Curonian Lagoon
Turning south and admiring the views of an industrial port for a while, flowing into the Independence gas boiler, wildlife will meet us from the back of Pig. The Curonian Lagoon will spread and the coast (with good visibility) will never disappear from the horizon. And although water appears to be increasing, there is also an increasing number of dangers associated with navigation, as the Curonian Lagoon is very shallow and the depth of the fairway (depending on the water level) may not reach 2.1 meters. Not many times we are confronted with trouble when sailors are in trouble when passing through the Pervalka lighthouse. There have been cases when we could not (without the help of another ship) and failed, we are with another yacht and have moved yachts, which could not come to the end of the season from Nida to Klaipeda. For that occasion, the adventure is fun, but sometimes it causes serious inconvenience.
The draft of a comfortable sailing cruise yacht is usually between 1.5 and 2 meters. This places great limits on where to sail and comfortably moor the yacht.
It goes without saying that if you have several free days, you often try to visit Nida. It takes at least 5 hours to reach the yacht from Klaipeda. This port is protected from winds of all directions, and in the summer weekend, if you get caught up in the yacht, chances are you’ll have to get tired of finding a place for yachts, or you may even have to stop on a second or third board. I don’t need to tell you what to do in Nida during the summer, but there may be problems with peace in particular on the weekend. Here you have to make sure that there is a noisy company nearby to celebrate the weekend. But Nida is Nida.
Meanwhile, from Klaipėda for a couple of hours we will reach Juodkrantė, where you can stop for dinner on the shore or take a walk in a beautiful town or the Hill of Witches, or even stay overnight. Juodkrantė is the most beautiful town in Lithuania where I can sail with a yacht. However, this stop may be aggravated by the direction of the wave or wind in the Curonian Lagoon, as the quays are not protected from waves caused by winds in the eastern or southern directions. You will also find no electricity, no water, no shower on the quay.
Another hour away, Nida has Dead (Gray) Dunes. It is most beautiful for me to be in the sun. Admiring them will mean throwing an anchor and swaying pleasantly on the small Curonian Lagoon waves. If we have the time, we always stop here and enjoy nature in full peace. You will not be able to get off your feet on the shore, and the protection of nature will not succeed if you dive into the dunes. You may need to support the state for damage to the environment.
If we have a free day in Nida, then we need to swim and sail to the village of Minija. The journey to one side will last from a few hours, we will admire Ventė horn, Nemunas delta, Uostadvaris, Mingė village. You can stay up and running in Ming’s exotica or Blue Carp. Good food, a beautiful environment, and if you are a good company, it usually takes such stops. If you love tranquility, you can stay overnight or go to Uostadvar. You can stay overnight at the Kintai Sailing Yacht Club “Marių sails”, which is famous for its hospitality.
We talked about places that can be visited with a larger draft yacht. However, the Curonian Lagoon is much larger, and there are also many places where you can drop off with a yacht with a lower draft. Most often, the yachts, which are raised by the quay, or the traditional sail of the Curonian Lagoon, often referred to as the Curonian Spit, serve this purpose. Šilutė, Rusnė, Pakalnė, Ventė horn, Ventainė with a café, Snacks with the famous fish restaurant, Kintai, Dreverna, Preila, Pervalka are wonderful places to enjoy enjoying nature, wind and water pleasures.