Maria Braun

A Journey Through the Waters of My Childhood

This was a journey along the waterways of my childhood. In the 1980s, for several summers in a row, we spent our holidays with my parents on Lake Jeziorak, sailing first on a Nash yacht and later on a more luxurious one—Wenus (or maybe Venus? I’m not sure). The boats belonged to the Elana Toruń company yacht club. My father was a member of that club because he worked at Elana.

To be able to rent a yacht for the holidays, one had to complete several dozen hours of community work for the club. So we all—our whole family—would go to the club and fulfill our hours by sanding, painting, and cleaning everything we could: yachts and club infrastructure. So, sailing on Jeziorak was a part of my childhood.

Since I recently acquired a new rowing boat, which I bought from a fellow club member, Paweł, I decided to take a nostalgic route and visit Jeziorak, Siemiany, Chmielówka, Miłomłyn, Ostróda, Stare Jabłonki, pass through 5 slipways, and reach Elbląg.

Why Did I Choose This Route Only Now?

Up until now, my boats—my sporty oldboy Pirch and Bloody Mary—have been too narrow to row properly. The oars are essential for the stability of such boats. Not only do you have to hold the oars all the time, but you also can’t fold them alongside the boat. Therefore, the minimum width required in a lock or canal is about 6 meters. And to row comfortably without worrying about hitting the lock walls or canal banks—around 8 meters would be ideal.

The new boat, formerly called Ważka (Dragonfly), and currently awaiting a new name, is wide enough to fold the oars freely, and even allows you to sit at the stern and paddle. This opened up entirely new possibilities for me. The locks on the Iława and Ostróda canals are only 3–3.5 meters wide, not to mention the challenges posed by the slipways on the Elbląg Canal. So Jeziorak was the perfect place to test the new capabilities of my new boat.

The Story Begins

I started from Iława, at Port Iława—a modern marina run by the OSiR, with a convenient slipway and car parking. By the time I launched and packed the boat, it was already 1 p.m. The weather was practically windless, so the kilometers went by quickly. I remember it differently from childhood. Back then, getting from Iława to Siemiany took several days. For one, we didn’t have motors, and for another, we constantly stopped to swim in the lake or for family activities like cooking lunch or shopping.

Traveling alone, I spend my time differently. I peeked into the Widłągi bay, passed Sarnówek and Makowo, and finally arrived in Siemiany. From there, I visited Lake Płaskie, and in the evening moored at the municipal docks on Lipowy Ostrów island. There, I tried pitching a tent on the boat and sleeping aboard. Since it was still before the main season and a Thursday, there weren’t many boats on the water. But as always, where there are other waterfolk, the atmosphere was lovely. Neighbors from a nearby boat offered me hot tea, and in the morning gave me a few slices of bread so I wouldn't have to make a detour for shopping. It’s always heartwarming to be surrounded by such helpful people :-)

Two Things Caught My Attention:

• The lakes have become heavily overgrown with reeds. It used to be easy to find spots to moor along the shore—places where you could easily step onto land. Now, the shores are mostly lined with reeds.

• I encountered many all-male crews on yachts, on so-called “guys’ trips.” There were no women on the yachts, yet they were the main topic of conversation among the passing crews. Not that I was eavesdropping, but the gentlemen were often quite loud on their yachts :-)

Day Two: Heading to Elbląg

On the second day, I circled the islands and headed northeast, then entered the Iława Canal and reached the Miłomłyn lock. There, the route splits—you can either go through the lock to Ostróda, or head further north toward the slipways and continue through Lake Druzno to Elbląg. I first went to Ostróda, then through Lake Wielki Szeląg to Stare Jabłonki on Szeląg Mały, and later returned to Miłomłyn to continue toward Elbląg.

I’m attaching a map of the area to make it easier to follow my route. The image is borrowed from the internet, and the map was funded by ludekczarter.pl and published by the Pomeranian Sailing Trail.

Over the Last 40 Years: How the Landscape and Waterways Have Changed

Over the past 40 years, it’s not just the shores that have become overgrown with reeds. Major changes are also visible along the Ostróda, Iława, and Elbląg canals. The banks of the canals are now overgrown with trees and bushes, and the once-solid embankments have been eroded.

