Gunvør XL

1.7.2018

Canada Day rolled around again and we rolled home quickly. Chores for the new apartment and the 2 week upcoming holiday in our house in Sweden beckons.

30.6.2018

After a good Rotary party Friday night we got to the boat at noon. Quickly we let go of the lines and had a glorious sail to Port Oplenitz. A gentle 5-8 knot breeze from a good direction allowed us to beam reach all the way in glorious sunshine. The evening saw us grilling with the Homans, who had taken their motor boat from their house in Arnis. Surely we kept the neighbours awake.

17.6.2018

Was good wind we raced back to Gelting. Max speed 9.5 knots. Rolling in the mainsail was soooo easy. Best buy ever. Even the docking manouvre went well. GB (Getting better) at short handed docking.

16.6.2018

A gentle sail to Marina Minde.

14.6.2018

X-Yacht sent one of their specialists to gelting and the control electronics for the aircon was replaced, the polarity of the bowthruster was made „logical“ again and the horn is working again. (One of skippers favorite gadgets.)

10.6.2018

Our „friendly“ danish neighbor had declared to want to leave early so before 9 am we headed back to Gelting. A reasonbable docking manouvre (We won’t mention the departure the day before) saw us back before the heavy rain set in. This early start allowed us to do some more IKEA shelf assembly in Harvestehude.

9.6.2018

A first. We didn’t leave for Gelting until saturday morning after a good birthday party. With gentle winds we ghosted the 9 nm (!) to Sønderborg. Another first was the very unfriendly reception of a danish sailor where we had tied up in his absence. „You should have asked me before you did that.“ How when he is not there? Circle for an hour? The we found the world is small. A nice X-41 tied up next to us. It turned out we had crewed this exact boat during the 2016 ØRC when it had an finish owner.

3.6.2018

Why do harbour masters always have to show up at 8 am? Well, we had time for a long walk in the beautiful nature of Langeland before heading off again at noon. Soon the cloud cover opened up and in no wind we motored the remaining miles to Gelting. Quickly the boat was made ship shape and Karsten could bring his crew to the train in Flensburg and a well deserved rest. Not much sailing, but beautiful weather and good food.

2.6.2018

Eskil showed up at 9 am and immediately we set off. On board cousin Robert from LA, Robert’s Russian friend, Eskil and Karsten. Glorious sunshine, but not much wind. Under motor we entered Køge Bucht but with the current behind us. An hour of sailing with Code 1 and then it was down to motoring past Møn’s Klint and Gedser Rev. Around 9 pm the wind came from the west and first the Code 1 and then the genoa came up. By keeping close to Lolland we managed to take advantage of a counter current of more than 1 knot before putting in a tack to a race down Lillebælt with the prevailing direction of the current. At 3 am we made fast in Bagenkop. Eskil devised a brillant docking technique. Bow into the dock, one crewmember jumps ashore and makes fast the bow. A second line from the aft is taken up and the boat winched sideways against the relatively strong wind. That deserved a Gl. Dansk.

1.6.2018

First the Queen and Karsten saw Napoli, a ballet by Bournonville in the Royal Theater in Copenhagen, then 15 of us met on GUNVØR to celebrate Birgitte’s birthday. It was a long, but magic evening.

21.5.2018

Now the wind had died completely, so we motored the final miles from Hälsingborg to Tuborg Havn in Copenhagen. A final clean up and luncheon finished what has been a very pleasant and relaxing trip.

20.5.2018

Another glorious morning motoring over the top of Sjælland. Around Gilleleje there was sufficient wind to unfurl the Code 1 and we did 8+ knots in 6 knots of wind. After a while the wind came more from behind and the „pink lady“ spinnaker was hoisted. At Kronborg we rolled the sails in again and motored across the sound to Hälsingborg. There we enjoyed following the final game of the WC in ice hockey seeing Sweden beat Switzerland for the gold.

