Author: josinjohn

Anchored in a familiar spot, a well protected natural bay with a narrow and fairly long entry. Excellent except for maybe a strong northerly, which it isn’t this evening. A dozen or so others anchored, and half a dozen more attached to the shore. It is obviously holiday time!

This morning, motorsailed to Dalarø, a busy little town on a large island, bridge-connected to the mainland, with, amongst other things, a terminal for ferries to other islands round about. Very choppy waters at the guest pontoon next door. Stopped there for replenishments, for both me and the boat. Went ashore just as the bus, one of these articulated ones with lots of seats and few passengers, drew to a halt. Now I know that paying for a bus/tram/ferry ticket here in Sweden has gone all electronic, but I asked the driver if I could pay cash. How far are you going? To the supermarket at the top of the hill. Oh, only that? Hop in and ride, it is only one stop! Many thanks. Saved an uphill trudge. Deposited, with more thanks, outside a proper fishmongers. That all looks inviting, I’ll be back later. Done. Yet another plastic bag to carry back down the hill. Long arms back to a dancing Josin. Well fendered and tethered and safe this time. 

After a leisurely lunch, smoked fresh shrimp on fresh bread, and a short snooze, motored into the wind and waves to this harbour, experiencing along the way a proper local rainstorm and gusty winds, and glorious rainbow sunshine afterwards. Took a couple of tries to get the anchor to hold. Must be a lot of weed down there I suspect. Supper was fried fish (gjørs, in local, no idea), very tasty, and lots of asparagus, followed by strawberries and cream. Not bad, but Finnish strawberries were better. 

The wind is still blowing, unusually, so frequent checks of anchored position necessary. 

Shuteye time now. All’s well, from SailorJohn

Beautiful sunrise, through the trees, over mirror water. One more hour of sleep, then up and at it. Seems my routine in the morning gets us away at about 7, which is fine, as there is little traffic about and the sea is calm. Motored out to the ocean and then a good sail for most of the rest of the way. Still chilly though. Many layers of clothing still necessary! Wind gradually headed, front on its way. And in the night, it rained. 

Wednesday morning, low cloud, but no more rain. Wind in the west, which meant that we could sail for all of four hours, before the wind backed a little and course changed toward the west, so on with the engine. The last two sailing hours were in company with a German sailboat, who was only marginally faster than Josin. I think he was feeling a bit competitive too, which was fun. Goal for the day is the Swedish Cruising Club’s harbour at Norrviken, on Runmarø, 59 16.4 / 018 43.7. Should be there before teatime. 

Today there are boats everywhere. We are nearing Stockholm, where there are very many marinas, it is holiday time, and with a good sailing breeze for going north, many have set off. Need to keep a good lookout. 

All’s well, from SailorJohn

Anchored in a bay with no less the five other sailboats. Obviously a good place to anchor up for the night. Today has been the longest day so far, started before 7, covered 59,4 nm in 11 hours. Good sailing wind from the north, we were heading SSE, for modt of the day, but a good deal sharp seas, which was tiring, but otherwise OK. Four other sailboats behind, which didn’t catch up until In the gradually narrowing channel into Öresund, when the wind gradually dropped to motoring for the last hour. Lovely bay this, promises to be a quiet night. 

Tomorrow further SE, back to the outer reaches of the Stockholm archipelago, and a known bay with a bouy. Unfortunately the forecast is for S to SW gentle winds, so it’ll probably be a motor/sailing day. We’ll see. 

Dinnertime now, kl 7, sausages ready to be golden black. All’s well, from a weary, but contented, SailorJohn

Oh dear. Just realized that the other language took command!  Please forgive me you kind, only English-speakers. Try GoogleTranslate! 

Gammal losstasjon. Solid, men liten, kai. En Svensk seilbåt på den andre siden, med lokalkjent ektepar fra Gävle. Mange gode råd om steder lenger sørover. 

På Skärsö igår, på en kunstutstilling av nydelige akvareller, (for stor og dyr!), traff jeg Stefan, pensjonert Redningsselskapet. En kopp te lokket ham ombord, og da fortalt han om, og viste på kartet, en “innaskjærs” route sørover. Bra. Hadde ikke lyst på en ny gårsdagen ute i havet. Det var artig idag, med gunstig vind, i retning, om litt vel sterk, å følge hans råd. Enkelte ganger var jeg noget engstlig, men siden han var med i kommunens farled komittee, og forsikret at det var 3-D dybdelogget ifjor, hele strekningen, gikk det bra. Artig!  Han også anbefalte dette stedet, og anbefalingen slo til. Vinden har nå løyet, bukten ligger speil og skyene har forsvunnet, da blir det en finfin kveld.

