By Adrian
On a beautiful summers day we left Stockholm and retraced our steps south through the archipelago. A police launch accompanied us accosting jet skis and other over enthusiastic boats ignoring the speed limits.
With the sails hoisted we weaved our way through the islands and found an appropriate bay for the night. There was a sauna but only for club members, so we stayed aboard and kept moving the next morning. By afternoon we were tacking our way towards the edge of the archipelago. Fi spotted a sheltered anchorage with shallow access and a very narrow entrance channel which are often less crowded.
Another overnight stay and we were headed down the coast to one of our favourite areas from the way north. We found an anchorage in a deep bay in the middle of an island. As we approached I noticed a high powered RIB with black suited people approaching. This time a couple of them came aboard, asked their questions and even checked our passports. Bernie was very excited. All the while we were sailing towards our destination.
An English couple in motor boat who were also members of the Cruising Association blew their horn and held up a sign ‘Beer?’. We obliged and learned that they had had come from the Netherlands over a number of years, doing a section of the trip each year and storing the boat over winter. We enjoyed a chat with them, and had them over to Away as well the following evening.
After a couple of nights in this idyllic spot, we decided to leave again and get going on our first overnight passages on Away. Snacks prepared, dinner and breakfasts ready, we headed out of the anchorage at a reasonable time in the morning. We are aiming for south Sweden and the area near Karlskrona.
As the sun went down a small yacht cut across our bow and headed west. We took the opportunity to test the radar. It works very well for larger boats, those with radar reflectors and smaller boats that are a mile or two away. For small crunchy fiberglass boats within a mile we are not sure we would pick them out from the noise.
During the night we heard the Swedish navy requesting a boat doing 8 knots to the south east of us to contact them. We didn’t hear the boat reply so we are not sure of the outcome. So much intrigue during the night…
By morning we were turning West and heading for Karlskrona. We sailed most of the day and decided to find a stopover for the night rather than keep going for a second night.
Fi found another nice little spot tucked out of most of the wind, and we decided to have a mini impromptu picnic on the rocks on shore to have sundowners and watch the sun set. Bernie took the opportunity to sniff everything, run away, and also get in the water.
The next morning we left in comfortable time as we didn’t need to get in Copenhagen too early the following day. Again we were prepped for another overnight sail. The wind was in the mid twenties and but forecast to die out overnight. There were two swells from half behind us which every now and then conspired to roll the stern and cause the autopilot to complain that it needed bigger rudders.
By 9:30pm we were able to make a small heading change to get the swell behind us for a more comfortable evening. Container ships kept us company during the night in the nearby shipping channel and the ferry traffic from Ystad crossed our path from time to time. Otherwise the wind remained consistent, and we were happy with our sail plan. We take alternating watches, and each of us sleep when we can.
The wind and swell dropped in the early hours and the big red sail came out for the final leg north into Copenhagen. We almost made it under sail, but as the wind dropped to 4-5 knots the lure of hamburgers and beer was just too strong and we motored the last hour.
Its great to be back in Copenhagen with its world class food and atmosphere.
Next time we hit the bright lights of Paris and London.