19.5.2018

The weather got better and better, but with ever lessening wind strength. So a mixture of motoring and sailing saw us arriving at Sejerø in the early afternoon. Even with 4 sails up (full main, code 1, poled out „Aldi-Tüte“ and staysail) it was slow going only helped by 1-2 knots of favourable current. The evening was spent at the best restaurant on Sejerø (more or less the only one) having deer shot with bow and arrow. Whether this made the meat taste better is unclear, but at least it had no negative effect on the quality or quantity of wine consumed.

18.5.2018

After a slow morning (Leif & Karsten did some last minute provisioning buying more wine and white asparagus & ham) we sailed off towards Nyborg. After a couple of hours the wind died and we could enjoy the now almost traditional asparagus and ham lunch in the cockpit while motoring through the Svendborg sound. Maneuvering was made super easy by having a furler boom for the main sail.

17.5.2018

The usual „pinse tur“ gang met in Gelting for what must be around the 20th year (without any cancellations ever!) and after a bit of boat management enjoyed a scrumptious dinner and a sufficient amount of wine and whisky. (At least Henrik didn’t get seasick this year.)

6.5. 2018

At least we could sail a little back to Gelting. The furler is the best thing since sliced bread. So easy to put the main up and down. A lot of small wrinkles on the boat still need to be sorted out, but that is normal at the beginning of the season.

5.5.2018

We did test the new furler, but with no wind motored to Lyø. There I did a disastrous landing. Boy when will I be experienced enough to just do it right? I guess we need a second semi-circumnavigation. Nice drinks with a couple with a X-50 (also with a furler.)

4.5.2018

Juhu. The season has started and we have a new rollerfurling boom. Sten Kølhede ( a famous Danish sailor) and his stepson Peter mounted it and took us out from Haderslev to show us the ropes. (Literally) It is super. Sheila came later and we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at Årøsund Hotel.

7.2.2018

First visit this year showing cousin Robert the boat. Ordered a Raymarine thermal camera to be mounted on the first spreader! Will be useful in unknown harbours and bays plus for person over board and to see marks at night. One more need I didn’t know I had.

27.12.2017

Missing the summer? Have a look at our latest Log, Summer-Tour 2017.

2.9.2017
More sun, but less wind, so we motored back and put the boat away for the winter. Not a big sailing season, but many hours comfortably spent on board.

1.9.2017
A sailing day of the best. With high sunshine and a light breeze we sailed to Falsled mainly under spinnaker. The evening was spent cerebrating Ian’s bachelor in biology and Fabian’s master of engineering at Falsled Kro. 8 courses later we rolled back to the boat.

.31.8.2017
Joachim, Ian, Sheila and skipper squeezed into our car and drove towards Denmark. Picking up Fabian meant even less room on the back seat, but finally we were in Haderslev. Within minutes we were under way again and almost as quickly we had changed to the „AldiTüte“. In Årøsund we grilled and chatted into the night.

27.8.2017
With a nice northwesterly wind we could glide back to Haderslev under just the genoa. Motoring into the beautiful Haderslev fjord is always a pleasure, especially when you see a Kingfisher during the docking maneuver.

26.8.2017
The highlight was a singer during lunch time in the local Irish pub. Many beers later and having sang along profusely we returned very happy to the boat, a nice dinner and a quiet evening in Assens.

25.8.2017
Unfortunately the previous crews had forgotten to build up the sprayhoodextension and the full cover. Trying to make up for that feeling quite annoyed it promptly went wrong and one of the stainless steel bars slide into the water. Fortunately Tempel promised that we get a replacement quickly.
We motored out into the small belt aiming for Bågø. The only spot possible for us was taken by a Bavaria where the crew looked full of Schadenfreude that their little boat forced us to leave and head further on to Assens. It is nice to get ones prejudices confirmed.

24.8.2017
We have done it and ordered an roller furling boom. Sailing short handed and getting older it was getting a bit tough to alone handle the almost 100 m² of main sail. Now we also need a new mainsail.

12.08.2017
After the rain stopped, we motored back to Haderslev today. A beautiful sunset built the background for the last evening of our summer tour.

