Imagine our delight when we emerged from
the Risor Sjaergard next
morning to find 15 knots of hot SW wind
on our beam and an almost ludicrously quick passage on offer. The wind built to
over 20 knots for a while ( probably due to some impressive thunder clouds to
our North) so we reefed for a while ,
but with the wind just aft of the beam it was always comfortable and we raced
along in Carribean conditions . For the last 2 hours
the wind eased off but we were able to hoist a shy kite and maintain our speed,
finally nosing in to the little offshore island group of Storo–Vaderobod , where we were welcomed into a crowded little
nook by a charming family of Swedes.
The Swedish islands have markedly less vegetation than those in
Norway
,
although once you scramble ashore you discover thousands of flowers clinging
precariously to life in the merest semblance of earth in the rocky
environment. Storo-Vaderobod was one of the Swedish destinations suggested
by Liv Cooper , so it was not surprising to hear that
it was once a pilot station just like her home
island
of
Kvitsoy
.
The water temperature here was 25 degrees and a swim was an absolute necessity
in the hot evening air . Lynda surpassed herself and we had a genuine banquet
as dusk fell to celebrate an astonishing trip across the Skagerak.
The wind was light and from the South when
we eventually got going the next day . It was hot again with big cumulus
building along the coast , which was perhaps why the wind swung onshore and
blew us along into Smogen , a blousy sea side town humming with
youngsters and nightclubs, and where it was generally accepted that nobody gets
any sleep once the night gets into party mode. We made a rapid retreat once we
had stocked up with fish (good value) and diesel which was astonishingly
expensive and perhaps explains why there are few motor boats in
Sweden
compared
with
Norway
. It also means there are lots of sail boats to
race although as before, by the time we arrived at our destination late in the
evening in the beautiful pink granite Gaso archipelago , all the shore
ringbolts were taken so we opted to anchor off, turn in for an early night and set
off in good time next morning.
With work beckoning and 800 miles still to
go we could only afford a whistle stop
tour of Sweden but the next days pace was deliberately gentle , motoring in flat calm through the
inshore Skjaergard past pretty little fishing villages , and finally dribbling
along under sail through the offshore islands before mooring up at midday in a nook in the lee of Valholmarna – a tiny island less than ½ mile long. We
got a prime spot and were gradually joined by a pleasant group of Swedish and
Norwegian boats and spent the afternoon
and evening exploring the surrounding islands in the kayak , swimming in the warm
water or just soaking up the sun and warmth from the rocks.
If you are first into a nice spot in
Sweden
you must
expect a crowd to join you , and equally be flexible about leaving as the
moorings and stern anchors can become somewhat intertwined. This was the case
the next morning but as the weather had
broken and it was wet for the first time for ages , we were not in a hurry. Or
at least we were in a hurry, but as we intended to sail the 250 miles to
Kiel
in one hit , an hour or two didn’t seem to matter . Marstrand was 2 miles away and we called in there to stock
up on food fuel and water. It looked a fun place and it would be good to spend a night or two there on another
visit, with a great little anchorage near enough to the fun to take part – but
far enough away to sleep at night!
The weather was rather alarming , with big
black thunderclouds bringing rain and squalls from all directions ,
interspersed with calm periods , but as the day wore on it gradually settled down to a fresh NW which
allowed us to get our westing across the Baltic and
be tucked under the lee of Grena when the wind
came ahead at dawn the next morning. From then on it was a beat through the
Western
Danish
Islands
in a hot fresh wind with occasional showers (dress code tee-shirts and shorts under oilies ). We finally
dropped anchor for an hour at 1730 to cook a meal and recuperate just before
the narrows at Fredericia , welcomed by birdsong from
the woods ashore and a little harbour
porpoise busily getting on with his fishing around us. We saw lots of these in
Danish waters – perhaps there is less of the industrial scale fishing that
seems to be decimating them in the Channel.
An hour later we were under engine through the narrows between
Fyn
and the mainland and then south through the Bredningen under the
onslaught of increasingly vicious thunder squalls and with the threat of a dead beat to Keil . Mike kindly texted a forecast and it took little persuading to stop for 6 hours in the
hope of a veer to SW which would allow
us to make our course. Accordingly in the pitch black of a thunderstorm ( we
had left our light Northern nights behind us now ) we felt our way into the
little
harbour
of
Aerosund
and tied up next to a German family in a racy looking 40 footer.
Denmark
would be fun to visit with more time . There look to be plenty of anchorages
and a plethora of sheltered waters to enjoy , and although the harbours might
be crowded , one could perhaps visit them during the day to avoid the worst of
the crowds.
The alarms woke us at 5 and we were off
again, initially with a fresh SW wind , but as we left the lee of Als it turned South
once more , a dead beat into the short Baltic chop. The thunder clouds were
still rolling across , pulling the wind all over the place , but luckily half
way across the Kieler Bucht we had a westerly blast which put us back on
course. It didn’t last but we were just able to make the Kiel Light in one . I
spotted the Kevlar headsail of the German yacht who had left after us , and the
race was on , and to our chagrin they beat us in , but were able to advise us
that the best place to reprovision was at Rensburgh, 15 miles
along the Nord Ost See (
Kiel
)
canal. Accordingly we locked in and raced after them to get into the charming little marina before the yacht
“curfew” and spent a pleasant evening yarning with them over the remnants of the whisky.
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