Tag Archives: Baltic

Whereever the wind takes us – a film about an old boat

Missing summer? Maybe I got something that can bring you back. Imagine sailing where the wind takes you in Atinga, a wooden boat built 51 years ago that has been passed down for three generations.

Dänische Südsee from Lut ze.

I came across this amazing video of three guys on a boat sailing in the Danish South Sea – our corner of the Baltic Sea. The film on vimeo is just titled “Dänische Südsee” and that’s about it, so I got curious. I asked the filmmaker Lutz a couple of questions:

Can you introduce yourself?

I am originally from Berlin but currently I am living in Göteborg, studying Interaction Design. This city is just perfect for sailing. Lots of wind (sadly even more rain), many beautiful little rock islands in front of the coast and almost more boats than people. Until this year, I was only sailing on lakes, which is just not the same as sailing on the sea. Besides sailing I love many other outdoor sports. like climbing, hiking, biking.

Who are the crew and are they always the same?

We were three people on the boat, my sister Karola, our friend Tilman and me. It was our first trip together. Tilman was our skipper, since he had the most experience on the boat, but we were switching roles all the time.

Tell me about the boat in the video?

The boat is called the “Atinga”. It belongs to Tilman’s dad, who himself inherited it from his dad. I don’t know so much about it, but it is a real beauty! Kind of slow, but really comfortable and really good tempered. Everything is made out of wood, even the hull and the mast. We had quite heavy winds, and the boat was squeaking and moaning all the time. It’s a self constructed boat as far as i know, about 50 years old, but I don’t know who exactly build it.

Where did you go on the trip we see in the video?

We started in Høruphav, going wherever the wind and rain blew us. 🙂 Since we only had 5 days and the winds were already pretty strong, we stayed south of Fyn to avoid the huge waves.

Where else do you like to sail to?

I really would like to make a longer trip when I finish my studies. Probably down to the Mediterranean Sea – if I can find the time. Until then I will just make some daily and weekend trips in the skerries off Göteborg and Bohuslän. My University has a sailing club that owns two really nice “Albin Express” boats, which are a lot of fun to sail in.

How did you film this? Do you often make film?

Actually it was my first try in making a short film in years. I used a Pentax k-7 dslr with two wideangle lenses. Most of the shots were done handheld. But I am planing to do some more stuff. Right now I’m working on a small video project for an university course, which will be about a quite ambivalent street here in Göteborg. And I’m planning to shoot a climbing movie of some spots in the region around Göteborg.

Do you have a website I can link to if people want to know more about you?

Not yet. At least not for my filming stuff but you can check my Flickr page. I recently discovered an old Rollei 35 and Contax from my grandfather, which I use a lot and I post some pictures to Flickr from time to time. And I’m on Facebook.

Great video and story, Lutz and thank you for sharing!

The same day I got another email from Jens from Lüneburg, who is owner of the boat and father of Tilman. He wrote more facts about the boat Atinga.

Constructor: Ernst Lehfeld
Built in 1961
Type: Knickspannt Kielkreuzer
Material: Plywood
Length: 8,00 m
Width: 2,50 m
Depth: 1,05 m
Weight: 2,5 t
Mast: 9,00 m
Sail : 25-35 square meters
Engine: Nanni Diesel 2 cylinders
Speed 10 PS

Swimming in the Baltic Sea

I come from the middle of the Mediterranean; growing up the swimming season extended from June to September. And even then, I thought that the water was often cold, especially at the start of summer! So when people mentioned swimming in Denmark eye-rolling was my standard reply.

IMG_7465

However, when a friend from Australia staying in Sonderborg said that she has been swimming and enjoyed it, and after a week of hot weather, I challenged myself and Michael to try it out in Sonderborg. The water was cold. Very cold! Definitely colder than whatever I considered ‘very cold’ in Malta! But I made it in successfully. Let’s just say that I am not ‘winter bathing‘ material as yet and leave it at that.

This year’s summer (2012) has not been good for the temperature of the Danish waters. In Vejle, four fjords from here, the average bathing temperature was 16,8 degrees. Compared to a normal average of 18.6 degrees this has been the coldest in the 16 years they have measured the bathing water temperature in Vejle. If you are interested in keeping an eye yourself DMI measures temperatures in harbours and TV2 measures bathing water temperatures on beaches at 1 meter depth.

Water Culture

One thing I have noticed though was that while Maltese people can easily stay in the water for 30mins to an 1hr and even longer, Danes tend to just go in for a very short time, maybe 10-15 minutes, and then get back out. You might think it is because of the temperature, but when Danish friends (including Michael!) visit Malta, they do just the same. I seem to think that once I have tortured myself getting into the cold water, might as well stay in as long as possible!

The picture for this post is actually from Brighton beach in UK. When we get out of the water in Sonderborg we shake too much to take pictures 🙂

NEATA Festival in Sonderborg

The North European Amateur Theatre Alliance, or NEATA for short, will be holding its biennial festival in Sonderborg starting from today. The festival brings together 12 amateur theatre companies, mainly from the Nordic and Baltic regions, but also from the rest of Europe.

For participants the festival consists of 5 days of intensive activities, including theatre performances, workshops and lectures. But what about the rest of us?

We can enjoy the fruits of the labour of the theatre companies by attending a variety of theatre productions being put on in Sonderborg (mainly Sonderborg theatre and Sonderborghus). The events are listed below:

Tuesday 31st of July
Iceland “Prodigal” Sønderborg Teater Kl. 20.30 21.45
Wednesday 1st of August
Faroe Islands “Kennir tu Magar” Sønderborg Teater Kl. 14.00 14.40
NEATA Youth Sønderborghus Kl. 15.15 16.00
Norway “Antechamber” Sønderborg Teater Kl. 16.30 17.30
Festival Colloquia Sønderborghus Kl. 19.30 20.30
Romania “As Water Reflects the Face” Sønderborg Teater Kl. 21.00 22.00
Thursday 2nd of August
Sweden “Vita Pumps” Sønderborg Teater Kl. 13.40 14.30
Denmark / Landsbyteatret “Al min sorg og al min glæde” Sønderborghus Kl. 14.50 16.20
Denmark / Dunkelfolket “Dunkel parade” Ramblaen Kl. 19.15 19.45
Festival Colloquia Sønderborghus Kl. 20.00 21.00
Lithuania “Why is love?” Sønderborghus Kl. 21.15 22.15
Friday 3rd of August
Finland “Hi!&Goodbye” Sønderborghus Kl. 14.00 14.45
Latvia “Living Water” Sønderborg Teater Kl. 15.15 16.55
Estonia “A Marriage Proposal” Sønderborghus Kl. 17.30 18.00
Festival Colloquia Sønderborghus Kl. 19.30 20.30
Denmark / Arrièregarden “Nobody´s Home” Sønderborg Teater Kl. 21.00 21.50
Saturday 4th of August
Festival Colloquia Sønderborghus Kl. 10.00 12.00
International DigiDelight Symposium Digital Dramatic Dreams – stories of light Alsion Kl. 15.00 18.10

If you are interested in attending any of the events you can order your free tickets on +45 28 19 73 06.