Balatoni túra II. 2023

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Published: Monday, 18 September 2023 10:42

Report about the Balaton Table II. sailing tour on Lake Balaton, 2023.09.11-16.

Three boats set off for Tihany on 11.09.2023. From Balatonboglár the Remény with Captain Phoenix on board, the Havária with Captain Vagabund and guest Lajos Baranyai on board, and from Balatonlelle the Turul with Captain Turul and guest Zsolt Bihari on board. The swaying north-westerly breeze was a nerve-racking challenge. Under genoa and mainsail, the Havária made between 1-6 knots towards Tihany, arriving in 6.5 hours. True, we did stop once before the tube for a swim (the water was 24°C) which took about 30 minutes.

In Tihany, my friend Lajos got out and drove to Pest, and the four of us set off for the abbey at 18:45. On reaching the top of the echo hill we admired the familiar but always wonderful panorama, accompanied by some ice cream. Then we headed for the chosen Gulyásudvar restaurant. Unfortunately, like so many things, it was closed. So we visited a restaurant called Csárda, where we had a dinner of unforgettable quality at unforgettable prices. {Just a side note: 1 pickled cucumber cut into four pieces (~8 cm long) was 800 HUF}.

But over dinner, it turned out that Zsolt, Turul's friend and guest, had been on a very special adventure from 2016-2020. Starting from Budapest in his self-built kayak (which won an industrial design award, by the way), he completed the Budapest-Danube-Black Sea-Bosporus-Bosporus-Dardanelles-Greek Islands-Corinthian Channel-Adriatic Sea-River Po-Transfer to Marseille-Rhone-Saone-Transfer to the Rhine-Danube-Budapest route alone in four years. The feat is unique and set the tone for our evening conversation. We parted the next day, Tuesday, with a breakfast together under the mushrooms, followed by a cultural programme with a visit to the abbey church and exhibition.

Following the plan, breakfast, cultural programme and then back to the harbour where I bought from Zsolt part 1 of his published travel diary, which he signed for me. The first part covers the Budapest - Greek Islands trip in 720 pages, readable and very professional.
The title of the book is Argo.

Unfortunately, Captain Turul had to return to Lelle, so after the 13 o'clock departure only Hope and Havária sailed to the foundation harbour of Révfülöp in a westerly breeze.

Headwind cruising up to the tube, motoring ~1.5 km in the tube and afterwards, then a pleasant sail in the recovered 2-3Bf westerly to Révfülö, the former OT harbour. We docked around 18h30, dinner at the harbour restaurant. Beetroot and sausage lecsó with fresh bread, served with a spritzer. The value for money is far better than in Tihany, reasonable. After a pleasant night, breakfast in the restaurant, then departure for Balatongyörök at 11 am.

The trip was windswept motoring, then sailing, then this repeated until the corner of Badacsonytördemic. (I started the motor 7 times looking for the wind.) Once we reached the corner of Tördemic, a westerly wind developed, which allowed us to keep the Györök course at 3-4 knots.

At 16:30 I arrived in Balatongyörök, where the Hope was already on the west side of the public harbour. I tied up behind it and was about to set off for the village when the westerly turned south-westerly and strengthened. No forecast had indicated this wind direction. 10 minutes later, the waves were battering the boats hard against the pier. In the meantime, Captain Phoenix returned from his walk, and within 5 minutes we decided to leave. The other side of the pier was full of anglers, and the forecast was for a strong northerly wind for the night, so there was no alternative. We decided to head for Szigliget. In the meantime I called our cheerful brother, who was already on his way to Györök with the Mix, and informed him about the change. We sailed to Szigliget in the strengthening southwest, but did not end up there. There were two answers to the why question: all the restaurants were closed and the harbour entrance water depth was 155 cm, which was not enough for the Mix. So we headed for Badacsony, where we docked at 19:00. At 19.30 we were already sitting in the harbour restaurant with Vidám and Erzsike, Vidám's mother. We had our dinner at Balaton prices, and in the midst of pleasant conversation and wine tasting we planned the next day's programme: in the morning a walk to Imre's cellar, then back to the harbour and departure for Révfülöp, which our Vidám brother did not know yet, because he had never been there.

There was no rain during the night, but the wind was stronger, the ropes were sloshing around in the 20-28 knots of wind. Breakfast at the harbour restaurant, then off to Imre's cellar. There we had a nice time, drinking wine, eating bread and butter, talking and telling anecdotes. Back to the harbour and departure around 3 pm. The Havaria averaged 5 knots with genoa only, with a maximum speed of 6.9 knots in one beat. So by 5pm everyone else was moored and refreshed and ready for dinner. Phoenix and Vidám had bean soup, I had Texas ribs. Food was fine, as before. We rested early to recover from the previous night's sleeplessness.

Breakfast in the restaurant and decision: our brother Vidám goes back to Lelle for a meeting, the three of us go up to the lookout in Révfülöp as part of a sports program. We return to the harbour, sail to Boglár and have the final dinner of the tour at the Mill Inn in szőlőskislak. So it was: the sports programme was 12860 steps, up hill, down hill, according to my phone. The walk was interrupted only by an ice cream at the public harbour in Révfülöp.

The boat ride to Boglár turned into a motorbike ride, and twice into a swim, because the wind left us completely, 0 Bf. Nevertheless, I moored with Erzsike in Boglar at 15.30, and then we went to the Malom in Captain Phoenix's minibus. There we concluded the second Balaton tour of the Balaton Table II with an excellent dinner and conversation.

For my part, I rate the tour as eventful and pleasant. I met an excellent person, heard stories that are hard to imagine, let alone to do, and my conviction that these occasions are the really important and forward-looking ones in our Brotherhood was strengthened. I only hope that the report evokes similar feelings in readers, and that there will be more of us next time.

2023.09.18.

Vagabund

Some photos:

Tihany, opening of the zaff.

Our breakfast in Révfülöp

Our breakfast in Badacsony                                                                                                            On the way to the Imre cellar

Closing of the zaff. at the Mill Inn