There are three primary routes when heading to the Baltic by sailboat. The first is to sail north around Denmark’s Jutland peninsula, taking your chances with the combination of frequently strong winds off the mountainous southern tip of Norway and little opportunities for shelter along the western Danish coast. The second is to go nearly as far north, but then slip through Limfjord across northern Denmark. The third is to take a shortcut through Germany’s Kiel Canal.

Sailing along the coast of The Netherlands on our way to the Kiel Canal we were visited by the Dutch Coastguard. They launched a RIB and zipped over to Madrone
They skillfully boarded Madrone while we were sailing along with gennaker and main
The two officers (one from immigration and one from customs) were very professional, friendly and efficient. They checked our passport stamps and Madrone’s paperwork then wished us a safe voyage and were on their way

A shallow (minimum depth 10’/3m) canal linking the Baltic to the North Sea was first built back in the late 1700’s by the Danish King who then ruled the area. By the late 1800’s the canal and surrounding areas were part of Germany, and the Germans wanted a way to allow larger navy and commercial ships to avoid the long and sometimes dangerous trip around Denmark. An eight year project started, and by 1895 today’s Kiel Canal was opened.

Tied up in the Brunnsbuttel Lock
Waiting for other pleasure boats to enter the lock before the doors close
After entering the Kiel Canal we spent one night at the dock at the Brunnsbuttel Yacht Harbor just inside of the Brunnsbuttel Lock
We had an incredible view of the ships entering and exiting the lock. Super cool for boat nerds like us
Dinner that night was delicious doner kebab and German beer

Winding for around 60 miles/100 km through the north German countryside, a large set of locks at each end allows entry and exit to both the commercial vessels (up to 770’/235m long!) and pleasure craft that regularly use the canal. We were lucky, only waiting about 10 minutes for the locks to open for us at either end. And traffic was very light, in our opinion. During the course of our 9-10 hour transit, we passed a half dozen or so freighters and a couple of small sailboats.

Motoring towards one of the bridges on the Kiel Canal
More common than bridges along the canal were ferries that took passengers and cars back and forth across the banks of the canal
Small boats keep to the far right side of the canal to allow commercial traffic plenty of space to pass
The Rendsburg High Bridge is a railway bridge above with a suspension ferry below. In this photo you can see the gondola suspended in the middle as it moves across from one bank of the canal to the other side

While Madrone is much happier under sail rather than running the engine, if we have to motor this is the right way to do it – flat calm conditions, sunny skies, and bucolic scenery. And just like that, Madrone has entered the Baltic!

Successful Kiel Canal transit