In the Viking Sea
The day was cool but bright in the early morning. As the morning went on, clouds moved in. The grey sky and the slate grey sea provided a continuity of color and actually gave an even greater feeling for the expanse of horizon. One felt a part of it all, as there were no landmarks to interrupt what appeared to be one great space. In short, it was a relaxingly peaceful day.
By mid morning, we were sailing off the northern coast of Denmark, often called Jutland and there was a gentle rain falling. We went to sail stations by 9:30, and, even with a light northeast wind, we were making 5 knots. It never ceases to amaze me just how efficient the wind is for moving enormous weights. The Sea Cloud II is 3,500 tons.
This northern peninsula of Denmark has been the site of a considerable amount of history. The great medieval historian Bede (c.670-730AD) writes of a people whom he calls “Jutes”, and he thus identifies them coming from “Jutland” as the original settlers of the county of Kent and the Isle of Wight. Modern historians are rather more skeptical of Bede’s claim and can find little evidence linking Jutland with Kent. Some claim that they were the first of the Germanic peoples to arrive in England, ca. 450AD.
Almost 1500 years later the largest naval battle of WWI took place when the British and German fleets met off the Western coast of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. The battle was to determine who controlled the North Atlantic and the Baltic, two enormously strategic areas for the combatants. The northernmost peninsula forms the southern boundary of our entry into the Baltic later tonight and its close proximity to Sweden through the Skagererat, and finally through the narrowest opening known as the Kattegat. The Swedes and the Danes recently built a bridge between Malmo in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark, and now one can simply drive between the two countries for the first time.
David Barnes presented a very informative talk on the Hanseatic League at 11 and Tom Heffernan lectured on the Scandinavian Languages at 5. Tonight we had our maritime theme evening and some guests did show up in nautical costume. Tomorrow we make out first landfall in Sweden at the small island of Marstrand.
The day was cool but bright in the early morning. As the morning went on, clouds moved in. The grey sky and the slate grey sea provided a continuity of color and actually gave an even greater feeling for the expanse of horizon. One felt a part of it all, as there were no landmarks to interrupt what appeared to be one great space. In short, it was a relaxingly peaceful day.
By mid morning, we were sailing off the northern coast of Denmark, often called Jutland and there was a gentle rain falling. We went to sail stations by 9:30, and, even with a light northeast wind, we were making 5 knots. It never ceases to amaze me just how efficient the wind is for moving enormous weights. The Sea Cloud II is 3,500 tons.
This northern peninsula of Denmark has been the site of a considerable amount of history. The great medieval historian Bede (c.670-730AD) writes of a people whom he calls “Jutes”, and he thus identifies them coming from “Jutland” as the original settlers of the county of Kent and the Isle of Wight. Modern historians are rather more skeptical of Bede’s claim and can find little evidence linking Jutland with Kent. Some claim that they were the first of the Germanic peoples to arrive in England, ca. 450AD.
Almost 1500 years later the largest naval battle of WWI took place when the British and German fleets met off the Western coast of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. The battle was to determine who controlled the North Atlantic and the Baltic, two enormously strategic areas for the combatants. The northernmost peninsula forms the southern boundary of our entry into the Baltic later tonight and its close proximity to Sweden through the Skagererat, and finally through the narrowest opening known as the Kattegat. The Swedes and the Danes recently built a bridge between Malmo in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark, and now one can simply drive between the two countries for the first time.
David Barnes presented a very informative talk on the Hanseatic League at 11 and Tom Heffernan lectured on the Scandinavian Languages at 5. Tonight we had our maritime theme evening and some guests did show up in nautical costume. Tomorrow we make out first landfall in Sweden at the small island of Marstrand.
