A summer evening on the beach in Scania

A nice evening on the beach in nearby Domsten:

A ship in Øresund just before the sun sets

A ship approaching Helsingør/Helsingborg tonight, just before sunset:

PS

About ten minutes earlier these people enjoyed a refreshing evening swim with the Kronborg castle in the background:

The invasion of the Danish "pleasure fleet" in Helsingborg tonight

On this nice summer evening the Danish "pleasure fleet" invaded the Helsingborg yacht harbour on the Swedish side of the Sound. There were yachts of all types, big and small, sailing yachts and motor boats - even two Danish tugboats!

A nice line of Danish yachts at Norra Hamnen in Helsingborg.

The Princess Nora IV was one of the larger Danish yachts in the marina.

Baloo from Helsingør was just arriving.

The Danish tugboat Frigga (34 x 12m) in Helsingborg 

The somewhat smaller Danish tug Bure.

Danes surely know how to enjoy themselves, also on board their yachts - or tugs:

A nice rosé is an excellent pre-dinner drink on board.

Dinner for the tugboat crews was served on the Sun Deck.

SS France - "the Versailles of the Atlantic"

The SS France was the only French "four stacker" among the famous ocean liners.

The "four stacker" SS France, nicknamed "the Versailles of the Atlantic", was the pride of her French owners, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, when she was introduced into the transatlantic route in April 1912, just a week after the sinking of RMS Titanic. The France soon became one of the most popular ships and continued to cross the Atlantic - as well as cruising to other destinations - until 1932, when it was withdrawn from service. On 15 April 1935, the France left Le Havre under her own steam to the scrappers at Dunkirk, Scotland.

The beautifully decorated first class passenger saloon.

The general characteristics of the SS France: 

Tonnage:	24,666 (1912) 23,769 (1924)[clarification needed]
Length:	217 m (712 ft)
Beam:	23.88 m (78.3 ft)
Propulsion:	Four direct-action steam turbines; Quadruple propeller; 45,000 ihp (34,000 kW)
Speed:	23.50 knots (43.52 km/h; 27.04 mph)
Capacity:	2,020 passengers

A spectacular sunset in Øresund

The rather spectacular Øresund sunset tonight was a worthy end to the maybe most beautiful day this summer - so far:

A spectacular goodbye to Queen Mary (2) in Hamlet´s Elsinore

Tonight Cunard´s flagship Queen Mary 2 said goodbye to Hamlet´s castle in Elsinore (Helsingør) with a spectacular firework show, organized by the Danish hosts. Most of the cruise guests had visited Copenhagen during the day. The 345 x 41m QM2 has a draught of 10m, which prevents it from going to the Danish capital.

Hopefully there will be a reunion next year!

Mirage:The Queen Mary 2 floating in the air

Early on this glorious August morning Cunard´s mighty ocean liner Queen Mary 2 arrived at Helsingør. Due to the atmospheric conditions creating a mirage effect, the ship appeared almost to float in the air as it approached its destination: 

The QM2 approaching Helsingør 

Here the strangely distorted QM2 is already preparing to lay anchor. The island  Ven (Hven in Danish) on the left appears to be floating in the air.

Below two other images of the QM2 with a somewhat "new look". The magnified waves in the second picture are quite interesting : 

The Finnish photographer Pekka Parviainen has specialized in photographing mirages in Nordic waters. This is how he explains the phenomenon: 

The word mirage can be more accurately defined by explaining that atmospheric conditions can cause deviation of the normally straight movement of light rays, creating a situation where an object is perceived as displaced or distorted. Mirages are usually seen at the horizon and with a very small angular diameter, yet they may take a number of shapes. The shrubs and rocks on a small island may tower into the sky; low, sloping shores may be vertically stretched so they look like precipices; a ship and its deck superstructures may distort into unidentifiable boxy shapes; entire islands seem to float in the air with inverted mirages below them; a number of mirages of the same island appear, now right way up, now upside down, above the island; a ship is seen to travel along the distant horizon upside down; the setting sun looks square, splits up into slices and gives off a final, bright green flash before going down. 

Read the entire article here

PS
On the photo below you can see the QM2 in front of Hamlet´s castle Kronborg. The mirage effect almost disappeared when the ship appears only in the more remote background:

The QM2, a Buster boat and Kronborg castle

The mirage effect is not very visible on this picture either: 

A Danish Herring gull observing marine traffic in Øresund

This Herring gull was tonight watching marine traffic in the port of Helsingør. 

Among the non food-related traffic he/she must have seen the Finnish ro-ro ship Misana (164 x 24m) which was heading for the port of Kotka in Finland: 

The gull may also have caught a glimpse of the other side of the Sound - the city of Helsingborg:

The Hittarp reef in Øresund

Last night I shot this picture of the Hittarp reef (with part of the community of Hittarp in the background). The shadow of the photographer is visible!

A three masted schooner in the Sound

This nice three masted schooner was on its way northwards in the Sound this afternoon. Regrettably it was sailing without AIS on, so I am not able to provide its name. If somebody recognizes the schooner, I would be grateful for the information:

A three masted schooner and two smaller sailing boats in the Sound.

The MSC Poesia meets a pleasure craft in the Sound

Tonight at about half past seven the MSC Poesia (294 x34m) passed Helsingborg/Helsingør on its way from Copenhagen to Oslo:

Note the small pleasure craft on the left side of the MSC Poesia.