Mandag morgen: Etter middagen igår, ble jeg bedt om bord nabobåten for en ‘sundowner’, deres rutine når solen skinte. Jeg tok te, som var like fin i kveldingen. Hyggelig kveld. Kjølig etterhvert. 

Idag er det 15 kt nordavind, og vi seiler for fulle seil og finfin fart sørøstover, mot Öregrund. Det blir mange mil. Vi ruller en god del, så Rorbert autopilot må jobbe, men han holder kurs. Det er overskyet, høye slørskyer, som forhåpentligviis forsvinner. 

All’s well, from a humble SailorJohn

Plan C as it turned out. Forecast was, er, inexact. Wind direction from south, correct. Wind stength, up to 12 knots, grossly understated. Wave height 0,5 meters, ditto. Cloudy, with showers, no, heavy cloud and very wet rain. The increasing southerly wind, creating waves in our south-facing mooring, rocked me awake very early. So, up and at it. Could be a long-distance day? Well, no! Outside the protection of islands, the head-to-wind-and-waves, both increasing, instigated Plan B. Harbour only 15 miles away. After an hour’s bashing and rolling, the rain arrived, in bucketfulls, so Plan C, scuttling in to the nearest, (pinpointed in yesterday evening’s planning) protected harbour, now less than an hour away. A labyrinthine entry, very well marked, into a small jetty and help to tie up in the strong wind. Very comfortable here, with a large, picturesque restaurant specialising in fish. Look forward to dinner tonight. 

Main activity today? Drying out! Amazing how the spray and rain can seep their moisture into everything, The sun is succeding in it’s efforts to shine, the wind is not abating and relative humidity has therefore sunk significantly. Boating! What price an inland garden?

All’s getting better, from SailorJohn

long, motorsailing day to Sundsvall, to the sailing club marina. Rather dilapidated and out of date, but still functioning. There was a sloping ladder/mastcrane there, something I have been looking for, so as to get to the top of the mast to get the nav-lights to work, but unfortunately conditions didn’t calm down enough. Too many wash-waves from passing boats. Better luck somewhere else later. Chatted with the old salts caressing their coffee mugs on the clubhouse veranda before turning in early. Next morning puttered over to the town’s guest harbour, to fill up with diesel and go food shopping. About fifteen minutes walk in to the town square. There were dragons everywhere, look at this for a sample. Not too scary really!  Sundsvall is a friendly place. 

 
Enormous variety, brightly coloured, each one sponsored by a company. Apparently there is a ceremony every autumn when they get put away for the winter, and another, more festive, in the spring, when they are brought out again. Very popular with the kids, of all ages. The town’s emblem is a large “S” with a dragon’s head. Original!

Washing machine and tumbler drier available, so that was convenient, and, because I was just pipped in the queue, departure was delayed until late afternoon. An energetic sail in lots of wind and waves, and rain, took us in record speed to a Cruising Club’s very sheltered small jetty in amongst the islands for the night. The weather was still blistery, and the floating jetty grumbled and squeaked most of the night. Earplugs necessary!

Left at a reasonable hour this morning, in an excellent sailing wind on the stern, but unfortunately with yesterday’s waves and swell still active. A rolypoly ride, hand steered, as Rorbert the autopilot couldn’t cope. The wind gradually died, and without the stabilising effect of the sails, motoring in those conditions was not comfortable, so I found an SXK buoy in a sheltered bay, pos 67 37.9 / 017 21.4, for an early stop, in the hopes of better conditions tomorrow. Forecast is for southerly breezes and rain. Lets hope it is wrong!

Only two more sailing-days until we are back to where we left Sweden to go to Åland. The weather will decide if we visit western Åland. Definitely on the way home it seems!

All’s well, from SailorJohn

Wednesday: Quieter day yesterday. From Ulvösund to Högbonden, mostly motoring. Tied up at Högbonden, at the small, rather fierce-looking part of the jetty not used by the touristboats. Lo! There comes one. Big wash, even though he slowed down 100 m from arrival. The short, sharp waves made Josin dance violently, the railing caught the jettyedge and got bent, a fender punctured and two of four mooring lines snapped. Dramatic, but it could have been worse, if the two last lines had broken! I could do nothing but observe, and curse inwardly at the ferryboat captain. Don’t think he even noticed. Too busy changing passengers and getting away again. 

