‘SNOW GOOSE’ IN THE BALTIC

D AND MICHAEL’S SUMMER CRUISE

MAY – SEPTEMBER 2013

Introduction

When we started to think about a prolonged cruise to the Baltic as part of our ‘Silver Gap Year’ we had hoped to reach Talinn and Helsinki. However most Baltic harbours only start waking up just before mid-summer and we wanted time to explore the archipelagos, castles, museums, flora and fauna along the way and return home in Snow Goose in early September. So we decided that Stockholm was the furthest we could reasonably hope to get in a four month period. Our specific aims included:

Exploring the Swedish ‘Blue Coast’ and Stockholm archipelago

Visting the islands of Bornholm, Oland and Gotland; Michaels grandmother’s house in Southern Sweden (Gyllebo Slot); Copenhagen; Michaels cousins in Silkeborg (near Aarhus).

Exploring the Southern Danish islands between Sjaelland, Fyn and Jutland

We know of many British yachtsmen who keep their boats in the Baltic for several seasons; over-winter storage is pretty reasonable and there are many stunning cruising grounds to explore including southern Norway, Western Sweden and North and East of Stockholm. For several reasons we decided that this would be a one off cruise, so allowing time for the passages to and from Kiel was an important factor in the overall timetable.

Preparation Snow Goose is normally rigged for racing. On previous short cruises (2-4 weeks) we made few adjustments and relied on old racing sails. A certain amount of ‘cruisifying’ was necessary to make life more comfortable and manageable for 4 months.

Cruising Association. We joined the CA which provides excellent information on cruising in the area, particularly through its ‘Baltic Section’. We also attended a very jolly Baltic Party in London in January, where we met some helpful people and had an opportunity to dig into the extensive library of pilot books and cruise logs. Specific area briefs are downloadable and there are helpful Honorary Local Representatives (HLRs) in most of the main ports. By flying the CA burgee we met several other members along the way and swapped information about places to visit.

Sails. We invested in a Furlex rolling headstay and new cruising genoa, mainsail (with lazy jacks and stacking system) and a cruising chute. We took a conventional spinnaker as well but never used it.

Spray hood. A new spray hood and cockpit dodgers were bought and fitted.

Safety & navigation. In addition to our usual offshore racing safety equipment we carried 2 PLBs and had an integrated AIS receiver fitted. At considerable expense we bought both of the Navionics Gold chart cartridges that are needed for the Baltic (in addition to the one covering UK and the North Sea). We also downloaded the Navionics charts onto our iPad as a back-up and for passage planning. A mobile wifi hotspot was used when we could find an appropriate SIM card. This allowed us to get broadband internet when we could not find a local wifi signal. Initially, paper charts for the Channel and Southern North Sea were supplemented by the CA Cruising Almanac and the RCC Baltic Pilot. We bought local Swedish pilot books and Swedish and German chart packs as we progressed.

Comfort, cooking and culture. One of the best investments we made was to buy Duvalays; combined mattress and duvet. These transformed the ‘sleeping experience’ on board. D designed and had made a flexible storage unit for the pilot berth. This took all our clothes and avoided the need to live out of damp lockers or sailing bags. Shore power for battery charging and a 240v supply was fitted. A range of extra plastic storage containers kept dry food. With no fridge, D usually managed to persuade locals to freeze 2ltr bottles of water which kept the cold box at a reasonable temperature. With little space available for books, our Kindles came into their own. Binoculars and bird books were essential to fully appreciate the wonderful bird life especially amongst the Swedish islands. Diana regretted not having a wild flower book.

What we missed. A fridge. At the beginning, in early May, it would have been nice to have had a hot air heater but thereafter it was unnecessary. For true Baltic mooring in the natural harbours a split pulpit with steps and a stern anchor arrangement would have allowed us to moor against the rocks safely. With no holding tank we were obliged to use the chemical toilets provided at most of the natural harbours (and marked on the carts).

