We, Tim, Tina and Bjørn, had planned to paddle to Kullen – the rocky peninsula on the Swedish west coast just north of Malmö. However, a strong east wind made the crossing of the busy shipping lanes at Elsinore too hazardous, so we settled for a tour along the Danish Sealand north coast. The passage past Kronborg castle at Elsinore is difficult in an east wind because the waves vibrate like a laser across the narrow straight at the northern end of Øresund. The waves reflecting from the long vertical wall of the ferry assembly point made very uncomfortable paddling. The first picture shows our discussion about whether to continue, with Elsinore’s Skt. Olai church and the railway station in the background and the towers of Kronborg castle just visible in the right distance.
So we turned back, tired after paddling in a 12m/s wind the 20km from our starting point in Vedbæk harbour.
We made an overnight stop in Humlebæk harbour and moved our boats to a grassy spot by the rowing club, overlooked by the sculpture garden of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
We set up a bivouack and cooked our dinner close by the usual notice that said ‘no camping’, ‘no fires’
Next morning we thanked the park guard for his sympathetic response to our emergency stop and set off home from the rowing club pier.
Our lunch stop was at a small public park. By the time we reached harbour the wind had died away, the sun shone from a cloudless sky and conditions would have been ideal for paddling to Kullen. But we all had to go to work the next day.
