We intended to spend the first
couple of days of this year’s cruise relaxing (after all the work getting the boat
ready for sea) in one of our favourite places, Napoleonviken Bay on the island
of Ägnö …
… but after one lovely peaceful
evening the wind had other ideas – the forecast warned of Hurricane Force 11
gusts!! So we left Napoleonviken after
one night and headed to the safety of an alongside berth at Sandhamn. It was not exactly high summer! This year the Baltic area is still unusually
cold …
Here we are tied up in a nice secure
spot sheltered from the forecast winds by the famous old clubhouse at Sandhamn,
which is the Cowes of Sweden …
The winds never actually got up to
the Force 11 predicted, but it was quite breezy and chilly. However, it was also sunny and pleasant much
of the time, so we enjoyed a walk around the island of Sandön …
… past dwellings of all shapes …
… and sizes …
… to the rocky shore and sandy
beaches at the south of the island, where you can see the ‘white horses’ out at
sea – it was indeed quite windy!
Then back through the more sheltered
forest path with its lovely scent of fresh pine …
These are very typical Swedish-style
houses in Sandhamn …
This is Strindberg’s café – almost
every island we visit seems to have a connection with Strindberg – he must have
written one play in each place!
The wind had died down a lot by the
following day, so we set off for one of our favourite places, Ostholmen, but it
wasn’t as sheltered as we hoped and we decided it was too exposed to stay the
night, although we did anchor for lunch there …
This is a ‘bus stop’ in the
archipelago …
… and here’s the ‘bus’ about to pick
some people up and blocking the whole channel!
We moved on to ‘Paradise’ – the
nickname given to a very sheltered bay surrounded by three islands, Kålgårdsön,
Idholmen and Stora Jolpan ...
It was beautifully sheltered and the
nice flat rocks allowed us to relax in our deck chairs once the sun was over
the yardarm!
A couple more boats came in and tied
up to the rocks and trees as we have – we did hear some shouting and laughter
as someone fell into the water. A little
later our peace was suddenly shattered by the Air Sea Rescue helicopter which
landed yards away from us, creating a huge downdraught and spray. It seems one man had broken his leg – once he
had been taken away to hospital, the others continued with their barbecue and
partying!
Peace descended again and we enjoyed
the lovely evening colours and reflections …
This is how we attach a rope to the
shore if there are no convenient trees – we have a little kit with a couple of
pitons to hammer into a crevice. We try
to only do this if there are no trees nearby as some people think it might
damage the rocks …
Walking round the island there are
always glimpses of water through the trees …
Another lovely evening sky …
It was rather greyer and slightly
drizzly the following morning as we followed a motor boat through the narrow
channel out of the bay – it doesn’t look quite so much like ‘Paradise’ when the
sun isn’t shining!
We sailed most of the way with this
scrap of jib as it was quite a strong wind – but at least in the right
direction …
These are some typical little wooded
islands in this part of the archipelago …
… and these are some of the nasty
hidden rocks just below the surface which need to be avoided at all costs! Many of them are marked by buoys, but not
all!!
We needed a really sheltered spot as
it was forecast to be quite windy overnight again – I couldn’t quite believe
this tiny bay, Storfladen on Själbottna, was big enough for us, but we got
tucked in nice and cosily …
The afternoon suddenly got really dark and there were several
heavy showers …
Then in the late afternoon it
brightened up and we went off for a walk ashore. We were told that the yellow dust you can see
on the surface of the water is pollen or blossom from pine trees – it also got
all over the deck and windows of the boat!
The fir trees have all got masses of
new growth at this time of year with soft, feathery, lime-green tips, quite
unlike the prickly dark trees we have at Christmas …
And in the evening the sun actually
came out and we were able to toast our neighbouring yachtsmen who were celebrating
Swedish National Day …
The next day was one of those rare
ones where there’s enough wind to sail in the right direction!!
… and we had an enjoyable passage to
the pretty little harbour at Furusund …
We took ourselves on the self-guided
walking tour of Furusund, past the shoemaker’s cottage where Strindberg rented
a room and wrote something else (he pops up everywhere!)
… up to the old windmill on the hill,
dating from 1722 …
… and past several interesting and
attractive old buildings, like the hotel built in 1884 …
I’ll remember Furusund for the
gorgeous scent of lilac flowering everywhere, and this lovely view over the
fjord …
Next stop was Norrtälje, where we
enjoyed meeting up with sailing friends, Gunnar and Ami …
Norrtälje is an attractive town with the river running through it, but
rather overshadowed by two huge grain silos, now no longer in use. Apparently, they are due to be demolished and
replaced with low-rise smart apartment buildings.
Here is the view from a bit further up the river without the
grain silos!
The river runs right through the town which is criss-crossed
with bridges …
This is one of the attractive small squares …
Here we are welcoming Jo, who joined us in Norrtalje for a
short boat holiday …
Here’s Astraia looking a little lonely in the almost deserted
marina – it really is still early in the season here in June, especially this
year which is apparently the coldest and wettest for over 50 years!
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