Contents D & Michael – Baltic Cruise Blog 2013

Snow Goose Baltic Cruise 2013 – Log summary

Baltic Cruise – Key stats

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D & Michael - Baltic Cruise Blog 2013

Weather-willing wishlist 30 April 2013

This is what we think is possible (from an armchair perspective) − 5 May Depart Weymouth − 6 – 18 May Kiel via Dunkerque, Holland, North Friesland Islands, Cuxhaven & Kiel

Canal − 20-May Gedser, (S Denmark with Jess) − 22-25 May Bornholm area − 26-31 May Oland area − 1-5 June Visby (Gotland) area − 6-17 June Vastervik and towards Stockholm − 18-21 June Stockholm − 21 June – 8 July Southward from Stockholm − 9 – 17 July Kalmar and Karlskrona − 18-20 July Simrishamn − 22 – 26 July Copenhagen − 27-31 July Helsingor & Roskilde − 1 – 3 August Aarhus − 4 August Samso − 6 – 18 August Various Danish islands − 19-21 August Kiel & Canal

Then Reverse our outbound route Friends and family join us from time to time – 20 May, in Stockholm, for Copenhagen and the Danish Islands

22 Hours and Counting 4 May 2013

The tide turns eastward on Sunday around noon so we shall depart c 08.30 hours from D&R Portland to make best use of it where it matters (around Purbeck and the Solent) however we expect light winds so may not reach Sovereign Harbour (Eastbourne). Roly’s colleague commented that so many trolley-loads have gone down the pontoon he was surprised SG is still afloat. That’s not really fair, Sigma’s don’t have much stowage space so we only have food for about a week but she does have new sails, lazy-jacks, cabin lights, engine spares etc. Pat and Di Webb take over Hamilton House on Sunday which is altogether wonderful (especially as they have agreed to look after all the people we promised could stay here before we decided to be footloose). Only problem – I keep finding little (and not so little) hell-holes that may or may not get sorted today.

Are we ready? 9 May 2013

Asda thought it must be Christmas (by the size of the bill); quantities of bog roll, long life milk and anchovy tins passed seamlessly from shelf to SG’s deep, triangular, bow locker. We used an old packing list from previous years’ cruises but still managed to forget the seabird book. On Sunday 5 May, Roly arrived at 7.30 am (we awarded him at least 3 gold stars); D was allowed to pack the contents of the deep freeze into the car boot because Michael decided the 50% that could not possibly fit into the boat would be eaten by Roly – happily it all fitted. On the basis that large tubs of stew and curry packed tight would take several days to thaw and several days more before going off (we still have no fridge or freezer on board), we set off with 5 meals prepared and the makings for another couple before drawing on tins. We (M, D and Alex Bowerman) cast off from Portland Marina as planned at 08.30; D reminded

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herself that we were not travelling to Outer Mongolia so what was forgotten, could probably be purchased.

All along the South Coast 9 May 2013

Under blue skies, the slight following breeze allowed about a dozen boats to race in slow time from Weymouth to Poole; motoring, we kept ahead of them and spinnaker gybe wraps kept us entertained. Past St Albans Head the wind picked up allowing us to set our never-been-out-of-the-bag cruising chute (we heaved a sigh of relief that it fitted). As with any asymmetric, the chute does not allow deep down-wind sailing so we had practiced quite a few gybes by the time we reached Haslar Marina at Gosport at about 7 pm.

Monday dawned to thick fog; GPS got us out of Portsmouth but the huge ferry that passed in the main channel 150 yards from us was a mere darker grey outline. On Day 1 the tide was perfect, giving us 7+ hours with; Day 2 the decision against a 2 am departure was unanimous but we spent the day motoring with 7+ hours of tide against. As we passed Brighton the mist cleared giving us stunning views of Beachy Head where a pod of porpoises playing around us relieved the tedium. Our arrival was perfectly timed for the on-the-hour and half-hour locks into Sovereign Marina (Eastbourne) which operated 24 hours allowing us to depart on Day 3 at 05.30 am.

Not so scary crossings 9 May 2013 The Kent coast is uninspiring, even the porpoises, glimpsed for an instant, decided to ignore us.

