To say it straight away: anyone who buys a boat without having a contractually secured berth is a dreamer - or a gambler. BOOTE reader Hans-Peter Speh described such a situation perfectly in a letter to the editor in issue 8/21: He has finally fulfilled his lifelong dream and ordered a boat that will be delivered in May 2022. It was only when the salesman asked him whether he already had a berth that he realised that a boat without a berth was worth nothing. His subsequent telephone campaign with the harbours on the German Baltic coast does not lead to a berth, but to the realisation that there are no free berths. Now he is faced with the question: where to put the boat?
A shattered dream? Or do they exist after all, the small gaps in the big lottery of the demand boom? We
wanted to find out and asked commercial marina operators and harbour masters across Germany about the chances of finding a berth for 2022. In short: as likely as six correct numbers in the lottery! There are certain chances if you are flexible and move to an area that is not as fully booked as your "dream area", meaning you can live with your dreams being dashed.
Ultramarine - Meichle + Mohr Marina
Let's start in the south of Germany. "The mooring situation on Lake Constance has traditionally been difficult for many years," reports Patricia Reuthe, Ultramarin's management assistant responsible for marketing and therefore responsible for the mega harbour Meichle + Mohr Marina in Kressbronn-Gohren with 1,450 moorings. "In other words, this situation is nothing new for us, but it has been exacerbated by the boat boom triggered by coronavirus." As Ultramarin also deals in boats, there is a good chance of getting a berth if you buy a new boat. Another option is to buy a second-hand boat and take over the existing berth. Meichle + Mohr does not keep a waiting list because only twelve to 18 berths become available each year due to normal fluctuation. And these can be rented out again immediately - right off the bat, so to speak.
Marina Winningen Moselle
To the Moselle. "Our harbour is packed," says office manager Andrea Kühn from Marina Winningen, a medium-sized harbour with 220 berths. "We've had a waiting list for two years. So it already existed before corona. The greatest demand is for boats in the 6 to 9 metre category. The fluctuation is low and the demand is huge. As a result, the waiting list is getting longer and longer."
Marina Duisburg
Into the water: Yence Bayram, harbour master at Duisburg Marina (133 berths) can currently (end of August) offer one berth up to 8 m, two up to 12 m and five for 5- to 6-metre boats. "That was it. There is already a long waiting list for 2022."
Marina Rünthe marina
The top dog in the area is Marina Rünthe on the Datteln-Hamm Canal in Bergkamen: 300 berths in the water and 100 on land. Operator Thorsten Nustede reports that many people have returned from the Netherlands due to the pandemic. So his harbour is largely fully booked. There is a waiting list for 2022 for the first time. Nevertheless, Nustede sees a chance of finding a place. "Around 30 boat owners pull out of existing contracts every year. Of course, these spaces are immediately rented out again. So there are opportunities in all boat categories. However, customers will have to expect price increases of around four per cent."
Marina Alte Fahrt Fuestrup
The situation is similar at the Alte Fahrt Fuestrup marina on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The 110 berths are fully booked and around 50 to 60 boat owners are on the waiting list. Here, too, there are many owners who have left the Netherlands and returned to NRW due to coronavirus, reports harbour master Thomas Pass-
man. The greatest demand is for berths up to 8 metres in length. The prospects in this category are correspondingly low. The situation is slightly better for boats over 8 metres. Owners who book a place in winter storage now have a good chance of securing an annual berth for 2022.
Sports boat harbour Weener (Ems)
Around 160 kilometres further north, in the port of Weener (Ems), the situation is completely different. The harbour with 280 berths "has around 50 free berths in all size categories," says harbour master Heiner Düring. A real opportunity for boat owners who want to be close to the North Sea and are not put off by a dock harbour whose access times depend on the tide.
Marina Recke
"All 60 berths are taken," reports the small Recke marina at the western end of the Mittelland Canal. There is a waiting list that will be filled in February/March 2022, reports the operator of the marina's own Panorama Café.
Marina Idensen
Despite the expansion of the harbour in 2021 to 130 berths, the Idensen marina on the Mittelland Canal (km 135.5) is fully booked. "This has never been the case since the harbour opened in 1982," says the owner of the harbour, Lutz Schatz. Now all the available space is exhausted and further expansion is no longer possible. There is no waiting list in Idensen. "There are too many deaf nuts because people register in several harbours but don't let us know when they have found somewhere else," says Schatz. "The daily calls from people looking for a place are enough to rent out the two or three places that become available each year. No own website.
