Swinoujscie-Bornholm on the s/y Enola

Part one

We set out at 19:30 from the town marina. Earlier that Saturday was the towns official opening of the sailing season where we took part in the sailboat parade around the harbour. Enola is 1.7 meters deep, which is a bit of a problem considering she is the deepest boat in our small marina. The first day she went in the water it took us 40 minutes to get out to the canal. Which wasn’t too healthy for the boat, dragging the keel along the bottom. On Saturday we made it out with only one bump and decided not to risk going back and count on being able to get out again in the evening. The others who were sailing with us to Bornholm have a maximum depth of 1,55 m so they took off from our Jacht club. We all met up in the canal. Eight sailboats, 20 people.

This was our first time on the open sea off coast. The others had been to Bornholm a few times before. Piotrek, our marina’s “Komandor” has the slowest boat and an outboard engine. Marek and Valerian have the fastest boats and we were proud to be in their category of speed. For the safety and comfort of all we had agreed to stick together.

So our voyage began. The wind was light coming from the north west. The sea was calm. We past the windmill on the pier one after another feeling proud and excited as the tourist waved us farewell.

We sailed north into the sunset and watched the horizon change into a rainbow of pinks, oranges, yellows and purples. Przemek and Omlet took the midnight shift, from 12 to 4 am. Estera and I went to sleep.

We were awoken by the smell of strong coffee and the guys calling us out to watch the sunrise.

They were cruising with only the engine because there wasn’t even a breeze. The Baltic Sea was flat as glass as far as the eye could see. Small silhouettes of sails boats slicing through the stillness and leaving only ripples behind them were to our port and starboard. There was no land in sight. I sat on the bow watching an orange splinter rise from the water and plump up as it rose. Then I joined Estera and we sat at the helm together with our super strong coffee in silence. The boys passed right out after a 21 hour day. The air began to stir towards the end of our shift and a light north eastern breeze set in. It was just enough, so we hoisted the genoa and turned of the engine. What a relief.

Our inboard is a very worthy, fairly quiet Yanmar 12 horse power, but still makes more noise than desired on a sailboat.

That delightful silence woke the guys. They rolled out of their cots, popped their heads out and smiled at the sight of the small white triangles appearing aft and starboard. Przemek picked up the radio (his favorite gadget onboard) and announced his presence to the rest of the fleet through channel 77. Marek, another very social character, replied instantly with a joke or two. Walek, who was the only one sailing solo and the most experienced sailor amongst us, wished us all a good morning and added a compliment for us girls. Gajek, who had been towing Piotrek since the wind had died in the night because piotrek’s outboard would use too much gas and he wouldn’t make it even half way to Bornholm, was still putting along but now with the help of his sails. One boat had been forced to turn back when their engines cooling system broke 5 hours into the journey. The other two boats had gone ahead the evening before while the rest of us stuck together as planned, not leaving the slow boats behind, which were “Seagull” in tow behind “Easy”.

So, now we were a fleet of five. The first visible coast line of southern Bornholm looked like an uninhabited island. Long white narrow beaches were separated by rocks jutting out into the clear water with a backdrop of green trees. No buildings, no sign of human clutter.

We sailed towards Svaneke, a harbor on the southeast side of the island, watching the land change as it slowly slipped past us in the distance off to port. Symmetrical patches of yellow and shades of green eventually began to appear on small hills rising above clusters of red brown spots. Civilization, as it’s called.

Onboard the crew were hungry. “Breakfast!” exclaimed Captain Daniel and Przemek hopped into the galley “breakfast it is, sir!” And breakfast it was. Scrambled eggs with sausage and onions and a thick cut piece of bread. We felt like adventurers already congratulating ourselves on the discovery of new lands.

The sun rose higher into a clear blue sky warming our faces while the water shot bright reflections up at us. It was going to be a nice summer day.

The waters around Bornholm are some of the deepest in the Baltic, this makes it a very good area to catch dorsz (cod), and Przemek was very well prepared. He had borrowed a special pole from his friend and bought a special real with all the components needed, suggested to him by his brother, a serious sports fisherman. Another fisher friend of his had explained in detail to him, over drinks a couple nights before, how and, more importantly, where to catch baltic cod. These fish like the cold and they swim in large schools. They’re most likely to be in deep pits in the sea floor. Przemek, as you already know, loves his electrical gadgets and to help him with his hunt he used the GPS. After setting it to show depth he had Daniel watch very carefully for any distinct deep spots while he prepared his weapon. Estera and I left the men to hunt while we took to relaxing. It was warm enough to be in shorts and tanks by then and we stretched out on deck looking up at the sails, soaking up the sun. “Bele, a 30 meter drop is coming up soon” Daniel called out. “Ok, girls get ready to drop the sails please” said Przemek with an overly excited glare in his eyes. We rolled up the genoa and dropped the mainsail. The other boats were doing the same. It was time to catch dinner.

