussia before 1945. But during the next six days the Baltic sea will be the master of our days.
At 9:45 pm we cross the 15th degree of longitude, CET. The Polish are entitled to claim that meridian, giving birth to the "CET" is situated here, 60 km east of the German-Polish border. Sun sets exactly one hour earlier than in Greenwich. The 15th longitude has a much longer extension through Poland than through Germany. (It only touches Germany near most easterly city of Goerlitz.) This means, we are not in "the East", but exactly in the middle of Europe!
Tuesday, 26th July 2005
 | | Well visited in summer: the marina of Kolobrzeg |
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Our first harbour is Kolobrzeg where we enter the port after 76 nautical miles at about 2:20 am. In Poland you can clear inward in any port at any time of the day or night. However, with view to language problems an the sometimes gruff attitude of the officers, this act is often feared by sailors. Frequently, the quays are located at the banks of rivers and therefore exposed to a strong swell. Yachts can hardly moor here – you often only find concrete walls or rusty bulkheads covered with black rubber sausages. Fortunately, in Kolobrzeg this quay is deep inside the harbour and therefore very calm.
We often watched foreign sailing boats ignoring the clearing in authority and going directly to the marina. The officers normally acknowledge this by firing a white signal rocket. If you are still unsusceptible for the welcome of the Polish border control you will be brought up a few minutes later by one of their motor boats. Even the smallest boat is tracked upon arrival by the radar of the Polish authorities.
Deeply impressed by such a consistent coast control, many boats tend to overdo it, and visit every border control point during their trip. And there is one in every sea port in Poland. Therefore the following advice will be very valuable: Once you have cleared inward you can limit further contacts to the port authorities to radio calls. The only important point is to mention your last port and your next port. The authorities will then transmit your data by radio or by phone to your next port of destination. Once arrived in the port of destination you can simply give them a radio call and you will receive the permission to go directly to the marina. The most appropriate moment for this call is when you are passing the checkpoint and the officers can watch your boat with their binoculars.
But – attention! There are two little difficulties when giving the radio calls to the authorities. Channel 16 is not on watch. You therefore have to know their working channel. And you should try to pronounce the name of the called authority as well as you can otherwise they simply ignore you – but only on the radio. If you go on with the boat a white signal rocket is yours! Normally you call the "kapitanat" (stress is on the last syllable). You then say "portu" the Polish genitive of the word port (stress is on the first syllable) and the name of the city – which might cause some problems in certain cases. Below a list of how to articulate the most important ports:
- Kolobrzeg:
"Kapitanat Portu Ko-wobb-cheg" (Channel 12)
- Darlowo:
"Kapitanat Portu Dar-wovo" (Channel 12)
- Ustka:
"Kapitanat Portu Oost-ka" (Channel 12)
- Leba:
"Kapitanat Portu Webba" (Channel 12)
- Wladyslawowo:
"Kapitanat Portu Ua-dis-ua-vovo" (Channel 10)
- Hel:
"Kapitanat Portu Hell" (Channel 10)
One of Kolobrzegs attractions is the lighthouse being built in 1866 at the entry of the port. From here you have an impressive view over the bay of Pomerania, the large beach of Kolobrzeg and the city.
 | | View out of the Redoute Morast into the marina |
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However, our tonight’s destination is not that far. In the evening the probably cosiest place of town is the "Redoute Morast" situated in Ulica Warzelnicza on the island (Wyspa Solna), directly next to the marina. The "Redoute Morast" belongs to the Kolobrzeg fort having been built between 1770 and 1774. At that time the building was still called "mud redoubt".
The Kolobrzeg fort became famous by a Nazi propaganda film which was made on the basis of historical facts.
In March 1807, during the fourth coalition war, troupes were besieging Kolberg. At that time, Kolberg was the very last combating fortress in Prussia. The commander of the fort, Major von Lucadou, was already thinking about surrender. However, the mayor of Kolberg, Joachim Nettelbeck, revolted because he wanted to defend the city. He was taken to jail for a while. Ferdinand Baptista von Schill, a Prussian freecorps commander finally succoured Kolberg and attacked the French forces with partisan tactic. King Friedrich Wilhelm II finally appointed Duke August Neidhardt von Gneisenau as a commander of the fortress. He arrived on April 29,1807 from Königsberg by sea. Cease-fire between Prussia and France took place on July 2, 1807 and stopped the besieging and the combat of Kolberg.
 | | Pop concert in the Redoute Morast |
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The Nazi-movie "Kolberg" being produced at the end of world war II glorified the endurance of Kolberg despite its hopeless situation. The Allied military authorities forbade it after the end of world war II. Nowadays the mud redoubt is a very nice pub with a beer garden. During summer time there are live concerts every day. In a big oven different fish is cured – absolute delicacies which go fast.