11.08.2017
We did a short trip with light winds to Årøsund. Here, Gunvør felt good in a fleet of x-yachts lying in the harbour.

10.08.2017
What a perfect day. Sun and a nice breeze provided best condition to sail to Assens. Here, the girls went to the beach while the boys prepared the barbeque.

09.08.2017
Due to the strong Wind, we spend the day in Aabenraa playing, basteling, cooking and chilling in Aabenraa.

08.08.2017
We are sailing! Leaving the Haderslev Fjord, we hoisted sails and went to Aabenraa. The kids had fun helping steering.

07.08.2017
Finally! Crew completed. Boat fixed, thanks to the fast guys from X.
Tomorrow, we may start our summer tour!

06.08.2017
Still waiting for crew and repair, we are doing fine on our luxury „camping“ apartment Gunvør, doing sightseeing and testing playgrounds. Hard times for impatient sailors!

01.08.2017
A broken boat, a broken car, a sick child – the start of Gunvor’s Summer-Cruise is not like it should be. At least, the Rüter part of the summer crew made it to Varberg, where Sheila and Karsten waited with a delicious dinner and a beautiful house. Jella was happy to taste sailing boat-pasta instead of the traditional spaghetti („Langnudeln“). Joined by Henrik and Annette, we spend a very nice evening in Sweden. Hopefully the Keppler and Rüter part of the crew will meet at the boat in Denmark end of this week.

6.7.2017 – 11.7.2017
Arne, Yella, Emma and Alex took over G XL in Gelting. After a few days of good sailing and motoring with stops in Dyvik, Middelfart, Samsö and Ebletoft the bow thruster broke. Thinking it was but a small thing for X-Yacht to fix, they went back to Haderslev. Unfortunately the gear box of the bow thruster was broken too, no parts available and X was shutting down for the summer holidays. The plan is now for Daniel, Jan and their crew to take over the boat on the 30th of July, sail for a week before going back to X who will hopefully have the part by then. Shit happens. Very sad owners not to have their full crews come and visit in Sweden.

18.6.2017
Skipper’s wife always thinks of her crew. There we were scrubbing, cleaning and fixing all weekend long just so that Arne and his crew will have boat that is up to his exacting standards. Also Andreas² were on board to replace the fuel transfer pump, install a replacement plotter, change the oil and a lot of filters and ….. GUNVØR is as ready as she can be for her summer adventure.

5.6..2017
The strong wind of the previous day had blown itself out and we had the most glorious beat in light to moderate winds with beautiful sunshine all the way back to Gelting. Needless to say, we passed every boat in sight. Since many hands make light work we were soon on our way after a funfilled and very harmonious weekend.

4.6.2017
It was a miserable morning with low hanging clouds, no wind and clearly rain plus strong winds to come. We motored our way through Svendborg Sund to Faaborg. Having phoned ahead our friend Jens-Peter and his wife were standing on the dock in Rantzausminde and waved us on. We had other plans so didn’t stop this time but will do so soon. At Faaborg we toured the great art museum and ended the day with the obligatory spaghetti dinner.

3.6.2017
The day started out grey and foggy. The Alditüte proved it’s worth. With up to 10 knots we flew up the coast of Langeland. After a slight wind shift we even were able to hoist the Code 1. North of Langeland the sun came through and we could sail in style to Lundeborg. A 2 x 4 km hike saw us having dinner at Broholm slot, Leif’s ancestral castle. A great dinner and a full tour of the premises closed a fantastic day. Clearly the high light of the trip.

2.6.2017
Otto bypassed the fuel pump, we got more diesel out of the bilge and finally we were on our way. The Alditüte was a hit. At 3-6 knots of wind we were going 5-7 knots, i.e. faster than the wind. Vejrö was too far so it became Bagenkop instead where we enjoyed a nice hike around the coast.

