Heading back South – to Karlskrona

(Apologies fir lack of pictures - technical error with download from camera!)

Once Joanna and Nikki had left we started our journey back to Fehmarn in Germany to lay up Jomora.

The plan was to gently cruise back taking in ports and places that we had not seen on the way North. On August 10^th we sailed south from Nynasham and around the Landsort light before heading to Lanjo a natural harbour on Nyckeskar Island.

 The next day we cruised gently south and picked up a Swedish cruising club mooring at Blanko. We got the cockpit tent up just before it poured with rain.

On Monday August 12^th we sailed 30NM to Vastervik and stayed two days to see the sights and to stock up with food, fuel and water. Vastervik is a nice little town well worth a visit.

Our next passage was the most complicated of the entire trip, because the route from Vastervik to Oskarsham via the islands of the archipelago is extraordinarily complex so it was a case of Keren at the chart and chart plotter giving Pete directions from one mark to the next. In actual fact navigation through the rocks and islands of the Swedish archipelagos is not difficult as long as each buoy or lighthouse is ticked off,  but it is a bit disconcerting when you pass rocks almost close enough to touch! The passage was not helped when the sky clouded over and we had the mother of all thunderstorms complete with spectacular lightning. At one point we shut everything down and drifted while we had a rest and the worst of the lightning passed by.

At the Blankholm marina in Oskarsham we met Paul and Jean, fellow CA members who sail a Halberg Rassy 36 called Caritas. They were on passage south to their winter layup base at Kalmar. The marina at Oskarsham is quite run down and not very well managed. There was no one available to take our money and we emptied the diesel tank after only taking on 24 litres.

From Oskarsham we sailed through the Kalmar straits which separate the Swedish mainland from the island of Oland against a head wind to Borgholm, Kalmar, Kristianopel and then West into the most Southern of the Swedish archipelagos to Karlskrona.

We are fated to sail against the wind! Four days tacking, close hauled with the motor running going South through the Kalmar straits only to have the wind veer to the West when we turned the corner to Karlskrona. We have been told that this is the typical weather pattern in Sweden, North East winds in early summer when everyone is heading North and South to South West for the return trip. What with head winds and tricky pilotage we have used the engine an awful lot this summer, thank goodness it is so reliable.

The one good thing is that the marinas and anchorages are virtually empty at this time of the year. The Swedish sailing season is very short and when the children go back to school in the first week of August the Swedes and Finns disappear, leaving the marinas to the Brits, Germans and Dutch heading south.

The South Stockholm Archipelago to Navisham with Joanna and Nikki

Pete returned back to Stockholm after visiting his Mum with daughters Joanna and Nikki on July 31^st.

While Pete was away Keren had thoroughly spring cleaned the boat and done a mountain of shopping.

The girls spent the next day touring the city and met up with a friend from Uppsala.

On Friday August 2^nd we motored out of the Wasahamnen marina, refuelled and took the canal past the town of Boo and South to the island of Agno where we anchored at a “natural harbour” called Napoleonvikken (apparently named because Napoleon’s son swam there). A blazing day with a very light Southerly breeze.

A happy cruise ship

Joanna drives the boat while Dad looks on

Through the canal to Boo

At anchor in Napoleonvikken. It's hot enough to need

the wind scoop

 

For the next 5 days we pottered about the Southern part of the Stockholm archipelago not sailing more than 12NM each day and staying in natural harbours apart from a visit to a small marina on the island of Uto. The weather was glorious and rather than seeking shelter from the weather, we anchored where we could catch a cooling breeze!

 

 Close to the rocks at Kolnavikken

 



 Kolnavikken

Dad and Keren paddle ashore

 View from the hill above the marina at Gruvbriggan

on Uto island

Tupudden anchorage, Musko island

 Nikki in charge of navigation

 

Joanna making sure we miss the nubbly bits en route

to Navisham

On August 7^th we had a first rain for a week with 18kn of wind (dead ahead as usual), so it was decided to go to the marina at Navisham. Of course, just after we had moored and eaten a huge buffet lunch, out came the sun and the wind dropped. 

Contrary to the reports in the cruising guides we liked Navisham which is a big, clean, well run marina in a nice setting. The town is not particularly historical but a good place to stock up. The main reason we are here is that it is only one hour by train from Stockholm and the railway station is next to the marina. The girls will have an easy trip to the airport when they leave.

