As time passed on Bornholm, I became more and more aware of the departure date that was looming in the distance; we had planned our return date so I would be able to catch a plane from Hamburg to Tromsø, to join the Polarstern on a Fram Strait expedition. And the south-westerly winds, which had been such great help in getting us to Bornholm, were still there – and now they didn’t seem so appealing. Continue reading
Denmark
Bornholm
We arrived in Hammerhavnen in the morning, and after getting some breakfast, we decided to take a walk in the area. Bornholm has many hiking paths, and one reason we had chosen to go to Hammerhavnen was its location right next to the nature reserve Hammeren. On this northern tip of Bornholm, granite makes up the ground, making it very different from the rest of Denmark. We filled our backpack with drinks and snacks in the hope of making Mattis want to walk the whole route with us, and started the route that took us up the coast. We soon came past goats and sheep living in the reserve, and met many other tourists taking in the beautiful nature. When we reached the ruins of a small chapel we consulted our guidebook and decided that the 7 km route was too long for us. Instead we started back and crossed over and up towards the light house located at the highest point of Hammeren. The road up there was steep, and Mattis didn’t find the hike that great anymore, but in the end we made it, and from the light house we could see all the way to Sweden. On the way back to the harbour, we made our way along the man made lakes in the area that originate from the granite quarries. Nowadays, they are impressive rocks which I guess most people visiting Bornholm go to see. Continue reading
Back to the Baltic
The kids had gone to Denmark to spend some time with my parents, so Esben and I could sail the first leg of our summer holidays alone. As it turned out, that was lucky – the weather was not cooperating, and I ended up motoring directly against wind and waves from Bremerhaven to the entrance of the Elbe, while Esben was dying from seasickness below. As we turned and sailed down the Elbe towards Cuxhaven, we finally had following winds and I could pull out the genua, turn off the motor and continue inwards by sail. And after a while Esben came up to join me for the last part of the day. After almost 12 hours of sailing, we tied up in the harbor in Cuxhaven where a seal greeted us at the pontoon. Continue reading
Where to go on a sailing holiday
I asked Runa what she likes best about sailing. “I don’t like sailing!” was the answer. This is something we practice with her – to notice the good thing that happens and not just remember what you didn’t like so much. So I asked her again, there must be something nice about sailing, right? “Maybe walking the little paths on Nordbjerget” she said. That was on Anholt last year. We talked a bit longer, and it turned out that we she really likes is exploring a new place. I like that too. Arriving somewhere and go out and see the place you ended up in. Actually, I like it so much that I’m dead set on not visiting the sailing grounds south of Funen, which I have visited plenty of times with my parents throughout my childhood. Continue reading
Even more sailing
After finishing our three-week trip onboard Chip-Chip sailing south of Fyn, Sjælland and in the Kattegat, Esben had to go back to work. But the Kindergarten and school was closed for another week, so I had signed the kids and me up for a one week sailing trip on Jensine, going with my mom and dad and a bunch of other people. Continue reading
The Kattegat
In the two first weeks of our summer trip had been south of Fyn and Sjælland, and we were now ready to continue northwards. The trip from Helsingborg in Sweden to the island Anholt in the Kattegat was about 60 nm, so we opted for a fairly early start – it did, however, become around 9 before all last minute preparations were over, the kids were dressed and we were out of the harbour. Continue reading
Across the Great Belt and eastwards
After a week of sailing south of Fyn, we had been hiding from the wind and rain in Svendborg for two days, and were ready to move on through the beautiful Svendborg Sound. While in Svendborg, we ran into Finn, the former owner of Chip-Chip, who asked if we had gotten around to using the wind vane yet. And no, we hadn’t. I guess we first needed to get used to the basics of the boat – but now Esben was inspired, and while I steered northwards between Fyn and Langeland, he messed about with the wind vane. He pretty quickly got the servo rudder in the water, got the vane somewhat adjusted and was ready to check if it worked. Which it did, no fuss at all, and honestly, it’s pretty awesome. Now I could read Harry Potter for Runa while Esben cooked. Continue reading
Sailing south of Fyn
Because of my broken arm we have not sailed as much as we would have liked in the spring, but luckily, my doctors allowed me to go on a sailing holiday in July – as long as I would make sure not to use the arm too much. So we were off, on a three week sailing holiday in Chip-Chip. Continue reading
An accident in Denmark
Crushed. That’s the word the doctors used to describe the bones in my right arm after I slipped an fell 3m down on hard ground from our sailboat. I am not even sure what happened, I wanted to remove some tape, it was a bit slippery after the rain, and suddenly I felt myself falling. I screamed when I hit the ground, and then I stopped because I couldn’t breathe. When I regained control of my breath I screamed for help, and I could see a man come running towards me. Continue reading
