Sailing home from Dyvig

So you need to hear the end of this story about our wind vane.

Vinni and I caught an evening train to Sønderborg from Copenhagen, arriving at the station at a little after 9. We decided to walk to the marina, by way of downtown and get something to eat. We walked past several restaurants whose menus didn’t excite us and finally stopped at an Italian. Pizza. What else? Late so a pizza and a bottle of red and then to the boat and sleep.

Yeah, well Sønderborg is in the provinces, which means that all the restaurant s close at 9:30 (no one ever heard of a late evening snack?). The Italian joint was no different but we managed to talk the owner into making us a couple of pizzas and opening a bottle of red (thank you!).

The pizzas were middling and the wine was not even middling, but hungry as we were, it all went down. Another 20 minute walk (Sønderborg marina is outside of town) and we were in Capri and ready to see sheets, which we did.

Up early, we got on our way. In order to sail up Alssund, you need to go under a bridge, which happens to have to open to let a boat with a mast pass. So we waited and enjoyed watching the Royal Yacht lying at the pier. Shortly before 9, the Royal yacht left the pier and the bridge opened and we all sailed under.

Which meant we were accompanied by Queen Margaret’s little boat up through Alssund.

And a marvelous sail it was. Still cold, but the sun was shining and no wind so we motored the entire way.

Vinni still cold

our wake up through Alssund

Boat at anchor in Alssund

A couple of hours later we turned off to make for the entrance of Dyvig. Coming in, I now fully understand why Peter said trying to enter at night in 50-knot winds was suicidal. This, boys and girls, is not for the faint of heart.. The entrance is only 5 meters wide (Capri is 4 meters wide), and the bottom just keeps shoaling until we only has about 50 centimeters below the keel.

Intrepid as we are, we pushed onward (“forward into the valley of death rode the six hundred” – Sir Alfred Lloyd Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade), snaking our way through the tortuous passage at only 1-2 knots and finally came into the harbor.

What relief! We found a great place at the docks and immediately laid Capri in. Vinni began thinking how she was going to get back to Sønderborg (since she has to go to work in the morning) A friendly soul offered to drive her to the bus stop so she left in a hurry, leaving me here all alone (sniff, sniff – sob, sob). I spent the afternoon cleaning Capri and later Peter showed up and took our wind vane with him to recondition it.