Not so the range patrol boat who were clearly bored as they came by to remind us to keep >1.5 miles off-shore (we were at 3.5 miles at the time). Dungeness gave us a foretaste of pylons, smoke stacks and general industrial blocks to come. Our three concerns on this trip were the commercial route crossings; we saw not one down-channel ship and deviated 5 degrees for 5 minutes for an up-channel ship so the Dover Straights proved less taxing than most Cherbourg crossings. The light was strange though, we decided the yellowish, green streak at sea level between the blue/greys was ship-induced pollution.

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A favourable tide along the French coast encouraged us to pass Dunkerque and overnight in Nieuwpoort thereby risking a fine by the Belgians for carrying red diesel. In the event, we picked our way up river in the dark, found a deserted marina where even the loos were lightless, slept and were gone before breakfast.

Hurrah, on Wednesday a vestige of wind; up went the main and the genoa. Having picked our way through shoals off the Belgian coast which bristles with channel and cardinal markers, we goose winged for a few hours. Zeebrugge is at

the mouth of the Rhine, in yet more low visibility and a dying breeze, we again resorted to engine power. This, our second commercial crossing was as easy as the first, we simply slipped behind a small tanker and were across. More hours of tedious motoring and we approached the Europoort (Rotterdam) crossing. Having been given permission to proceed, and passing easily behind an inbound container ship, we had an “after or before” moment, decided to be brave and skipped across the bow of an outbound tanker. We made Scheveningen in daylight and decided, despite predictions of good winds, a lay day was called for. We borrowed bikes to restock with

bread and milk but launching into traffic on bikes that brake by pedaling backwards was a touch tense. Wind at last 11 May 2013

D’s walk to the beach to watch kite- and wind-surfing started badly; returning to SG to collect the camera, a uniformed, tooled-up posse were to be seen peering at our hull. Passing the time of day by cheerfully asking whether our boat was of interest, the answer ‘Yes’ was unexpected. 15 minutes later, after assuring them we were not carrying dope or aliens, they mellowed sufficiently to permit a photograph (albeit un-posed).

The walk was not a success, the south side of Scheveningen is not pretty, the dunes are

barbed-wired however statuary around the harbour is quirky. During the evening the wind picked up but next morning a local sailor convinced us that it funneled down the yacht basin and showed us a reading of 16 knots

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outside via his I-phone. Anxious to progress, we set out into the NE-going tide after lunch; the man lied, we went straight into 25 – 30 knot winds and 2 meter waves. We commended the kite surfers for managing not to knit their strings.

With half a genoa only we touched 10.3 knots over the ground at one point and made Ijmuiden in time for a much needed cup of tea; the breakers in the shallow waters of the harbour mouth were interesting. Word of advice, pack ear-plugs when cruising; the noise of uninterrupted wind through rigging is not restful. The Dutch coast gets prettier

13 May 2013

A series of photos in the corridor of the loo block tell the story of Ijmuiden marina construction in 1993, a gas fuelled bus runs from the corner into Ijmuiden but the smoke stacks inland are not encouraging so we felt no regret at moving on. Expecting more F6 winds, a long passage looked uninviting so we did a short, straight hop of 35 miles bearing 010 deg, to Den Helder. The visitor’s marina is tight into the NW corner of the Dutch Naval base, the entrance narrow, but snug. The Officer’s Mess bar has stunning views and we were sorry supper was pre-prepared. D’s menus of freshly cooked chicken stew on Day 1 followed by 5 meals taken on board in a frozen state worked brilliantly (although I say it myself), it took 4 days for the middle-packed plastic boxes to thaw so the last meal (of chilli) smelt and tasted fine; the added advantage was 5 days of cold (fresh) milk.

Our first island 13 May 2013

We agreed that short hops were good as bouncing down waves in 20-25 knots of wind takes concentration so we ditched the idea of a long haul to Norderney and followed the Cruising Assoc

Almanac recommendation of Oost Vlieland. Departing Den Helder, Michael’s decision to check the viability of the passage between the sandbank of Nooderhaaks (which shelters a huge area between the mainland and the North Friesland Islands from Westerlies) and the southern tip of Texel was a good one; all the channel-markers for this narrow, bank-ridden Northbound cut had been moved. In practice our track followed a route that made sense on our last year’s electronic chart.

