The summer excursion of 2022 started on Aarø, the pearl of the Little Belt, took us through a small, charming loop of Southern Jutland, and ended 1.5 weeks later back in Juelsminde. The crew consisted of my dad, Skipper, my mum, Mrs Captain, my boyfriend, Sanoop, and myself. My brother and his girlfriend stayed back in Juelsminde as they’re expecting a baby in August.
I had just left one role at Google the Friday before boarding De Gæ Nok, and was using this trip to reset before starting a new role at the same company, so closing my laptop and leaving London for Danish sun and salt water felt truly thrilling … like the beginning of school holidays … where you can fully let go of everything and just throw yourself into the adventures ahead. My only worry during the first week of the trip was HOW QUICKLY the days were going. I just wanted to be able to stop time and hold on to these precious moments at sea with my loved ones, but even though the days objectively were quite long (it never grew fully dark!), they just rolled on ever so speedily. Towards the end of the trip, though, it all seemed to slow down … probably a sign of me slowing down and actually managing to reset as I’d intended. Still – when we moored up back in Juelsminde, I felt very sad that it was all over.
In this post I’ll revisit all of the highlights from the trip (but, really, there weren’t any lowlights!). Enjoy the short stories and photos from the sailing stages and idyllic stops.
Aarø
When Sanoop and I arrived on the island, Monday 27 June, my parents had already sailed here from Juelsminde a few days previously, anchoring up in Fænøsund on the way (so, really, that’s how the excursion started). It was a drizzly morning, my parents came running to greet us when the small Ferry carried us over from the mainland, and we all ate lunch together in De Gæ Noks cockpit before it started pouring down. The weather didn’t damper our holiday spirit, though – it just made being back on the boat feel extra cosy. We spent the afternoon settling back into our cabins, going for a walk on the island, and having dinner with my paternal grandmother, aunt, and uncle who all live on the island.
As a child, I’d visit Aarø 1-2 a year with my parents and brother, and I always just thought of it as the home of our relatives. A fun place to play, but nothing more than that. Now, especially being here with Sanoop and seeing it through his visitor’s eyes, I was able to regard the island as a true paradise: its 5.66 km² are characterised by beautiful beaches, meadows full of wild flowers, charming thatched-roof houses, and the simple, calm, lovely vibe that a population of 138 people + a few alpacas, goats, horses, dogs, and cats allow for. Everyone knows everyone, and they know how to cater to their many tourists: the small marina is super charming, one of the farms has a lovely farm shop, and there’s a lovely campsite for caravans, tents, and wooden shelters, a small craft beer brewery, and even a vineyard, which offers crisp, mineral wines in a beautiful setting, all of which we paid visits during our 1.5 days stay.
Day 2 was sunny and clear. In the morning, we went swimming off the beach in clear, cool water. During the day we explored and hung out with the family – dropped by my gran’s house for an afternoon beer in her garden, got my uncle to catch us a bunch of fresh flounder and plaice, taught Sanoop to say ‘Å æ ø’ and ‘A æ ø’, phrases that mean ‘On the island’ and ‘Off the island’ (as in leaving the island) in the southern Jutland dialect that my family speaks. In the evening, we enjoyed the 11pm sunset on a beautiful beach walk followed by a night cap in the cockpit.
Aarø → Genner Bugt
The first sailing stage of the trip, at least for Sanoop and me, was short and sweet. We were carried south by smooth winds, allowing us to slowly get our bearings again – for me, this meant remembering which ropes belong to which sails, how best to trim those sails, and the right of way rules for boating; for Sanoop, this meant finding a comfortable spot in the cockpit from where to keep his eyes fixed on the horizon to avoid getting seasick. We both managed OK. After a few hours, we tied the boat to a buoy in the scenic, calm Genner Bugt, a bay surrounded by lush green forests and a few gorgeous white villas with expansive lawns bordering the sea.
