Longer sleep and a lazy morning with coffee at our camp site – that was what we needed…
Flemming and I were going to leave Læsø that day, and we were not in a hurry.
After packing all our stuff, we went for a stroll in the Østerby harbour. Fishing net was laid down for drying:
Fishing boats in the Østerby shipyard, standing so elegantly in the dry dock:
That day, we had agreed to have lunch with Inge-Merete in Vesterø Havn, and we arrived earlier to have a walk there.
On the top of Havnebakken, the large bronze ship bow looks out over the harbour:
We went around the marina, did some window shopping (most of the shops were closed), and returned back to Havnepladsen (a square in the middle) just by the time Inge-Merete arrived. I know Inge-Merete from the Roskilde flying club, and we have been on flying tours together a couple of times – to France and Belgium.
We had lunch at a small fish shop in the harbour, and tasted smoked weever (Danish: fjæsing), among other good fish. Weever fish is the most venomous one found in the North Sea and other coastal areas. They usually live in the sand and, when provoked, can strike with pinpoint accuracy. The spine of a weever is strong enough to penetrate through a leather boot. Nobody dies of their sting, but the pain is said to be crushing.
There was lots of time left after the lunch, and Inge-Merete invited us for afternoon coffee in her summer cottage on the island. It was very nice to sit on the sunny terrace there:
Flemming even managed (or attempted?) to fix something:
It was so nice to see Inge-Merete again, and to spend time together.
Inge-Merete was curious to see my Aeroprakt, and accompanied us to the airport (she used to fly another types of aircraft, like Cessna or Piper).
Pre-flight check, baggage, and we were airborne. Bløden Hale, the easternmost part of Læsø:
Bløden Hale is certainly the place in Denmark where the greatest land growth takes place – it has over the last 15 years grown approx. 5 m to the south every year!
We did a circle over the island in order to get the right altitude to fly over Læsø Rende, a water passage between Læsø and Jutland. Around 4,500 feet we noticed that the light mist we had there was getting thicker at higher altitude. At 5,500 feet we could see the island beneath us, but we couldn’t see the eastern coast of Jutland (from the eastern part of Læsø). It came as an unexpected surprise. We otherwise did our homework – had checked the weather on windy, northavimet, DMI, read METARs and TAFs for the airports en route. Flemming teaches meteorology in his flying club, so he had also checked some sources. They all said: CAVOK, NCD, NOSIG. No indication of mist.
Flemming and I decided to climb up to FL75 and see whether the mist layer would stop there – it didn’t. We descended to our intended FL55, at that time we were over the western coast of Læsø, and we could see the east cost of Jutland. It was a relief! Otherwise we would have landed back on Læsø, and waited for a better weather. Though I have Garmin G5 installed, it is only as an emergency backup.
We wondered how we could have prepared us better? How would you know there was a mist at a certain altitude? I even wrote to DMI when we got home, and asked for an advise.
Our flight continued without any issues. A towing aeroplane with a glider close to Kalundborg:
And after a couple of hours we were in our “home” neighbourhood – Korevlerne, a beautiful beach in Sejerø Bay:
It was a very pleasant and relaxing tour to Læsø. The weather was so good for spending time on the island’s white sand beaches!
