can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Jumbuck - ARC Baltic Leg 1 - Kiel Germany to Ronne Bornholm Denmark



It was at the official opening dinner on Sunday evening that our leader Hans advised he was departing once ceremonies were over, as opposed to the scheduled start at 0900 Monday. Apparently a NE'ly gale was forecast for early Tuesday near our first destination of Bornholm, and he was concerned that some of the slower boats might get caught out.

So we all had the choice to leave when we felt fit. Most chose to follow the leader. But as I'd already had a couple of cleansing ales late arvo, and both enjoyed the freebie wine at the excellent evening dinner, we thought it best for us to have a last brandy on the boat :-), tuck down for a good nights sleep, and then head off pre-dawn Monday fully refreshed........After all, we felt we could sail quick enough to get in before any gale arrived.

I guess it was the excitement of our first leg that awoke me at 0400 with only the lightest of headaches, to find we were one of only four yachts not to have gone. So running the engine softly (how's one supposed to do that, eh) we putted out onto a mirror glass, zero wind, Kiel Bay and headed off under motor towards out destination of Ronne, on the west side of the Danish Island of Bornholm. About 160 miles. The pinprick lights of three other yachts soon followed us out.

Got the first whiffs of W'ly winds when the pre dawn darkness was shattered with forked lightening, followed by loud thunder. Got the sails up before it fair pissed down, but when it stopped an hour later, in came that beautiful westerly wind. Beautiful for us, as we were heading north east and reaching / running before the wind is our smoothest and fastest point of sail.

By 0600 we were creaming along under spinnaker, aiming to go though a channel between the German Island of Fehmarn and the mainland. A local Swede told us the wind usually built there, and so it did. We had dropped the kite before (thank goodness) with Sue below catching up on her sleep, but under main alone Jumbuck surfed under the motorway bridge 22 metres above, exceeding 10 knots boat speed as we rocketed past waving to several local boats heading out early for the day.

Once through the buoyed channel on the other side, it was back to plain sails and a reaching sheet as we tracked a NNE course to take us northward towards the lower end of the largish Danish island of Falster, to avoid a busy traffic separation scheme otherwise on our direct route, and to also hopefully get some stronger NW winds predicted for later in the day.

Under pressure from an Finnish A35 that came up on us under spinnaker, we hauled up the Code 0 to match them for a few hours, before we got to that turning point around midday, and could then reach away deeper heading ENE for Ronne - our target port. It's placement on Bornholms west coast meant it was a more protected harbour to sit out the heavy weather over the next three days.

Our route worked well for us. Well mostly. Had one four hour period early to late arvo Monday, where the winds died to virtually zilch. So on went the engine, only to be turned back off once a new pure westerly wind filled back in.

We had been keeping kind of company with a Norwegian yacht Capria, also on the rally. She's pretty, and fast. A fully kitted Sweden 45 with four guys and four gals all able to sail her well.

We left Schilksee maybe 20 minutes ahead of them. They hauled up a spinnaker first, and closed right up on us before our courses diverged. Seems they had to sail the more direct route across the top of Fehman Island as their mast is 21.5 metres high. But our local advice worked in getting us extra pressure, and saw us four miles ahead when we came back into range of each other mid way across.

The westerly wind then gradually built through the evening and night, slowly veering towards the north. I was worried it was the NE gale predicted for Tuesday, arriving early, but I was wrong. It settled in the NW right up until close by Bornholm. We used our Code 0 for a long time reaching before the wind, but when darkness came we still had close on 20 knots of breeze, so simply set up our headsail with a reaching line, and pushed on into the night. I say night, but even this far south, it's still bright enough to read a book in the cockpit at 10 pm!

Jumbuck went well. We were holding high 7's in boat speed, no surfing as the seas were completely flat. But could not help but notice via AIS that Capria sailing a parallel course maybe 4 miles north of us, and holding a solid 8 knots! Very frustrating. No matter how hard I tweaked and adjusted trim, Capria eventually drew level and then overtook, to finally get to Ronne maybe 20 minutes ahead of us.

Chatting after, they told us they had been tracking us also on AIS, and used their own Code 0 to finally get us pegged back.

I grabbed a few hours sleep to be awoken by Sue as we sailed into blanket fog just off the harbour mouth. In fact the wind had veered further as I slept, and Sue had been beating up the Bornholm coast for the last five miles. By the time we slid in to moor up Med style, bow to a buoy and the ARC Rally team took our stern lines ashore, it had veered further to the NE and began to build.

So we just made it in time. Arrival 0400. A good fast 24 hour passage.

So there's three days R&R here. Suns up. Temperature today 26C. Tomorrow's forecast 28! BBQ party on the dock tonight. Have hired some clunky bikes for some beach and country tomorrow. An ARC team bus tour of the island Thursday followed by an optional team dinner. Then Friday off another 180 plus miles to the next location, the Swedish island of Gotland set almost due north east from Bornholm. Could be beating all the way if it's still blowing from the NE at the weekend.

But hopefully, fingers crossed, the gale will have gone through by then!

Previous | Next