The first spot wasn’t fruitful but the pits in the sea floor were all over the place. We putted along with the engine on while the gps read 10m, 16m then 33m. Here, engine stop, hard to port, pole in the water. A few throws and pulls and off the the next deep spot. Just when hope was dwindling and his arms were starting to ache “ I got one!” Przemek shouted. Estera and I jumped to action; bucket! Hammer! Knife and board! It was a big fish. We gutted it, beheaded and made it into two nice fillets just in time for the next one. Soon our pot was full; two fillets and six smaller fish halves.

“Lidafin, Lidafin this is Enola.” “Enola this is Lidafin” answered Marek. “We’ve caught enough, how about you?” Przemek asked. “Our buckets full, if you need some more we are happy to share” Sneered Marek. “Lidafin this is Scooby, I’ll take you up on that offer” said Valek, he didn’t have a fishing pole. “Everyone, this is Seagull, follow me. let’s head to harbor, time to fry some fish!” Piotrek announced. We all fell into line and one after the other cruised into the tiny port of Svaneke.

It was a small harbor with a very narrow entrance surrounded by high stone walls. There were two sections, left and right. The left pool was larger and more accommodating but it was full. We circled round back to the right pool and docked side by side. The dock was concrete and very high. There were small metal ladders every few meters just above a ledge only wide enough to stand on. From there you had to climb up 5 rungs.

In june in northern Europe the sun doesn’t set until about 21:30 and still it’s fairly light for another hour. It was about 21:00. Although we could not see the sunset over the high walls the sky glowed with orange hews while we fried our fresh caught fish. I had hidden my deep fat fryer and two large bags of frozen french fries on board as a surprise for every one. It was a hit! Crispy delicate fillets, fries and coleslaw. Just when we had finished cleaning up, it began to rain , good timing. Happily stuffed and pleasantly exhausted every one crawled into their bunks and were asleep within seconds.

The heat woke me in the morning. I opened the fore hatch and sun came pouring in from a brilliant blue sky along with a very welcome cool breeze. I slipped on my shorts, found my towel and snuck out leaving my crew to sleep some more, now with open hatches. I stepped gently across Lida-Fin who was between us and the dock and climbed up the ladder. The cement was already hot under my feet. On my way to look for the showers Piotrek popped his head out of his little sailboat with a smile “summer!”. The weather was incredible. The harbour master wasn’t in yet but I met Grzesiek as he was coming out of the showers and he gave me the code. They had not changed it since the last time he was there in the fall.

Refreshed and clean I climbed down to the boats where Mark and his crew were just getting up and my crew had finished neatening up the cabin. Daniel made scramble eggs and after breakfast Estera made coffee that we took to go on a walk. Three guys from “Lida Fin”; Marek, Czarek and Pawel, from “Seagul”: Piotrek with his daughter and her boyfriend. “Easy”: Grzesiek and Magda, “Scooby Doo”: Valdek and “Enola”: Przemek, Daniel, Estera and myself. Thirteen interesting characters in high spirits.

Our walk began along the waterfront heading north. Waves splashed against the rocky shore and in the far distance we could barely make out a small bit of land. That was the island of Christianso, where we would be that evening.

A long narrow building with five tall chimneys stood surrounded by boulders and green grass by the shore. It was a restaurant where they made fresh smoked fish. We had all decided to come back for lunch but got caught up sight seeing and unfortunately never did.

As we continued along the cost we past tiny houses with flower gardens surrounded by clay walls along quaint little cobblestone streets winding uphill. At the top was a very large new, yet tasteful, house with an amazing view from a glass gazebo on the edge of the cliff. From there was a steep path that lead us through tall grass and wild flowers down to a little fisherman’s port. We strolled up another hill covered in lush dark green grass under the shade of cherry trees. I commented then on how rare it is in the north when being in the shade feels wonderful as it did then.

There is a tall triangular construction on top of that hill built as a view point by a famous architect. We were however disappointed to find it locked.

On our way back we went through town. Small houses surrounded by high stone walls lined narrow cobble stone streets. Fig tree branches hung heavy with fruit over the walls. The figs were still very green and I thought next time I come it should be in september when figs are ripe.

Estera and I were left behind the group because we stopped more often to admire things along the way. The center of Svaneke was charming. Cafés and ice cream shops between clothing boutiques and glass blowing galleries on little squares. Modern mixed with antique tastefully. A cafe built off of a natural rock wall had a sign saying home made ice cream. We asked what flavors they had and decided on rhubarb. It was delicious, the most refreshing but creamy icecream I’ve ever had. Delighted, we strolled carelessly back towards the harbor. The rest were already aboard their boats having a cold beer in the scorching noon heat.

Christianso awaited us, so we began our next journey. One after the other we cruised by motor out the narrow entrance, through the choppy water. Waves crashing on the surrounding rocks and sprayed us with cold refreshing water as we hoisted the sails.