Phone: 05723/981488
Hanover marina
"Full house", reports harbour master Lothar Brüssing from the Hanover marina (MLK-km 163.8). "Our 45 places are taken and nothing will be available in the foreseeable future. We don't have a waiting list.
Marina Bortfeld
Andreas Reinhold, head of Marina Bortfeld (MLK-km 213.5), can also give boat owners little hope. "With only 24 berths and just one or two boxes becoming available each year, the chances are slim.
are slim."
Marina Heidanger
The situation is somewhat more favourable at Marina Heidanger on the Salzgitter branch canal (km 3.5). Harbour operator Rüdiger Milius is in charge of the 80 berths. "The number of enquiries has increased significantly, but there are a few places in the 10 to 12 metre category," says Milius, describing the situation in his harbour. "There are places available and it's definitely worth enquiring." But Milius also warns: "Before people buy a boat, they should secure a berth first!"
Havel Marin
The Havel Marin marina on the Lower Havel Waterway (km 55) in Brandenburg/Havel offers 120 berths. "We are fully booked," reports Managing Director Cornelia Seifert, "and we get new enquiries every day. We can only offer a few places due to normal fluctuation. We are working through our waiting list. We had hoped to be able to build new jetties facing the Havel, but unfortunately we didn't get permission for this."
Ringel marina
Around 30 river kilometres further east, on the Havel in Potsdam, Marina Ringel with 210 berths (PHv-km 7.9) and Marina Zernsee with 160 berths (PHv-km 7.8) are located close to each other. The online application on the Ringel marina website is introduced with the unpromising sentence: "Please note that all water berths are currently fully booked." Harbour master Bernd Becker adds in conversation: "We have been literally overrun by the number of new customers, both for boats and caravans." A waiting list is kept based on the written applications, which is processed in line with normal fluctuation.
Marina Zernsee
Marina Zernsee already indicates on its homepage in red capital letters: "We currently have no free berths and no free places in the winter camp 2021/22". This does not bode well for 2022 either. Harbour master Kay Bernitzke knows: "We don't have a waiting list, because then we would already have entire A4 sheets full. With only four to five berths becoming available due to people moving away, you just have to keep asking. The best time is between October and December. And just imagine: Even skippers who buy a boat from us can't necessarily be offered a berth."
Marina Lanke Berlin
Berlin is now just a stone's throw away. To the west of "Gemünd" on the banks of the Havel in Pichelsdorf is Marina Lanke Berlin, the largest marina on the Lower Havel waterway with 373 berths. "We're full," says Managing Director Peter Twelkmeyer succinctly. "It's like the early 70s and mid 80s." Waiting list? "No, that's far too time-consuming with five to ten enquiries a week. Cancellations have to be received by the end of the year. So I can say in January what works and what doesn't." Twelkmeyer believes that the hype triggered by the coronavirus will not last. "In three to four years, we'll have to dress warmly," he says. "The current new customers are just trying things out during the crisis - they are not permanent water sports enthusiasts!" Twelkmeyer is certain.
Marina Müritz in the Claassee
Off to Mecklenburg! With 320 berths, Marina Müritz in Claassee on the eastern bank of the Müritz is one of the largest harbours in the region. When we ask about the berth situation, managing director Harald Kuhnle smiles and says: "Send the boat owners to my marina in Niderviller in Alsace. I still have plenty of permanent berths available there." It's on, Harald Kuhnle! And the location in the Claassee? "For boats up to 15 metres in length, it's definitely worth sending a written enquiry by email. It's not a promise, but an option with opportunities." There are currently no problems with an outdoor pitch in winter storage.
Hamburg marina
Northern Germany's largest harbour (2000 berths) is located on the Elbe, is called Hamburger Yachthafen and belongs to the Schleswig-Holstein municipality of Wedel. Managing Director Ulf Hansen gets straight to the point: "We still have capacities of 50 to 100 berths, especially for boat sizes from 6 to 10 metres. Above 10 metres it becomes difficult, but not impossible." And how do you get a place? "As we don't have a waiting list, simply enquire again if you're interested."
Tatenberg lock marina
The situation is completely different at the Möller marina on the Dove-Elbe in Hamburg-Tatenberg above the lock of the same name (220 berths). Owner Torsten Möller: "I've been in the industry for 50 years, but I've never experienced anything like the last year and a half. It's totally crazy. I get five to seven calls a day. If I had written it all down, it would certainly be well over 200 pre-registrations. But only around 25 to 30 owners give up their berth each year. And then it also has to fit in terms of size. The chances of getting a berth for 2022 are rather slim."
