Eastward

7/10
Bound for Denmark. The weather is sunny and warm, wind and current are fair, and we are crossing the North Sea, coming around the Netherlands and headed for the Kiel Canal.
David, one of the trainees aptly assessed our favorable weather: “I think we’ve earned it.” At every port so far we’ve been delayed departing by bad weather, and Brixham, England, our last port, was the worst of it so far. We planned on only staying two days, and ended up staying nearly a week as the weather never let up until Tuesday, when we finally had enough of a window to escape into the English Channel. Yesterday, Wednesday, was squally and nasty, but the winds and current were cooperating and we made very good time, shooting past the famous white cliffs of Dover, through the Dover straits, catching a brief glimpse of France, and skating alongside the busy traffic lanes of the English Channel.

We had a good time in England, but everyone seemed thankful to be back at sea again.
My first day off in Brixham I went on an excursion with trainees W.T., Wild Bill, and master cook Donald. We rented a car and drove along the coast to the village of Salcomb. Nestled in a cove there is a famous shipwreck of one of the last working commercial square riggers. It had gone aground outbound from Falmouth, after having just finished a circumnavigation.
In an effort to salvage the vessel and its cargo it was towed into this cove, but unfortunately she broke her back on the sand and was lost.

The wreck site

We arrived at low tide when conditions would be best for sighting the wreck, but there’s not much left to see. The ship was made of steel, and the decades in salt water have all but disintegrated her, leaving behind only a shadow of seaweed growing on what little there was left.
But we had a great day anyhow. It was a fantastic hike up to the cliff overlooking the cove, and the drive through the countryside was beautiful. England and Ireland have some of the prettiest countryside I’ve ever seen. We had an absolute blast all day. We stopped into a little local pub in Salcomb, and Bill, W.T. and Donald chatted up the locals and boasted about the ship and sold it like true square rigger evangelists.

Wild Bill on the hike up the cliff.

Donald taking in the view.

W.T., Donald and me atop the cliff in Salcomb.

My next day out was just as good. Susie, Mike, Nadja and I hopped on an old-timey steam train to Dartmouth. Our train car was filled with mostly little kids, but we blended in without too much trouble.

Nadja, Susie, and me with the train. (Mike took the picture)

We spent the rest of the day in Dartmouth exploring book stores, old alleyways, and then ducked out of the rain into an ancient English pub with smoky wooden beams and white washed plaster walls and some of the best draught cider I’ve ever had.

The pub

Before leaving Brixham, hunkered down one more day by a threatening gale, we rigged up a swing rope and had a swim call. It was cold, but worth it. How I have missed the swing rope.

Bosun Kolin makes ready the swing rope.

Deckhand Sara, and trainees Jackie and Luke jump off the jibboom.

All of us frigid, questioning the wisdom of our Brixham swimcall.

7/13
Docked briefly in Kiel, Germany after passing through the canal. Kiel was a beautiful city, with a lot of history. Originally chartered in 1242, very little of it remains as its location made it an ideal naval base for the German forces, and an equally prime target in WWII, hit by over 90 bombing raids.

Kolin takes his trick at helm in the Kiel Canal.

We only spent a day there before throwing off docklines and making our way out into the Baltic Sea for the short skip up to Svendborg, Denmark.

7/16
Landed in Denmark. Home of Legoland and Hamlet. Had all of yesterday off. The captain has insisted that we all get some extra time ashore to explore here, as it has a lot of fantastic seafaring tradition, and was a significant training ground for him in his career.

In Svendborg is the Ring Anderson Shipyard, one of the last remaining in the world that still builds wooden ships. It is where the famous brigantine Romance was built, a ship in which the Captain served as crew as did my uncle Bert.

The yard is closed for the season, but we were still able to walk around and peek our heads into the work bays and explore the docks, loaded with all kinds of cool old wooden vessels.
I really like Denmark. It’s clean, the architecture is fantastic, with old wood-framed buildings still standing and housing modern shops and apartments. There isn’t too much traffic, the people are friendly, and the atmosphere is low key, and even when the streets are crowded with people there is still a calmness about things; it feels very civilized here, very comfortable. But the people here still know how to have a good time.

Last night we all collected at a local pub where the live entertainment was a blues guitar maestroed by a man with a voice like Eric Clapton plus a Danish accent.

Our day work has been mostly little projects here and there: replacing broken ratlines, staying on top of rust, keeping the paint and varnished wood looking bright, just general maintenance. The ship’s really been great to us so far, and we are working hard to keep her looking and functioning at her peak level. Even the engine room received a fresh coat of paint, and some brass polish to boot.