During the packing process M and I had discussed whether to carry a spinnaker and pole on the trip. Thank

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goodness we decided we would, thus far 90% of sailing has been goose-winged with poled-out genoa (which bodes ill for the return journey).

The North Sea tides split in this area thus for those unfamiliar, the direction is tricky to predict – we bucked the tide for 6.5 hours but still made good progress. We enjoyed views of sand dunes all day, some more populated than others (we saw kite surfers, riders and tourist buses on the beach); turning East into the narrow channel south of Terschelling, we continued turning through 270 deg. to tuck into Oost Vlieland marina on the South side of the northern tip. As the tide continued to decline, the sandbanks of the bird sanctuary of Richel island emerged in full yellow glory. Alex watched a yacht entering with the flood

tide, despite lining up for the down-tide entry post, the yacht was nearly swept past; using full engine revs, heading at 45 deg to the narrow entrance channel, the incoming tide suddenly divided to propel him at speed into the marina entrance where some quite strenuous work on the tiller narrowly avoided a collision with the harbour wall.

Good place for a lay day 13 May 2013

Our watches were set for 4.30 am for a 13 hour sail to Norderney; all 3 of us spent the night listening to more shrieking winds, wifi allowed us to see it was blowing 25+ knots and, 2 days off springs, the low-tide channel with a lee-shore was a particularly unappealing start to the morning. We went back to sleep. Vlieland is a good place for a lay day, it is geared for tourism, protected by the dunes, tents are scattered on the NW side; on the South, a regular ferry stops beside a bijou village full

of restaurants, clothes shops (one of which also sold local charts), local cranberry conserve plus a Coop and Spar. A mini-walk/climb to the lighthouse stretched long-unused legs.

Last Leg of the North Sea 17 May 2013 Had we left Vlieland on Monday, the first couple of hours might have been challenging, thereafter probably a nice sail but we didn’t regret staying even though we motored for 3 hours on Tuesday.

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Norderney has a narrow, shifting but well-marked channel where we dodged local fishing boats. The harbour master shut up shop 10 minutes before our arrival and was busy cooking his supper but from an upstairs window directed D to the bar where the local accent was challenging. As we left next morning, a seal popped her head out of the water, sadly not long enough for a photo. After another day of fishing boats, shallow water and sand dunes, we crossed the Ems Channel then tucked just inside the main Bremerhaven and Hamburg shipping lanes; on a flood tide, we lost count of the ships that passed us a quarter of a mile to port before we turned into Cuxhaven Yacht Club Marina rather than locking in to the old town port. Here we prepaid on a card which did boat power, shower, washing machine etc, what you don’t use you get back at the end however wifi was infuriating, separate codes for each tablet and then they didn’t work on the pontoons. Next morning we said a sad goodbye to Alex who has an important reeling date on Saturday.

Extremes in the Kiel Canal 17 May 2013 The harbour master concurred that noon would be a good time to start up the Elbe which can flow at 5 knots. SG was the first boat to leave at 10 mins after low water; we obviously kept pace with the changing low water times as the GPS repeater showed SOG as 3.8 knots (6.2 through the water) until 2 pm. We have a date to meet Jess so were feeling the pressure, the 1 hour wait outside the Kiel Canal was frustrating but time through the lock was only 20 minutes.

We decided to make a dash for Gieslau Lock 20 miles up the canal (recommended by a Cruising Association member in Cuxhaven) which was an idyllic spot for the night. Obviously we look like topers – a German girl from a yacht we had followed came round to buy a bottle of wine, they had intended to get to Rensburg to celebrate boyfriend’s birthday but ran out of light (yachts must stop when dark).

