Sailing on the Albatros 11 to 18-07-2018

Port of Departure: Flensburg, Germany
Destination: Aarhus, Denmark
Distance travelled: 337.1 km
Duration (total): 143:22:45 hr
Duration (while moving): 52:40:38 hr
Speed (average) = 2.4 km/h
Speed while moving (average) = 6.4 km/h

Sailing on the Albatros was my first experience of sailing on a clipper, so I was a bit nervous, nervous of the unknown. On this trip, there were 13 of us including our captain Franky. The crew on this trip was all experienced sailors, excluding me and one other female fellow who had no prior experience. Due to the small number of crew on board, everyone worked hard to make the trip successful and fun. We did enjoy our time together, singing, eating, drinking and handling the ship together.

11th July 2018: After the ship was stocked with our supplies for the journey, we departed from the port of Flensburg, Germany at 21:00 hours. We sailed for 50 minutes then anchored for the night at the Danish Oxen Islands close to the border of Sonderborg, Denmark on our first evening. Being on the sea, on a beautiful moonlit night so tranquil and peaceful, was almost indescribable.

12th July 2018: We had breakfast around 8:00 am. Before we set sail we were given general safety instructions and how to handle the safety equipment on-board the ship. One interesting experience was the process of hoisting the anchor to properly stow it on the ship. I never realized it took a lot of man power and time to pull the anchor up as we prepare to set sail again. At 10:30 am we set sail again. Sailing the clipper is not a one man's job; everyone contributed and helped each other to get the ship going. We continued our journey on the sea passing through small channels that divide the islands and bigger body of the seas in the Baltic Sea. We docked at Sonderborg, Denmark at 18:30 hours and stayed there for the night. Our ship has no shower-able bathroom and some of us enjoyed a nice shower at the port followed by a nice time of singing away enjoying the company of each other.

13th July 2018: From Sonderborg, Denmark port we set sail again at 10:38 am. The weather on this day was not so good, the rain and wind affected our speed. I did enjoy seeing how all the expert seamen maneuvered the ship in different weather conditions and the labour it involved to properly sail. I also learnt how to steer the ship, a new skill that looks easy but needs a lot of coordination skills and confidence. I guess I'll be better next time when I can sail again. We arrived at Assens, Denmark port at 21:15 hours. We docked for the night.

14th July 2018: From Assens harbour we set sail again at 10:20 am. On this day, our journey was better than the day before as we did not encounter a bad weather, although we did have some rains. We arrived at Juelsminde port in Denmark but were unable to dock at the harbour because of the traffic congestion. We anchored close to the harbour and rested for the night.

15th July 2018: When the morning came, we lowered the rubber boat and four of us went to the harbour to get more supplies for the next phase of our journey and to get some beach sands for use in our "message in a bottle." We set sail from Juelsminde, Denmark at 10:50 am. We had better weather than yesterday and the sun too showed its face! We arrived at Kolby Kas port Denmark at 19:15 hours and docked there. It is a small harbour and no longer used as a commercial port, so there were few ships and business. I enjoyed going for a walk in this small port village. I saw some military men doing their drills and I got to talk to them. I was told that they had a base here in Kolby Kas. Another interesting find and experience!

16th July 2018: Left Kolby Kas, Denmark again at 6:35 am with the intention to arrive at Ebeltoft, Denmark early. We sailed smoothly and the weatherman good to us! As we sailed longer the weather also got better and we enjoyed the sun on the ship too! As planned we arrived at Ebeltoft at 14:35 hours. One of our interests in Ebeltoft was the Ship Museum called Fregatten Jylland (http://www.fregatten-jylland.dk/) which is one of the world's largest wooden warships now preserved as a museum there. Unfortunately, we missed the chance to visit the ship as it was already closed for visitors.

Ebeltoft was a beautiful and romantic city. My friend Almut and I enjoyed walking around the market place, talking to the locals selling their produce in the market square, buying some souvenirs and topping off our day with eating a Danish style ice-cream!

The evening was rather special because according to the ship's tradition we had the Captain's Dinner, a special dinner that involved preparing all sorts of food and mixing it up in our own plate. It's all an interesting experience to learn of all the traditions and sailors culture and life.

17th July 2018: After breakfast, Captain Franky made a special provision for me to sail on the Malamuk, the small wooden dinghy on board the Albatros. It is a small sail boat that could be propelled by the wind and an oar. The captain assigned two other crew-mates Harald and Almut to help me sail. We rowed around within the harbour area and it really was an awesome experience! I thank the captain for making sure I got to experience all the good things about sailing and to have the taste of the pleasures of sailing!

Departed from Ebeltoft, Denmark at 10:25 in the morning and headed for our final destination Aarhus, Denmark. The day being the last leg of our journey, we were excited and happy to be able to sail safely to our destination. Before we arrived at the port in Aarhus, with the initiation of our captain Franky we held a small solemn ceremony to send out our "Message in the Bottle" hoping that it will get into the hands of someone who would be happy to write back to us. It contained information about our trip and the names of the crew members. We arrived at Aarhus, Denmark our destination port at 17:00 hours.

18th July 2018: Our final day. This day ended our journey of adventure into the Baltic Sea. Our captain Franky held a ceremony to hand out our certificates of completion of the trip to all the crew members. We took pictures together to document our time together, said our goodbyes, wishing and hoping to meet each other again in the future. It was indeed a memorable trip especially for me in particular, made possible by all the other crew members!

Some of us had to wait for our bus to take us back to Flensburg, so we had a bit of time to kill. I, Almut and Harald went into the city of Aarhus and enjoyed their local hotdog called Pølser. Walked around the city centre, dropped into souvenir shops, bought a few and saw the different activities of the locals! It was indeed one of the best experiences I've ever had! Words have no expression for my gratitude to Almut for the gift of this trip. I am indebted to all my crew-mates and especially our captain Franky for making this trip so memorable and fun. I thank everyone who contributed to the success of our trip, and especially to our wonderful cook Cristina for giving me the chance to enjoy the German cuisine that would not have been offered in popular restaurants!

Kudos to all my crew-mates for a wonderful trip!