Image by Cecilie Hemmingsen: Jens Kondrup
By Cecilie Hemmingsen and Hannah Straily
Jens Kondrup, 78, has been sailing since he was twelve-years-old. Almost everyday he makes time to go down to the marina, Margretheholms havn, Sejlklubben Lynetten, to maintain, sail or even race his boat, Trud.
Sailing is a longtime hobby for Kondrup, over the years it’s given him a community and created strong friendships for his life. Lynetteholmen is located right next door to the marina. It is an artificial island that is said to be under construction for the next fifty years in the harbor of Copenhagen could impact that community Kondrup charishes.
“The friendships of the boat because when we do races, we are a crew. We are six and seven that have been sailing together for many, many years in fact,” said Kondrup. “It’s a long term friendship, and getting old together.
Many Copenhageners are also concerned about the environmental impacts of the construction of Lynetteholmen. Along with the impacts that it would have on Kondrups personal hobby, he’s also concerned with this.
Throughout the construction of Lynetteholmen, millions of tons of dirt is being dumped into the water, causing lots of pollution.
“It will to some extent block the exchange of water from the Baltic, out to the open waters. I’ve also been sailing in the Stockholm area, and then the water is much less salty than it is here. And they have very strict rules about not discarding anything in their waters up there,” said Kondrup.
Image by Cecilie Hemmingsen: Jens Kondrup looking at Lynetteholmen construction site.
Aside from the environmental impacts, Kondrup has also seen some impacts on the community at the marina. A dam was built that limits the hours which sailboats are able to pass through, making it difficult to keep younger sailors to stay at the club. Kondrup himself had to change his sailing habits to adhere to the hours that the bridge is up.
“I have to make do with that, which is a pain in a certain place. But survival,” said Kondrup.
Sailing has become much more difficult for Kondrup and fellow sailors. The junior section at the sailing club has even started to move to another yacht club, leaving Sejlklubben Lynetten to possibly be a dying sailing club.
Audience: Could be published under profiles/features or the environmental section of the NYT, intended for readers interested in people, travel and environmentalism.