Motor Boat & Yachting — November 2017

SJÆLLAND

DENMARK

ORØ

Isefjord

Kattegat

Roskilde

Fjord

Holbæk

Fjord

Lamme

Fjord

bridge

Nykøbing

Hundested

Rørvig

Lynæs

Frederiksværk

Frederikssund

Frederikssund

Marina

HERSLEV

PENINSULA

Kignæs

Bybjerg

Village

Orø

Harbour

Skuldelev

Roskilde

Jyllinge

ESKILSØ

ISLAND

Kulhuse

Ejby

Lyndby

Herslev

Gershøj

Holbæk

Hørby

N

nautical miles

0 1 2 3 4 5

sea safely shut out, and you could see why Viking ships were based
here a dozen centuries ago. Even now, there is something mystical
about Roskilde Fjord and during our trip, we saw several replica
longships fl itting about.
The largest Viking ships were over 30m overall and carried
60 ferocious raiders. Open to the elements, they must have felt
exposed at sea but their meagre draught let them venture far
up winding rivers. Longships could be hauled ashore and easily
relaunched for fast getaways. A famous museum at Roskilde
shows fi ve fantastically preserved ships discovered at nearby
Skuldelev in 1962. They’d been deliberately sunk to block the
route to Roskilde and protect the settlement from attack by sea.

DOWN TO FREDERIKSSUND
A skimpy buoyed cut leads out of the lake, fl anked by acres of
drying fl ats. The next open reach glides down to a road bridge at
Frederikssund, the name of both the sound and the market town
on its east side. The bridge opens every half hour, though Kenneth
had said that we’d slide underneath it. Before going through,
we followed a delicate channel into charming Kignæs Havn,
where another convivial boat club welcomed us for lunch. Here,
we tucked into slices of juicy roast pork with the meat meltingly
soft and the crackling golden crisp. Only Danes can cook pork
like this and it makes a sumptuous smørrebrød with red cabbage
and sharp pickled cucumber.
Beyond the bridge, we turned into Frederikssund old harbour
and moored opposite a jaunty old steamboat called Skjelskør. For
half a century, this sturdy vessel connected south-west Sjælland
with Agersø and the Omø islands. The service closed in 1962 but
Skjelskør, one of Denmark’s last coal-burning ferries, was saved
by the Danish Association for the Preservation of Old Ships.
On Sundays in the school holidays, she puffs off down the fjord
on a nostalgic hour’s voyage.
Replenishing our stores at a nearby supermarket, we hopped
south another half mile to spend a night at Frederikssund Marina,
a soothing rural haven with open views and a grand sense of space.

A stunning

Viking replica at

Roskilde Fjord

Fishing boats

Skuldelev Harbour at Hundested

33

TRAVEL

FJORDLAND CHARTERS

Our boat was just right for two and

its roomy veranda cockpit was perfect

for dining alfresco.

You can charter for whole weeks,

Saturday to Saturday, from May 1-30

September. One-way charters are

available between Holbæk and Roskilde

in either direction. Detailed Danish charts

are all on board.

Prices €1,455-1,950 a week (you

can pay in Danish kroner), excluding

fuel but including harbour dues.

The damage deposit is €670.

Contact Mrs Sanne Svanholt,

Nordvestvej 1, 4300 Holbæk, Denmark.

Tel: +45 22.42.60.68. Email: fjordland@

fjordland.dk. Web: http://www.fjordland.dk.

Sanne speaks good English, so phoning

is easy.