The Canal is quite an experience, traffic jams at either end and at passing

points where little boats can sneak inside a ‘hard shoulder’ (see the wooden pile on the right of pic) and get ahead of the giants but wild

life in abundance – birds sing, ducks quack, geese honk, swans glide; miles of tranquility then concentration to avoid hanging transporters and freighters. Most extraordinary was the change in temperature – from full winter gear and a minimum of four top layers, as we waited to exit the lock into the Baltic, we changed to shorts and tee-shirts. Having left Gieslau at 5.30 am, we were out of the lock by 11.10, had done a mega supermarket shop in Holtenau and were tied up in the British Kiel Yacht Club by midafternoon.

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Jess joins us from Nairobi 21 May 2013

We didn’t stay long in Kiel, it wasn’t hugely exciting – wifi access was only possible in the (closed) bar of BKYC; the CA resident gave us a local harbour guide although Kiel will probably be our only German port; the washing machine didn’t function and, most importantly, we were so looking forward to seeing Jess. Saturday dawned sunny and still so we motored out of Kiel Fjord amongst yet more freighters. By mid-morning the wind had picked up, our first experience of upwind sailing since leaving home and we are

pleased to report our clothes did not fall out of our self-designed (canvas) shelving installed in the pilot berth. As we passed a wind farm of about 150 turbines, the wind dropped again so most of the 80 miles was under engine . Gedser is flat, low and not photo worthy (except for the channel markers); by 8 pm we were tied up safely in a Baltic

Box – 2 lines out to posts either side of the stern and 2 more to hold SG bow on to a pontoon. Scrambling over the pulpit is not an elegant maneuver.

Jess had a reasonable train and bus ride from Copenhagen where she left colleagues from all parts of the world partying for carnival, the marathon and Eurovision; none of the colleagues could understand why she might choose to spend the weekend in such a quiet corner.

The walk to the southernmost tip of Denmark was a pleasure; there were serious twitchers as birdlife is amazing, swallows, cuckoos, buzzards, a marsh harrier. After a wonderful 24 hours Jess went back to work and we moved on. Gedser to Bornholm is over 100 miles so we made our way to Klintholm in NO wind, thick fog and rain. Thank goodness for AIS, although the fishing boat not carrying it was a bit of a shock. Everyone told us the Danish harbours are full of German boats – they were right – fortunately, despite the extra holiday weekend, there is plenty of space now. A southerly is predicted tomorrow, picking up in the evening, so we shall make an early start for the 75 miles due East to Bornholm island.

Bornholm 24 May 2013 We left Kintholm at 5.30. Fish farm sticks lined the shore, one set was further out; having decided to sail between, we had to tack sharply as a string, marked by very small floats, stretched between. Shortly after we were excited to see a little cliff (c. 50ft) through the mist, the first alternative to sand dunes or man-made sea defences since Beachy Head. In F5-6 Southerly winds, for 11 hours, we reached, boat speed was nearly 7.5 knots . M suffered a heavy rain shower but we were soon Eastward

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of the bad weather and in sunshine. A security vessel stood guard of the shipping lanes all day; we had no trouble crossing despite a variety of freighters bound in and out of St Petersburg etc.

We heard gale warnings and were pleased to be tucked up in Ronne by 6 pm as it blew hard overnight. Bornholm is delightful; the knitting shop had just the right stuff to darn my old hat, the round medieval churches are beautiful and the chandler excellent.

We intended to sail 15 miles north to Hammer Havn to see a ruined castle and shelter from tomorrow’s gale but the leak in the engine water supply delayed us while the mechanic took away a part promising to return it in 3 hours.

Denmark’s Eastern Islands 30 May 2013

The engineer was as good as his word; by 2 pm we were heading North along the East coast. After a slow start, a perfect gentle fetch brought us to Hammer Havn, a former granite quarry harbour where we were eventually joined by a Finnish yacht on his way to the 2013 ARC and a Swedish one that came in in the dark. We were snug for a couple of nights of torrential rain and wind and a cold

but dry day was perfect for walking. The flora and fauna are a joy, banks of wild flowers in bloom – cherry, pear, wild garlic, violets, bluebells, forget-me-nots, orchids, geraniums, wood anemone, campion. 100 ft cliffs were thick with gulls, guillemots and terns, we explored a medieval castle

ruin, a fishing hamlet and granite quarries; the air is filled with swifts and swallows, with frogs chortling and

eider ducks gurgling, huge skeins of duck skim the water as we sail.

