From Kattegat to Kiel: Sailing the eastern coast of Denmark | Ep. 12

In this episode, I’ll be sailing from Kattegat in Denmark, to Kiel in Germany.

I start off from Hals with a good breeze, before getting becalmed half way to Bønnerup. After getting creative with my phone to get internet, I run my gas outboard flat out, before discovering an expanding crack in my outboard bracket.

I’m forced to return to Bønnerup by relentless chop when trying to round the cape. I’m later told that the cape is infamous amongst locals for just that.

I then anchor to save money, as the Norwegian kroners are in freefall, but decide to head back inti the marina as yet another thunderstorm moves in.

On my way to Grenaa, I’m surprised by a friendly visit from a local sailor. I then wait out a gale in Grenaa, before sailing to Ebeltoft on a nice sunbreeze.
There I get to see an age of sail frigatte called “Jylland”, and I install new led lanterns.

I then sail to Tunø, where I try to find a spot for paragliding. The winds good, but I cant fint a suitable launch.

I then go for a shortcut towards Fredericia and Lillebælt strøm, bringing my keel inches above the bottomn when cutting straight across shifting sand banks.

After a night anchoring next to a full marina, I sail south to Lillebælt, the strongest current in all of Denmark, at a whooping 5 knots! I spend 16 hours waiting for it to turn, before getting through.

The conditions on the other side prove challenging, as the current going into the waves from a weak breeze puts my ouyboard propeller out of the water, with barely enough wind to fill my sails.

But I make it out in the end, and the wind picks up, leaving me no alternative but sailing into the next marina in Assens.

There I get some parts for my rig, before heading to Sønderborg, the southernmost part of Denmark.
I spend a week there, as a storm in the North sea sends southerly gales my way, and I get myself a new outboard bracket, amongst other much needed parts.

After doing a dive to scrape barnacles off of my hull (as I’d noticed that the boat was handling weirdly), I get spooked by a seal, which tickled my feet, but I manage to remove the worst of it.

With an extra knot gained, the rest of the journey to Kiel was literally smooth sailing, and I finally arrive after nearly a month from leaving Hals, having sailied through the worst august weather Denmark has seen in years.