We managed to collect a few vacation days for a little longer sail, and decided to re-attempt Skagen. First we needed to fill our diesel and water tanks, so we went up to Grundsund, which is a lovely town behind a breakwater with a very picturesque harbor where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we headed for the filling station, which was reached through a narrow and shallow passage that made us nervous so we took it at the slowest speed we could. No need, it was 4 meters deep all the way, and we had room to turn. After that we made off for Skagen, Denmark. It was a beautiful sail, calm seas which helped our speed, so we made it to Skagen in time to go out to eat dinner in one of the restaurants that line the harbor and listen to live music.
We started Sunday morning with a visit to the Skagen Museum to see their exhibit “Krøyer and Paris“. After that a long walk to Højen Strand, a beach on the western coast; and then back to Skagen Bryghus for a late lunch. We recommend Skagen Bryghus – the food was lovely and the beers were exceptional; plus the staff were very friendly. Monday we rented bicycles and rode out to Grenen, the most northern point of Denmark where the Skagerrak sea and the Kattegatt sea meet and the waves crash into another along the “seam”. From there we rode back for a traditional Danish Smørrebrød lunch and then cycled over to the “Sand-Covered Church” and after that to Old Skagen, where we ate ice cream and strode along the beach. On our way back to the harbor, we stopped of at yet another beach and swam to cool off.
Back on the boat, we were looking at weather and options, and decided to try to sail to Norway. There was a chance of thunderstorms, so we had to be wary of where we were sailing, but the conditions looked very good for a night sail and we had been wanting to test it out, so we set off at 6pm.
Unfortunately, Lulu made such good speed that we caught up to a thunderstorm. So neither Norway nor Strömstad were options unless we wanted to chance getting struck by lightning. Fortunately, we were near one of our favorite harbors at Resö; so we headed there, arriving in the dawn light at 05:20. We found a place to tie up and went to sleep.