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Easaster – 2001, sailing through the Limfjord
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Saturday, the
8.th of April, after sending Andreas and our dog Kaisa up to the mountains with
their grandfather, we cast off, hoisted the sails and sat course south towards
Thyborøn in the inlet of the Limfjord in Denmark.
Marianne
and Anette had taken tablets against their seasickness, and went early to
bed.
I
kept the first watch. The breeze coming from west, made it an easy
crossing, and when Bjørn took over, the wind had calmed down completely,
and he had to start the engine.
03.00
pm we arrived at the harbor on Thyborøn, and moored.
After
a late lunch, we went for a walk along the beach and into the village. As
usual Anette loved to look for beautiful pebbles on the beach. She
returned back to the boat with her pockets full of “treasures”. The
village however the kids thought was too quiet, especially our teenager.
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The harbo of Thyborøn
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Lemvik
Monday,
we sat course towards Lemvik, where we arrived just in time for some
shopping in the main street, before the shops closed down for the weekend.
Our young crew had got hold of some pocket money, which they intended to
spend at once. They seemed to think that saving some of it might be
dangerous.
The
evenings this time of year was still cold. But we put the heater on,
lightened the candles, made a delicious meal and drank some good red wine.
We couldn’t have had a nicer evening.
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The
next day, we sailed on. This time we aimed for Struer.
Well
moored, we got busy preparing dinner. We were expecting guests. Our good
neighbors at home were on vacation in Denmark too, and were coming for
dinner.
Anette
and her friend Kine were delighted at seeing each other. You wouldn’t
believe it was only three days since they last met, but meeting abroad
certainly made a difference.
After
a nice evening, which according to Anette ended far too soon, it was time
to say goodbye to our guests and berth.
Wednesday,
we had decided to sail to Nykøbing, but first we wanted to visit Venø, a
small island just outside of Stuer.
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Our
plan was to rent some bikes and bike around the small island, but
unfortunately they did not rent out bikes off-season. Instead we took out
Anettes bike, and decided to take a walk instead. We followed the road
from the harbor across the island. On the way we passed the church, the
smallest in Denmark, and after 10 minutes walking we could see the sea on
the other side.
We
decided to walk north, and soon we found a sign telling us that this was
the end of the city of Venø. Marianne wondered where the city had started.
Despite
that two of the participants argued that they were forced to participate
on the trip, we had a nice walk. The sun shone from a cloudless sky and
the birds joined in the vernal song.
On
the way we experienced both hares and roe-deers.
We
found a nice bench sheltered from the cold wind and had picnic.
After
a nice afternoon we went back to the boat, cast off and sailed to Nykøbing.
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Lemvik kirke
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When we looked
out of the hatches Thursday morning, we discovered that the deck was covered
with snow. The wind blew heavily, and even though the sun later reappeared from
behind the clouds, it was a very cold day. A walk to town revealed that since it
was Maundy Thursday, all the shops were closed. On Friday, it still blew too
much for a nice sail. Instead of taking the boat to Thisted, we decided to leave
it in Nykøbing, and take the bus instead. We jumped on the right bus, and after
an hour drive along fields and meadows and through several small villages, we
arrived to Thisted.
The main street
was full of shops and busy with people preparing for the weekend. Finally the
girls managed to use the rest of their money, it would probably have been a
shame bringing some back home.
When
we returned to Nykøbing, the wind had calmed down. We decided to shorten
down the next leg to Ålborg, by sailing to Løgster that evening.
In
the middle of the fjord, Anette discovered that it was Saturday, and
Saturday for her is the day for sweets.
No
arguments or promises worked. Saturday was the day for sweets, and that
was it.
In
the end we promised her to go and find a candy shop when we arrived to Løgster.
When we had finished mooring and was ready to leave, it had already gone
dark. We dressed in warm clothing and went out into the cold.
Løgster
looked really nice, but it was too cold to enjoy the city. When we
shivering returned to the boat, Marianne declared that sweets for 10
kroner didn’t make up for the trip.
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Sne i Løgster
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5
am in the morning on Easter Sunday, Anette was working hard, trying to
find her Easter eggs (filled with sweets and chocolate). Luckily she went
to bed again after having succeeded and stated the fact that the Easter
hare (she says she knows it’s her mum – maybe) is coming to Denmark as
well as Norway.
The
rest of us didn’t have such terrible rush starting the day. After a nice
Easter breakfast we sat course towards Ålborg.
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It’s
strange. We have traveled several times through Ålborg by car, but never
really visited the city. Now, we discovered a nice town with personality
and charm.
We
visited the navy museum and learned some of the cities maritime history.
In
the old town we walked along narrow brick streets, between small houses on
the skew. Bindeverkshus?
We
went shopping and visited a typical Danish kro (a kind of pub).
The
kids were allowed to choose were to eat.
Guess
what. Anette decided to eat on Mac Donalds.
Hurray!!!
When
we Tuesday continued to Hals, on the eastern outlet of the Limfjord, there
were still a lot of things we would have liked to see and do in Ålborg.
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Hals was a nice
acquaintance too, but when we visited the place, it was more or less sleeping,
waiting for the tourist season to start.
Wednesday we
hoisted sails, and had a wonderful sail to Skagen.
Next
morning we woke up hearing the rain dripping towards our deck.
It rained all day, the kind of rain, which makes you soaking wet
after a few minutes outside.
We
stayed on board reading, playing cards and doing nothing.
In
the evening it let up, and we decided to end the holiday with a nice
dinner out.
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4 pm in the
morning Bjørn started the engine. Well, actually the right words Is tried to
start the engine. It wouldn’t work. After an hour with words I don’t want to
repeat, we discovered that the handle we use to stop the engine wasn’t
correctly placed. That was it. The engine started and purred like a cat.
The crossing
back to Kristiansand was lovely, with the sun shining from a cloudless sky. But
the wind was absent most of the time. Only the last few hours could we hoist the
sails, stop the engine and enjoy the last peaceful hours of the holiday under
sail.
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