Niccolo Machiavelli and Malene Ostervold northward bound

The cutter suction dredger Niccolo Machiavelli (138.5 m  x  26 m) and research/survey vessel Malene Ostervold (69 m x 15 m) were today going northward in Øresund: 

Dredger Niccolo Machiavelli (Luxemburg registry) is on its way to Murmansk.

Research/survey vessel Malene Ostervold  (Bahamas flag) is going to Torangsvåg, Norway.

The brig Tre Kronor af Stockholm on its way to the Tall Ships Races in Aarhus

The 35 m x 8.25 m Tre Kronor af Stockholm in Øresund.

Tonight, at about half past nine, the beautiful Swedish brig Tre Kronor af Stockholm was going northward in the Sound. The relatively newly built (2005) ship's destination is Aarhus and the Tall Ships Races. Estimated arrival is tomorrow at 11 AM. 

Two tall ships sailing in the Sound

During the last few it has been a great pleasure two watch tall ships actually sailing in the Sound. These two were going southward today. However, because they did not use AIS, their identity remains a mystery to me. I'd be grateful for any information about them. 

This beautiful three masted schooner seemed to display a small Dutch - or is it German?- flag high up on the third mast, but its identity remains unknown to me. 

This is obviously a nice Danish boat, but I was not able to find out which one. 

Car carrier Toledo heading for Bremerhaven

The vehicle carrier Toledo entered service in February 2005.

Few would characterize the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics car carrier Toledo - here in the Sound on its way to Bremerhaven yesterday evening - as a beauty, but the 200 m x 32 m ship is probably doing what is supposed to do very efficiently. The Toledo has a capacity of 6,350 car units.

The Seabourn Pride in the Sound

The 134 m x 18 m Seabourn Pride has a guest capacity of 208 and a crew of 164. The ship, which made its maiden voyage in 1988, was christened by Shirley Temple Black.

Seabourn has for several consecutive years been voted "Best Small Ship Cruise Line" by the readers of both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler magazines. Last night the Seabourn Pride, the cruise line's first ship, passed by in the Sound on its way from Copenhagen to Stavanger.

The Dutch cargo vessel Dongeborg and Kronborg

Dutch cargo vessel Dongeborg and Kronborg castle.

If today would be April Fool's Day, I might have written this caption to accompany the photo of cargo vessel Dongeborg: 

"The Government of Denmark has, due to severe financial problems, had to sell the Kronborg castle to a private buyer. Here the Dutch cargo ship Dongeborg is carrying the northern facade of the historic castle towards its new home in the Cayman Islands. The name of the buyer has not yet been disclosed, but it is understood that he is a Russian oligarch in need of a residence with lots of space."

Or alternatively, this one:

"The financially troubled Danish government has been forced to find private sponsors for the renovation of the historic castle Kronborg. The main sponsor, German Volkswagen,  insisted that the castle be renamed."

The historic pilot schooner No.5 Elbe sailing in Øresund

Pilot schooner No.5 Elbe sailing northward in Øresund last night.

The pilot schooner No.5 ELBE is the last remaining ship from the era of wooden ships in Hamburg. The ship, built by Werft von H.C. Stülcken in 1883, served pilots on the Elbe and the German Bight  for 30 years. Then it was used as a private yacht, making 13 Atlantic crossings and even rounded the Kap Hoorn. In 2002, the foundation Stiftung Hamburg Maritim, acquired the ship in Seattle, and brought it back to Hamburg. The meticulously renovated and maintained No.5 Elbe can now be chartered for day trips (up to 35 guests) and longer journeys (12 guests). The ship's homepage contains a lot of interesting information (in German). 

Here the No.5 Elbe has just passed Kronborg castle.

The No.5 Elbe meets the small cargo ship Hagland Boss in the Sound.

PS
At the time of my writing this, the No.5 Elbe is in the Kattegat on its way to Varberg.

Lady M - the world's largest sport yacht - in Øresund tonight

The world's largest Sport Yacht Lady M going southward in Øresund tonight. The speed was just under 20 knots.

Tonight there was a unique visitor in the Sound - the world's largest sport yacht, Lady M  - on its way from Kristiansand to Copenhagen. The 65.5 m yacht, with a top speed of 28 knots, was launched by US yacht builders Palmer Johnson as late as in May this year.

Palmer Johnson President Mike Kelsey recently gave Boat International this information about the boat and its owner:

‘In that she is the largest Sport Yacht that Palmer Johnson – or any other yard for that matter – has built to date, I would say that [Lady M] certainly represents new cutting-edge design and technologies,’ says Kelsey. ‘We are constantly evolving our product line as evidenced by our new SuperSport Series, which is a very different yacht while sharing many familial attributes.’

Kelsey gives a few clues into the closely guarded owner’s brief: ‘I can say that from the very first conversation I had with the owner, it was clear that he wanted a family yacht to enjoy his rare free time with and to have something which truly no one else has to enjoy with his family and friends.

P&O's MS Arcadia in the early morning mist

MS Arcadia on its way to Copenhagen on July 4, 2013.

This is MS Arcadia approaching Helsingør in the early morning mist today. The 285 m x 29.2 m Arcadia, which entered service in April 2005, is the third largest of the seven ships currently in the P&O cruise fleet. It has a  crew of 880 and a maximum passenger capacity of 2388. 

PS

I added this image of the Arcadia, when it sailed northward in the Sound later on the same day:

The Arcadia on its way to Zeebrugge last night.

