Author: josinjohn

the drizzly weather and unfavourable wind made the decision easy. Seek haven! 

Harbourmistress very welcoming, saw Josin arriving and gesticulated and waved me to where to dock. Easy. Narrow pen, Josin just fitted, on the office pontoon. What could be better?

Washing machine available and now in use. Suitable activity in this un-summary weather, watching it, indoors. 

Have decided to stay the night. Wash-and-dry time is long enough to delay departure until too late really. Early start tomorrow will be just as effective overall. 

Bumped into a Brit in the office. Just arrived from the Åland islands, and keen to tell me all about it this evening. Will be interesting to hear if he has experience of places to which I have not already been. 

Forecast for tomorrow is for a sailable wind, 8 – 12 knots from the SW, almost enough for a good sail. Genakker probably. Hope the windgods (Aeoli?) listen to the forecast.

All’s well from SailorJohn

The sun was shining fitfully when I woke, so it wasn’t raining. Didn’t look as though it was going to either, so, up and at it. 16 degrees in the water, (these backwaters warm up quicker), so the morning dip was a bit longer than previously. Still chilly though! 

Navigating out from the islands was unreal. Jørgen had showed an interesting short cut, so I took it. Nail-biting, but successful. Just deep enough, with about half a meter under the keel. 

 Rest of the way was rather boring, with wind and waves against all the way. Clouds gradually lowering, but not leaking, nor yet, so I reckon the weather gods have ignored the forecast again. Good!

Next leg will be a long one, so we will stay here today and get in an early start tomorrow. All’s well with SailorJohn. 

If you Google Earth this position, it may well look as though we are parked (anchored) in a small bay surrounded by forest. It would be correct! Ballad owner and friend Jørgen recommended several spots to hide in if the weather promises inclement, so I tried this one, only he had recommended to go even further into the ‘unknown’. I chickened out when approaching, very slowly, a narrow and shallow channel between two reed beds. Thinks: if we get stuck, how do we get off again? Dunno. So, stop and anchor here. Very quiet, not even a swan or two. 

Today has been a long day. Started with a dip, as the water temperature had risen to 13,3 degrees, much warmer than 12. Very refreshing, caused extra breakfast appetite. Then to Oxeløsund, nearest town going north, a gentle sail with just enough wind to not use the engine too. Lovely morning, bright sunshine. 

Had to do some shopping as I had run out of plastic bags to put the rubbish in. Very big supermarket, very easy to get lost. Passed the dogfood section several times. A quarter hour’s laden trudge back to the boat, fill diesel and water and then off. Unfortunately the wind, now a bit stronger and otherwise excellent, was on the nose to go SE, then E, so the engine has been on all the way. Very little traffic, either pleasure or commercial, so keeping watch was uneventful. 

Almost nine o’clock when the anchor went down, so dinner had high priority, rice and wokked chicken etc. Am now sitting in the cockpit writing this, replete. The sun decended behind the trees to the NW, revealing a quarter moon in the W. Still not any meteorological signs that rain is forcast all tomorrow, so maybe it won’t happen. Anyway, this is a good, sheltered spot. 

All’s well, from SailorJohn

it was a grand Midsommersfest. Afternoon: Picking of wild flowers. Decorating the Maistang with birch branches, leaves and flowers. Ceremonial hoisting of the now-decorated Maistang.  Hurrahurra. Cheers. Skol! Coffee and cake, with strawberries.

Evening: Large barbeque, with smoke-wind in all directions, coughs and beery throat-clearing. Decorated tables with cloths all weighted down in the corners. Traditional herring, many sorts, and new potatoes. Grilled meat to black perfection. Songs. Toasts. A few speeches. And then the competitions. Brainteasers, balls into a bucket, (all were convinced that the bucket was anti-magnetised for tennisballs, or jus too small). tying and untying people tied together. Chinese checkers. The odd string-and-board-with-holes-in teasers. Earnestness to feel. Competitive instincts on stalks. Winners and loosers. Hurras all round. Dances round the Maistang to (for me unintelligible) texts. Others of the type:- ” … and we all fall down”. (not so popular with the more mature!).

Back to tables. Chat and storytell until late. Retire. Thankyouverymuchathousandtimes.

Still raining this morning, but it is clearing up gradually, and hopefully a good drying-day later.

Allswell from SailorJohn

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