When I was a child, very few yachts had engines. I can’t say what percentage exactly, but it’s safe to assume that the majority of yachts were engine-free. In the canals, we moved na burłaka (I’ll note here that I only know this term from colloquial speech—I’ve never seen it written down, so I’m not sure about the spelling. I’ll use it here the way it was used in spoken language).

What does iść na burłaka mean? You entered the canal using paddles. One or two people would jump onto the shore and take a rope tied to the bow or the mast base. One person stayed at the helm, and the burłacy (towers) walked along the canal bank pulling the boat by the rope. To pass under bridges, the rope had to be thrown onto the boat, then quickly run across the bridge to grab the rope again on the other side and continue pulling. Burłakowanie was much faster and more efficient than paddling. As kids, we found it great fun and treated it as a game.

Because there was always someone walking along the bank, the path was worn down and trees or shrubs didn’t grow right at the edge. Today, trees are growing into the concrete reinforcements. Large chunks of earth have been washed away, and between the wooden posts or concrete embankments there are 50–70 cm gaps. One of the lock operators told me that one of the major causes of erosion is the speed of motorboats, particularly jet skis, which create the biggest waves. There’s no denying that in the past, paddling or towing boats manually didn’t generate waves at all!

A Night at the Miłomłyn Lock and the Slopes of the Elbląg Canal

One night, I stayed at the Miłomłyn lock. It was pleasant to sleep on trimmed grass in a fenced-off area and have breakfast at a wooden table. Always a bit more comfortable :-) In small locks, it’s common practice for lock operators to allow overnight stays.

From Miłomłyn, I headed toward the Elbląg Canal. That day, I only managed to pass through the first two slipways. The first was the Buczyniec incline. The ticketing system has changed—now you buy a single ticket for all the slipways at the first one.

Buczyniec gave me quite an adventure. First, I consulted with the staff on how best to enter the incline with my boat. Once everything was agreed upon, I returned to my boat, stepped aboard—and at that exact moment, a tourist barge named Cyranka (or Cyraneczka) passed by. The captain accelerated, a wave formed, and I fell into the water.

I must say I was very surprised... and yes, I wasn’t wearing a life jacket, since I was just preparing to enter the incline. Thankfully, I wasn’t hurt and didn’t lose any gear. Interestingly, in the canal where I fell—in front of Buczyniec—there was no ladder to exit the water. I don’t know why no one has thought of this. I had to lift myself out using my arms, with one hand on the stern of the boat and the other on the edge of the canal. Still, I firmly believe a ladder should be there.

Since the slipway cart was already waiting for me, I rowed onto it in wet clothes—there was no time to change. On the other side of the incline, four barges were waiting to pass, so my impromptu swim caused about a 10-minute delay.

The Legend of the Buczyniec Dip

After Buczyniec, I passed the Kąty incline. The staff had already heard about my dive, so the gentlemen smiled kindly and asked for the story. Ah, what a way to become famous—falling into the canal at Buczyniec!

After Kąty, I stopped for the night next to the incline, near the lockkeeper’s house. I passed through the remaining slipways the next morning. With each one, I got more skilled in handling the boat and the slipway cart. I also met some nice people—one of them, Wojtek, got involved in filming and photographing me and my boat, for which I’m very grateful.

Here’s the result of our little filming session :-) And along the way, you can see the most convenient way to “navigate” a rowing boat through the canal slipways.

The Final Stretch to Elbląg

All that remained to reach Elbląg was crossing Lake Drużno. It’s a large lake, and together with the remaining canal sections, there were still about 10 kilometers to go. I don’t enjoy this part of the route—the time seems to drag endlessly.

Lake Drużno has a designated route that must be followed, as the rest of the lake is overgrown with reeds and water lilies.

Arrival in Elbląg

In Elbląg, I reached Camping No. 61. Two monitored piers lead directly to this campsite. The owners’ grandson ran out to greet me and helped lift my boat onto the racks designated for boats and kayaks. I stayed at this campsite for the night, and that marked the end of my journey through Lake Jeziorak, the Ostróda Canal, and the Elbląg Canal.

You're warmly invited to view the photo report from this trip.

Adres

ul. Złota 11
00-123 Warszawa

Contact

kontakt@mariabraun.pl

+ 48 697 993 960

Menu

Śledź nas