Chasened, and re-moored, I climbed the path to the lighthouse/cafeteria/view. Warm sun on pineneedles, haphasard lichened and foot-worn stone and tree roots all reminded strongly of Norway. Viewed the view took some pics and studied the ferryboat timetable. Oh dear, he is on his way back again. Rushed back down the path, (within danger limits of course), only to see him disappearing back to Barsta. Relief. Josin still there and securely tied up. No more apparent damage. Maybe he saw what happened previously. 

  
Pottered in to Barsta. Mostly campervans, caravans and tents. Two other boats, one a resident. Paid my dues and  wandered around, then over to the restaurant/shop in the hopes of a meal. No. Closed and for sale. Back to the remaining meatballs and broccoli. Sechuan sauce. Cosmopolitan if nothing else! 

Went for a walk up the road in the evening sunshine, finding almost-ripe wild strawberries in the verges. And a sign saying fish for sale. Byroad. Gravelly. Lead to a white house and red barn, and a welcoming fisherman, and yes, here was smoked sik. Also a group of corpulent and jocular men, with beer in hand, tending a large and smoking grill. Back to boat, followed for a way by a blackandwhite cat, which stroked my shins, with two smoked sik, lunch for two days, at least. Thunderstorm evening and sudden short-lived rain. Clean decks. Early to bed. 

Today (dip in 14,5 degrees), a 7 am start, a motor-sailing, longish, day to Sundsvall, alone on the sea so far. Again the wind forecast is wrong,  Clouds clearing gradually, so maybe it’ll turn out to be a warmish day. 

All’s well from SailorJohn. 

Very long day yesterday, nearly 50 miles with a strong sailing wind over the stbd quarter, avge speed 5,7 kt, must be a record! Fun, but the motion was a bit wearying. Quiet night at the buoy, undisturbed by the goings-on on shore. Quick dip in 15,2 water. Puttered over the sound to the fuel dock, only to find a notice saying “Empty, more on Wednesday”. So. Away in a SSW direction a couple of hours motoring, (no wind today after yesterday’s blow) to the highest lighthouse “Högbonden”, on this part of the coast, called “Höga kyst” , which means high coast. Tis at least higher than I’ve seen for weeks, and a different look to it altogether. Almost like Norway! There are shapes on the horizon, not just thin smudges. The sun is trying to burn off the clouds, so maybe it will turn into a nice touristy day. 

All’s well, from SailorJohn. 

See now that an earlier post, from Åland, has suddenly appeared, several weeks late. Mystery. Sorry!

The wind didn’t die down at Valassaaret until pretty late, so I stayed the night. The other little speedboat decided that at 10 pm the conditions were Ok for them, so they left. So Josin, me and the birds. By sitting very still, they gradually decided that I was not a danger, so carried on with their lives. Again many swifts, nesting in amongst the jetty timbers. Terns diving and fishing, and missing. An eagle no less, tho rather far away. 

Next morning it was again blowing, so I had an extra hour’s sleep and a wait in the hopes. Went for a wander along overgrown paths. Old foundation stones, with information post and illegible, faded text. Ruins of a quite large boat ramp, rusty rails and bleached beams. More modern things, like the remains of a meteorological station, all stainless steel posts with nothing on the top platforms. Large and rust-grey tanks lurking in the bushes behind no-entry black and yellow tape, and oozing diesel vapours. (Wonder if the leak is strong enough to collect?) Many signs of abandoned activities. Sad, but understandable. 

Left at about ten, with a beam, 15 to 20 kt wind and sizeable waves, and rushed and swooped at max speed most of the way. Approaching the Swedish coast four hours later, the wind gradually subsided, but the waves took a little longer, and the last bit was very active! The book of harbour places recommended this place, but was obviously not up to date This island, a former site of a very, very large timbermill, is also showing the same signs of abandonment and decay. (Photos still will not download unfortunately). The previous manager-dwelling, now a hotel and restaurant, has a large ‘for Sale’ sign, and no activity. I was greeted on my arrival by a very friendly native who was just about to go out in his runabout. – From Norway? All that way? Yes, by all means stay, and there is power if you want. No, no charge. Nobody to organise you see. Welcome anyway! Sometimes you hit lucky!  Again I have wandered, and found some of the mill buildings, now a museum, and cafe with four guests. Most of the houses are now of course summer places, and with obviously recently cut ‘lawns’. Many large and beautiful trees, but the ‘under’growth is ‘over’. Large sign saying “sheep from the farm” or somesuch, but they would have had trouble with the knee- and thigh-high grass. Lovely flowers though. 

Forcast is for more northerly winds, which is good, but with chance of rain, which is not so good. We’ll see. Further to the south west whatever. All’s well, from SailorJohn