Just Denmark

Heading north in the Baltic Sea. Photo: Karen Eriksen

This feature article originally appeared in AFLOAT Magazine and forms part of our latest edition of boating features exploring cruising adventures, sailing destinations and life aboard.

Our boat is called Dania, which according to my late Danish father Einar means “Beautiful Denmark.” All his boats carried this name and it felt natural to christen our recent pride and joy, a Hornet 32 from 1979 built on the Elbe River, in the family tradition. During the European summer in our lengthy six weeks break we could have ventured to the exciting Norwegian fjords or the rocky skerries of Sweden but we simply wanted to leisurely enjoy Denmark. To sail north and see the islands, towns, harbours, lighthouses and churches of my heritage. We would hopefully reach the tip of Denmark.

Late July, the height of the Baltic season, we left our German home port Heiligenhafen to sail the 35 miles to the picturesque seafaring town of Marstal on Aeroe, recently made famous through the best-selling novel We, The Drowned. John had revived an ancient spinnaker from the 1980s in the Danish national colours, that had served numerous family boats very well. Setting it in a light easterly breeze then turning southerly, we were only a bit rusty but soon honked along at six knots toward the Danish coast. For sailors coming from the North Sea, exiting the Kiel Canal it is an even shorter 30-mile hop across.

Mooring Baltic style, bow to in two slots with two aft ropes over poles, needed a bit of practise. Available berths have a green sign that one can only spot quite late. A newsworthy rain bomb made us hunker down in Marstal for a few days with our full cockpit cover, in German called ‘Kuchenbude’ (cake shack) sheltering us from the downpour. We ventured out on day two for some sightseeing. Marstal’s maritime history reaches back hundreds of years and is very well-documented in the local Soefarts Museum; a day is easily spent there.

For sentimentality’s sake we made a detour from the cruising sailor’s highway north by steering west first. Suddenly, in brilliant sunshine, we motored through the lifting bridge at Soenderborg and up the Als Sound to the inlet of Dyvig. I had first visited the idyllic natural harbour in the 1970s with my parents on an older Dania. The hotel was ancient and gloomy, the parents and their friends enjoying the famous ‘anretning’, where a set menu of never-ending dishes appeared that went on for hours. Today, the red and white Badehotel is luxurious and the marina facilities excellent. We managed to get an early dinner booking for the terrace to sample the local seafood speciality, ‘jomfruhummer’ (langoustine or Norway lobster).

Historic cruising

Sailing in Denmark past the summer-yellow fields sloping to the water and quaint towns facing the Sounds is utterly relaxing. There are few obstacles, the water is deep almost everywhere. You get a choice of tiny ancient harbours with excellent marina facilities every 10 or so miles, and the friendly Danish people know how to host foreign sailors. The centuries-old fishing and boatbuilding history of the country is apparent everywhere, and there is something to see in every town.

We used our engine very little. My husband, who doesn’t mind a brisk motorsail to chew some miles “to get there”, converted to only starting the donk to motor out or into the harbour entrance. We sailed more this time than years past. The spinnaker went up five days in a row on our way north, and the captain was happy because we also got better at setting it. The sun shone every day but the wind was cold, the weather unpredictable. The traditional two main weather patterns – of either moist low pressure westerly fronts coming from the North Sea or a sunny high in the east with heat and little wind – are a thing of the past because the weather changes daily.

Folkboat designer

Middelfart, first documented in 1231 at the small gap between the mainland Jylland and the island of Fyn, has a special place in our family’s heart. We had our first fibreglass boat (Impala 28) built here by Folkboat icon Torkil Lindt. My parents had moored in the little old harbour many times. The charming town with its colourful cottages between the two bridges over the Lille Belt was hosting an environmental educational fair and was teeming with teenagers. We took a summer evening stroll along the water’s edge to Kongebro harbour under the old railway bridge.

Via Juelsminde, we got to Aarhus, the birthplace of my grandfather Olaf Eriksen. The vibrant second-largest Danish city turned into the highlight of our trip and we stopped here again on the way back. However, arriving that afternoon in the vast marina it was not easy to find a free, green-signed berth, despite the fact that many Danes were away on holiday. You never know whether the two poles you must drive through bow-first toward the jetty are far enough apart for your boat’s beam. We got stuck twice, motored backwards and tried again somewhere else. Which was difficult because Dania is tricky to steer backwards. The harbour restaurant, Lula, made up for the berthing stress. Its Spanish tapas-style menu was very different from the usual Danish harbour restaurant fare of fish and chips or chips and fish.

Aarhus, European culture capital of 2017 was a revelation. The city has flourished in the last decade, and is a vibrant mix of young and old, pebbled streets full of students and crazy modern architecture along the harbour. The circular panoramic walkway of ARoS, the Guggenheim-style Aarhus Art Museum has become a defining symbol of the city. And fishmonger Clausens opposite the marina was just the best!

Kattegat

But we were on our way to another top Danish sailing destination. Via Grenaa, we had a good broad reach to the island of Anholt, whose shallow entry I remember as hazardous in a strong onshore breeze, though fine in our 12 knots. Anholt is the Kattegat jewel. The small island midway between the Danish mainland and Sweden with its endless sandy beaches has been popular since the Middle Ages. King Valdemar II owned a house here in 1231. In the summer months German, Swedish and Danish sailors flock here in great numbers. Mooring in Anholt’s harbour bow-to with stern anchors used to lead to near-chaos in the often windy Kattegat conditions. Fortunately, the community finally had put out buoys for stern ropes. The BBQ area near the showers filled every night with happy groups of Danish or German sailors. The local gin distillery’s ramshackle bar reminded us of the dark dens of our youth. On the walk into town, always longer than expected, we regretted not hiring bicycles but we saw a deer and a flock of geese.

Via the bigger island of Laesoe we sailed to our most northern destination, Skagen, another historical and interesting place. At the tip of Denmark, where the North Sea meets the Baltic, which remains a busy centre of fishing but nowadays sadly there are humongous factory ships. The Skagen artist community of the late 1870s produced outstanding paintings of local fishermen and social gatherings. With a herd of other tourists, we walked out to the spit where the oceans meet; a fun experience. After three days, we headed south again.

Southern return

The Mariager Fjord, a long way in, offered a big group of seals on a sandbank. The little hamlet of Dania was where we moored our own Dania in a tiny harbour under an abandoned cement factory. The last must-visit place from my childhood itineraries was the small island of Tunoe. Now, late in the season at the end of August the normally packed marina was only half-full. Soon we were walking inland to look at the typically white island church whose tower functions as lighthouse, a unique combination. With a short stop in Aarhus again, we sailed further south toward Kolding, the end of our journey and the hand-over to friend Johannes, who was sailing Dania back to her winter storage on Fehmarn. What a wonderful, relaxing trip we had had. When friends had questioned our destination and said, “Why are you just sailing in Denmark?” we already knew that Denmark was never only “just” but so much more.

This feature article originally appeared in July 2026 AFLOAT Magazine. To explore more stories like this, browse the AFLOAT Magazine archive or view the latest edition of AFLOAT Magazine.