spring tour

Heron's home port is Humlebæk Harbor. On a weekend trip we can reach half a hundred ports. Some we never sail to. Others we take to once in a while. And someone we visit again and again, become more and more happy with the port and then all of a sudden one day, we do not bother it anymore. 

This is how we feel about the harbor in the town of Råå. The old port is located at the mouth of a river. It calls the Swedes Rååå. The eels that live there are called Råååål. So yes there is shame a meaningful word with four åeer. Well but other than that, the port provides exceptionally good protection in all weather conditions. Here you lie safely and well. 

For a long time, the old harbor in Råå was our favorite harbor.

We strolled in the old town, went for walks on the beach, bought kebabs in the main street, sniffed in the boat equipment shop, went to the ship museum and looked at life at the harbor. 

And then suddenly one day we had had enough.

It took 2 years before we decided to sail to Råå again. But when we got out of the harbor, we regretted and set course for Norreborg on Ven.

The wind came from the southwest. It gave us a wind angle of 110 degrees. This is the angle at which the Heron - like most other sailboats - sails the fastest.

We both raised the sails all the way out and stopped the engine. A few black clouds pulled over us. There was more wind. It increased the speed and pushed us away by over 7 knots.

For a long time we were on a collision course with a smaller freighter. It lay to port. Destination Klapidea. Speed ​​above ground 12 knots.

When we were a few hundred meters apart, we turned up against the wind until we were on the same course. We let the sails flutter and lay almost completely still in what seemed to be an eternity. 

When there was no longer any danger of collision, we fell back on course and passed the stern of the cargo boat, which might not have noticed us at all and our evasive maneuver. 

We discussed whether we would have gone ahead if we had continued. Did not agree, but both happy to have failed to try. 

It was early in the season. Norreborg harbor was deserted and there were padlocks on all power outlets. Not very fat to lack power on a spring night with temperatures below freezing. After a quick tour of the harbor, we decided to move on to Helsingborg, which we reached after 1 1/2 hours of sailing - now only for motor, because the wind had lied almost completely off.

In most Swedish ports, there are areas that are intended for guests only. The Swedes call the area guest harbor. They mark it with a blue round sign. At the top is Guest harbor with yellow letters. Below is an equally yellow drawing of an anchor. No Swede could dream of settling in anything other than a guest berth in a harbor with such a sign.

It was early in the season, so I wonder if we could settle down in one of the many vacant permanent seats? But we had badly gotten the bow in between the two poles before a well-dressed man came out of an office and politely but firmly announced that this area was rented places and that we had to move over to the guest harbor.

Absurd, but what could we do other than sail over to the guest harbor. The was directly opposite and was exactly as deserted as the bridge we had just left.

We lay down longship at one end of the long guest quay, stopped the engine and found that the electric bilge pump had been running for the 3 hours the trip had taken. It was hot. No wonder there had been no water to cool it. Strange it was not burned together.

We were tired and cold. When we had eaten, we waited for the clock to get so loud that we could afford to go to bed.

We both quickly fell asleep, but were soon awakened by loud voices near the boat. Waited anxiously to hear footsteps on the deck. But they did not come and a little later the voices became weaker and eventually disappeared completely.

We kept the heat fine, fell asleep, and were awakened when Heron jumped and danced in his moorings because a few large swells had inexplicably found their way into the large harbor basin. 

We slept until well into the morning. When we got up, we saw that a Danish guest sailor had joined us.

The sky was blue with white clouds. When the sun would hit the large windows in the cockpit tent, it would get hot even though the air was still cold. But still we were in the shadow of the high-rise next to us. 

We went for a walk up town.

Bought a watch for our kitchen for DKK 40. We were amazed that that price could pay for production, transportation, customs, VAT, rent, heating, insurance, wages and probably also make a profit. We went on, looked at clothes and tried cheap but good guitars from China in a small shop, where the female clerk had 3 unusually calm and harmonious children with her at work.

On the way back we saw 3 younger men agitating with flags on their backs and leaflets agitating some Islamic religious sect.

The rest of the day we spent at Heron, enjoying the sun and the heat, and watching the pedestrians on the dock just as much as they watched us.

A passing beautiful older Swedish lady stopped next to Heron and asked why there were only Danish boats in the harbor.

"Maybe because the season starts earlier in Denmark," Pia tried.

The lady seemed to be satisfied with the answer and went on to tell that she was out walking for the first time in a long time.

"I have met 10 Swedes," she said with a face that expressed a mixture of indignation and astonishment.

"10," she repeated as she held out her outstretched hands to us to clarify the number. 

When she was gone, we did our own research. The vast majority of passers-by were ethnic Swedes. But yes there was then someone who seemed not to be.

The next day we agreed with Daniel that he and Emilie should come over to us and sail home to Humlebæk.

They had not thought about the fact that there was now a requirement to show a passport when entering Sweden. (We did not have that either, but the passport control did not yet include yachtsmen). Now they could not get on board the ferry to Helsingborg.

We then sailed instead to Elsinore, and took them on board there. 

After a little less than an hour call we our fixed place. Here hung our sign with the text available until Sunday at 15.00. In Denmark it is empty rented place namely guest space.

And god bless it skipper, who leaves his fixed place without putting his single sign.