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On 26 May, once the rain had stopped, we set out for a short hop of 20 miles to Christianso. However the wind was on the nose, then dropped so to make progress we motored. Etholmene, a tiny collection of rocks of which Christianso is one, owes its habitation to a 17th Century King of Denmark who established a fortress; 100 people continue to live there supported by fishing and tourism. It is delightful, the church, gun emplacements and buildings are all preserved. It took a moment to realise the gannet on her nest on the quay was real.

On 27th we sailed NE, yet again wind on the nose. D considered it a bad day. We sail hour on, hour off; on this day it took D 20 minutes to go to the loo, once undressed, to stay put meant jamming oneself in using both feet and elbows to avoid being thrown off in the pitching and tossing, that just left 30 mins to recover before doing battle with the waves and gusts for another hour.

Utklippen breaks the journey from Christianso to the Swedish mainland; a barren set of (Swedish) rocks with a rectangular harbour cut out of the middle for former pilot boats. From there we reached Bergkvara on mainland SE Sweden on 28th where a drunken Swede played music full

blast then he and other nearby boat crews got drunk and rendered ‘How much is that doggie’ excruciatingly – um, not the best night stop.

Bright shiny thing in the sky 30 May 2013

This being seriously pre-season, the harbour master needed gentle persuasion to sell us diesel at 9 rather than 9.30 but we were soon left Bergkvara for Borgholm on Oland, taking the safe option through the main channel. There followed a day of brilliant sunshine. The channel between the ancient town of Kalmar (to be visited on our way south) and the long thin island of Oland is narrow, gusty and has a high bridge; we charged through at 7+ knots (1 reef, 2 rolls), trimming constantly and continued the same for the next 20 miles as the wind oscillated between 12 and 22 knots by the minute. Borgholm was WARM and SUNNY so D’s pillow, soaked in Hammerhavn as the windows leaked, dried at last. For £5 D had free rein in the laundry all evening which coincided with a big pile of washing .

The little town is twee, lots of boutiques, no chandler so as yet no hooky thing to catch stern buoys as you head at pontoons for bow-to mooring. Borgholm church and square

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On Thurs 30 May we woke to thick fog so left mid-morning, picking our way out using GPS, then more lovely sun but a sea so glassy D photographed a cloud reflection. Byxelkrok, the shortest distance from our next destination, the island of Gotland, was sound asleep, it wakes up 15 June -15 August only, so side-on mooring – much easier. Nearby was a boat we first saw in Utklippen, and 2 boats from Borgholm (1 Danish, 1 German).

MORE beastly Baltic beating …. Then heaven 4 June 2013

We shall remember Byxelkrok for its lamp posts, one perfectly aligned beside Snow Goose provided D with a hauling point to get up the 3 feet from SG’s deck to the quayside, another was clearly much loved. We woke to fog so D donned the usual 5 layers under her heavy-duty oilskin jacket (packed in case the North Sea was rugged), thermal gloves and two hats. A maximum of 15 knots of wind was predicted so we motored out for the 45 mile journey … AGAIN we were close-hauled (from 8 am to 6 pm) in those same old LUMPY, unpredictable seas, wind strength between 13-22 knots (true). Another day of intense concentration to stay on course and maintain forward motion. Close to Gotland we shook out 1

of the 2 reefs as things got easier but after a tack the wind was all over the place. Luckily it steadied and increased (we unrolled and rerolled the genoa several times) but UUUGH, things need to get better especially as SG leaks. A small diesel spill spread as

the bilges filled; a sponge was not enough, M used the pump and a bucket hourly. Thank goodness the 2nd half of a pot of chilli only needed reheating then bunk-time.

