Viking Cruise 2014 - Day 2

Viking Cruise 2014  -  Day 2

Kulhuse to Gilleleje
5th June 2014

Wind SE 3-4 turning south with showers.

Distance sailed 25nm.

Departed 10:00 hours Arrival 16:00 hours

This leg of the cruise would be our departure from the sheltered and into the more exposed Kattegat. The weather was good with a light breeze and with a possible beam reach it was hopefully going to be a good sail.

Drifter Damson of Kulhuse.

Our course took us through the narrows and past Hundested and into the Kattegat where we turned east. This coast could be a lee shore with a 20 nm trip to Gilleleje being the only port of refuge. The voyage was uneventful for most of the day until the final 5 miles when the wind speed increased and it became showery. I was not sufficiently prepared and got a soaking. The warmth of the earlier part of the day had lulled me into a sense of security and I did not have my waterproofs to hand. I reduced sail and eventually resorted to motoring.

Gilleleje entrance was not a problem despite warning in the Pilot about off lying shoals. Gilleleje is a major fishing port in Denmark and in 1944 was a major point of escape for Jews from German occupied Denmark.

The marina had recently completely rebuilt after the winter storm surge. Evidently most of the yachts in the marina had ended up on the beach.

Viking Cruise 2014 - Day 1

4th June 2014 
Roskilde Marina to Kulhuse Marina.
Day 1

Wind WSE Force 3. Cloudy , dry with good visibility.
Departed 11:30 Arrival 19:30 hours
Distance 21.6 nm

The fleet was all launched and berthed in the Marina. The fleet consisted of 2 Gigs, 2 Drifter 22's, a Drifter and four Coasters. We were a multinational bunch from Holland, Ireland, Scotland and England. There were a crew list of fourteen.

In true Drascombe fashion we departed from Roskilde at about 11:30 hours having held a crew briefing. Roskilde is a shallow fjord with a clearly marked channel between the upper and lower parts. The harbourmaster warned against taking any other route. The bridge at Frederikstad would provide an obstacle with limited opening every hour and a longer closed session between 15:00 and 18:00 to allow for increased traffic in the late afternoon and evening.

The fjord was approximately 5 metres deep and gave the impression of sailing on a large inland freshwater lake. The wind direction was good and set full sail and maintained and average speed of 4 knots. 

Roskilde fjord 

We arrived at Crown Prince Frederick's Bridge at 14:45 hours having just missed an opening at 14:30 hours. The next opening was scheduled at 17:30 hours. The bridgekeeper would not make any exceptions and so we anchored in the lee of an old railway embankment for a late lunch and a snooze.

At 17:15 hours we made ready to sail through en masse under sail and the bridge opened at the appointed hour. I sailed through with main and mizzen but keeping control with the engine running. As we passed through the bridgekeepers seemed to be concerned. The bridge horn sounded three times and the bridge began to close. This left two of our number on the wrong side of the bridge as they had to take avoiding action to stop colliding with the bridge spans. There was a feeling that the bridge keeper was being officious and could have easily been more patient and allowed the whole fleet through.

A good breeze pushed further north up the fjord and the fleet split with a number waiting at the bridge for the stranded pair to get through at the next opening at 18:30 hours.

We had hoped for an anchorage to spend the night but there was little shelter from the SE and so we pressed on the Kulhuse Havn which was a small marina on the northern most tip of the peninsula which divides this inland sea.

The usual scandinavian  method of marina mooring is bows to jetty and the stern pulled away by attaching lines to wooden piles or buoys. The advantage is that it allows more boats to be moored in the harbour. The lack of tide allows the use of this method with no need for expensive floating pontoons. So as a result marinas are more interested in your boats beam than length.

http://kulhuse-havn.dk/

Kulhuse was a pleasant harbour with no resident harbourmaster and an honesty box for collecting fees.