Marina Baltica
"Being in the right place at the right time" is Dennis Braun's oracular mantra when it comes to securing a berth. Braun is head of the harbour division at Marina Baltica in Travemünde. His 190 berths are currently all taken. "It's even difficult to get a winter berth! And that's brand new," says Braun. The level of fluctuation is unpredictable, as are the boat sizes that become available. "In the right place at the right time", here we go again. And the waiting list? "Yes, it can be helpful."
Grömitz marina
"Since last year, I've increasingly had the feeling that I'm the only one without a boat," says Heinrich Lunau, harbour master at Grömitz marina, describing the current situation. "We have been fully booked in all boat categories since 2021. The number of applications exceeds the number of departures many times over." In Grömitz, only online registrations are accepted because, according to Lunau, "applicants have called umpteen times under different names." And how do you get a place? "With luck and patience," says Lunau. "And don't forget to say 'yes' when you get an acceptance letter."
Marina Heiligenhafen
The situation in Heiligenhafen Marina (1000 berths) is similarly hopeless: "Our berths have been fully booked in all boat categories since last year," says harbour master Arne Bennewitz. Only written applications are considered for the waiting list. There are currently more than 500 applicants on it. The waiting list has therefore now been closed.
Kiel Sports Harbour GmbH
Philipp Mühlenhart, Managing Director of Sporthafen Kiel GmbH, is head of nine harbours in the Kiel Fjord with 2,300 berths: Schilksee, Stickenhörn, Wik, Düsternbrook, Blücherbrücke, Reventlou, Seeburg, Wellingdorf and Dietrichsdorf. "All harbours are completely full," says Mühlenhart. There is no waiting list because the places that become available due to normal fluctuation can be filled immediately by prompt applications. And here, too, there are the familiar prospects for a berth that promise little hope: "Applicants need patience and luck."
im-Jaich oHG
Unlike Sporthafen Kiel GmbH, which only operates boat harbours in Kiel, the nine harbours of im-Jaich oHG are spread throughout Germany. The focus is on the Baltic Sea: the "home harbours" in Flensburg, Langballigau, Kopperby, Arnis, Eckernförde, Gustow and Lauterbach (Rügen) belong to im-Jaich, as do the home harbours in Bremerhaven on the Lower Weser and Waren on the Müritz. Managing Director Hans Jaich is in charge of a total of 1500 berths. He confirms the familiar situation: "Our harbours were almost fully booked even before the pandemic. We never had any vacancies." And he believes that the current hype was not only triggered by coronavirus: "Ecological reasons also play a role. Long flights to exotic destinations no longer seem appropriate for many people. The path to their own boat is clear." He has had dozens of conversations with desperate boat owners who now have a boat but no mooring. And Jaich is certain that even more people would buy boats if there were suitable moorings available. And his advice? "Keep calling the harbour masters - but you can't do more than the fluctuation."
Weisse Wiek Boltenhagen
Hoping that things might be a little more relaxed on the Baltic coast in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania than in Schleswig-Holstein, we turn our attention to the Yachtwelt Weiße Wiek harbour in Boltenhagen (350 berths). Harbour master Christin Stein has to smile when I reveal my hopes to her: "We are fully booked. After well over 100 applications for 2022, we have now closed our waiting list. With five to six berths becoming available each year due to cancellations, the chance of finding a berth is close to zero."
Marina Kühlungsborn
Just under 25 nautical miles north-east of Boltenhagen is the Kühlungsborn boat harbour (a good 400 berths). Harbour master Alexander Berger confirms the familiar pattern: "We are completely booked out." He also considers the application for a permanent berth for 2022 to be "completely hopeless. You're more likely to find a lump of gold." For a seasonal berth in 2022, Berger sees "slightly better chances" for applications via the online platform.
So a bleak outlook for newcomers? No question, at least at first glance. After all, a boat without a berth is like a harbour without water. All that remains is to hope for a lucky strike in the search or - as quoted above - to be "in the right place at the right time". To make sure that your dream doesn't come true, like that of BOOTE reader Hans-Peter Speh, here's some urgent advice: secure a berth first, then buy a boat! For trailerable boat sizes, there is of course another alternative: to slip the boat again after the trip and take it home - provided you have a suitable towing vehicle and a parking space for the boat and trailer.
This article can be found in BOOTE issue 12/2021, available from 17 November 2021 at newsagents or online at Delius Klasing Shop.
