The tiny island of Anholt is 7 miles (11 km) long and about 4 miles (6.4 km) wide and is 80% desert, making up the largest desert in Northern Europe. Just to the west is the 400-megawatt Anholt Offshore Wind Farm, the largest in Denmark and one of the largest wind farms in the world. It’s a good place for a windfarm—the area sees a lot of wind.

Continuing south from Laeso, we spent two nights at Anholt while a storm passed through bringing 42-knot winds. While there we explored the island on foot, making two good view hikes, and took in the storm, enjoying the waves pounding into and splashing over the breakwater from the safety of our berth. The island is an extremely popular summer destination, with space for 250 boats, but only a handful of other pleasure craft were there with us in late September.

Below are trip highlights from September 29th and 30th, 2019 at Anholt, Denmark. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

9/30/2019

Departing Laeso Position: 57°17.75’N, 10°55.41’E We departed Laeso about 4:15am to make the 52-mile run to Anholt before big winds arrive later in the day.

Storm Coming Position: 56°45.40’N, 11°24.36’E Big winds, with gusts to 45 knots, are expected to hit the Kattegat this afternoon. The winds will start picking up around noon and be at their strongest between 6pm and 9pm. We should be safely in Anholt Havn well before that.

Moored Position: 56°42.84’N, 11°30.75’E Dirona moored at Anholt Havn. The winds were blowing in the 20s from the west when we arrived, and the seas were picking up off the exposes harbour entrance. Conditions weren’t difficult to navigate through, but we needed to bias a bit to port to avoid being forced too close to the starboard breakwater.

Sand Position: 56°42.88’N, 11°30.89’E Anholt is 80% desert, making up the largest desert in Northern Europe, and has a lot of sand. It’s everywhere.

Anholt Havn Position: 56°42.89’N, 11°30.91’E View across Anholt Havn from the Sailors House deck. The harbour has a capacity for 250 boats and is absolutely jam-packed in the summer with boats moored stern or bow-to the dock. We’re glad to be here in the off-season.

Orakel Bar Position: 56°43.01’N, 11°30.67’E Quirky beach-side Orakel Bar on Anholt, with furniture made from shipping pallets. Too bad it’s closed for the season—it would have been fun to have a drink outside there.

Surfing Position: 56°42.95’N, 11°30.64’E The winds have been picking up and are generating fair-sized seas at the harbour entrance. Here the ferry Anholt is surfing in on the waves before needing to make a sharp left turn through the narrow entrance, followed by a hard right. Entrance in these conditions with a boat that big requires skill.

Winds Position: 56°42.88’N, 11°30.91’E Another view over Anholt Havn showing how much the winds and waves have picked up since we arrived.

Nordbjerg Position: 56°42.95’N, 11°31.06’E The view northwest from the hill Nordbjerg above the marina. The waves are really pounding into the beach on the shore. We tried to take pictures earlier when we were down on the beach, but so much spray filled the air that it was almost impossible to get a picture before the lens was covered in drying saltwater.

Mushroom Position: 56°43.00’N, 11°31.12’E Denmark has a wide variety of unusual-looking mushrooms. We don’t recall ever seeing one this big before.

Sheep Position: 56°42.42’N, 11°32.28’E Sheep keeping an eye on us as we walk towards the main village, about a mile inland from the harbour.

House Position: 56°42.27’N, 11°32.53’E We loved this hilltop house in the village of Anholt.

Frihedsstotten pa Anholt Position: 56°42.21’N, 11°32.71’E Memorial commemorating the 1902 completion of the port at Anholt, provide a safe haven for local and regional fisherman.

Anholt Map Position: 56°42.17’N, 11°32.63’E Mosaic map of the island of Anholt on the local grocery store. The harbour is at the left.

Chickens Position: 56°42.22’N, 11°32.62’E Chickens in an Anholt backyard with unusual feathers that almost look like fur.

English Monument Position: 56°42.33’N, 11°32.63’E Memorial to those who died in 1811 in an unsuccessful attempt to retake the island of Anholt from the British, who occupied the island from 1809-1814 during the Napoleonic Wars where Denmark was aligned with France.

Sandstorm Position: 56°43.08’N, 11°31.00’E Walking back to the harbour along the north shore of Anholt into a sandstorm. Wind-borne sand filled the air and we had to struggle against the force of the wind, close to blinded by the sand. In many ways it looked and felt like a winter blizzard in heavy winds, except snow doesn’t hurt as much when it gets in your eye.

42 knots Position: 56°42.89’N, 11°30.71’E The wind graph at top right shows how the winds have picked up during the day and by 6pm we’re seeing steady gusts into the mid-40s.

Sunset Position: 56°42.89’N, 11°30.71’E Spectacular sunset looking out to the harbour entrance, with storm-swept waves cracking over the breakwater and the Anholt wind farm visible in the distance.

Late Arrival Position: 56°42.89’N, 11°30.71’E When the storm was at it’s maximum, around 9pm, a sailboat arrived at the harbour. It was so rough out there that if you look carefully (click image for larger view) you can see that their anchor has lifted off the pulpit and landed against the side of the boat, where it has since been bouncing against the fiberglass. They did circles in the harbour for over a half-hour and several times attempted to moor in the recreational harbour, but ended up sideways to the winds and blowing rapidly down the fairway so abandoned the attempt. They eventually elected to land on the commercial dock where the spent the night. It’s a charter boat, so hopefully that wasn’t their introduction to sailing.

10/1/2019

Anholt Ferry Position: 56°42.89’N, 11°30.71’E The Anholt ferry turning in the harbor as it departs Anholt on its daily run to Grenaa.

Woods Position: 56°42.58’N, 11°31.52’E Walking in the woods en route to the viewpoint Sonderbjerg at the southern tip of Anholt.

Cross Position: 56°42.10’N, 11°31.69’E Cross above the western beach Vesterstrand, a memorial to two young girls who drowned while bathing here in 1891.

Vesterstrand Position: 56°41.98’N, 11°31.76’E Looking north along Vesterstrand towards the harbour.

Trail Position: 56°41.65’N, 11°32.06’E Walking the trail above the beach to Sonderbjerg.

Windswept Position: 56°41.59’N, 11°32.11’E The shrubs along the trail were bent over by the westerly winds.

Sonderbjerg Position: 56°41.45’N, 11°32.31’E Enjoying the view south from Sonderbjerg at the southern tip of Anholt.

Desert Position: 56°42.91’N, 11°32.36’E Looking across the grass-covered Anholt desert to the 18th-century Anholt Lighthouse at the eastern tip of the island.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.