Agerso to Copenhagen

We left our anchorage at Agerso expecting a comfortable 4 hour straight line trip to Femo. There are so many possible destinations, but in this case we chose Femo because it had a protected anchorage, was a short sail away and was an island. There is something special about pulling up at an island in your own boat.

Our 4 hour trip soon became 2.5 hours as the forecasted light winds spiced up and our speed rarely fell below 8 knots even after we reduced the sails.

Winds over 20 knots just behind the beam and flattish seas make for a howling sail.

Once we got into the lee of the island conditions calmed down. There were no anchored boats indicating the position of the anchorage so we had to select a spot with a sandy bottom and not too deep.

Anchoring step 1: Fi and Bernie head to bow and prepare the anchor. Bernie does a quick wee on the deck whilst everyone is busy doing anchoring things.

Anchoring Step 2: Fi nimbly walks out to the end of the bow and threads the snubber rope through a loop and stretches down to attach it to the chain. We may need to refine this step for rougher anchorages, but at this stage she still smiles about the gymnastics required.

The anchorage provided better shelter from the wind than Agerso and by next day we had light winds and sunshine for a walk around the island.

Good morning. Thats why we love to anchor.

The cows were smiling and why not with all that green grass and sunshine.

There were lots of stalls selling local produce. We tried some delicious apple juice.

Would this be the place we would finally brave the freezing waters and claim our first swim?

Lots of these folks lived in the local trees

This pair looked like they may have been sitting in the woods for too long.

Don’t mess with a chap with a big gun and steel dangly bits

Shortly after this was taken we claimed our first swim. We found a sandy spot clear of jelly fish and after 15 minutes procrastination ducked under the water and met the shoulders under criteria. Bernie swam and ate seaweed and swam and swam.

I decided to dive under the boat and check the bolts holding the center board in. With a suitable number of wet suits on and my weight belt I soon discovered that the right weight for salty water is way too much for brackish Baltic water. After making some adjustments we confirmed that everything was still attached.

The next day we took advantage of favorable winds and headed east and under a bridge that didn’t exist, clenched under 2 bridges that definitely did exist, avoided a bridge that might have tickled the mast, took a short cut through shallow water, crossed a large bay and eventually stopped for the night under some chalk cliffs.

Approaching the first real bridge of the day.

There is a big yellow line where the bridge is on the map, and if you look closely there is a black boat that has just passed under it…

And then if you look out the side of the boat there really don’t seem to be many bridges. Quite disconcerting. However we could see evidence of a bridge being built. Either its way behind schedule, or the map incorporates planned as well as current structures.

Hmmm is that the anchorage at the base of the cliff? I’m not sure how protected that will be. Strange there are not lots of boats marking the anchorage. That looks mad enough for us to give it a go.

We snuggled in close to the cliffs and hoped the forecast was correct and the cliffs would give us protection all night. These spots are almost more magical when they work out, because of the significant risk that they won’t.

We headed into the ‘beach’ and decided we would cook dinner there. The chef and his very obedient helper

Who’d have thought, a gourmet meal on a camp fire!

The next day we again had good winds albeit on the nose to get to Praesto. The wind gradually turned in our favour and we almost made it to the Fjord on a single tack. The Praesto Fjord started as wide channel gradually narrows until barely wide enough for a couple of boats to pass. Finally a small harbour and marina appear. There is a pontoon in the middle of the harbour that could just fit Away and conveniently it had a space for us.

That’s our spot, and possibly the only berth we would fit into.

Golden hour. All the old buildings in this part of the world are painted orange or yellow to look good in the long sun sets and rises.

When the winds returned we headed for open water and our first big city in a while. Copenhagen was a day sail away. We were getting some deliveries to a marina and intended to stay for at least a week whilst preparing for the next leg. The wind died towards the end of the trip so we prepared the light wind sails and as expect the winds increased and we soon reducing sail as Copenhagen came into view.