Wednesday, 27th July 2005
At 8:50 am we put out Kolberg. At 4 to 5 beaufort from west we go to Ustka. Not only the wind is favourable for us on the 55 nautical miles. Since several days we are thoroughly checking our navtex system and today there will be no military exercises in the areas 6, 6a and 9 which are located between Jarolawiec and Ustka up to 10 nautical miles out to sea. Hardly another firing danger area of the other Baltic abutters is used as frequently as this one, especially during summer time. Fire only ceases for a few hours late at night and on Sundays.
A few years ago, on our trip to Ustka, we just disregarded our navtex and innocently ran into the firing danger area at Jaroslawiec. We suddenly remarked at muzzle flashes at the shore and missiles in front of us. We never tacked quicker than that day.
By the way: The port authorities of Darlowo and Ustka can give you information about ongoing firing exercises, even by radio.
 | | Evening sky in the harbour of Ustka |
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At 20:30 pm we go alongside another sailing boat in Ustka. After a long sailing day it is very comfortable to have about half a dozen of pubs and restaurants in walking distance. We decide to go to a typical fish-and-chips-restaurant and eat a big cod filet steamed in tinfoil. The innkeeper proves quickly that fish-and-chips (frytki) are not mandatory, you only have to ask for something else.
This brings us to Polish cuisine. As everywhere else in the world, the traditional Polish dishes have to compete with the blessings of the global fast food industry. Therefore it is highly recommended to look thoroughly for your restaurant. Even choosy eaters will not be disappointed. The absolute musts:
- Bigos (pronounce: "bi-gosh") a cabbage-sauerkraut stew with ceps – the Polish national dish.
- Pierogi (pronounce: "pee-a-roggi") – dough pockets mainly stuffed with curds or cabbage.
- Zurek (pronounce: "zoo-rek") is a sour flour soup on the basis of fermented rye flour, enriched by meat, mushrooms and potatoes. It exists in many variations.
- Golonka (pronounce: "golonka") is a relatively fatless knuckle of pork being braised for quite a long time. It is offered in many variations: braised in beer, doused with brown sauce, boiled and served with sauerkraut and horse reddish.
- Szaszlyk (pronounce: "shash-uick") a marinated filet is always barbecued (and it is far from the flavourless spits being served in German takeaways).
- Kurczak (pronounce: "koor-chuck") is a classical broiler chicken and therefore something "international" actually. Nevertheless, the quality of poultry in Lower Pomeranian is still higher than elsewhere, that’s why even a simple broiler is much more tasty than elsewhere.
This list is certainly not complete and it will certainly not explain the diversity of the Polish kitchen to the reader. However, if you are uncertain what to chose, you can take these recommendations as an access.
Thursday, 28th July 2005
At 08:45 am we leave Ustka, at 09:15 am we hoist the sails. 3 beaufort from southeast – slow motion! But today we only have to cope with 29 nautical miles. At lunch time we start our engine. Our target is Leba, where we arrive at 03:50 pm. Leba has a recently built modern marina with comfortable floating footbridges.
The last 17 nautical miles before Ustka are dominated by huge dunes at the shore, the so-called Polish Sahara. This is the Slowinski National Park which became a UNESCO biosphere reservation in 1977. It still has active shifting sand dunes. The "racers" among them move south-east up to 10 meters a year. This spectacle even affected Lea. In 1558 the town was threatened by the dunes and had to be rebuilt in another location.
By the way: Many film crews have already shot their desert-scenes here and thus saved tremendous travel cost.
 | | Can often be seen off the Polish coast: fishing banners |
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The interesting shore line will certainly gather a big amount of your attention and you might ignore a steady danger in the water: Small banners mark bow nets or fishing rods. As a matter of principle they are not dangerous. However, if you cross them, you can easily catch a rope in your propeller. So – watch out! These "fishing burgees" are even poked at 20 meters depths. Special attention is to be paid at night, unless you pass relatively far from the coast.
 | | A stork in its nest on a chimney in Leba |
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From the marina Leba we walk downtown and see a stork nesting on a chimney near the street. Storks are quite common in Poland.
The rural economy along the coast and the slow building development during socialism preserved wildlife habitat to many species which are already extinct in Germany. Therefore, visitors to Poland often think that nature is still balanced.
 | | The harbour of Leba in the evening |
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Maybe Leba is the nicest place along the Polish coast for an evening city-tour. A multitude of small shops, manifold restaurants and pubs.
