As a summary — or for those in a hurry — here is an unsystematic and, above
all, entirely subjective list of highlights from our 2026 N-cruise.
Finest sailing: 1. Under gennaker from Grenaa to Skagen (above). 2. Broad reaching from Fotö to Læsø (below). 3. On a beam reach from Skanör to Møn (further below).

Finest new harbour discoveries: 1. Hunnebostrand, with the wonderful Utsikt skerry and its superb fish shop (above). 2. The understatedly pretty and wonderfully peaceful Björholmen (below).

Finest island: Tjøme, with the southern tip at Verdens Ende (above).
Best fish meal: Lunch with Blue Layla alongside the quay in front of the fish shop in Nevlungen (below).

Most unexpectedly delightful harbour: Øer, behind the lock (above).
Most glowing sunrise: At sea off Læsø (below).

Best shower: Fritz Smiths gate 1 in the old town of Tvedestrand (above).
Nicest encounters: With our friends (and Lotti, see below) on Læsø and in Lund.

Best teamwork: Winching our Swedish neighbour (above) up the mast of her Scampi, with Norwegian assistance. Best fika: Café D’italia, Lund (below). Best kanelbulle: Marstrand.

Best mestringsfølelse/mestringskänsla: Norwegian and Swedish have beautiful words for the feeling that comes after mastering a challenge — not necessarily a great one — that had commanded a certain measure of respect beforehand. The complex weather situation during our crossing of the Skagerrak, negotiating the Skagen Reef in pitch-black darkness, the heavy shipping traffic, the metre-high waves, the solitude of the vast open sea — after all that, the rain that greeted us in Norway mattered not one jot; after eighty nautical miles offshore, we crawled into our berths with that quiet pride of “mestringsfølelse”.
Actually most exhilarating passage: From Stavern across the open Skagerrak in a generous swell to the harbour at Verdens Ende, threading our way past numerous underwater rocks (see below) and through the narrowest harbour entrance of the entire cruise.

Most expensive diesel: Marstrand (€3 — fortunately, we sail most of the time). Prettiest sailing yacht: 1.  SY Blue Layla. 2.  Flica II (a 12mR-sloop built in 1939).

Serious technical problems (as so many always ask): None. At least, nothing that couldn’t have been dealt with the aid of a pair of goggles, a scraper, a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. Sunniest harbour arrival: Warnemünde — a friend had already spotted Blue Layla on the AIS tracker and harbour webcam and was sending a welcoming email; fellow berth-holders arrived almost at the same time as we did, and, like us, were positively bubbling over with stories from their own cruises.