The wind was again not cooperating and the blow was dead on the nose. That meant we had to use the iron genny to travel from Poland to the island of Rügen in Germany. Originally our aim was to stop in Lauterbach. The harbour of Lauterbach is a popular boating destination because a town of Putbus is located just a few kilometres further inland. The biggest attraction in Putbus are the magnificent royal living quarters and gardens of Prince Wilhelm from the beginning of 19th century. Putbus is one of the most popular destinations in Rügen and we had it in our itinerary as well.
However in Bornholm we received a guidebook presenting sailing opportunities on Southern Baltic Sea. The book featured several harbours on the Rügen island. From this guide Andrus spotted a harbour in the village of Seedorf. During the summer we have been spending time in many big tourist places and now we had a feeling it was time to get closer to local life and smaller places. So the plan was altered and the next destination was Seedorf instead of Lauterbach.
The shoreline of Rügen is surprisingly shapeless with harbours and anchorages in many coves of the island. As we approached Seedorf there were several yachts anchored outside and for a moment we thought about spending the first night on the hook enjoying the tranquillity of the nature as well.
There are four harbours in Seedorf. We moored in the first one on the right hand side. There is a short walking distance to the village centre from both harbours on the eastern side and they looked nicer compared to the docks on the western shore. Also restaurants are close to the harbours on the eastern side and the sunset can be enjoyed during the dinner time on several terraces.
After making her fast it was time to pay the harbour fee and both harbourmaster and his wife welcomed us warmly. To our surprise they told that we were the first Finnish boat ever in their harbour. Too bad that we were not able to satisfy their request to lend a Finnish flag into the flagpole of the harbour. Just a few days before we had raised our spare Finnish flag to the mizzen mast because the old one had been damaged by the wind. I immediately added a note into the shopping list of next winter to purchase several Finnish flags. At the same time I plan to reinforce all our flags with additional edging. We got this tip from our friend Iris. She told that the flag on S/Y Sea Iris stayed in good condition throughout the year long voyage to Canary islands and back to Finland, all thanks to a little additional work.
In addition to us, in the harbour were one Swedish and one Danish yacht and all the rest were German boats. It was funny that on Tuesday another Finnish yacht, S/Y Sirius arrived into the harbour and it was also a Nauticat.
Rügen is a little bit similar to the lake areas of Finland. It has green fields and a lot of forest. No wonder that Rügen is a popular bicycling and hiking destination. The routes crossed up and down in the middle of beautiful nature of Rügen. We also received a separate map with routes marked in different colours depending on their length and height difference. Bikers were passing us all day from morning to evening.
We also tried to go biking. Suwena’s berth was in the end of the dock and our bow was a little away from the pontoon. To bring out our own tandem would be difficult. Harbour master tried to reserve a rental bike for us but unfortunately all tandems were rented out.
On Monday we went to explore the town of Sellin. It took only 20 minutes on a small local bus to reach the city. There are several bus routes around Rügen and it looked like both locals and tourists used them. Sellin is a paradise of villas. The luxurious villas are located around the centre of Sellin. Most of them are nowadays fully restored and used as hotels and restaurants. Of course we also wanted to see one of the most popular attractions of Rügen, the sea bridge that locals call seebrücke. In the middle of the sea bridge was a restaurant pavilion and in the end of the pier was a diving gondola for exploring the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Tauchgondol is a round gondola that descents four metres to the bottom of the sea. The idea is to look at the Baltic sea life through big windows. The cage made huge noise and there were no fish near the gondola. In addition almost half of the time the windows were covered and a film presenting sea life of the Baltic Sea was shown. Well, I think we can look at films on a couch at home. And we did not see a single fish, the gondola was a total rip-off.
On a trip to Seedorf we learned again a another lesson about travelling on a boat. Before leaving to sea we wanted to fill our fresh water tanks in Poland. However the hose was too short to reach our chosen berth. We pondered, shall we move Suwena to another berth because the water tank was completely empty or should we sail to Germany as there is for sure the water available over there as well. Fortunately we moved the boat and filled her 620 litre tank to the brim. In Seedorf the water was available but the cost was 50 cents per 60 litres. While cruising with a boat it is best to make all possible maintenance immediately when possible. In the next harbour the situation might be very different.
Overall the visit to Seedorf was a success. Seedorf is a cosy quiet village. Especially as there was a first heat wave during this summer. Time was flying a way too fast sunbathing and enjoying life.