Looking North towards Navisham marina



The archipelago and back to Stockholm

Vaxholm:

Vaxholm hotel - famed in the 1930s as a luxury retreat

Vaxholm castle

Apparently a famous German general was reported to have laughed only

twice. Once when his mother in law died and once when he saw this castle!

 

For the next week we cruised the islands of the Stockholm archipelago, staying within a days sail of Stockholm in case we had an urgent call regarding Pete's mum. Below are some pictures of the natural harbours we visited and things we saw:

 

 Stensvik Bay

 

 Don't know what these little birds are, (they look like swifts)

but they spent the day chatting on our guard rails and pooping on

the decks

 

 A very crowded Paradiset

 

 Ladnafladden. Hard to believe from the photo but it blew 30kn

while we were here. We had to stay for two days waiting on weather

Now we've seen it all. A floating sauna!

 



 Herself, making sure we navigate past the nubbly bits

 

A walk in the woods

On July 25th we headed back to the Wasahamnen Marina in Stockholm where Keren and Jomora will stay while Pete flies back to see his Mum.

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.

To Finland – Aland Islands

A good time was had in Stockholm. We saw what we wanted to see – the Wasa museum (where the 16^th century ship that sank in Stockholm harbour is preserved), the old dry docks at Beckholmen and the old town of Stockholm known as Gamla Stan. Anne and Alan Ramsden however spent three full days tramping around and saw much more.

Gamla Stan main square

A quiet pathway in Gamla Stan

Spot the Troll!

Enough of the city life. The Ramsdens left us, and on 1st July, Wandering Star and Jomora went to search out natural harbours. We sailed to Vaxholm but bypassed the town and marina and anchored between the islands of Kullo and Edholma.

On the next day we searched out another nice spot on the NW side of the island of Yxlan which may or may not be called Sillviken.

Doing boy's stuff at Silvikken

Both these places are not marked on the chart or the Swedish pilot as natural harbours, but there are so many little inlets in the Stockholm archipelago that it is always possible to search out  a sheltered spot of your own.

On July 3^rd it was decided that WIFI was needed so that Wandering Star could contact their insurance company to get clearance to sail to Finland so we sailed a few miles to a marina at Graddo. A mistake – a poor marina, with no WIFI anywhere in the village that we could find. Added to that the prices were the same as the marina in the centre of Stockholm!

We were glad to leave that place and moved all of 4NM to another natural harbour on the island of Ido which was prettier and cost nothing.  Ido is a nature reserve so we walked around part of the island and saw hosts of wild orchids for which the island is famous. We stopped and talked to a middle aged lady who lived in a wooden 18^th century cottage from May to October. Her summer house has no electricity or running water and she has to use her dinghy to go shopping 4 miles away .

On July 5^th we woke up to a misty morning but undaunted we sailed (or rather motor sailed in very light winds) to the Aland Island’s capital, Mariehamn. The Aland Islands are a bit like the Channel Islands in that although they are nominally part of Finland they are semi-autonomous and have separate government and flag. They do not like to be reminded that they are part of Finland. So for this trip we had to get an Aland courtesy ensign as well as a Finnish one.  For what it is worth, we can now claim to have visited eight countries on this cruise.

The passage was interesting because the fog came and went as did the monster ferries that ply the route from Stockholm to Mariehamn and on to Turku in Finland. Once again thank goodness for radar and AIS.

Up to the marina with the Pommern and another tall ship

 

On the way to the marina, the barque Pommern

Mariehamn pedestrian precinct

There's an awful lot of ferries go to Mariehamn!

 

Slowly to Stockholm

We had a nice couple of days in Trosa, a small but quaint town with many wooden houses lining the river bank. We took the dinghy and tried to venture up river but got caught in the Trosa version of rapids at the outskirts of town and had to turn back after nearly swamping the inflatable!

Trosa river before the rapids

Trosa town

We’d had enough of marinas so on 26^th June sailed north to Stora Marskair. Another lovely archipelago anchorage. The weather is finally beginning to warm up and Pete was sailing in shorts and a T shirt which rarely happens at home. We actually made use of our new cockpit tent to keep off the sun when we anchored.

We had planned to stop at another natural harbour on the night of the 27^th but a low was forecast with strong North West winds and, as we could not seem to find an anchorage with good shelter, we went the 14NM to Karlsund marina on a really hot and sultry day. A rather typical marina - top prices with minimal services, no fresh water points on the guest pontoon, and no fresh bread in the shop. Added to that, it was very hot, at least 30deg. under the cockpit cover.

