Back to Sweden - Vaxholm

We had a really good time in Mariehamn, which was fortunate because, apart from meeting Jill and John Bray we had a day waiting on weather.

One of the highlights of Mariehamn was a visit to the four masted sailing ship “Pommern”. She was part of Gustav Erikson’s flying P fleet of sailing ships that sailed around the world picking up wool from South Australia right up until the start of world war two. His fleet included the Passat (which we saw in Travemunde), the ill-fated Pamir, and the Moshulu about which Eric Newby wrote in “the Last Grain Race”.

The Pommern is exactly as she was when she was trading in sail with the sails, rigging, equipment and accommodation. Each part of the ship has explanations of what was done together with photographs.

 

On July 11^th, together with John and Jill Bray who arrived via the ferry from Stockholm, we departed Mariehamn on a sunny morning and had a gentle sail in a NW breeze to another idyllic anchorage at Notvikkens on the Aaland island of Eckero. When we arrived a white bearded Finn called out to us from the shore and pointed out the best place to anchor, so by way of a thank you we invited him aboard for a glass of wine. Pieter is an inter-island ferry pilot who owns a summer cottage that we could see from the anchorage. He was busy building a sauna overlooking the bay and next to the boat house that he had built.

Pieter's Sauna

The next day July 12^th we sailed further West and North to Karingsundet which is a little holiday resort bay on the far West of the Aalands and convenient for the passage back to the Swedish archiplego. A nice little harbour with children paddling in the shallows, a caravan park and a little café.

Anchorage at Karingsundet

 

A nice café - Karingsundet

Keren, Pete and Jomora - Karingsundet

 

 

Jill and Keren enjoying sunny Karingsundet

Time to get back to the mainland. So by 0900 on Saturday 13^th July we sailed, or rather motored back to Sweden. There was no wind at all, and the sea was glassy smooth with just a gentle swell.

We anchored at another harbour, Stora Asken that was not in the pilot which involved negotiating a narrow channel between rocks. For the first time on this cruise we had to re-anchor due to poor holding. We have found that generally the holding is excellent in thick dark clay. I think we dropped the hook this time on weedy rocks.

Approaching Stora Asken

During the afternoon John and Jill chose an anchorage for tomorrow and planned the passage. They found a good one, and on the 14^th we sailed another 20NM towards Vaxholm to “Bray Harbour”, and had a very peaceful afternoon and night. We took the dinghy ashore and explored yet another island.

Time for the Brays to leave, so on July 15^th we motored, (dead head to wind) West to the town of Vaxholm which is a pretty town on the main ferry route to Stockholm and only an hour away by small ferry. We plan to stay two days in Vaxholm to refill the larder and complete the eternal chore – clothes washing.