1.6.2017
A somewhat different start to our „Pinse-tur“. The bilge was full of diesel. While Leif cooked, and we did some other chores Kim with assistance hunted for the diesel leak. When it became clear it originated from the consumption tank we contacted X despite the late hour and they organized that Otto (who had basically build the boat) would come next morning. A scrumptious grill dinner was had by all anyway.

31.05.2017
All getting ready for the traditional „pinse-tur“. The food has been bought, the crew has organized the transport, the weather report studied, destinations eye balled and skipper has developed a mile long to do list so the crew doesn’t get bored. Ah – and of course sufficient booze has been organised as well. Denmark here we come.

30.5.2017
We are upgrading our yellow brick tracker to the new YB MK3. Not only does it track the position, it also allows us to send small messages. The input is either direct or for longer messages using bluetooth from a smartphone. Transmitting is via the global Iridium satellite network. Yet one more safety factor on board GXL.

28.5.2017
The latest mystery remained unsolved: How did we get diesel in the bilge? A leak? The last time we had that was on the Omega 36 in 2002 and it led to Sheila demanding a new boat. Probably won’t happen this time. The four engineers on next week’s „Pinse tur“ will probably solve the problem.

27.5.2017
Having lots of time and great weather we hoisted our sails early in the morning and slowly, in the beginning very,very slowly sailed back to Gelting. With moral support from AndreasTemple Karsten managed to fix the water heating. (The 220V plug must have fallen out during the sail to Bagenkop.) Instead of going straight home we enjoyed another evening in the cockpit with our table grill.

26.5.2017
The forecasted sun with only little wind materialized and we motor-sailed to Bagenkop. The passage time was spent productively dreaming about the planned trip to the South Pacific in 2020-2022. The glorious weather really „forced“ us to take a long walk along the coast of Langeland. A great day was ended by a grill dinner alongside virtually every other boat in the harbour taking advantage of the real first day of summer.

25.5.2017
We took it very nice and easy. A slow morning breakfast, an ice cream at the local ice cream place, then shopping and we left in the late afternoon. Our stop was Port Olpnitz, previously a navy base, now they are trying to convert it to a holiday village. A very nice couple was managing the marina and proudly showed us the facilities. The highlight was the bathtub with a view (one-way) of the marina.

24.5.2017
A canceled dinner allowed us to go the boat early. A scrumptious dinner and we fell asleep quickly.

30.4.2017
The forecast was for moderate to strong winds from the east increasing to gale force in the afternoon. By getting up early and sailing with great speed under just the genoa we made Gelting in good time and could enjoy listening o the howling wind in the rigging while snugly in the harbour. Picking up the car left behind in Haderslev while dinner was being cooked appealed to skipper’s love of efficiency.

29.4.2017
A gentle breeze from the NE allowed us to motor out the fjord and then sail across to Sæby on Ærø. Only issue is that the code halyard is caught between the forestay and the genoa halyard. Hopefully some young person can be found to climb the mast and deal with that. To our joy it turns out our crew are learning to play bridge so a great dinner was followed by some serious card playing.

28.4.2017
In a major logistical endeavour, Charly & Sabine, crew from our Fiji to Vanuatu trip, helped us get to Haderslev to pick up G XL. By meeting up in Gelting, trans-shipping the gear to one car and then driving on to Haderslev the driving was kept to a minimum. The yard & Andreas² had prepared her well and all systems were go. A scrumptious dinner on board ended a long day.

25.04.2017
This week our season starts again. Andreas & Andreas have shined up the boat, made some repairs and replaced some old gear. Friday we sail her back to her summer home in Gelting. Fair winds to all. (but first Karsten has to fly to India for 2 days.)

8.01.2017
11 Sailors and 4 „Leichtmatrosen“ got together at our House in Rissen to celebrate Sheila’s birthday and plan next summer. Seeing it was a Sunday night (Spaghetti of course) and 4 young ones were there, the alcohol intake was modest (but not the food intake, everything was eaten and the pots licked clean), so the plan made was less ambitious compared to other years. Just a 6 weeks cruise around the Kattegat. Summer 2017, we are ready.