Genner Bugt
In 1949, my grandad proposed to my grandmother in Genner Bugt, which is just around the corner from Aabenraa Fjord, where the 2 of them sailed in the first De Gæ Nok. This was a nice thing to think about as we enjoyed the day in the bay. A pretty perfect summer’s day of swimming, paddling, talking about everything and nothing, laughing, singing, sitting in silence and drinking rose from the vineyard on Aarø, gazing at the sunset till midnight — and waking up to total silence and natural beauty. Those intense green and blue colours. Then followed a fresh morning swim, coffee, and fresh Danish strawberries before we took off again.
Genner Bugt → Sønderborg
Fun tack from Genner Bugt to the beautiful town of Sønderborg on the southernmost tip of Als, an island that’s just across from the fjords leading to Schleswig and Flensburg respectively.
Sønderborg
In Denmark, it’s not only Zealand that’s got architecturally stunning, charming, design-led seaside towns steeped in historic significance … Sønderborg has lots to offer. We spent a few days soaking up delightful impressions – to the soundtrack of the southern Jutland singer-songwriter Rikke Thomsen‘s lovely tunes and my parents saying sweet things in the dialect they/their families grew up speaking, such as ‘mut mut’ (‘kiss kiss’) and ‘mojn’ (‘hi’ or ‘bye’):
Sønderborg → Aabenraa
From Sønderborg to Aabenraa the wind kept jumping between 14 metres per second to none at all, we saw cows on the beach as we were leaving Alssund, and we were greeted by a swan family towards the bottom of Aabenraa Fjord. Another short and sweet sailing stage!
Aabenraa
From walking down my mum’s memory lanes (she’d visit her aunt and uncle in Aabenraa during school holidays) covered in cobble stones and charming colourful houses …
… to watching the world’s grandest bicycle race sweep through town with 50 km/h as part of the Grand Départ Copenhagen Denmark along with hundreds of other enthusiastic spectators lining the roads, while the Royal Danish Navy Band was standing next to us playing the Top Gun theme, Team Easy On jingle, beloved cycle-themed children’s songs, and Joe Dassin’s Champs-Élysées to get everyone in the Tour de France mood …
… to eating ‘solæg’ and ‘stjerneskud’ and drinking locally roasted Kifaru Coffee and craft beer from nearby breweries at the charming sail club nestled between the marina and beach at the bottom of the wide Aabenraa Fjord …
… to smelling all and buying many of the delicious teas at the traditional Carstensens Tehandel …
… to swimming in clear, warm sea water off the wide, white beach …
… to gazing across the marina and fjord knowing that my grandparents and great grandparents did the same and loved sailing here …
… spending a few days in Aabenraa was a wonderful experience:
Aabenraa → Juelsminde Bugt
Up through Lillebælt in all sorts of weather, learning all sorts of navigational and communications lessons, working together as a family while having fun and getting lots of fresh salty air – exactly what I love about sailing:
Juelsminde Bugt
On the last night of this trip, after a long day of sailing, we decided to anchor up in Juelsminde Bugten, rather than sailing straight into the harbour. This allowed us a new, fresh perspective of our hometown. Rather than seeing it as a place we solely leave from and return to, it became part of the magical holiday land we’d just been floating around in. Seeing the bay in a magical new light, we fell even more in love with it than we already were. The water was silky smooth, the evening was super quiet, and our view of the beach, the marina, and the wooden cottages between the 2 was stunning. I went paddling after our last, lovely dinner in the cockpit for now, watching the colours of the sky and the sea grow increasingly intensely orange, purple, pink, and yellow. At 5am, we woke up and moored the boat safely in the marina before the wind picked up a lot later in the morning. That early morning, in just each other’s company, sailing into a golden sunrise, was pretty incredible. Once in marina, we slept another few hours, and then had tea, coffee, and breakfast. We even put on our ropes and went up to use the shower facilities before heading home, something that contributed to giving us a newfound pride in Juelsminde as a sailing destination. The showers are cleaner and nicer than in most places, and the whole marina, with its red-painted wooden cottages, ice cream parlour, buzzing vibe, and direct access to a gorgeous beach on one side and charming town on the other is special.
De Gæ Nok 