QUOTE:
To Haapsalu town

It is with great concern I have heard the news that the Grandholm Marina can not operate this summer. As a result, I made an inquiry to Haapsalu town’s official e-mail address using the form on the town website.

I had two questions:


1. Are foreign yachts welcome to Haapsalu in summer 2008. If yes, where can they berth?


2. Can you confirm that the official reason for the conflict between the town and the Grandhom marina is that the border control post need more space for access?

It has now passed 3, perhaps 4 weeks and no one from the city had answered my questions. Now I write to you, and I need an answer within a week.

I am webmaster for the Swedish yachting web site www.ellennet.com , a dedicated site promoting yachting tourism in Eastern Baltic. The site is bilingual and also published in English.

We have an obligation to inform the international yachting community, if Haapsalu is closed for tourist yachts this summer. We also want the town to have a chance to explain the situation before we get out and tell people what we think about it.

But one thing is obvious. If the town, for what ever reason, is damaging the yachting tourism, it will be bad for the reputation of Haapsalu and it's town leadership. So I really hope that your answer is that yachts are welcome to Haapsalu, and that you can find a solution of your harbour conflict.

Regards

Baltic internet site www.ellennet.com

Mikael Branting

Stockholm Sweden