In this publication10 photos
15 May 2026, 8.30am, east from Sønderborg to Marstal. Southerly to twenty-five knots. Genoa alone.
If stronger, bear away, unload, furl a little, return to course with less sail. Less light-air speed, more calm in gusts: the day’s compromise.
Grigory chose the same, but I pulled ahead. Rassvet easily reached six knots on course. Meerbär made 4.5 under genoa alone. Radio: he’d add a first-reef main. Ten or fifteen minutes later, AIS showed Meerbär at 6.4 under both.
Yesterday’s comparison continued. The longer boat couldn’t lead yesterday, then sailed too well today until the other added a main.
Starboard tack, a free hand
A 1.5m beam sea quickly told my stomach it was participating fully. Face to wind, food temporarily uninteresting.
Close-hauled on starboard: port-tack yachts should give way. Ten approached along Ærø; hard to know whether they saw us or intended to. Free hand beside the autopilot. Right of way helps only when both understand it alike.
When the stern starts steering
At the island’s tip, north-east towards Marstal. Better wind, waves now astern swinging the bow. Autopilot managing less confidently. I took the tiller to work the waves and prevent yawing.
An autopilot helps within its limits. With the stern wandering, sometimes taking over is quicker than waiting for electronics to understand.
Golden rapeseed fields and huge turbines ashore in bright sun. Views snatched between waves, course and tiller.
A flotilla without formation
We’d agreed only departure time and destination. Each made decisions independently.
I regularly watched Meerbär on AIS: speed, wind angles, course changes, gust and wave responses. Tracks sometimes matched; different decisions sometimes produced almost identical outcomes.
More useful than speed comparisons. Another boat gives a live reference: lost speed, sail reduced early, or differences existing only in the owner’s mind.
Marstal and a pause
Thirty miles, five and a half hours. Two days in Marstal awaiting adverse southerlies to 34 knots. ‘Sail to the shop’ became Danish travel with a household excuse.
Straight to ice cream: three flavours in a cone, soft ice cream above, cinnamon on top. After the beam sea, almost medical rehabilitation.
Town, waterfront, rainbow, less-friendly waves, bagful of local food. Church and cemetery. Dinner: buckwheat, sausages, fresh tomatoes and biscuits supposedly supplied to the royal family.
After thirty miles, a legitimate form of royal participation in the voyage.
#passage
If stronger, bear away, unload, furl a little, return to course with less sail. Less light-air speed, more calm in gusts: the day’s compromise.
Grigory chose the same, but I pulled ahead. Rassvet easily reached six knots on course. Meerbär made 4.5 under genoa alone. Radio: he’d add a first-reef main. Ten or fifteen minutes later, AIS showed Meerbär at 6.4 under both.
Yesterday’s comparison continued. The longer boat couldn’t lead yesterday, then sailed too well today until the other added a main.
Starboard tack, a free hand
A 1.5m beam sea quickly told my stomach it was participating fully. Face to wind, food temporarily uninteresting.
Close-hauled on starboard: port-tack yachts should give way. Ten approached along Ærø; hard to know whether they saw us or intended to. Free hand beside the autopilot. Right of way helps only when both understand it alike.
When the stern starts steering
At the island’s tip, north-east towards Marstal. Better wind, waves now astern swinging the bow. Autopilot managing less confidently. I took the tiller to work the waves and prevent yawing.
An autopilot helps within its limits. With the stern wandering, sometimes taking over is quicker than waiting for electronics to understand.
Golden rapeseed fields and huge turbines ashore in bright sun. Views snatched between waves, course and tiller.
A flotilla without formation
We’d agreed only departure time and destination. Each made decisions independently.
I regularly watched Meerbär on AIS: speed, wind angles, course changes, gust and wave responses. Tracks sometimes matched; different decisions sometimes produced almost identical outcomes.
More useful than speed comparisons. Another boat gives a live reference: lost speed, sail reduced early, or differences existing only in the owner’s mind.
Marstal and a pause
Thirty miles, five and a half hours. Two days in Marstal awaiting adverse southerlies to 34 knots. ‘Sail to the shop’ became Danish travel with a household excuse.
Straight to ice cream: three flavours in a cone, soft ice cream above, cinnamon on top. After the beam sea, almost medical rehabilitation.
Town, waterfront, rainbow, less-friendly waves, bagful of local food. Church and cemetery. Dinner: buckwheat, sausages, fresh tomatoes and biscuits supposedly supplied to the royal family.
After thirty miles, a legitimate form of royal participation in the voyage.
#passage
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