Sailing Pathways

A real-life journey under sail.

❄️ Winter berth Sweden in Malmö

Antje

Our Sweden trip ended in Malmö,where we had reserved a berth at Dockan Marina for the winter of 2023/24. We wanted to get to know this city better and have an ideal starting point for our Baltic Sea circuit.

🧭 Where exactly?

⚓ Why Malmö works well as a winter berth

Malmö is very well connected transport-wise, at least from Germany. By train, you can reach Hamburg in around 5 hours. The climate is also mild by Swedish standards — the harbour is usually ice-free, or has only a thin layer at most. Dockan Marina is very centrally located in a beautiful, modern residential neighbourhood.

Malmö in winter — beautifully decorated for Christmas
According to harbour master Anders, the winter of 23/24 was particularly cold. We still felt very much at home.

⛵Dockan Marina (055° 36.985′ N / 012° 59.345′ E) 

Pros

  • The facilities are good and close to the berth (in winter, boats that are in use can be moved to the end of the basin).
  • Electricity is reasonably priced, and the app lets you keep an eye on your meter reading at all times.
  • The harbour is well sheltered.
  • The harbour master is on site during office hours.
  • Plenty of ways to keep yourself entertained — cinemas, libraries, museums, and more.
My absolute highlight was ice skating at Folketspark. Good thing we’d brought our skates along.

Cons

  • There are no floating pontoons, which can become a problem given the sometimes significant rise and fall of the water level — especially if you’re not on board to adjust the lines. The harbour master insists that you make arrangements for this (for example, asking a neighbour to keep an eye on things, or simply being on board yourself).
  • There is no fuel station in the marina, and no petrol station nearby either. Anyone wanting to heat with diesel would need to go to Limhamn Marina to fill up.

⚠️ The water level issue

The considerably fluctuating sea level was an issue for us during the winter too. We regularly kept an eye on the SMHI water level readings for Malmö harbour and adjusted our lines accordingly. When we weren’t on board, our French neighbours kept a watchful eye on TIAMAT. On one occasion, the pontoon was flooded by around 30 cm. Just a little higher and the electricity would have had to be switched off. All in all, it lasted a few hours. Thankfully no longer than that.

💶 Berth costs

  • Electricity connection and consumption: around 275 Euro per month (averaged), billed to the kilowatt-hour via Tally Web, paid in advance.
  • Berth: 150 Euro per month for 11 m