Racing Waters

The Bay of Århus was shaped and sculpted by the last ice age. It is a typical glacial moraine landscape with hills and valleys, and the shoreline bears clear evidence of just how far the ice stretched in its progress toward the east. In some places the terrain rises to little more than molehill height, while in other areas 20 to 30 metre high cliffs tower over the water.

The Bay of Århus with the city on the left and the peninsulars Skødshoved and Helgenæs on the right.              

The depth of water varies between 10 and 40 metres – including the depth of the commercial channel. The layout of the bay makes it a very safe place to sail. Regardless of wind direction and wind force the Bay of Århus will always protect you from the most extreme weather conditions. The safe waters and the unique location near Denmark’s second largest city make the Bay of Århus a truly vital area for sailing and simply a spectacular recreational area.

You will come across many coves and bays perfect for day trips, and the bay is almost completely lined with white sandy beaches. In the summertime people flock to the beaches and can enjoy any or all of the activities even remotely connected to water. The quality of the water itself is tested regularly, and is of the highest standard in Europe.

Wind and weather in July, in the Bay of Århus

A beautiful rainbow forms over the Dinghy Park

The sea itself is always changing, however most of the time you’ll encounter only small swells and chops. The seas only really build up when winds are strong from an easterly or south-easterly direction. However, the conditions rarely become too rough for comfort, due to the relatively shallow depth of water and the fact that the bay itself is sheltered by the large peninsulars Skødshoved and Helgenæs at E as well as the two islands at SE, Samsø and Tunø. July is normally the warmest month of the year in Denmark with average day temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius and water temperatures between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius. Lack of wind or strong winds are both very rare in the Bay of Århus in July and in the daytime the mean wind speed is 5.7 metres per second with mostly south-westerly and westerly winds. As the Bay of Århus is relatively protected the current and tidal effects are limited. Being in the Nordic region of Europe we have bright nights with close to 200 hours of sunshine in July and only an average of 9 days with rain.      To see the weather right now in Århus please go to the weather menu.

The Århus Yachting Harbour (56º10,1' N/10º13,4' E)

The dinghy park will be placed at the Århus yachting harbour where also two of the five local sailing clubs are situated, namely the "Århus Sejlklub" and the "Sejlklubben Bugten". The dinghy park, which is more than 7,000 square metres large, will be closed to non-accreditated persons and leave working peace to the athleets for their preparation and tuning of their boats and boards.

The dinghy ramp is very wide and situated right inside the break wather which makes access and exit easy. The racing area itself is within few minutes away and is visible from the break wather promenade.

The Yachting Harbour houses several wather sport clubs such as kayaking, rowing and diving clubs as well as a harbour special dedicated to classic wooden ships. The harbour also houses restaurants, cafés, a large equipment and sailing gear shop, workshops etc. The restaurants and cafes will be open to visitors and competitors offering a wide range of menus and drinks.

The Århus Yachting Harbour with the Dinghy Park and the ramp seen
at the bottom left, just behind the break water.