Viking Cruise 2014 Introduction and Preparation

Viking Cruise 2014

In early January 2014 I was perusing the Drascombe Forum when I came across a posting from Jack O'Keefe the rally secretary of the Drascombe Association suggesting a cruise from Roskilde in Denmark to Oslo, Norway. The connection between these two places was a shared Viking history and the location of two Viking ship museums. The Drascombe range of boats has a loose connection with Scandinavian boat design as it has many similarities with the Northumbrian Coble. The Coble is believed to be heavily influenced  by the Scandinavian lapstrake construction and a raised bow. John Watkinson who designed the original Lugger denied any influence from this source.

I decided there and then that this was an opportunity not to be missed and we started planning for the trip. It was decided that my wife would come with me and be shore sided support and bring the boat trailer from Roskilde, our launching point to our destination at Oslo. We decided to take the Dover to Calais route as it was the cheapest and we were familiar with the route through Holland and Germany. We had taken this route in the previous two summers to take our son to University in Denmark.

Now started nearly 5 months of preparation.

1. Accomodation 

Out usual holiday accommodation is a Pennine folding camper but on this occasion it would be replaced by a tent and so keeping the need for one vehicle on the trip. 

2. Boat preparation

Moksha had not been taken on such a long journey before and needed a few modifications. The need to have sanitation available as there were clean water regulations in place. Holding tanks were required and there could be no discharge within 500m of the shore and in Sweden no discharge less than 2nm from the shore. The boat already had a porta Potti on board but was not readily available for use. I swapped the Potti from the starboard to the port side of the centre plate case so making it easier to use.

I installed lifeline points in the cockpit as it was anticipated that I would be sailing solo for the whole trip and I was exploring the possibility of installing an Autohelm. The purchase price was quite considerable but I decided it was worthwhile as it would release me from the tiller. Other advantages would be that it would allow me to navigate and look at the charts, carry out sail adjustments and other boat preparations for mooring and leaving harbour. To allow me to prepare food and drink on voyage. Take photographs and generally relax from the tiller. The disadvantage would be saftey if I should fall overboard the boat would carry on regardless without me. Secondly an increased drain on the battery. Hence the fitting of lifeline points and a larger battery.

I found and purchased an 80Ah AGM battery for a reasonable price from a local supplier. An AGM battery has an advantage is that it is sealed and will not leak acid or give off hydrogen gas whilst charging..

   

3. Navigation.

This proved to be one of the most expensive parts of the trip. I opted for the electronic method, purchasing the Garmin Chart for the Skagerrak at a cost of £125. I also bought a Navionics package for my Nexus 7 at a cost of £49. In order to provide some resilience in case of electrical failure I printed A3 screenshots of the Garmin chart using my Garmin Homeport software. This proved usable on the trip but I did supplement with a Swedish small boat leisure chart of the western archipelago at a cost of £55. I bought this Batsportkort in Gothenburg and saved the cost of £25 postage if I had bought the chart by mail order from a Swedish chart seller whilst in the UK.

The screen shot print offs were not sufficiently detailed for navigation or they were too cluttered at large scale. The Garmin 451 chartplotter despite it's small size was useful. The ability to zoom in and out of the chart. Also not having to contend with paper charts in the cockpit whilst single handed. The Swedish small boat chart was useful in the complex archipelago of western Sweden.

I also used a Garmin GPS 72 to steer by and monitor speed whilst on the starboard tack. The 451 plotter is mounted on the port side of the cabin entrance.

The 451 also had a useful facility to record a track of the journey in it's memory which has been useful in writing reports and logs. Although one has to remember to download onto the chip as the unit has a limited internal memory.

4. Provisions

Before I left the UK I was very much aware of the cost of living in in Sweden and Norway. I stocked up with a lot of tinned food and other non perishable food. I only had to buy locally bread, butter, fruit and vegetables. We only ate out twice in the whole trip. Buying alcohol was expensive with a small bottle of beer costing about £4.50 in Sweden.

Petrol was reputed to be difficult with not all Marinas stocking it and resorting to local petrol stations which in Goteborg was some distance away and involved a tram ride. Campingaz was reputedly unobtainable in Sweden but was found in the marina in Goteborg.

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