Germany - Facts
- Germany (officially the Federal Republic of Germany) occupies a central position in Europe with coasts on both the North and Baltic Seas. Berlin is the capital and largest city in the country.
- The most important navigable rivers in continental Europe, the Rhine and the Danube, also flow through German territory.
- It has a population of 83 million people and the official language is German.
- Germany is a member of the European Union and part of the Shengen area and the official currency is Euro. For specifics, see General Info.
- Central European Time (CET) is used as standard time, while Central European Summer Time (CEST) is observed when Daylight Saving Time (DST) is in force.
- Germany has four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter). See Weather below for more details.
- Although one of the most active sailing nations in Europe, Germany is not generally regarded as a cruising destination and most German sailors prefer to do their cruising away from home.
- Cruising opportunities on the North Sea coast are rather limited and the restrictions imposed on cruising in some of the German Frisian Islands have reduced the destinations ever further, but the eastern part of Germany offers many more Baltic ports to the German cruising portfolio. There are several attractive historic towns to visit here, as well as the island of Rügen and the surrounding area.
- The only contact many visiting yachts have with Germany is the Kiel Canal, the convenient shortcut from the North Sea to the Baltic. Those with more time on hand may be tempted to sail up the narrow estuaries to the old Hanseatic ports of Hamburg, Bremen or Lübeck.
- The most extensive repair facilities are concentrated around the main sailing centres at Hamburg, Kiel and Bremen. Here also there is a comprehensive range of marine supplies. Marinas and small boatyards, however, are spread around the entire coastline and also in the rivers and estuaries. Find out more at Yachting Essentials.
- Cuxhaven Marina, at the mouth of the Elbe, is an excellent place to prepare for the transit of the Kiel Canal towards the Baltic. Kiel is the place to stop for boats transiting the canal in the opposite direction.
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The measure of closing all harbours in Schleswig-Holstein is prolonged until 24-4 (notice to mariners 85/20 27-3-2020). This includes Helgoland and the west-coast between Brunsbuttel and the Danish border. The measures making it impossible to use the Kiel canal for transit.
Gas Cylinders can be refilled in Northern Germany http://www.faerbergas.de/ I was able to have a US fibreglass 5kg cylinder and a UK calor gas 6kg refilled in Flensburg, there are also other locations listed on their website
Hello, I am looking for a wintering out of the water for my sailboat (Feeling 1090) in the Kiel area. Any good feedback will be appreciated.
Regards,
Gérard
Hi Gerard, we had a similar enquiry last year and the cruiser in question sent the following feedback:
We left the boat in Greifswald, a small, quaint and old Hanse town south of the island Rügen.
Situated there is the Hanse Yachts Wharf that offers full-service winter storage at a competitive price (some 20% less than most of the marinas we contacted in the area). The place is very protected weather-wise, as the town itself and the wharf are situated some 3-4 km inland, along a narrow river.
Access point is Greifswald Wieck, where the old bridge opens every hour at the hour (from 9 am to 8 pm, if memory serves) to allow boats and ships to pass.
Hanse Yacht Werf itself offers a full spectrum of services, from winter storage (as in our case, we will not be present when our boat will be lifted up), rigging services, sail makers, motor service and repairs, hull repair, painting etc and a well equipped marine store. A big yacht rental company operates in the compound, and all normal marina services are provided (toilets, showers, laundry, electricity, water etc).
There is quite a lot of talk about the water depth on entrances between the islands called seegats. The sandbanks are moving and the channels may be silted with reduced depths.
We found the German Wattenschipper service (http://www.wattenschipper.de/Aktuelles.htm) extremely useful. They provide LW water depth soundings on all seegats together with tips on entrance channel usage.
Andrus.
S/Y Suwena – http://www.suwena.net/en