In this publication10 photos
A voyage through the Skagerrak. Part 1. Dreams and reality
The dream
I began planning Norway a year ago. Fjords had lived in my head since Douglas Adams’s ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, where Norway is Slartibartfast’s work: ‘Lovely crinkly edges. Won an award, you know.’
Preparation
Norway almanac bought, German and Danish sections reread, Grigory from the Meerbär blog questioned closely. He’d done a similar solo trip the year before: more valuable than any pilot book. Books give depths, lights and ports, but not third-day fatigue or the quiet question of why you began.
The original, serious plan: north through the North Sea from Heligoland. I asked Norwegian sailors about weather windows. For «Rassvet»an Ohlson 29, still near the edge of sensible. Strong boat; a long North Sea crossing remains a long crossing.
Preparation turned technical: a separate chat for route options, refuges, distances, passage times and fallback stops. Explore with Imray for local knowledge.
Crew
A Moscow woman contacted me through the blog in November or December. Nastya, planning Spain, keen to join.
We called. I explained: no leisurely coffee-and-sunset outing. Endurance, watches, little sleep, doing what’s necessary rather than pleasant. Agreed on that basis.
First meeting, 8 June. Original departure, Friday morning the 12th.
Forecast
‘Check weather’ sounds neutral. In practice, daily Windy on every model showed my careful route becoming a lesson in humility.
Strong wind after Friday lunch, then almost a week of gusts around forty knots or more. North Sea livelier still, fifty-plus in places.
Days before leaving, a full rethink. What happens to a dream when its North Sea window closes before departure?
The solution
Thursday, I knew Friday was too late. Leave then, meet deterioration. Stay, lose nearly a week and the trip’s momentum.
Simple, uncomfortable answer: after-work departure, overnight straight north while possible. North Sea abandoned. First target Grenaa. Then actual forecast: Skagen, Limfjord, or another improvised option.
The practical plan:
1. leave Kiel in the evening;
2. about 140 nautical miles north;
3. Grenaa as the first replanning point;
4. decide by weather, rather than wishes.
Grigory visited with an enormous shawarma and good wishes. He’d leave a week later, solo in the Midsummer Sail from the southern Baltic far north. Our plan almost looked moderate. Almost.
Departure
Thursday: aboard, provisions, gear stowed so no blind searching in night rain. Forecast checked again.
The journey began with compromise. Norway would depend on abandoning a beautiful idea at the right time, beyond drawing a line on a chart.
#passage
The dream
I began planning Norway a year ago. Fjords had lived in my head since Douglas Adams’s ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, where Norway is Slartibartfast’s work: ‘Lovely crinkly edges. Won an award, you know.’
Preparation
Norway almanac bought, German and Danish sections reread, Grigory from the Meerbär blog questioned closely. He’d done a similar solo trip the year before: more valuable than any pilot book. Books give depths, lights and ports, but not third-day fatigue or the quiet question of why you began.
The original, serious plan: north through the North Sea from Heligoland. I asked Norwegian sailors about weather windows. For «Rassvet»an Ohlson 29, still near the edge of sensible. Strong boat; a long North Sea crossing remains a long crossing.
Preparation turned technical: a separate chat for route options, refuges, distances, passage times and fallback stops. Explore with Imray for local knowledge.
Crew
A Moscow woman contacted me through the blog in November or December. Nastya, planning Spain, keen to join.
We called. I explained: no leisurely coffee-and-sunset outing. Endurance, watches, little sleep, doing what’s necessary rather than pleasant. Agreed on that basis.
First meeting, 8 June. Original departure, Friday morning the 12th.
Forecast
‘Check weather’ sounds neutral. In practice, daily Windy on every model showed my careful route becoming a lesson in humility.
Strong wind after Friday lunch, then almost a week of gusts around forty knots or more. North Sea livelier still, fifty-plus in places.
Days before leaving, a full rethink. What happens to a dream when its North Sea window closes before departure?
The solution
Thursday, I knew Friday was too late. Leave then, meet deterioration. Stay, lose nearly a week and the trip’s momentum.
Simple, uncomfortable answer: after-work departure, overnight straight north while possible. North Sea abandoned. First target Grenaa. Then actual forecast: Skagen, Limfjord, or another improvised option.
The practical plan:
1. leave Kiel in the evening;
2. about 140 nautical miles north;
3. Grenaa as the first replanning point;
4. decide by weather, rather than wishes.
Grigory visited with an enormous shawarma and good wishes. He’d leave a week later, solo in the Midsummer Sail from the southern Baltic far north. Our plan almost looked moderate. Almost.
Departure
Thursday: aboard, provisions, gear stowed so no blind searching in night rain. Forecast checked again.
11 June, 9.30pm: cast off.
The journey began with compromise. Norway would depend on abandoning a beautiful idea at the right time, beyond drawing a line on a chart.
#passage
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