I have followed your adventure, and had great fun with your comments on all the annoying installations in foreign waters, some of them being my local Danish ones. Never thought about it being a problem with the aft poles in the harbours for example. I haven't had time for too much commenting lately as I have just come home from vacation, so you'll have my comment about the bundgarnspæle here (the wooden poles out in medium depth water in Denmark).
The owners of the poles are just as annoyed about people sailing around their nets as you are sailing around them, but their main enemy is the skarv! (great black cormorant). Denmark has one of the largest European populations of skarv and they are seen as competitors and thiefs when it comes to fishing. Fishermen are allowed to shoot the bird, who in all else is protected, if they come within 1000 meters of their poles. Most of them hasn't got the time for shooting the birds though and you very often see them sitting there on the poles.
Anyway thanks for an entertaining blog!
A sketch by the Danish painter Johannes Larsen, showing skarvs sitting on the poles.
Yeah, I've noticed that the skarv likes to sit on those poles.
When I was living in the arctic, I thought skarv was a typical arctic bird, so I was surprised encountering them further south. Once, when concentrated on "landing" the boat in a bit tricky wind, I heard a loud BANG. What did I hit now? Actually, it was birdstrike - a skarv had crashed with my mast! After I had tied up the boat I took the dhingy and collected the dead bird from the sea. I tried calling my mother to ask if it was edible, unfortunately she was busy - later I heard that it is indeed good to at it, as long as it's treated correctly - it's needed to bleed it dry as soon as possible, otherwise the meat will get a very bad fishy taste.
I have never tasted it, but my wife's uncle says it's good, almost like red meat. You can also smoke it with fine results I've heard.
They were almost extinct because the fishers hated them, but now they are everywhere and still protected. Like crows they shit the trees they inhabit in big colonies to death, and they eat an awful lot of fish so there have been discussion about allowing some hunt on them. As your mother said they should be good to eat.