Sailing in Denmark

Yachtsmen will find plenty of pleasurable anchorage in the Danish waters. The waters have all been accurately marked and a peaceful anchorage is never far away. More than 500 small or large yachting harbours can be found along the long coastline of Denmark (amounting to some 7500 km.) and 500 islands can be used for anchorage as well. Please note the following: A number (150) of yellow buoys has been put out by Dansk Sejlunion (Union of Danish Yachtsmen). These buoys which are all marked DS in black are reserved for members of clubs affiliated to Dansk Sejlunion. Yachtflag and burgee must be flown, when achoring at one of the DS buoys. The location of the buoys and guidance in connection with anchorage can be found in the guide book issued by Dansk Sejlunion called Tursejlerhåndbogen.

In most marinas in Denmark you must go to the Harbour Office to pay the Harbour Fees. In some marinas, the harbour master will pick up the money, usually on your boat and at a late afternoon visit. When entering a harbour to find a berth, you are on your own. After mooring up, ask somebody if the berth is vacant. Many berths are marked with Red or Green signs, but don’t rely on this signal. Many lazy people don’t change from Red to Green even when they are on a long vacation. By Danish law, you are entitled to moor alongside another vessel. For your own night sleep, try to avoid fishing vessels. They start early in the morning, and pleasure boats are not very popular among the fishermen.

Harbours and marinas are not fenced and are open to the public, which very often creates a nice atmosphere. Burglary is quite uncommon. During 40 years of cruising Danish waters my grand daddy has never locked or even closed his boat when he goes shopping or sightseeing. Certainly we have heard about burglary, but it is quite rare.

Between the Danish mainland Jutland (Jylland), with its southerly border to Germany and Sweden in the North, you will find a protected cruising area with a lot of Islands. There are more than 500 islands, with residential buildings on more than 100 of them. Between Sweden and Zealand (Sjælland), the fairway is "The Sound" (Öresund). Between Zealand and Funen (Fyn) you will have "Great Belt" (Storebælt). Between Funen and Jutland you will have "Little Belt" (Lillebælt).

In "The Sound" a bridge construction linking Copenhagen (east coast of Zealand) and Malmo (Swedish west coast), has just been completed. In the "Belts" you will find spectacular high bridges between islands.

"The Great Belt" has heavy traffic of commercial vessels to and from the Baltic Sea (Østersjøn).

Tides are small (0.3 m) and tidal streams exist, but they are very seldom troublesome. Good protected anchorages exist, but be aware of the shift of the wind.

Along the east coast, there are several inlets (Fjord), all easily accessible and worthwhile to visit. The inlets however, need some motoring. The freshness of the inlets and their beaches does not give the same seaside life.

The contributions here are based on many years of cruising experience along the east coast of Jutland and the waters between Denmark and Sweden. Many thanks to my old grand daddy for his well kept log books!

Buoys marked FV are the property of the State and must not be used. Local sailing clubs have in many places placed anchor buoys which may be used freely.  In addition to the above there is a host of sheltered anchorages where one can lie at anchor for the night. Berths for guest sailors The following generally applies for harbours that are members of SejlerNetværk Østjylland.

A guest sailor can moor where there is a free berth. However , each harbour has its own way of indicating whish berths are free: 1. A green board with a date, for example "30.7", indicates that the berth is free and can be used until 30th Juli. 2. A greeen board without a date indicates that the berth is free and can be used although enquiries must be made at the harbour master's office to establish for how long. The owner of the berth might be homeward bound, in which case it could be necessary to change berths at an unfavorable moment. 3. No board: Enquire at the harbour master's office to find out if the berth is free.