It was a rather grey day for the
beginning of our trip towards the Åland islands, but at least the wind was –
unusually! – behind us so we had a good sail.
We could even sail at 7.5 knots down the river from Norrtälje using the
mainsail only – in fact we only needed the main all day!
Jo and I navigated down the river
and through the archipelago to the island of Arholma, our intermediate stop on
the way to Åland. We thought it fitting
to come to Arholma as it features on the yachtman’s ‘Bible’ for the Stockholm
archipelago …
Arholma
Arholma is also a delightful little
place to visit, and we tied up at the jetty on the west side …
Jo and I set off on a walk round the
island – the flight of steps up from the jetty has been carefully built to fit round
the contours of the rocks …
There is a profusion of wildflowers
along the verges and across the fields.
After the long winter, spring happens quite late here – but very quickly
– and everything seems to come into bloom at once …
The main ‘tourist attraction’ on
Arholma is the Båkan or lighthouse, which is a distinctive landmark and was
apparently coal-fired when it was in use as a lighthouse. It’s now used as an art gallery …
From there we had a commanding view
over Arholma and the surrounding islands …
We popped into the little wooden
church which was simply and attractively painted in cool Scandinavian colours …
… and got back to the boat in time
to enjoy this blazing sunset …
The following morning dawned bright
and sunny with perfect blue skies.
Although this is a poor summer for Sweden so far, as the weather is
changeable and chilly, we still have some beautiful days even if it’s not warm
enough to get our shorts on!
Time to leave this idyllic little
bay ...
… and set off across what is called
‘the ocean’ (with tongue in cheek!) by Swedes – the stretch of water between
Sweden and Åland, which is an autonomous region of Finland, but where they
speak Swedish. The weather was perfect
for the passage with calm seas, but very little wind. So we had to motor most of the way, firstly
through the low-lying, mostly wooded islands of the northern part of the
Stockholm archipelago ...
… then across the open sea – flat
calm today and not another boat in sight …
Mariehamn
As we approached Mariehamn, the
capital of Åland and its only town, suddenly four large ferries appeared from
nowhere, all aiming for the same two berths!
They somehow managed to take turns and leave again pretty quickly …
We kept out of their way! Then we approached the pretty little marina
on the west side of Mariehamn, which is dominated by the Pommern, a
steel-hulled 4-masted sailing barque dating from 1923 …
The west marina is the headquarters
of the Åland Yacht Club (ÅSS) whose club building has a distinctly oriental look –
but maybe this is also a Finnish or Åland style …
Jo and I went to visit the Pommern and
I think we're glad we don’t have quite as many ropes to contend with! It was an interesting exhibition with some
graphic descriptions of how hard life was on board in those days!
Degerby
– Föglö
Another lovely sunny day, but no
wind, so we had to motor through the southern Åland archipelago towards the
island of Föglö – the islands here are low-lying and more barren than in the
Stockholm archipelago …
We hardly saw another boat – just
the occasional ship in the distance – but plenty of sinister little rocks to
avoid …
So we arrived at Degerby, a village on the island of Föglö …
… tied up in Lotsudden harbour …
… and went to pay our dues at the
harbour office – located in this motor boat, where I think the harbourmaster
lives during the summer months. Sounds
like a nice job!
This swan swam by with her eight cute cygnets – we’ve seen a lot of swans on this trip mostly with large numbers
of young – they certainly seem to be thriving here …
A pretty little spot, but there is a
rowdy sauna party going on in the small hut!
Later we went for a drink at the
very pleasant restaurant overlooking the harbour, which was almost deserted
this early in the season – apart from these two guys from a neighbouring yacht,
who offered to take our picture, then ‘photo-bombed’ us!!
Back on board, a lovely calm sunset
…
The following morning was again
beautiful and sunny, so Jo and I went for a walk on the island. Degerby is actually a sizeable settlement by
Åland island standards with a small year-round population, a shop, bank, church
and pub and even a pedestrian crossing, though we saw no traffic to warrant it!
We loved the wild flowers everywhere
…
… and this great view of the
fjord. The water looks so blue and
tempting, but we know it’s still only 11 or 12 degrees!!
Kökar
Later that day, we set off for Kökar,
one of the more remote of the Åland islands.
Again a very calm day and not a boat in sight, when suddenly a massive
ferry appeared round a corner on the port side …
… while on starboard a fast motor
boat overtook us! The resulting wash was
enough to send things flying in the cabin and fling cupboard doors open!
Apart from that it was an uneventful
trip to Kökar – this is an attempt at a panoramic photo to try and convey the
impression of vast open sea with thousands of low islands and hardly a boat in
sight …
We tied up on the empty pontoon at
Sandvik – the family who run the harbour, shop and camp site were only just
getting ready to open for the season, although it’s already mid-June. The weather looks nice in the photo, but it’s
still cool. The ramp sloping down to the
water is just natural rock which forms a perfect slipway for launching boats …
The weather in the evening often
seems to be good here at this time of year, even if it’s been cloudy or showery
during the day, and it doesn’t get dark till about midnight. We went for an evening walk to visit the
Church of St Anna, which was built in 1784 next to the ruins of a 15th
century Franciscan monastery. It’s built
of whitewashed stone and red-painted wooden roof shingles and, as is common in
Åland, the belltower is separate from the main church building …
The church has a simple, wooden,
painted interior with a couple of beautiful and detailed boat models hanging
from the ceiling – very common in churches in the islands as they represent asking
for protection for seafarers …
It’s also a good vantage point for a
view …
What a difference a day makes!! The following morning was grey, misty and
pouring with rain. The people on the
Finnish boat next to us decided to abandon their holiday and go back home, as the
summer so far is so awful and the forecast not much better!