As forecast, the front passed through during the night and we woke up to a dull, cool and blustery day. Wandering Star and Jomora fuelled up (at inflated marina prices), and we again headed roughly north east as the day warmed up and the sky cleared. We arrived at what is probably the best anchorage we have stayed in to date, (Agno Tvattfatet – don’t try to say it fast!). This natural harbour is almost totally enclosed except for a 20m wide channel which leads into a tree lined lagoon. At the north end of the lagoon is a small Sea Scout camp where a dozen or so young folk had dinghies pulled up on the shore. After we had anchored and launched the dinghy we spoke to a lady who was supervising and she told us that the children had built or renovated all the dinghies and were now on holiday to try them out. It was great to sit in the cockpit with Anne and Alan Jan and Chris (from Wandering Star) and watch the young ones having fun.

 

Tvattfatet entry, Wandering Star, and the young ones sailing

 

Tvattfatet Bay taken from Jomora

The boys exploring

Finally the big day dawns. On Thursday 27^th June we sailed (or rather motored), to Stockholm. We elected to take the picturesque route through the village of Boo (lots of inane jokes ), and through a series of canalised lakes where some of the cuttings are only just wide enough for two boats to pass. This route passes some of the finest houses in the Stockholm area all with moorings, boat docks and saunas on jetties - like the Fal estuary with attitude. This “short cut” exits on to the main channel into Stockholm city and we motored past big inter island ferries on one side and what looked like royal parkland residences on the other to the Wasahamen marina.

This marina is the equivalent of the Sixhaven marina in Amsterdam in that it is as about as close as a masted vessel can get to the centre of the city and although crowded and expensive is almost a “must do” for a day or two.

Wasaharmen marina

Looking across at Stockholm old town

 

Onwards towards Stockholm - Trosa

WE arrived at Nykoping (pronounced nuushowping) on Monday 10^th June

Nykoping was our first experience of the dreaded mooring booms. They consist of five to eight metre poles running from the pontoon attached to a buoy at the outer end. They are too flimsy to stand on, have a silly little eye on the end above the buoy, have no fendering on the pole, and can easily scratch the hull because the boat fenders roll up off them.  We managed to put a nice rub mark on the hull! They are definitely the most unpopular of the many mooring systems used in Sweden.

You can just make out the dreaded fingers, facilities and restaurant in the background

At Nykoping, after completing some maintenance work for a couple of days, Pete jumped ship to travel back home to see his Mum while Keren managed shipboard chores.

Nykoping is a nice little town as you can see from the pictures below:

Keren loves photographing sunsets! 

Old warehouses by the harbour turned into cafes 

Looking upriver to the town centre 

The castle

Peter arrived back on board on Wednesday 21st June with Alan and Anne Ramsden, and after a rest day to get over the journey we extricated ourselves from the mooring and sailed down the long sound and through the islands of the archipelago to Stendorran. A blustery 13 mile motor into a strong easterly head wind, but very nice because the sun was shining and we could admire the many scenic islands and sounds.

Typical archipelago pilotage. Attention required!

 

Stendorran (“stone door”, because of the rocks close together at the entrance) is a very pretty totally enclosed natural harbour. The islands are a nature reserve with pathways and a “naturum” (visitor’s centre) with information on all the flowers, birds and beasts that inhabit the archipelago.

Here we witnessed first-hand boats mooring bows to the rocks. The technique is to drop a light stern anchor on a rope line and then motor to the rocks on the shore where a crew member leaps ashore and secures to bow lines either to rings provided, a nearby tree or into cracks in the rocks using little pitons and a hammer. It all looks a bit of a palaver to us especially as it is dependent on the boat being head to the wind to avoid it slewing alongside the rocks. - Think we will stick to anchoring!

Swedish style rock mooring

Jomora style anchorage

 

On Saturday 22^nd June we left Stendorran and had a lovely downwind sail in the sun to Trosa. Quite a windy day with lots of fairly intricate pilotage around the islands so we sailed with just the genoa, furling and unfurling it to suit the wind and the need to see the buoys.

Chris and Jan on Wandering Star were at the Rosa marina to meet us and watch our first mooring using stern buoys and bows to the pontoon. We have bought a Swedish style mooring buoy hook for this exercise and it all went according to plan! A lunch of Walenbogare (Swedish veal hamburger with mashed potatoes), a walk round town, a rest in the afternoon and a boozy session before dinner rounded of the day.

Starboard hand dunny (toilet)

 

Trosa

 

Boozing in Jomora, what a bunch!