RIB cruise to the Baltic

[The Jackeens]

Just caught up with this Andre. Great to hear all went well

Would love to hear all about it

Us

[Andre]

Over the next few days I will try and post information about each leg of the journey with relevant photographs.

We had a superb trip and had a jolly good time as well

The actual departure was delayed because a part required to complete the service was not available. Once the service was completed the departure date was set for very early in the morning on Friday 30 July. You may recall but the weather at that time was looking good so David called me to the office on Thursday and said to get to Chatham ASAP as we would leave as soon as I arrived. We set out at 14:30 arriving to Ijmuiden at 21:30 English time. For the first half of the crossing the sea was quite rough and the ride was not very enjoyable . Later things improved and we were able to reach speeds of 37-39 knots
Ijmuiden has a nice marina @ €20.00/night for the rib with all facilities , fuel, food and a Holiday Inn hotel (€125.00 per single room per night) so we did not have far to go. Prior to going we had already decided that we would not do any night crossing and weather permitting enjoy the cruise stay in a hotel overnight .

The following day we took 374 ltrs of diesel

Ijmuiden is very well located for a short break to Amsterdam (now that would be a very nice cruise)

On leaving Chatham we called the Coast Guards on the VHF and told them of our intended passage plan and when we arrived to Ijmuiden we called them on the mobile confirming our safe arrival. When we arrived to Ijmuiden we were met at sea by Japp from Datema our Dutch distributor. Japp spends most of his free time doing what he likes best : ribbing Don't we all.

Nearly forgot, The Spirit of Poland had caused quite an interest when we were leaving Chatham cos we were politely boarded by the UK immigration who came after us in a Delta Rib. Once they were satisfied they left wishing us a safe journey. Nice guys I even gave them some Parker rib brochures in case they were in the market for another rib

The first picture was taken at 17:30 UK time and here we have Dog & David deciding on the best route cos of the shipping lanes

The next one was taken at 19:00 UK time and here we have a nice sea

[David B]

Hello guys ,

Just checking in to see what pictures you are posting in my abscense
Have made my way to ostruda by taxi and currently in Parker main office.
Hope you had a safe trip back to the UK and will join you all soon once I have finished my business in Poland.

Kind regards to all


David

[Brian]

David
Give us a clue.
ROUGHLY how much would the cabin rib you just returned to Poland cost retail, in the UK, as currently specced, and including taxes and VAT.

Not after a detailed quote, just a ball-park would do.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by David B

Hello guys ,

Just checking in to see what pictures you are posting in my abscense
Have made my way to ostruda by taxi and currently in Parker main office.
Hope you had a safe trip back to the UK and will join you all soon once I have finished my business in Poland.

Kind regards to all


David

David, that taxi must have cost you an arm and a leg

[Andre]

Originally Posted by Brian

David
Give us a clue.
ROUGHLY how much would the cabin rib you just returned to Poland cost retail, in the UK, as currently specced, and including taxes and VAT.

Not after a detailed quote, just a ball-park would do.

Hi Brian,

The Parker 900 Baltic cabin rib has only 110 hours on the log counter and was brand new when arrived for Ribex / Seawork
The return to Poland by sea only proved the sea capability of the craft

The rib/engines will be fully serviced after the sea voyage
The engines have a 1 year factory warranty

Ex-works Poland Price : GBP 69,000.00 + VAT

By the way, would you like to collect or have it delivered

[Andre]

We left rather late that day (11:00 local time)cos some of us wanted a to have a longer sleep as if we had the time for that. I will not mention who but David does like his sleep .
The weather was quite nice so our crossing was not so bad at all. The beauty of a cabin rib is that you do not have to wear a dry suit nor a lifejacket so we were just in shorts enjoying the loneliness around us as for most of the time there were no other vessels in sight. At one point we even stopped and David decided that since there were no sharks in the North sea a swim was called for (that is, only he took the dip).
I see that I did not make a note of our arrival time to Esberg (David did you?) but we had covered a distance of 250 Nm and the next day took 506 ltrs of fuel at a cost of €250.00 , so a euro a Nm and 2 ltrs of diesel per engine per mile
This is a good example cos most of the time we were running flat out (max speed was 40.6 knots) and the sea was calm enought that there was no need for any throttle control.

If you look close enough at the electronic chart you can just see where we are. The photo was taken at 18:00 local time
Nothing in Esberg to write home about just a typical small port with quite expensive hotels and these were a taxi ride away .

[Andre]

In view that we were already doing long sea passages we thought it would be nice to do the inland route called the The Limfjord. We left Esberg at 9:30
local time and headed north towards Thyboron , here we followed the Limfjord route to Hals which has a distance of 176 miles. Our original plan was to get to Alborg and there seek a hotel. What we did not know was that a Tall Ship gathering was being held and there were lots of festivities long the waterfront so no chance of any space in the marinas for the night. We carried on to Hals where we quickly berthed the rib and not being able to get any rooms we caught a cab back to Alborg. No problems here in getting rooms.

[The Jackeens]

Very interesting reading Andre...keep it coming.

