Heaven is a place on earth
Many things come to mind when writing about our MS Cava project: sailing the seven seas (or at least parts of Europe).
We just spent the most wonderful weekend ‘practicing’ living aboard.
It’s amazing how fulfilled one can feel after a day of sailing, a brisk walk, and a toastie.
As you can see from the picture, we are down to the absolute basics—and we love it!
Once again. One in may similar posts. Enjoying a late fall day with sunny skies. Taking us from Korsør to Omø for the night, next day to Skælskør for a short coffee break, and then back home to Korsør.
The weather was fantastic in many ways. Sun. Calm seas. Dense Fog. High winds and swells.. a condensed mix of everything at sea.
Gently nudged by Sir David, Il Capitano has kickstarted one of many winter projects: setting up datalogging and alarms on the boat. Fortunately, we found a selection of Arduino components for sale nearby. (Arduino is a small computer.)
The plan is for the computer to monitor water levels, pump activities, and more. Data will be stored on the website, and SMS alerts will be generated if unexpected events are detected.
A proof of concept was created in less than half a day. This would have taken weeks in the past when one relied on printed books and had no AI-generated code.
These days, any cruise might turn out to be the last of the season.
We were fortunate. We enjoyed a wonderfully sunny and warm late September afternoon with the delightful Crown Princess Carla.
Transfer from the central train station to embarkation in style, courtesy of Little Red Shuttle Services.
Our round trip included stopovers at Føtex for snacks and beer, Halskov Camping (in the retired ferry harbor) for coffee, and some time for Il Capitano to ‘geek out’ with a couple of fellow sailors. We also spent a good hour drifting along the shore, relaxing in the sun, and bathing before returning to port for Il Capitano’s appointment with Sir David and his Ms Annette.
Trying to make the most of late summer and early fall, we follow the wind whenever there’s a chance of good sailing weather. This weekend, we took a short cruise to Agersø and spent a somewhat ‘rocking’ night at anchor. The next morning, we made a brief visit to Agersø Harbor and stopped for a swim on the way home, briefly interrupted by a visit from the Royal Yacht ‘Dannebrog’.
Whilst at anchor we enjoyed the sun, each other and a present from Il Capitanos’ friend Professor M. W.
Not only did he bring Cava, but also a coin – 1953 (Cavas birthdate) to place under the mast.
We have talked extensively about having a classic convertible to commute to MS Cava in style. We found one—not quite as old, but she does the trick—our new (old) Little Red.
A long, much anticipated and highly appreciated visit by Il Capitanos CCO (Chief Consulting Officer) a.k.a. Jørn.
Friends, family and readers of this blog will know that Jørn has been instrumental in getting us through this first year. Always responsive and on call 24/7 for questions about practically anything.
Our first meeting in real life.
Our first ‘real’ cruise. Initially, we planned to head for the small islands south of Fyn, but the wind and a short one-day leisure cruise with Crown Princess Anna took us along the west coast of Sjælland south towards Lolland and Falster.
Il Capitano, a.k.a. Chief Construction Engineer, worked diligently to get the front cabin somewhat suited to luxury mega yacht sailing. Just in time, we have temporary storage and bunks ready for a week of sailing during the Chief Stewardess’ last one-week holiday.
We keep realising that once we settle into our ‘bubble,’ we enjoy the solitude and tranquility of nature, preferring to anchor close to shore rather than in crowded tourist harbours.
Using a combination of navigation charts, Google Earth, and street maps, it’s rather easy to find a good spot where we can swim ashore (with the dog on a boogie-board) and access supermarkets and public transportation.
Please find (unsorted) pictures here: link
Day 1 – Korsør to Bisserup
We were heading to Karrebæksminde to meet up with Il Capitano’s sister the following day. However, as we didn’t want to spend the night at Karrebæksminde (too touristy) and the wind was picking up, we found ourselves in a small and very cozy fishing/leisure harbour, with only three other visiting boats.
Day 2 – Bisserup
The wind picked up considerably, so we decided to stay another day to enjoy the tranquility and the company of a very nice harbour master. The harbour is managed by volunteers with brand new facilities. Very nice.
Day 3 – Bisserup to Knudshoved Odde
Heading towards Lolland/Falster. Short trip under the bridge in Karrebæksminde into Næstved inner harbour to practice canal-sailing. From there a bit of sailing in the narrow straits of the fjord, taking us to Gavnø Slot. Very calm and nice. On the way out we barely avoided hitting the bridge because of large swells bouncing us up and down – an intense moment.
We didn’t want to stay in Karrebæksminde, and we wanted to make progress for our meet-up with Anna, so we ended up anchoring south of Knudshoved Odde, after a bit of semi-rough sailing.
Day 4 – Knudshoved Odde to Guldborg
We met up with Crown Princess Anna in Guldborg and took her and her friend for dinner in Nykøbing Falster, with a short stop for swimming on the way. We dropped the girls off back in Guldborg. We anchored just outside the bridge quite late for a good night’s sleep.
Day 5 – Knudshoved to Fejø
We usually spend the evening relaxing, swimming, and planning the next day’s travel. However, since we were late anchoring, we headed out and improvised. We decided to go to Nakskov and found Fejø to be a good stop for the night along the way. We try to run at least every other day, which calls for less sailing on those days.
Fejø turned out to be worth our while, anchored in front of the church. We explored most of the western part during our jog, and the Chief Stewardess walked the eastern part in the afternoon.
Day 6 – Fejø to Nakskov
Nice sailing with a bit of narrow straits and attentative navigation through the fjord into Naksov city centre. Very nice new harbourfront, docking just behind “postbåden”. Had a chat with the Captain who gave us advise on where to stop on our way back out.
We had a view to one of the main corn-silos, and as we were in peak season for harvesting it was very busy. We invited ourselves for a visit to the top – with a magnificent view of the city and most of Lolland (see pictures)
Day 7 – Nakskov to Ærø
Once again, the wind and waves decided our course. On the way out of the fjord, we stopped at Albuen, a very unique and picturesque long narrow isthmus that once housed around 20 families.
The weather forecast had predicted winds, but it turned out to be calm as we headed towards Langeland, where we planned to anchor off the west coast. However, once we passed the southern part, we encountered large waves, prompting us to head for Ærø instead, so that we could face the waves head-on.
Day 8 – Ærø to Tårup
Heading back home towards Korsør we followed the the coast towards Nyborg, anchoring close to shore at Tårup. Nothing really interesting going on there 🙂
Day 9 – Tårup to Korsør
A beautiful morning cruise. There was almost no wind or waves, and a magical light fog created an almost fairytale-like atmosphere.
We have finally reached the tipping point in terms of re-furbishing, and are ready to rebuild the interior.
To enhance comfort for our final holiday week of sailing and determine the exact needs for the expedition vessel MS Cava, we are installing temporary interior to test things out before finalizing layout.
First ‘real’ summer cruise took us to Nyborg, Kerteminde, Romsø, and Musholm.
On the first night, we returned to Korsør. On the second night, we stayed in Kerteminde. On the third night, we anchored at Romsø (only very few houses), where we swam ashore with Cava on a boogie board. We walked the entire circumference (about 4 km) of a very beautiful island with lots of birds and deer. We slept on the deck, enjoying the most wonderful sunset and sunrise.
At Musholm we did the same. Anchored close to beach, swam ashore and walked around the Island (only about 1K).