On our second night in Vordingborg the wind went round to the south east putting our hammerhead berth in an uncomfortable beam-on swell from the open waters across the sound. By the morning it had gone back round to the the south west though, which would be ideal for our tricky passage round the east coast of Seeland to Præstø Fjord. Again our route was littered with fishing marks, although by now we were becoming adept at weaving our way between them. As we rounded the south-easterly point of Seeland we passed Kalvehave yacht harbour, a popular stopping place and one of the largest in the area.

It was a closely buoyed channel nearly all the way with very shallow patches as low as two feet below our keel. We kept a close eye on both the CMAP and the paper charts, as well as the Maptech raster charts which are supplied with the N.V. folios. Two adventurous (or foolhardy?) German yachts appeared from across a sandbank and proceeded to sail through the narrow channel, which made our motor driven navigation seem very tame.

The approach to the Præstø fjord, although off the beaten track, is not particularly difficult with a clearly buoyed channel with an advertised depth of 3.5m. We were rewarded as we approached the harbour with a jaunty welcome from the "Velkommen til Præstø" boat. Although boats are advised to moor in the old commercial basin in front of the harbour office, we found a space next to two other motor boats on the main jetty and were soon secured with the help of a neighbouring skipper.

The old Præstø main street is a wide cobbled avenue with olde-worlde streetlamps and a historic town hall. Behind is the real main street with a very respectable selection of shops, supermarkets, banks and restaurants. On the quay is the essential yachtsman's requisites - fish shop, ice cream kiosk, tourist office and loos.

The main reason for our visit to Præstø was a dinner date arranged through www.dinewiththedanes.dk - an enterprising initiative to introduce visitors to local hosts. The next evening we were collected at the harbour by our host Michael Nielson, who drove us to his 200 year old renovated farmhouse in the nearby village of Tjørnehoved.

There we were entertained very well by Michael and his wife Inge, a charming couple who seemed to have a genuine interest in other cultures and countries. For our hosts, like ourselves, it was their first experience of the Dine with the Danes scheme - although they have been registered for some time they've found few participants wanting to venture outside Copenhagen. Those arriving by boat, we assumed were even fewer. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening which offered us a glimpse into the real Denmark.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 33 nm

Total to date: 793 nm

Avg Speed: 5.4 knots

Duration: 6 hours

Diesel: 36 litres

Wind: SW 3

Mooring: Kr.125/night

Electricity: Included

Water: Included

Bridges

Fredskov (20m)

Kalvehave (25.6m)

Charts

NV Serie 2 - S19

S20