Month: June 2015

Woke to rain. Gentle patter on the deck above. Too early! Later: Still too early. Breakfast. Dingy to shore, where a fairly disorganised gang are erecting a large awning over the seating/tables area. “Its going to rain tomorrow”

  
Problem: how to tension the many ropes to eliminate potential pools. Solution: several left, as was discovered later in the morning when folk gathered for a mid-morning coffee and it rained. Now we know where not to sit tomorrow. 

It has rained on and off all day, so reading and a couple of things on the to-do list. Now evening, and quite calm. Grey clouds just waiting to weep. Forcast for tomorrow is not good for Midsummer activities, but that will surely not stop the fun, just make it all wet. We shall see. 

Alls well, SailorJohn

• Several firsts today: 
• 3:30 am, the cuckoo cuckcuckoo’ed. Bit late for the rhymetime middle of June! 
• Morning dip, all of five seconds, but nonetheless, wet all over. Temp 12,2 degrees, phew!
• Inflated rubber dingy and rowed ashore to revive the memory. Nice place, good facilities.

The sun is struggling a losing battle against an advancing front, due to arrive wetly later on. A day for relaxing, reading and not looking at the to-do list. 

Alls well

Forgot the pictures: herewith:

   
 

SailorJohn

Pleasant sail from Torrø, only 12 nm, but the sun shone, most of the time, and matresses on deck did not get splashed. Tied up to a SXK buoy, one of four, with the place to myself initially. Later three more boats arrived, one large with a dissappearing couple on board, one small, with solo sailor, and one middling, with father and four girls on board. Obviously a well-sailed family. They have been very active, even a dip, (13,5 degrees) before dinner, and a canoe race afterward. Quite the entertainment.

 The evening sun, though not warming, is shining well, and with the wind now almost nothing, all the sounds of nature are carrying over the water. A cuckoo, loudly very close by, unseeable even with binoculars, suddenly decided to fly over to the other side of the bay. Seldom birdwatching experience. Then a flock of canada geese, majestically slow-swimming past and quietly chuckling between themselvs, with three ducks in attendance. They disturbed the heron in the shallows, who didn’t appreciate his dinner-potential dissappearing. Small fish are rising and all is very peaceful. 

Time to bring the matresses, and myself, in, it is getting chilly.

Alls well, from SailorJohn

Gentle sail to here yesterday, east-facing bay, populated by herons, swans, cormorants and of course, gulls. The heron were very territorially strict, squaking and flapping to chase rival fishermen away from their places. Swans supercilious.

This morning, cloudy sky clearing, 10 degrees in the water, 11 degrees outside and 12,5 degrees inside. Turn on heater and burrow back under the eiderdown and wait a while.

After breakfast, now a good deal warmer outside in the bright sunshine and very little wind, I decided to give Josin a good hose down. Valve open, pump switched on and working, pulled trigger in the nozzle and only a drizzle. Odd. Very odd. Downstairs to check, and oh dear, a loose hose connection was leaking squirtingly onto everything in the forcastle. Ah well, it is a vey good drying day for wet matresses, spare bedding and towels etc.  Josin now festooned. Take an early lunch!

Next goal, later today, will be Stugvik, pos 58 07.00 / 016 49.00, where the local SXK division is having its Midsummer gathering on friday. Due to excellent sailing progress, I`ll be a bit early, but hopefully tomorrow will be another drying day. Rain forecast thursday, and not too bright for Friday, but there is always a chance that the forecasters are pessimistic. 

All’s well.

East facing horseshoe on the east side of Kårø. Pos: 57 54.18 / 016 47.06. Trees all round, encouraging the W wind to blow over the top. Secure at anchor. 

After provisioning and fuelling and watering at Vestervik, we pressed on northish and found a secluded bay, just right to stay and wait for the weather to go grey and wet and dull. Spent the evening trying to get the anchor lantern at the top of the mast to work. Needed when one is at anchor. But it resisted all attempts, even putting volts into the cable directly at the bottom of the mast had no effect. Bother!  Well, we are travelling north, the nights are getting shorter, and lighter, so maybe the lantern can be done without. I’ll just look innocent, if asked. 

