The last time we made for Skagen—setting off from Sweden’s Bohuslän coast in a gentle easterly—one did not so much “moor” your boat as wedge it into the harbour basin wherever a gap could be found. It was so packed that one could have crossed the water without getting one’s feet wet, simply by hopping from one Norwegian motor yacht to the next. Getting back out again, however, was rather more challenging. So this time we leave Sæby early, anxious to secure a berth from which we can make a sensible departure the following morning. As it turns out, today brings a proper westerly sailing breeze—not the sort of conditions that tempt Norway’s motorboat brigade. Another thing we remember well is the strong northbound current sweeping close beneath the northern tip of Jutland. Following the textbook, we tuck into it for a welcome boost over the ground, allowing us to tie up in Skagen before lunchtime.

Sæby in the morning.

The bustling anchorage off the northern tip of Jutland.

Ever obedient—we are German, after all—we moor stern-to, complete with a “hedge” (stern) anchor, exactly as the harbour signs instruct (Danish “hæk” means both a garden hedge and a ship’s stern...). By early evening, however, we are still the only yacht in the whole of Skagen dutifully using a stern anchor, so we quietly abandon protocol and move alongside one of the still remarkably empty pontoons.

Our trusted Brompton bicycle allows one to make an excursion to Grenen, Denmark’s northernmost point, with its iconic lighthouse (see photos). Here, not only do the waters of the North Sea and the Baltic meet, but one also gains an impressive view of the countless ships lying at anchor at the gateway to the North Sea—an anchorage through which we had to thread our way on the approach (see the screenshot from our chart plotter above). A thoroughly remarkable place.