Tall ships Fryderyk Chopin and Brabander sailing in the Sound

Last night it was nice to watch two tall ships, the Polish brig Fryderyk Chopin and the Lithuanian schooner Brabander, sailing in the Sound. Both ships were heading north toward Aarhus, where the Tall Ship Races are due to begin today.

The 55 m x 8.5 m Fryderyk Chopin has since it was launched in 1992 been one of  the regulars at the Tall Ships Races.

At Helsingør the Fryderyk Chopin "raced" with this small cargo ship.

A minute or two later, it was clear which one was the "winner" ....

With (almost) full sails towards Aarhus ....

The Lithuanian schooner Brabander approaching Helsingør. It looks like it would be  squeezed  between two of the Scandlines ferries, but luckily the ship was still a little bit further away ....

The Brabander passing Hamlet's Kronborg castle.

The Klaipeda University acquired Brabander from its Dutch owner in 2006. The ship , which now serves as a training and research vessel, was built in 1977. 

The classically lined motor yacht Jamaica Bay passing Kronborg castle

Motor yacht Jamaica Bay meets Kronborg castle on July 3, 2013.

The 60 m motor yacht Jamaica Bay (Marshall Islands registry) this morning passed Hamlet's Kronborg castle on its way northwards in the Sound. The Jamaica Bay, custom built by German Nobiskrug in Rendsburg, was delivered to her owner in 2010. The classically lined yacht is designed (exterior and interior) by the Dutch yacht designer Felix Buytendijk. 

Jamaica Bay and two Scandinavian swans. 

The classically lined profile of the Jamaica Bay.

Here is a video with some nice shots of the Jamaica Bay in the Caribbean: 

The Polish Navy's sail training ship Iskra on its way to the Tall Ships Races in Aarhus

The Polish Navy's sail training ship Iskra in Øresund on July 3, 2013.

This morning the Polish Navy's sail training ship Iskra, a 49 m x 8.1 m  barquentine launched in 1982, was going northwards in Øresund. The ship's destination is Aarhus, where the Tall Ships Races are about to begin tomorrow. The Iskra has a complement of 14 (6 officers) plus fifty cadets. 

A gorgeous German sloop in front of Kronborg castle

This gorgeous German sloop was a joy to the eye as it passed Kronborg castle and Helsingør this evening. Unfortunately I was not able to identify the boat. Maybe somebody could help with the identification?

Dry cargo vessel M/V Swegard in Øresund

Tonight it was nice to see the dry cargo vessel M/V Swegard pass by in the Sound. The 96 m x 13 m Swegard is owned an operated by Bore Ltd, a family owned Finnish shipping company, which was founded already in 1897. 

The M/V Swegard's destination is Hull.

A somewhat closer look at the Swegard.

In praise of Damon Hill (the horse) and dressage

Grand Prix winner Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill in Aachen.

Yesterday. I was planning to watch the British Formula 1 Grand Prix, broadcast from the legendary Silverstone race circuit. However, my plans changed accidentally, when I stumbled upon the German television channel WDR. 

The WDR took me to another Grand Prix, where the winner was Damon Hill, although not the former formula driver, but his German namesake, a horse.

The winners in front of the audience in Aachen.

The WDR showed the wonderful dressage to music competition from the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen. What a pleasure it was to see the best dressage riders in action! Germany's Helen Langehanenberg and her horse Damon Hill deservedly won all three main dressage competitions at the festival, including the freestyle dressage to music. 

Rodney Laver, MBE, knew how to dress.
(image wikipedia)

And thank God, there still is a sport where the competitors dress properly! The beautiful white dress code in tennis, which still was observed e.g. by such legends as Australia's Rodney Laver, is gone long ago. Fortunately the dressage riders have been able to resist "modernization". 

The organizers report that altogether over 360.000 spectators visited the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, which shows that people still appreciate quality and high standards in sports ....

PS 
Here you can watch Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill in action at Aachen last year:

Blue and white colors in the Sound this morning

Blue and white where the dominant colors this morning in the Sound:

The Holland America Line's M/S Ryndam (220 m x 32 m) early this morning.

The Finnish ro-ro cargo ship Birka Shipper (122 m x 15 m) on its way to Hallstavik.

A busy Sunday for cruise ships in the Sound

Sundays are always busy days for cruise ships in the Sound during the summer season. Tonight, these three large cruise ships were going northwards:

The 287m x 36m  Eurodam on its way from Copenhagen to Tallinn.

The  Norwegian Star (294 m x 32 m) is heading for Warnemünde.

The 272 m x 35 m Costa Fortuna's destination is Stockholm. 

Danish training ship Georg Stage going northwards in the Sound

The Danish training ship Georg Stage - which is said to be the smallest full rigger in 
the World - was this morning going northwards in the Sound. It would have been nice to 
see the 54 m x 8 m ship use its sails, but I presume that the captain preferred to use the 
engine due to the fairly strong headwind. 

Gdynia Maritime University's training and research vessel Horyzont II on its way to Spitsbergen

This is the Gdynia Martime University's training and research vessel Horyzont II this morning in Øresund. The 56 m x 11 m ship, which was delivered by Navimor International and Remontowa shipyard in 1999, is on its way to Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen). 

This is how the shipyard which built the Horyzont II describes the use of the ship: 

The vessel has obtained the ice class, which allows her to perform its regular sailings to Spitsbergen island in the Arctic Ocean. The purpose of these voyages is to supply the provisions and equipment to Polish research polar stations and at the same time to train on-board the students of Gdynia Maritime University

Occasionally the Horyzont II also accepts tourists as passengers:

Tourist – thanks to high standard of accommodation spaces, spacious mess room and club on-board “HORYZONT II” may be used for tourist escapades, depending on the availability of free accommodation.