Friday, 29th July 2005
At 09:20 am we put out for Wladyslawowo. The wind backed to east, the barometer dropped a little and at the end of the day we will have 1015 hPA., 3 hPa less then in the morning.
 | | Tacking up off Cape Rozewie |
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Sailor’s destiny! Today we have to cross Cape Rozewie, the most northerly point of Poland. For Gods’s sake – it is not one of the big capes in the world, but even though it can be bitchy. At 3 beaufourt we approach Rozewie by engine for four hours, but 12 nautical miles before the cape, where the shore runs nearly easterly, we face 5 beaufort and a very steep wave. Much to much for our old engine. We set sails and tack. This is very tough due to the waves. Our old steel yacht needs more than six hours for the small distance. And – we hardly passed cape Rozewie – the wind backs to 3 beaufort! Definitely too weak for sailing. At 20:50 we have done 46 nautical miles – 12 more than on the direct way.
Wladyslawowo is the biggest Polish fishery port. We cross an impressive number of trawlers and cutters and arrive at the small yacht jetty.
 | | Amusement park in Wladyslawowo |
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Wladyslawowo is also a superlative regarding tourism. The city has only 10.000 habitants, nevertheless during peak season 70.000 tourists spend their holidays here. Anyhow you often read that this town has nothing to offer except a big carnival, a popular (and loud) beach discotheque and the so called "sea voyages" with Viking boats who bring people about one nautical mile out on the Baltic.
This is not entirely true. One of the highlights is without doubt a high tower which has been built in the 50s between the port and the railway station. It belongs to the cultural center Dom Rybaka. It’s open to visitors and offers a terrific view on the landscape. At same days you can overlook the whole peninsula of hela.
 | | View from the tower of the Dom Rybaka onto the Hela peninsula |
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The former Baltic spa Hallerowo, which is today part of Wladyslawowo, offers the old summer house of General Jozef Haller von Hallenburg, a Polish folk hero. His celebrity is due do the fact, that he brought troupes to the Baltic in February 1920, when Poland was awarded the "Polish Corridor" by the Versailles treaty. He also spearheaded a ceremony on Februar 10, 1920 which was held in Puck near Wladyslawowo and which went down as the "Polish espousal with the Baltic". His summer house "Hallerowka" has been transformed in 1990 into a memorial place for the general and his "blue army".
Last but not least there is the accessible lighthouse in Rozewie, the most northerly point of Poland. This lighthouse offers a lighthouse museum.
Saturday, 30th July 2005
Today we take our time. We have been to the internet cafe at the basement of the tower in Dom Rybaka. The wind is supposed to change to south-west at noon. So there is no need any more to be angry due to easterly winds.
At 14:15 we leave. With 5 beaufort from south-west we first make 6 knots. It goes without saying that such a lucky "ride" is never long – two hours later our engine has to join in.
We sail along the coastline of the narrow peninsula Hel, which is properly a spit. Between 1945 and 1990 parts of it were military area where access was forbidden. Today tourism is prospering. Beyond the narrow spit we get a glance on the Zatoka Pucka, which belongs to the Danzig bay and see kit surfers enjoying themselves.
At 18:40 we arrive in Hel. The trip was 22 nautical miles.
 | | Fishery museum in Hel |
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At the exit of the port you can find the fishery museum which offers a multitude of ship models and fishery equipment. It is situated in a gothic church from the 15th century.
Tonight we enjoy the evening in a restaurant on the main boulevard since we have made 227 nautical miles in six days and will therefore be able to cross the Danzig bay tomorrow in order to go the Russian Baltijsk. We have matched our time schedule!
If we would have had more time, we could have enjoyed two activities:
 | | The beach of Hel |
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A day at the beach. The Polish Baltic has a 500 kilometers shore line out of which nearly 400 km extend between Swinoujscie and Hel. And it is up to you to chose your place. We especially love the beach of Hel at the end of the spit. We never saw a finer, whiter sand elsewhere. Due to the paltry, maritime vegetation the peninsula between the Baltic and the Danzig bay offers a very atmosphere. And it is by far not so crowded as in Kolobrzeg or Ustka.
By the way: Crowded beaches... Even though the Polish coastal resorts are quite crowded in summer time you can easily find absolutely solitary beaches a little bit outside the touristic focuses.
The second "must" is a visit to the seal-station in Hel (Ul. Morska 2). Biologists try to resettle seals from the institute in Hel in the baltic. For more then 100 years seals are considered as extinct at the Polish coast. The northerly Baltic, mainly Sweden, Finland and Estonia still count about 17.000 pinnipeds. The biologists in Hel have released 10 young seals this year in summer. The station can be visited.
Next: Part 2 - In the Kaliningrad District
If you want to supplement this article with hints or own experiences, please click here.
Online Logbooks - Polish Baltic Coast
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