«But never, not even in the worst weather, did we feel unsafe in the boat of just 22 feet.» – Jørn Finsrud, journalist in “Båtliv”
Journalist in the Norwegian boating magazine “Båtliv”, Jørn Finsrud, joined us on the leg from Langesund, Norway to Skagen in Denmark. Read his story from the crossing of the Skagerrak Strait here: VG Nett (Norwegian).
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The Land of the Light
The day started with rain in Skagen, but soon the clouds drifted away and a clear blue sky opened up outside Frederikshavn. Our Yanmar 20 hp engine gave us a decent speed at about 8-9 knots, and after a short while we passed Laesoe. This island is situated in the middle of the sea passage between the cities of Frederikshavn and Gothenburg, and is Kattegat´s largest. It use to be inhabited by many sailors, and today it is haven for boating tourists, with many Swedish and Norwegian sailing boats visiting. Further south we were once again all alone, enclosed by sea, on a far distance from the Danish eastern coast. In the soft summer breeze we could enjoy a few relaxing hours in Kattegat. With a giant, red sun setting in the horizon, life was just about as harmonic as it gets. This part of Denmark, Northern Jutland is also known as «the Land of the Light», and has definitely given us a beautiful summer memory!
Enjoying the blue hour of Kattegat
The sun sets over Denmark
After the last rays of sun had disappeared, we had about 1-2 hours of sailing towards the area called Fiskeleje; and the town of Boennerup Strand. Within a few minutes a crystal clear starry sky was in place. We were soon about to catch a glimpse of Gjerrild Light House, on the northeastern tip of the Djursland region, and after a while we could see a red and green light marking the entrance of the Boennerup port.
Danish hospitality
While sailing along through the harbour we spotted two people on the pier, looking at us. We started joking about how they´ve probably followed us online, and that they´ve come down here just to welcome us. And believe it or not, that was just what they were there for. Charlotte and René Soerensen had followed our journey all the way from Norway, through our blog. They had seen from our SatNav position that we were having a steady course towards Boennerup, where they were spending the weekend in their summer cabin. These people turned out to be extremely friendly, and without a single hotel open in the town, they invited us to stay the night in their summer cabin by the harbour. Inside, Charlotte served delicious cheese and wine; an invaluable treat for a bunch of lost Norwegian sailors! Film clip from the leg:
Heartly thanks to Charlotte and Rene Sorensen for warm hospitality!