Saturday morning and torrential rain so no temptation to avoid scrubbing out the bilges and sponging out the lockers. Then the world changed. The sun came out,

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we went shopping so walked through the enchanting medieval city of Visby, a Hanseatic port frequented by cruise liners. We found the BEST shop EVER; in one small basement we bought the perfect torch, pepper-mill, computer lead, artist paper, polishing cloth and D nearly indulged in a travelling hair drier. The excellent chandler, 20 steps from SG, stocked the right loo spares (it also leaks), absolutely essential charts and handbook for the collection of vicious rocks that make up the ‘Blue Coast’ (immediately S of Stockholm) and more gum to jam into the toe rail – the source of our woes. To complete the transformation, we dined in a divine little restaurant, similar in style to Floods in Weymouth on local asparagus and herring in caviar sauce … We are Happy.

Persistent perversity 4 June 2013

For the trip from Visby to Vastervik M’s log entry states ‘cast off, misty’; an under-statement, it was thick fog but luckily an easy exit and very little shipping. We left at 06.30 and motored through lakes of golden pollen floating on the oily calm surface, the same dust that covered SG in Visby, possibly willow? But what have we done to upset Aegir (Norse god of the sea), the wind has been consistently NE but as the sun burned through and the wind picked up …. It was a north-westerly. Luckily we could fetch our waypoint but only for 3 hours, most of the 55 miles was boring motoring. A long, winding route with loads of channel markers and leading lights takes you beyond the commercial (wood exporting) wharf to a large and expensive marina with useless wifi (the laundry is included – so we used it). Tues 4th June: have just heard Michael W will join us on 13th so we have perfect time to explore the Blue Coast; everyone tells us the bird life is phenomenal and this is the right time to be here – before every harbour is full by lunchtime. Here in Vaskervik town we have finally sorted our personal mobile hotspot however we may anchor in places without reception for the next few days.

Exploring the Rock Yard 6 June 2013 · Good news; M has sealed the toe-rails, sorted out the loo and found the source of the diesel leak . According to the marina manager in Vastervik, Skarsgard literally translates as ‘the rock yard’; Long fjords stretch NW with tempting towns with castles at the top. Apparently Sweden is bouncing back from the

last ice age so what were in the Middle Ages, harbours, are now inland towns.

On Tuesday we squeezed through a 50ft gap between islands to reach Loftahammar where we spend a peaceful 36 hours. We are pretty sure the

yellow ‘pollen’ is actually algae; it spreads everywhere and coats the decks.

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Sadly we saw no sea eagles despite passing their island slowly but swans on the wing, families of goslings and, as ever, swallows dancing around us. Amazingly, the wind (such as it was) was abaft the beam for much of our trip from Loftahammar to Fyrudden. With only 0.2 metres spare under the keel and increasing high pressure (which squashes the sea making it shallower), we decided not to risk overnighting in Haradska.

Zigzag zigzag 10 June 2013

Eleanor and the harbour master at Nykoping put us right – the yellow dust IS pollen, we didn’t believe there could be so much; short but dramatic thunderstorms last night washed it away. We tried photographing the scenery but the pics do not do it justice; the colours of the low rocks and islands are beautiful (pinks, greys, blues, greens, yellows) – that is – when we have time to look around. The pic of the chart plotter showing

about 5 miles of our route today may suggest the concentration needed; D drives the boat keeping cross-track error to zero – except when M says we are doing a wiggle, which means it was not feasible to put in all the waypoints (the Baltic Guide says someone put in 60 for the 27 mile route we did today, from Nykoping to Trosa, we had 41); M clutches binos, iPad, paper charts, pencil and log, spotting nav marks and crossing off waypoints as we pass by. We have motored much more than sailed in the last 4 days partly because the wind is light and in comes in short

spikes from any direction; for example today there was every wind strength from 1 to 24 knots, yesterday, over a 3 hr period it switched 180 deg and back again. However we had a blissful gentle sail from Arkosund to Oxelosund on 8th June.

Yesterday (Sunday) we explored Nykoping with its church (we were treated to our own private concert by the organist/pianist), castle and kayaking and chanced on their graduation celebrations which involved a LOT of egg throwing, so very different from Visby’s rather grand approach.