ADVENTURE EXPLORING THE DANISH ISLANDS

Chris Carr ventures out to visit just a few of the hundreds of islands in the South Funen Archipelago

- WORDS & PICTURES: Chris Carr

The islands between Jutland, the continental part of Denmark, and Sweden had long been on my wish-list as a charter destination, but with 1,400 islands in total, just 409 of which are named and only 70 populated, my question had always been where to start. Two of the largest islands (Funen and Zealand) look like giant stepping stones between the Danish mainland and Sweden, connected by 'belts' (shipping channels) so one of these seemed the obvious starting point.

I found a German company online which had a large selection of around 20 charter bases from Juelsminde in Denmark down to Kroslin near the German border with Poland. It also had a useful cruise planner on its website. We opted for the base of Flensburg because it seemed to have the biggest selection of yachts.

UNINHABITED

Created by a dramatic rise in sea level after the last Ice Age, the South Funen Archipelago is characterised by shallow coastal waters, uninhabited islands, saltmarshes and reedbeds and is an internationally important area for many waterbirds. These waters are some of the most attractive and well sheltered in Denmark with short distances and only a very small tidal range but still some current to look out for in narrow channels.

We arrived at the Mola Yachting base at Marina Niro Petersen, a short walk from the centre of Flensburg, at 1400, the start of the handover window. Base manager Henrik led us onto the pontoon to the 2022 Bavaria C46 - our home for the week.