Sounds like ye had a great time (hotels...sleep...mutter, mutter; I'm jealous )

Voluntary swimming as well

Love the photos too...

Us

[Daniel TD5]

sound like top fun and the paker rib is now well proven

Ex-works Poland Price : GBP 69,000.00 + VAT

if i win the lottery i now know what i will get

when are parker ribs going to enter the smaller rib market sub five meter

well done guys

dan

[Andre]

Originally Posted by Daniel TD5

when are parker ribs going to enter the smaller rib market sub five meter

well done guys

dan

Dan

we have only not featured on our web page, don't ask me why not
most of our Parker 510 have been supplied in the colour as shown as the purchase was sponsored by NIVEA POLAND and delivered to various rescue organisations on the coast for beach patrol

[Brian]

Andre
Thanks for your speedy reply and kind offer to have the boat valeted before my collection.
My opinion is that the boat is VERY nice indeed and at 69k plus VAT represents extremely good value. It should take a healthy chunk of the market and build itself an excellent reputation.

Just at the moment, however, I must resist the temptation to become a three boat family, enticing though it is!

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Brian

Andre
Just at the moment, however, I must resist the temptation to become a three boat family, enticing though it is!

3 boats Brian? Are you including the inflatable tender usual rolled up in the stern of Cyanide or do you have another boat you've been keeping secret?

[Andre]

Having taken 380 ltrs of diesel we left Hals at 9:30 heading for Helsingor. Once passed Helsingor at 12:30 we stopped at a very pleasant marina at Kronborg where I decided that best to top up the tanks. This was a nightmare cos not having a PIN number for my Visa card I had to use Danish notes to activate the automatic fuel distributor. I put about 75 ltrs into each tank. I had already been in contact with Rene and we arranged to meet that afternoon in Dragor. Dragor is a former medieval fishing village with cottages, cobbled and flower-fringed alleyways and a maritime museum.

Dragor is only 9 miles from Malmo and the Oresund bridge is very visable and most impressive. Late in the afternoon we met up with Rene who came down by rib with family and friends and we enjoyed a nice beer and BBQ together.
We stayed in a very nice hotel with a view on the marina and the bridge.
Again problems with fuelling up cos no cash was accepted by the machine only credit cards and with a PIN number. Anyway we were in luck as a very kind Danish guy came to the rescue and used his card for our diesel and I gave him a mixture of Danish krona and Euros in return. We were now topped up for our next day's crossing to Swinoujscie , Poland

Rene it was great to meet up with you even for a short time. A pity we could not have stayed longer and had a sightseeing tour of Copenhagen. The superb view of Kronborg castle were quite inviting.

The guys actually wanted to head for Malmo then Stockholm. I had to remind them that our destination was Poland

[Andre]

This was to to be our last leg not counting the cruise along the Polish coast which we had planned to do in a very steady pace. We were hoping that the weather would be gentle to us and we were not dissapointed. We left Dragor at 8:50 in the morning having enjoyed a nice Danish breakfast on the hotel patio. With the bridge and the Danish coastline vanishing quite quickly in the background we maintained a good cruising speed of 36/39knots. After 3 hours of non stop pushing ahead we arrived to the Polish port of Swinoujscie

We cleared our entry very quickly and promptly headed towards the nearest quayside cafe for a spot of lunch. We had caused quite an interest cos the Border Guards could not believe that we had travelled all the way from the UK. Anyway were not alone that day cos ahead of us a very large gin palace had just come in from Dover and my bet is that it most probably took the boring route via the Kiel Canal.
After lunch we headed for the town of Szczecin about 50 miles south where we had a hotel arranged for the night. For the next day a presentation demo was arranged for a few local maritime companies who had earlier shown interest in this type of patrol boat..
Approaching Szczecin we were met on the Odra river by the Szczecin Pilot cabin rib

[The Jackeens]

Sounds great Andre.


Us

[Andre]

After a series of interesting demos on the river Odra (Dog of course could not resist and just had to take the Parker 630 diesel for a spin, this rib is in service with the Rescue Services of the Port of Szczecin) we headed back to the coast only this time we cut the corner and headed for Dziwnow. I have spent a few rib holidays in Dziwnow and had to look up a few friends and as you can see one of them even insisted on a ride. Wonderful creature of the name Bosman.

The distance from Dziwnow to Kolobrzeg is only 35 miles and on this part of the journey we probably experienced our worst weather. The Baltic waves are known to be short and steep so the ride was quite difficult but the Spirit of Poland coped very well. I did not manage to take any shots cos in such conditions that was the last thing I had on my mind. A few days earlier I had tried to text at speed and must say it is quite a skill. Thanks Graham and Mike for the posts.

[grahamf]

Trip looked like a lot of fun. Look forward to hearing all about it soon.

[Louise]

A detailed and interesting account of your trip with excellent photos. Glad you all had a good trip. Looing forward to seeing you and Wiesia soon, Andre.

[bogib]

Great trip you did guys, familiar areas though in Copenhagen and the bridge over to Malmö. Nice chaps the Danes as you will actualy find us all the Scandinavians.

Bogi