| To Sail The Hungarian Sea, by Angus
Richardson Hungary's closest thing to an ocean is
Lake Balaton. About 50 miles long and 3 wide on average it is
the largest lake in central Europe. The Hungarians call it 'the
Hungarian Sea'. It would be more accurate to refer to the surrounding
region as the World's Largest Poolside Restaurant!
Sailing on Balaton, refreshment is always
close at hand. On crude arithmetic, a boat coasting along the
shore of Balaton is, on average, never more than five minutes
from good coffee, stuffed pancakes, fried fish etc all done with
a distinct Hungarian flourish. This basic fact does much to explain
the cleverness of the deal offered by Andreas Novotny from whom
we charted a Hungarian built Balaton 25 for a week.
At first sight the deal looked a little
unlikely and we wondered how it would work out - the boat has
no cooking facilities. To compensate the Balaton 25 is a pleasure
to sail - light and fast but extremely well behaved. Its accommodation
does not add up to much more than two settee berths and a pair
of V-berths with an infill piece forward plus a sink, fresh water
bottle and very adequate locker space. In essence it is a couple
of quite decent 'camping' bedrooms that will go from A to B under
sail quickly and pleasurably.
That is the nub and cleverality of Novotny's
formula: when you stop sailing, all the other facilities you want
are available ashore - basic facilities, superb food and wine
at startlingly low prices, gypsy music
.. The boat is transport,
fun and sleeping accommodation: that is all. If you were to charter
one of the French concoctions so often used in the charter business
you would be paying for three loos and god knows what else when
in reality you were still actually using the facilities of a yacht-harbour,
snack stall or restaurant. All said and done, EUR 560 for four
people for a week is astoundingly cheap and on Balaton the whole
thing works extremely well. What is more, the 'conventional' alternative
would not be as good a pure sailing boat.
The 'pure sailing boat' aspect is important.
Balaton is not a place for addicts of the iron topsail. This is
tied to the low level of pollution.
The lake has to be the cleanest large body
of water in Europe. It 'ages' a little over the season but in
spring is drinkable without problem. Its reed-beds are home to
colonies of freshwater sponges, which act as filters. Balaton
is clean but not clear: most of the rivers that feed it come in
from the north through soils that are partly chalky, partly volcanic
resulting in turbulent pea-green water under many lights.
Apart from a high level of public awareness
(in a week's sailing on the lake I saw NO man made pollution -
not an oil-slick, not a beer can, not a polythene bag) one of
the things that maintains the purity of the water is an almost
blanket prohibition on the use of engines by pleasure craft ;
in and within 300 metres of harbours, in an emergency and to avoid
a storm warning you may use your engine - otherwise you sail.
This explains why the B25 has an outboard rather than an inboard
engine - you can get the prop out of the water and sail faster
towards the cup of coffee when the wind is light.
Given that Andreas Novotny provides hardware
for the young at heart (or perhaps quasi-senile admirers of Swallows
& Amazons such as myself), what is a day on Balaton like?
Take the day of our long sail from Tirhany to Kesthely (about
35 miles, times distinctly approximate).
07:30 Early risers rise. Shower in marina
showers.
07:50 Rest rise. Swift dip in lake
08:00 Breakfast for four (filled omelettes, grilled sausages,
good coffee, sticky things) from stall comes to about £7.
Flavoursome and friendly.
08:45 Set sail. Close fetch in 15-20 knots. Initially under main
alone, then main and genoa. Boat bowling along.
12:30 Ábrahamhegy. Lunch. Local wines, fried fish (local
and very fresh), salad, sweet pancakes. About the same prices
as breakfast.
13:10 Set sail again
15:30 At last headland in lake. Decide not to go for coffee and
buns at Balatongyörök. Last five miles beat in 8-10
knots, direction varying.
17:00 Tied up alongside MAHAV pier in Kesthely
17:30 Showered, shaved and shampooed in bar of hotel at root of
pier. Swedish member of party leaves on very efficient public
transport to Budapest.
21:30 Hic!
21:35 Zzzzzz!
The seas were a little short but the boat
went through them well. Anything thrown back to the cockpit was
warm (fish-tank temperature) and I don't think anyone put on any
more sophisticated waterproofs than a light walking jacket (this
is normal - average water temperature in mid-September is about
70 F). The sky was initially a series of waves of cumulus followed
by a very thin overcast that sometimes generated some quite spectacular
lighting effects. The little Balaton 25 went like a rocket but
did not need the talents of a team of hot-shots to drive it. Lovely
boat - I want one.
And for off-boat entertainment? Plenty
and well presented. Even apart from its Ferencsay Palace, Kesthely
at the head of lake is an elegant town with a population of, say,
10,000. Europe's last large herd of bison lives on a reserve some
20 km away (Public transport is brilliant and dirt cheap. Bicycles
can be hired). The table mountain of Badacsony is clustered with
vineyards (so is almost any hill around Balaton for that matter).
In general the southern shore is more built up with flashier resorts
- but don't let this put you off: the shore is still heavily wooded
and beautiful and the Hungarian idea of a flash resort with nightlife
is much less overwhelming than ours: if you want a strip joint
in Siófuk you can find one but it is hardly thrust in your
face.
Anywhere but in Hungary, Tihany where the
Novotny operation is based would be a disaster - as a very picturesque
village (Grassmere-upon-Balaton) it would either be selling total
tat or charging stupid prices. In reality it is full of quite
genuine craft shops selling genuine (and tasteful) ceramics, fabrics
etc made on the spot or at any rate locally that put no pressure
whatsoever on the wallet. They are true bargains.
Besides its shops, Tihany has the Benedictine
monastery established by King Andrew I of Hungary in around 1050.
Said to be the most photographed church in Hungary it crowns the
Tihany peninsula. In its current form its interior is a delight
of warm and simple rococo architecture - truly lovely ceiling
paintings but without the over-ornateness of many equivalents
in Germany, Austria or Italy.
Go to Balaton, and go there now: the EU
will inevitably drive prices up. Right now it offers outstanding
value for money in terms of a sailing experience, gastronomy and
culture. Roll on next summer, see you there.
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