However, we have a very cosy boat
with central heating!! We spent the
morning reading and catching up on emails, and by mid-afternoon the weather had
perked up a bit and we hired bikes and set off to explore the island. This is the other harbour at Karlby, hardly
visible through the mist …
We came across a sign to Otterböte, the
site of the first inhabitants of Kökar – seal hunters who lived here in the
early Bronze Age (c. 900 BC). We set off
to follow the track – just as well it was marked with white-painted spots on
the rocks as there wasn’t much of a path!
You can just see Jo and Charles up ahead in the undergrowth …
We found the Bronze Age site and
could see the outlines of the seal-hunters' dwellings and a well. There’s evidence that they made the journey
from Poland across the frozen Baltic Sea – that’s a long way!
Again, what a difference a day
makes! The following morning was bright
and sunny, so we got on our bikes again and enjoyed seeing the island in
beautiful sunshine. I liked this row of mail
boxes, all individually painted to illustrate the names of the houses or
occupants …
This is the harbour at Karlby again
– scroll up a couple of photos to see what it looked like yesterday!
We cycled across Kökar, enjoying the
scenery …
These horses have a field full of
wildflowers to feast on …
Our destination was Peders Aplagård (apple
orchard) …
… which has a nice little café doing
amazingly good pizzas and their own delicious apple cider – I like the apple
and gooseberry best …
Back past an ancient barn in some
need of repair!
... more beautiful views – and
always wildflowers everywhere …
In the late afternoon we set off for
our next destination – a lovely sunny passage …
… but at sea the temperature felt much colder and we had to dress for winter in the middle of June!
Sottunga
Again we were the only boat on the
pontoon at Sottunga and it was the first day of the season for the
café-cum-harbour-office. We had an
excellent dinner there, including Åland pancakes which are made from semolina
but taste delicious! But on their first
day open they hadn’t even had time to chill the white wine yet!
We had a nice woodland walk after
dinner and admired the tiny red wood-shingled church from the outside …
Another windy day followed and we
partly sailed and partly motored to our final destination in the Åland
islands. It’s frustrating that you can’t
always sail even when there’s enough wind – sometimes it’s just annoyingly in the
wrong direction and other times the channels are so narrow and the navigation
too complicated for a small crew to deal with the sails as well.
Rödhamn,
Långö
What a delightful little spot
Rödhamn is! We knew it was the island
base of the Åland Yacht Club (ÅSS) so I had imagined a sophisticated marina rather like
Sandhamn, which is the equivalent of Cowes in the Stockholm archipelago. But Rödhamn, on the island of Långö, is such
a remote spot that it has a charming, rustic, old-fashioned atmosphere. A few red wooden buildings form the
facilities …
… and the small club room is very
cosy with shelves of books, games to amuse children, and tea and coffee served
in bone china cups and saucers from an assortment of tea sets …
There is no electricity or running
water on the island – cooking and lighting are gas, and all water has to be
collected in buckets from a hand-pump 200 metres from the café!
Nevertheless, they managed to make
some delicious home-baked cakes and we also had very tasty hot-smoked wild
salmon caught in the sea just off Långö.
Even in the summer, the island feels
quite wind-blown and bleak – much of the surface is rock, so not much grows
here except a few bushes and hardy wildflowers which root in all sorts of nooks
and crannies …
Looking in the other direction,
presumably more sheltered from the prevailing wind, the landscape looks more
benign …
There was a radio beacon in this small white building from
1937 until 1970. At the end of the 1930s
the radio beacon was a revolutionary new navigational aid, assisting ships to
find their way in poor visibility.
The radio beacon was manned by three keepers who lived on
Långö all year round in houses provided for them and their families – it must
have been a hard life with no electricity or running water. They kept a cow and a few sheep and pigs and
there are photos of them doing their washing in the freezing cold Baltic
seawater! Nowadays the houses are used
as accommodation for the summer staff who run the ÅSS clubhouse …
The next day we began the trip back
to Stockholm. The wind had dropped and
it was yet again a perfect day for a sea passage back to Sweden. We’ve been across this patch of open sea now
three times, and every time it’s been flat calm – disappointing from the
sailing point of view, but perfect for making a comfortable crossing.
In the middle of the day the sea
looked really glassy – smooth and oily – and the clouds made interesting
patterns on the water …
Later the wind increased and we were
able to have quite a good sail for the final part of the trip …
… then it increased further until we
had more than enough wind and the sea was breaking over the deck!
Säck
We stopped overnight in one of our
favourite little bays, Säck, bows to the rocks and tied up to two trees …
It’s still a pretty spot, even in
rather grey weather, and a very sheltered bay considering the strength of the wind out at sea …
Back
to Stockholm
This is the day before Midsummer is
celebrated here in Sweden and the weather is cold, grey and rainy! It really is the worst summer we’ve ever had
here, and we’ve been here probably 8 or 9 times. We steamed back to Stockholm through mist and
rain – luckily Astraia has got a nice warm pilot house for us to shelter
in. We could hardly see Vaxholm Fortress
as we passed by …
In the drizzle, we arrived at
Wasahamnen marina – right next to the famous Vasa ship (which we visited last
year) – squeezed in through the very narrow entrance, moored to a stern buoy
and got warm and cosy in the cabin with the central heating on! The forecast doesn’t look very favourable for
Midsummer tomorrow!
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