Denmark from Ærø to Grenå – June 2023

🧭 Factsheet

---

📍 Our route & stages

Stage 1: Ærøskøbing → Lohals

In fantastic weather and with perfect sailing wind, we set off on our first leg to Lohals on Langeland. We interrupted the nearly 38 miles in the beautiful anchorage Lindelsne Nor about halfway. There was a buoy of the Danske Turseilere that guests may also use. On the second day, the wind arrived only as we approached Lohals at the northern tip of Langeland. Perfect timing for mooring – thanks, Saint Peter! Then Lohals quickly turned out to be our first nightmare harbour. With no real idea of which boxes were large enough, we approached the first available green one — unfortunately, it was too narrow. So, we had to fight our way out again. A friendly Dane pointed us to a suitable free one at his jetty and helped with mooring. The showers, toilets, and cooking area were so grubby that we hardly used them. The only thing we made use of was the rental bikes and took a tour around town.

Stage 2: Lohals → Nyborg

From Lohals, it was just a short hop of 17 nm over to Nyborg. During our lunch break, we first moved to the buoy in front of the town and later into the city harbour. At the buoy, we had the first chance to test our new battery setup under everyday conditions. We held our first meetings at anchor. Our Danish SIM card in the router had enough data volume, so it worked really well. Nyborg’s harbour was very well organised, and the facilities were spotless. There was a large supermarket and a pretty old town nearby. So we waited quite relaxedly for good weather to continue our journey.

Stage 3: Nyborg → Kerteminde

We did not sail directly to Kerteminde but first passed under the Great Belt Bridge and visited Romsø. We didn’t want to miss that little island in the middle of the Great Belt. Unfortunately, at the lovely southern shore buoy, we had no reception and had to move to the west coast instead. However, there we had to deal with plenty of swell from passing ships. That’s one of the downsides of working life under sail. After a restless night, we headed towards Kerteminde but decided to enjoy the beautiful weather a bit longer at anchor. That was an absolute hit, because in the evening, porpoises regularly swam by in Hverringe Klint. The marina in Kerteminde was expensive but excellent. And Kerteminde has one of Denmark’s best ice cream parlours. We can’t say for sure if it’s the best, but the ice cream was absolutely delicious.

Stage 4: Kerteminde → Ballen (Samsø)

From Fyn (Funen) to Samsø, it’s only about 24 nm. With moderate wind and gloomy weather, we set off. As so often in Denmark, the engine had to lend a hand. In June, it was often either too windy (for beginners like us) or almost calm. We were glad it wasn’t too windy when we arrived in Ballen because the harbour is incredibly narrow. But with patience and friendly neighbours on the pier, we managed to get TIAMAT into one of the boxes. Samsø has become one of our favourite islands.

Stage 5: Ballen (Samsø) → Aarhus

After several days in port, we wanted to try an anchorage again over the weekend and headed to the northern tip. We dropped the anchor without thinking much about setting it. The weather was calm. The next day, we could clearly see the seabed and realised that the Rocna was literally just lying there — upside down. Luckily, there was no wind that night. On Sunday, we took the short hop over to Aarhus, again only under engine. The upside: in the mirror-smooth sea we could not only see the bottom through crystal-clear water but also watch porpoises. A whole school, including young ones! We thought Aarhus was a beautiful city, with historic corners and a stunningly modern new district right on the waterfront. Fans of modern architecture shouldn’t miss it. The harbour, on the other hand, was cramped and full, and the showers and toilets were in a rather shabby clubhouse. As various clubs provide facilities there, it’s hard to know what you’ll get. But after a few days, we wanted to move on anyway.

Stage 6: Aarhus → Grenå

Our last leg along the Danish coast led us about 40 miles north of Aarhus to Grenå. Finally, some real sailing again, even if there was no chance of a speed record. That gave me plenty of time to take some sextant measurements — something I hadn’t yet tried under real onboard conditions. It’s not easy at all to balance out the boat’s movements.

🗺️ Special experiences & learnings

• We definitely need to practise our anchoring manoeuvres again 😁
• Porpoises at anchor off Kerteminde.
• Commercial ships aren’t always ready to give way to a sailing boat. The tanker we met on the way to Grenå almost “ran us over”.

⚓ Our favourite place of this trip

• Samsø

💡 Practical tips for fellow sailors

• At Ærøskøbing harbour, there was a discount on mooring fees for longer stays.
• Grenå is a modern, well-organised marina and a great jumping-off point across the Kattegat to Sweden or Anholt — but the town itself isn’t exactly pretty.

🖼️ Gallery