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Bascule bridge Sønderborg

Sottrupskov

ALS SOUND

ALS ISLAND

Als Fjord

Augustenborg

Fjord

0 1nm

Mölledam

Sønderborg

Als Sound

Copenhagen

Kiel

DENMARK

GERMANY

SNUG HAVENS

T

he cows gaze at me
dispassionately from the small
beach at the head of the Als
Sound, les pieds dans l’eau,
standing in the shallows just
metres away from where I sail past with
10 or more metres of water
under the keel. Als Sound
is a narrow, fairly straight
but very scenic cut in the
calm and pleasant Danish
countryside, leading from
Sønderborg north to the Als
Fjord and, eventually, the
Lillebælt. It’s as Danish as
this part of Denmark can get
Memories unfold as I think
of the many summer weeks
I spent here during my youth, messing
about in small boats. The blonde girl
selling hot dogs. The hard and clear blue
sky and the bright red Danish fl ags fl ying
stiff in the fresh breeze. The cold and the
dampness while cruising a dinghy through
a rainy July, and the hot stillness of a
perfect northern summer day that seems
to last forever, only so slowly slipping
into a translucent night and then, before
darkness really falls, shyly emitting an
unmistakable radiance in preparation for

here. In any case, sound your way in and

do not go too close to the shore, where it

shoals rapidly in places.

Even if a full gale is raging in the open

Baltic, Als Sound will always be quiet

and sheltered. It’s a wonderful place for

walks ashore but there are no facilities at

all – provisioning and fuelling can be done

either in Sønderborg or in the sleepy little

village of Augustenborg. This is a nautical

dead end but it has a fi rst-class, very

friendly yacht harbour and, although you

cannot sail anywhere other than the way

you came, it is defi nitely worth the little

detour of only a few miles before sailing

north-west and out into Lillebælt. W

Sailing along this

scenic channel brings

back fond memories

of his youth for Detlef Jens

yet another perfectly bright and hot day.

This is the heart of a particularly idyllic

part of the Baltic: sheltered waters with

well marked channels, countless islands

and bays, many fi rst-class harbours and

picturesque little towns. One such town

is Sønderborg through which you sail

when you enter the sound from the south,

passing the castle on starboard as you

enter the town’s harbour with its attractive

waterfront and the historic bascule bridge,

which, during summer, usually opens

every hour. The next bridge after that is

a fi xed motorway with a clearance of 33

metres at normal water levels. And it is

after this bridge that the

sound becomes really scenic,

with wooded shores and only

few houses on both sides.

The main channel is

deep and clearly marked by

red and green buoys, from

north to south. You can

anchor anywhere outside

the channel where there is

normally enough room and

2-3m depth between the

markers and the shore. Holding is good,

in mud, unless you hit a weedy patch.

Depending on the wind direction out in

the Baltic there may be a little current

north or south but it’s never very strong.

Towards the northern end of the sound

you can also drop your hook off the tiny

village of Sottrupskov where there used to

be an inn which is now, sadly, closed. The

inn had its own wooden jetty, which is still

there but now somewhat neglected and I

would always prefer to use my own anchor

PHOTO: DETLEF JENS CHART: MAXINE HEATH

Als Sound, Denmark

‘The heart of a

particularly

idyllic and

pleasant part

of the Baltic’

Als Sound is well sheltered and will
always remain quiet, regardless of
the weather in the Baltic

62 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com MARCH 2016