Blog 15 Denmark 2015 Aug - 2015

Middelfart, Årøsund, Søby, Bagenkop

This part of the voyage becomes a journey homeward, going south towards our final destination for the winter on the north coast of Germany. It is remarkable firstly for the large number of Norwegian boats filling the marinas and all migrating north first thing in the morning. Conversely, at Søby and Bagenkop there are few boats in the "migration" south which aren't German. A very rough count this morning in Søby, a Danish harbour, there were 46 German boats, 17 Danish and 1 British boat, us. It just goes to show.....something.

People will say there is no tide in the Baltic. In the main that is true although the rise and fall due to the North Sea tide is pretty insignificant even around the Skagerrak. However, a few days wind in certain directions will set up a current and where that is forced through narrow island passages it can be very surprising, not entirely predictable unless you study the wind for days, and even strong. Such was the 2 knot southerly stream in our favour sailling down to Middelfart, the boat fair gobbled up the miles. M****, I won't keep repeating the name, has a number of marinas on offer, the most interesting being built in a horseshoe shape around an ultra modern city library which sticks out into the sound like a black iceberg. A strange combination if I may say so, though very municipal with fountains and civic sculpture - a good try.

Re-visiting this area again - we were here in 1999 - memories are triggered as with lighthouse across the water from Årøsund which we thought then had flavours of an Edward Hopper painting - you know the one even if you haven't got it on your bathroom wall. Good to walk the tall grass and fine white hourglass sand beach and look across at it with the evening sun playing on the facets. Will we have memories of the "blue moon" which appeared after dusk I wonder. It was certainly spectacular against a cloudless sky and by all accounts does not happen often, in fact only once in a blue moon.

Was summer coming at last? Blue skies and low winds. Dolphins or porpoise - never sure which - cleaving the glassy water with arching backs. They always seem to be swimming up stream, and a seal bobbing his head up to take a look at us and probably muttering some remark to itself. Time to sit back on cushions in the sun and let the autohelm steer the boat to Bagenkop. It was empty at 1pm but by 4 o-clock the black, red and yellow flag began to take every free space and even squeeze into too narrow a gap - it is a joy to sit and watch the rest of the world struggle, I think the word for it is schadenfreude strangely enough.

Not so many photos with this blog I'm afraid. Next stop, Germany.