Today Christiansø will receive supplies after 12 days of isolation: *"It will be a real, real logistical challenge."*

Today, Jackie Nielsen will face a task he has never experienced before.

He will be the vessel operator on the Marine Home Guard’s boat *Hjortø*, which will transport daily supplies, medicine, and a doctor to Christiansø, 18 kilometers northeast of Bornholm.

Due to the weather, the island has been isolated for the entire 12 days.

*"Frankly, it’s going to be a real, real challenge,"* Nielsen says. *"There’s nothing enjoyable about that trip."*

Normally, it is the mailboat *Postbåden Peter* that makes the journey to Christiansø in the winter months. However, the easterly winds have made it impossible for the vessel to set out.

*"We’ve never had to supplement the mailboat before. Neither the risk of icing nor the danger of waves have I’ve never experienced. I’ve sailed in rough weather before, and I usually turn green after just an hour or an hour and a half. That’s why it’s crucial to have skilled people with me,"* he explains.

He hopes the trip will take about three hours. The first hour is the easiest, as the boat sails toward Hammeren, which is Bornholm’s northernmost point. But then the vessel must navigate into more open waters.

*"There, we’ll be sailing in waves of two to three meters with the risk of icing. And yes, that’s just how it is."*

But there’s more waiting when the boat reaches the small island.

*"Then you have to survive the harbor maneuver on Christiansø. There’s no room for error—it’s a cash settlement if you make mistakes. There’s no soft bottom, as they say. And then there’s the risk of icing, but I hope we can make it across without turning back,"* he says.

To ensure the boat can pass through any potential ice, a large hammer is taken along.

Once the supplies and doctor have disembarked, it is planned that around 16 people will return to Bornholm.

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