Saturday 25 – Sunday 26 August
Exactly 24 hours later, still waiting for the wind, we set off again for what we hoped would be our last leg into Copenhagen. Swallows were beginning to gather along yacht lines around the harbour, in preparation for their winter migration to warmer climes – we know how they feel. Bornholm, the most Southerly of all the Danish islands, was clearly visible on the horizon only 20M away. We’ve now sailed past it twice, both times disappointingly not destined to step ashore. Maybe next time…
By 0800 the wind was beginning to fill in, bringing with it a slight swell and the threat of imminent rain. We set the main and staysails close-hauled, and fought our way through a couple of nasty squalls. The first time we were prepared, having taken in the first reef on the mainsail; the wind indicator recorded 90 knots, but must have been imagining it. Later we were caught unawares amidst sustained gusts of 30 knots, with both foresails set in an attempt to maximise progress during spells of lighter winds. In trying to run downwind, Mate foolishly released both sets of foresail sheets, whereupon they instantly became a flailing mess of spaghetti, whilst the lazy backstay wrapped itself around the wind generator that stands proud of the stern arch.
Meanwhile, I merely wallowed lazily, in no immediate danger. By the time my crew had sorted all this out, as any fellow sailor will realise here, the squall had passed and some sense of normality could return to the deck. However, in case we should allow ourselves to become lulled into a false and foolish sense of complacency, at 1730 another heavy squall recorded winds increasing from four to twenty-four knots in four seconds. This one was seen approaching, and sensible precautions had been taken. The wind and rain were now accompanied by a huge crack of thunder as forked lightning struck the sea not 200 metres away.
All this drama was rounded off by the wind veering 180˚ into the NW, pushing up short sharp waves that cause us to stall, so we reverted to motor-sailing. Through the evening, showers were interspersed with periods of heavy rain. Overnight Mate had a difficult watch, fumbling a couple of tacks in the vicinity of the local and busy shipping lane into Trelleborg on the Southern Swedish coast; Skipper suffered very little rest.
Early on Sunday morning, glad to be in daylight once again, we closed the first circle of our Baltic cruise when we crossed the line we had sailed from Skanör back to Germany in early May. Avoiding the large wind farm at the Southern end of the Øresund, the narrow, shallow channel that divides Denmark and Sweden, we skirted the edge of the shipping channels up this very busy waterway, until the marine equivalent of a zebra crossing opened up and we could cross safely to tie up on the ‘service pontoon’ of Dragør harbour, just South of Copenhagen. After just 103M in 27 hours, Mate’s closing comment in the log reads “horrible passage – really hard work. So glad to be here safe”… and we’re doing this for fun!