Denmark outwardbound
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4/5 The Crossing to Denmark.
Henri woke up early in the morning to take advantage of the calm weather on the approach to the sheltered islands of Denmark. The survival-suit was put on. This restricts freedom of movement, but safety first. Visibility was bad, but the radar reflector was mounted on the mast. The Orm could be sailed, and the noise of other ships could be heard far across the water. At ten o’clock the wind increased and the height of the waves increased. The sail was taken in to try to reach the sheltered islands as quickly as possible. Nakskov was the goal for this day and the Orm was given a friendly welcome. There was a freedom party going on, so there was a lot to see. 5/5 Just after leaving Nakskov the wind died down and the fog gathered while the Orm was still turning into the entrance of the harbour. Henri fortunately noticed that he had missed one of the buoys due to the bad visibility and stopped the Orm. A Viking ship has of course no radar or GPS on board, but the local ferries have. |
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Henri oriented himself to their noise, and continued the voyage.
Once on open water after an hour the wind rose and filled the sails, but visibility remained poor. No landmarks were visible so the ship's exact location and the water's depth were unknown. This went wrong in the neighbourhood of Kragenas because the Orm hit the ground and the rudder broke. Because the rudder is the lowest and most vulnerable part of a Viking ship it is normal that this breaks first when the craft is run aground. This was the first time the Orm had hit the ground but not the first time the rudder had broken. That’s why Henri always carries a spare one. So, the trip proceeded to Kalvehave. The last part of the sea-lane was full of fishing-nets. First Henri tried to navigate between the nets, but they stood so close together that he gave up that tactic and just sailed in the sea-lane, praying that the nets were standing deeper than 1.2 meters. 6/5 High waves and a strong wind forced postponement of the crossing to Sweden. Help was obtained from harbour master Willy Nagel in fixing the broken rudder. He came up with a carpenter-teacher who dumbfounded Henri. The man took a piece of floating oak out of the harbour. With very simple tools like a small hand-saw, a small hand-plane, an old-fashioned brace and bit drill, and a lot of patience, that man made a perfect fitting piece to support the rudder. As homage to that man, Henri left this temporary repair in place. It is still working. |
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[ last updated : 9-5-2021 ]
© Copyright H.A. Houben