 Skies cleared up at lunchtime today, so onward north, not very far, in a westely wind which just let us sail, following the main route between islands and rocks. The routes are all very well marked with cairns, stakes and lights, that one can almost do without charts. Easy to follow anyway. 

After a short snooze her, and a cuppa, a Danish boat came puttering in to share the anchorage, and shortly afterward, a Swede, almost a Ballad, came sailing in, drifted into position, downed sails and dropped anchor. No use of engine.  All very profft, and an example to copy. Maybe next time!

This anchorage is just off the main route, so I can sit snugly in the cockpit and watch the boats go by, if there were any. Remarkably quiet, but I suppose that holiday time hasn’t started yet.

All’s well, from SailorJohn

6 am. Woken by a heron squawking loudly as it winged its way slowly past to its fishing place. Blue sky, bright sun. Gorgeous dawn.  Temp in the water, 10,5. (definitely no!). Temp inside, 14,5, on with the heater. Cuppa. 

Sailing and sea conditions yesterday gradually improved, and up went the Gennaker! Whooppee! Splendid sail rest of the way to an SXK blue buoy in a snug bay behind the lighthouse. Very safe. 

As usual, the process of getting the gennaker down and safely stowed in its bag and getting all the long ropes untangled and coiled, took time and much sea room. Has to be started well in advance of getting where one is going to and has to be done downwind. Method, method, method. 

Plan for the day is to follow the well-marked route through the many rocks and islands to Vestervik, last significant town for a while, to stock up on food, before wandering futher northward. Now in an area of many small bits of Sweden poking up through the water. Picturesque. Route well marked. Concentrate. Next planned event is to celebrate Sweden’s Midsummer, on friday next, in (SXK’s) the cruising club’s place in Stugvik, where I was several years ago, and enjoyed. Plenty of days to get the short distance there. 

Water temperature still only 10,5, so, breakfast without swim. 

All’s well, from SailorJohn. 

Bengt was away, so there was little point in staying the extra day, so now we ar on our sailing way northward. Lovely breeze on the Østbd quarter, another reason for not staying in Sandvik, nice place that it is.

As half-way planned, the fish restaurant on the quaysside provided a delicious fish soup yesterday evening. Recommended!  Long chat with Leif den lykkelige and his wife Pia, neighbour boat from Denmark, who had started from Kalmar after lunch yesterday, and had a fast sail in the afternoon wind. I obvoiusly started too early, as that wind only reached us just before we got in. Never mind.

Boat -fixing yesterday concentrated on radio equipment. AIS was blank. Simple solution. Aerial cable had come unplugged! Bingo! VHF needed operability from the cockpit, so the hand-held was installed there. Rational. 

The wind angle and strength is just about right to use the Gennaker sail, but the waves are at that angle and strength to make us roll like a doll, so venturing onto the foredeck to hoist sail is postponed. Hopefully as we get nearer the mainland, the waves will calm, and we can maybe try again. 

Sunshine is intense, but I’m all covered up, to protect the pinkness from yesterday. Shame!

All’s well. 

SailorJohn

Sandvik is on the northeast side of the long thin island of Øland, east of mainland Sweden.Sandvik’s position is 57  04,4 / 016 51,2. 

Early this morning, the weather, bright and sunny, and the forecast for 10 to 15 kt of wind from the west, promised a splendid sailing day. Again, the wind gods ignored the forecast, this time deciding they couldn’t be bothered to blow. Right now we have 2 kt on the nose (we are heading north), so the engine is doing its thing. 

Lots of markers hereabouts, as the Swedish royal family have their summer residence here, Borgholm. Last time past here a patrol boat paid a visit to have a chat. Very friendly, attracted by the Norwegian flag, he said. Must have been a boring day! 

Sandvik has active fishing boats, a lively sale of fish and a good restaurant. Fish for dinner tonight, folks!  Must ring up my friend, Bengt Erlingsson, the one with the camel farm nearby, and invite him over. 

Sun’s hot. No cooling breeze. Shorts! Again! Maybe this IS summer!

All’s well

  

Forgot to say. After the frustratingly slow progress to Falkenberg, we have now been very fortunate with wind and weather and sailed (almost exclusively) nearly 300 nm in 6 days, which is way above average. Sometimes you get lucky!

SailorJohn