Josin's 2025 cruise

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

We passed Utklippan at teatime, sailing well, so we continued to Sandhamn, 56 05,64/015 51,48 for the night. Few guest boats, several German, one French. Welcoming harbourmaster recommended the pizza place, ” only just over a km down the road and here is a bicycle you can borrow”, but no thanks, not today. (Suspicious about that km, seem to remember last time it was much further).  Forecast for tuesday was promising, but wind, NNE, which would be on the nose, until about 10, veering E and strengthening, so, take it easy tomorrow morning. 

Which I did. At 10, we left, but the wind was still closer to NE. So, motored into it, hoping the change in direction would happen soon. Two hours later. Change course to NNE and hoist sails. Close hauled, in the desired direction, and good speed. Yet again, alone on the wide sea. Main boating season obviously hasn’t started yet.

The wind gradually strengthened and veered. Good. Later veered some more and weakened. Not so good. Later still, only a waft from the south. Bad. So, engine on again, and for the rest of the way to Kalmar. Lovely clear skies and sunshine, and it was surprisingly warm when the wind didn’t blow, and layer after layer of wintery clothing could be discarded, down to shorts level. First of the season! Even feeling a little sunned in the face this evening.

The shopping center just by the harbour shut just as I got there at 7, so supper was taken at McD’s, right at the entrance. Predictable, but OK for a hungry sailor.

Two nights here. Good chance to do a clothes wash and re-stock the fridge etc. Still things to do on the list!

All’s well, from SailorJohn

Yesterday’s sail from Ystad to Christiansø was a scorcher, in 25 knots wind on the starboard quarter. We rushed and rolled at max speed all the way. Very few boats in the harbour which was blissfully calm after all those waves. First choice of tie-up spot was unpopular with the eiderduck nesting in the truck-tire fender, so we moved along to the next one. Tummy said it was time for food, so I rolled to the restaurant to see if it was open. It was, just. Waitress was kind and persuaded the chef to turn on the cooker again. Anything thankyou. Steak OK? Yes!  Bit tough, but very nourishing. Retired to Josin, replete and restored. Watched the gulls wind-soaring the long building, and avoiding each other with skill.

Early to bed for an early start this morning. 6 am. Bother, the toilet pump wouldn’t. Corrosion in the fuse. Bypassed. Temporary fix. Continue morning, though delayed.

Lovely sunny day again, slightly less wave activity, less wind too, only 15 kt, still in the same WSW direction, pushing Josin along to the NNE very nicely indeed. Maybe with such progress, ETA Utklippan 16:30,  (clever these modern instruments), the alternative harbour, Sandhamn, 10 nm further on, will be a better goal, we’ll see.

All’s well

  

Three days of windy sailing, and gooooood progress

From Falkenberg to Gillileje. The wind gods had not read the weather forecasts, and they blew a good deal stronger, but in the right direction. Sailed with only half the genoa 2 unrolled, and speed was up at max most of the way. Waves, both yesterday’s and today’s, were large and rather confused, so it was a bumpy, rolypoly ride. Saw only one other sail boat all day, going much the same way. A couple of ships going north and a tug towing an  enormous barge on a very long cable. Near Gillileje there were several ships heading south in the ships route, and a certain amount of dodging was necessary. Gilleleje is a comfortable harbour, and welcoming as always.

Woke  6 o’clock friday morning to a gentle southerly breeze and bright sunshine, so up and at it. The wind was fitful and variable in direction, so the engine helped for a lot of the day. Later the wind settled in the SE, at about 15 kt, just at an angle which needed engine help unfortunately. 

Traffic in Øresund was busy, both sailboats out for a day’s sail, and commercial traffic, specially in the gap between Helsingør and Helsingborg. Lots of ferries. Very insistent on their rights. Heard on the VHF: “Sailboat in the ferry channel. Who the **** do you think you are”. No, it was not me in the way! Currents there are strong and in varying directions, so one needs to pay attention. 

Stopped at Råå, ships chandler Hjertmans, where according to their website they had things Josin needed, but reality was dissappointing. Nice icecream from the kiosk next door though. Onward south, past the island of Ven, of astronomer Brahe of fame, past the in-coming flightpath to CPH with planes in a queue, under the Øresund bridge, which is so big one can see it from a very long way away and never seems to get nearer, and very impressive when you finally get there. Even the big trucks on the top level look tiny! The out of the shipping channels and past a wind farm, with about 45 windmills. Tried to count them, several times, but came to various sums. Wind now from the ESE and strong, so the last bit to the Falsterbokanal and the harbour, and also tying up, were difficult. Big releif when all ropes in place.

Saturday morning, overcast, SE wind, (wrong), rain at times. Stay put, go for a walk and look at all the other boats. Snooze. Hope the forecast was right. It was. Clearing at 13:00. Wind round to the SW and increasing. Off we go. In the queue for the opening bridge at 14:00 and motored along the short canal, hoisting sail under way. Out into the ocean and full speed ahead. Mainsail and Genoa 2 pulling hard. Again, a confued sea with at least two wave patterns, but the autopilot coped until we neared Ystad. Average speed over 6 knots for the day. Incredible, but rather tiring. The entrance to the small boat harbour is narrow with a sharp turn, and very full of pontoons, so we made a detour into the commercial harbour basin for a bit of shether from the wind and waves to get the sails down i relative quiet, and get out the fenders and ropes. Found a convenient pen with a green label, which means available, tied up, checked in, made supper and then watched the CL Cup Final on TV. ZZZZ?

Sunday morning, bright blue sky and a forecast 20 kt wind from the WSW, which should blow us along at incredible speed, to Christiansø, west for Bornholm. 

All’s well. 

JosinJohn

The weather gods didn’t obey the forecast !  Wind direction, WNW yes. Good. Strength, no. Bad. There was 20 – 25 kts again, which has meant max speed, very humpy seas and a good deal of spray. The sun has shone however, so it has been a splendid sail. Gradually less and less wind, now down to 10-12 kts, and more on the nose, so maybe the last few miles will be with the engine purring away. This is a bit of an experiment, to see if I can hit the keys with enough precision, as nothing is still. Seems to be OK.

Alls well

The wind howls. Rigging sings. Stuck in the marina. Sailing is fun

to begin is always difficult, somthis is an easy one. Next?