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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga%E2%80%93Baltic_Waterway
In 2012 the Russian Prime Minister decreed that restrictions on entry of foreign vessels into Russia’s inland waterways were to be eased. Now, those yachts seeking a novel route south from Svalbard and Norway to the Mediterranean can consider the Volga River route.
This journey has much to offer. We did it in 2013 and recommend it unreservedly. As far as I know, Tainui was the first foreign-flagged yacht in the last century given permission to traverse Russia’s inland waterways from the White Sea to the Black Sea.
Details of our journey are set down on www.tainui.org but some comments directed to those considering this wonderful adventure may be helpful.
Tainui is our 14-metre fibreglass Peterson cutter. She left Australia 10 years ago for a summer trip down to the subantarctic islands south of New Zealand and things just got out of hand from there. We crossed the Southern Ocean to Patagonia for 2 seasons of splendid remote cruising, then up the east coast of South America to Buenos Aires, French Guiana, Cuba and Haiti.
To cut a long story short, we slowly found our way north to Labrador, Iceland, Scotland, Norway and Spitzbergen. After a winter layup in Tromso we set out for Archangel’sk early this spring. My crew was a Dutch Muscovite, Maxine Maters. Lawyer, negotiator, arbitrator, navigator, simultaneous interpreter, forward hand and manager of the general mess of my cruising life, she was invaluable. I should add that she is witty, cheerful, optimistic, patient and extremely difficult to put up with. Early on her skills were called upon when we strayed into Russian coastal waters east of Murmansk and she was asked to explain our breach of protocol and our intentions as a vessel illegally inside the 12-mile limit. I could not have done this trip without her.
https://www.noonsite.com/report/exploring-russias-inland-waterways-norway-to-the-med-via-the-volga-river-2013/
In 2012 the Russian Prime Minister decreed that restrictions on entry of foreign vessels into Russia’s inland waterways were to be eased. Now, those yachts seeking a novel route south from Svalbard and Norway to the Mediterranean can consider the Volga River route.
This journey has much to offer. We did it in 2013 and recommend it unreservedly. As far as I know, Tainui was the first foreign-flagged yacht in the last century given permission to traverse Russia’s inland waterways from the White Sea to the Black Sea.
Details of our journey are set down on www.tainui.org but some comments directed to those considering this wonderful adventure may be helpful.
Tainui is our 14-metre fibreglass Peterson cutter. She left Australia 10 years ago for a summer trip down to the subantarctic islands south of New Zealand and things just got out of hand from there. We crossed the Southern Ocean to Patagonia for 2 seasons of splendid remote cruising, then up the east coast of South America to Buenos Aires, French Guiana, Cuba and Haiti.
To cut a long story short, we slowly found our way north to Labrador, Iceland, Scotland, Norway and Spitzbergen. After a winter layup in Tromso we set out for Archangel’sk early this spring. My crew was a Dutch Muscovite, Maxine Maters. Lawyer, negotiator, arbitrator, navigator, simultaneous interpreter, forward hand and manager of the general mess of my cruising life, she was invaluable. I should add that she is witty, cheerful, optimistic, patient and extremely difficult to put up with. Early on her skills were called upon when we strayed into Russian coastal waters east of Murmansk and she was asked to explain our breach of protocol and our intentions as a vessel illegally inside the 12-mile limit. I could not have done this trip without her.
https://www.noonsite.com/report/exploring-russias-inland-waterways-norway-to-the-med-via-the-volga-river-2013/
