The Sailing Area
The Fjord Schlei, the so called Danish South Seas, small and big Belt, fjord of Flensburg, the Bay of Kiel, the Island Fehmarn and the river Elbe from Hamburg to Cuxhaven – here you can sail in perfect conditions. Protected bays, wonderful anchorages, sandy beaches and fascinating towns offer you great variety and make it possibly to enjoy a varied, interesting and enjoyable sailing trip in nearly all weather conditions.
Usually the sailing trips start from Maasholm, a little village in the Schlei 2 sm from the baltic sea. If you have other plans: contact us!
Overview
Here are some suggestions: The times stated are based on a daily sailing time of 5 – 6 hours at a sailing speed of 4-5 knots average. The main wind direction in this sailing area is west. Heading west of course needs less time instead of heading east.
Detailed Description
Sailing tip 1: Sailing in the Schlei
The Schlei stretches from Schleimünde to Schleswig. The river is 22 nm long and maximum 2 nm wide. Here you can sail in a protected area, anchor or moor in nice towns. Especially for inexperienced sailors, the Schlei is a „must go“!
The trip starts 18 nm north-west of Kiel Laboe at the water mouth of the Schlei. Close to the water mouth there is the harbour of Maasholm. 4 nm further on you can moor in the nice small town Kappeln.
For people who like to sail more, you can sail another 17 nm further north (from Schleimünde) to Sonderborg (Denmark), into the fjord of Flensburg or to the east to the Danish South Seas. Marstal, one of the most interesting towns of the Danish South Seas, is only 23 nm away from Schleimünde to the north-east. Also, take a look at our other sailing tips.
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Sailing tip 2: Schlei – Sonderborg – Flensburg
Length of the trip: 130 – 150 nm (depends, how far you sail into the river Schlei)
From Kiel Laboe you will sail north to the river mouth of the Schlei. There are many possibilities for overnight stops. For instance close to the river mouth or 4 nm further on, in Kappeln.
Or if you like you could continue for another 20 nm into the river Schlei to Schleswig. From the Schlei you sail north to the Danish town Sonderborg. From here it is not more than 20 nm to the fjord of Flensburg with its small islands and attractive old town of Flensburg.
There are fantastic stops, for example in the Schlei: Schleimünde, Kappeln and Schleswig. Once you have passed the fjord of Flensburg you will reach the nice Danish town Sonderborg, where you can moor in the middle of the town. If you like to anchor then you can do so in the Schlei, in the fjord of Flensborg and close to Sonderborg.
Another plus factor for this trip is: You sail from the south to the north and backwards. Usually you do not have to sail against the predominant west wind. Furthermore you can make the trip shorter or longer, whatever you like, there are many possibilities.
Sailing tip 3: Schlei – Danish South Seas
Length of the trip: 110 – 150 nm (depends, on which islands you sail to)
The Danish South Seas are a wonderful sailing area with many small islands and harbours, a nice town and above all its protected against waves. This means you can sail in nearly every weather condition.
The hop from Kiel Laboe to Bagenkop on Langeland, Denmark is 25 nm long and is directly north-east. From there it is only a couple of miles to Marstal, one of the main places in the Danish South Seas. You could continue via the mini-island Birkholm, with a wonderful atmosphere, to Ärosköbing, Drejö, Skarö into the Svendborgsund to Svendborg. The circle brings you via Thurö Bay and Rudsköbing back to Marstal and back to Kiel Laboe directly or with a stopover in Bagenkop.
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Sailing tip 4: Schlei – Round the danish Island Fünen
Length of the trip: around 230 nm
From Kiel Laboe you sail North-West to the Schlei passing the fjord of Flensburg to Sonderborg and through the Als sound into the Kleiner Belt. Here you have a good chance of seeing common porpoise, little tumblers. These tumblers are the only domestic whale species in the Baltic Sea.
At the north-west edge of the island Fünen, you sail between Jütland and Fünen, through a narrow at Middlefart. You have very strong currents here but there is lots of room, so you can just enjoy the fast sail.
The trip continues east to the fjord of Odense. At the north-east corner of Fünen you will find a wonderful anchorage at Korshavn. You could also berth at a small footbridge and go for a swim.
The sailing to the south brings you through the Great Belt with its impressive bridge. On the way it is worth stopping in the fjort & belt centre in Kerteminde. The maritime museum is a great place for children and adults.
At the southern end of Fünen you will come back into the Danish South Seas with its almost endless sailing possibilities (more sea sailing tip 3). With westerly winds you can make the trip from Marstal to Kiel (30 nm) or Bagenkop to Kiel (25 nm) within one day.
Sailing tip 5: Schlei – Island Fehmarn – Island Poel
Length of the trip: 140 – 180 nm (depends, on which places you sail to)
From Maashol, Schlei, the trip goes east. After 40 nm you can stop on the island Fehmarn, for example, in Orth – a very nice harbour. If this is to long you can make a stop in Kiel Laboe. In Orth on Fehmarn a walk to the old lighthouse and afterwards a dinner in a Greek restaurant could end the perfect days exploring. If you want it more sporty: Orth has one of the best windsurfing and kitesurfing spots at Fehmarn, even for beginners. You can rent the all of your equipment by the day.
On Fehmarn or close to the island you find more harbours: Heiligenhafen, Großenbrode, Großenbrode Fähre (our recommendation) or Großenbroder Binnensee. Anchoring is possible at Heiligenhafen, close to Orth or in Großenbroder Binnensee.
From Fehmarn you continue another 30 nm to the south-east, to the small resort Timmendorf on the island Poel in the north of the bay of Wismar. The wonderful beach is right next to the harbour. Rent a bike and do an excursions on the island. You can find a very well protected anchorage on the south-east side of poel, close to the village Kirchdorf.
In the south of the bay of Wismar you will find the town Wismar with several different harbours, some are in the middle of the town. Another possibility is the peninsula Wustrow northeast of Poel with the little town Rerik. A small channel flows through this salty backwater.
From Poel you could return the same way or you go to Travemünde in the bay of Lübeck. In Travemünde you can find different harbours and wonderful beaches. If you sail back to Fehmarn without a stop in Travemünde you can berth for a nightstop in Grömitz, not our first choise but o.k. for the night. page up
Sailing tip 6: Schlei – Bay of Kiel
From Maasholm in the Schlei to the Bay of Kiel it is around 21 sm.
There a sailing area with a size of 10 nm by 1.5 nm welcomes you. Due to north- and north-east-winds the area is well protected and the waves are normally not too high.
Harbours are at both sides of the bay. There are for example: Strande, Schilksee, Stickenhörn, Holtenau, Kiel-Wik, Düsternbrook und Blücherbrücke, Seeburg, Reventlou, Hörn (Germaniahafen), Wellingdorf, Dietrichsdorf, Mönkeberg, Möltenort, Baltic Bay und Marina Wendtorf. Guests are very welcome in all harbours.
More information about the harbours of the bay of Kiel you can find here.
People who are interested in cultural activities will find many possibilities in Kiel, for example the town and shipping museum. You will find more information about activities in Kiel here.
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Sailing tip 7: The Swedish Archipelgo
If you have more than one to two weeks, you could sail to the wonderful West- or East-Swedish Archipelago.
From Kiel Laboe to the beginning of the West-Swedish Archipelago at Varberg the distance is about 200 nm. From there you can sail for more than 120 nm in
the archipelago passing Göteborg to the Norwegian border.
From Kiel Laboe to the beginning of the East-Swedish Archipelago close to the north point of Öland you sail 350-400 nm. From there you can sail in wonderful protected water through thousands of islands up to the nice town of Stockholm.