Heading S with a bit more haste - July 27 th

Hartsena in all its tweeness

Its not all sunshine.  We arrived, anchored and tidied just in time.

And an hour later it was back to normal again.

Glad we had plenty of water.  Not only was it hard work pumping it but it was quite a hike across the island back to the boat.

Hartsena

We've looked at the miles to sail to Denmark and also the less settled weather forecast and decided we'd better get a move on.  Our present anchorage of Harstena is another star place with a short walk to the very twee village and it's bakery, very pricey restaurant, fish smokery and ice cream shop.  The wind and morning drizzle meant we wimped out of our pre-breakfast swim.  Picked what is probably our last load of bilberries but noticed that the blackberries are nearly ripe.  Watched the dustbin boat collect the rubbish from the rubbish and loo hut.

Slowly sailing South - July 22nd to 27 th

The busy "E4"

View from the top of the island where we were anchored below.  We motored down here next day.

This perfectly sheltered anchorage and interesting island mamade the tricky entrance below worth it.

Still evenings and nights seem the norm in this weather. 

A tricky entrance (what you see is not all that needs avoiding)

Enjoying a rare off wind sail.

We are sailing very slowly southwards in the south wind and some very hot weather.  We are actually really enjoying the skargard and a LOT of swimming.  The light wind and sunshine make it a very different experience from earlier  this year and from 2015.  The main route through the rocks is generally known as the E4 after the main coastal road here.  It's busy as you can see below.  But it's not a problem.  It's a help because you can follow the masses.  We have anchored in more amazing anchorages than I can recount, holding large numbers of yachts without a problem.  We have not yet tried tying to the rocks because we prefer a bit of P and Q wobbling around rather than being fender to fender with others, many with young children.  Mossies and horse flies are a problem too and we have less in the middle.  On little islands the only reason for going ashore is to barbeque the food and visit the composting loo.

Trosa and Ringson - July22nd and 23rd

The walk into the town centre.

The only building left standing after the russians torched the place.. the church which they used as a stable.

The Bathing Societies club house.  We think it had more to do with drinking than bathing!

Looking out to seaward.

We sailed the short distance to the small town of Trosa to get food. We'd run out of essentials like milk and orange juice(its essential in this heat as neat boat water isn't a tasty drink).  It's a very pretty old town reminiscent of Dutch towns as it's built astride a canal and very busy with happy holidaying Swedes.  The day had started overcast and with a cool swim which resulted in us eating breakfast swaddled in blankets. It ended in sweltering heat and under clear skies.
The heat has continued and we've enjoyed a gentle sail, to windward, retracing our outward track which was also to windward. But how different it is in such good weather and with loads of boats to show the way.  We're now anchored in the most amazing anchorage yet. It's like a lake with islands dotted round and enough space to anchor a fleet of ships.  Everyone is swimming like us!

Landsort - July 20 th

The small village.  The 28 permanent inhabitants are either pilots or work on the ferries.

A WWII relic.  Typically swedish with the seats to admire the view.

The very full harbour.  We are the rightmost yacht in the harbour. 

The Swedish favourite summer pastime is watching the sunset.

And this was the snset we all watched.

Landsort, the village and pilot station on the island of Öja, divides the N archipelago (Stockholm's) from the South archipelago.  The village grew around the mediaeval pilot station and is still based around the pilot station.  The island was only opened to foreign visitors in 2000.  It is strategically important for protecting access to Stockholm and so is full of WW2 and Cold war installations mostly underground but still some guns to see.  It's also full of raspberries so I picked enough for tea and breakfast and very tasty they were too.  We enjoyed both the island and chatting to our neighbours ..... a young family on a typical Swedish motor boat, not fast or flashy but very practical and a couple of about our age with two teenage Afghani refugees on board .... just about the first teenagers we've seen on boats. I've decided they are all down below on the internet or on their phones.

Dragets canal and a Swedish (not Norfolk) broad - July 19th

We ended the day driving through another narrow channel, but this one was edged with reed and ended in a series of very shallow muddy lagoons, like the broads.

An amazing day. Gentle windward sail and then a motor through the Dragets canal and on into a large area that resembles a Norfolk broad in every respect except it's depth(3m to 6m) and the granite outcrops fringing it amongst the reeds.  We were told that the canal was blasted through the granite to provide a short cut for the King's fleet.  They must have been very small ships as it's narrower than a standard British canal and 2m or less deep!  Also with three swims, the final two here necessary to cool down and in warmer water than usual. 

We thought this a narrow channel, but at least you could see what was coming and wait if needed (we did)

The Dragets canal was somewhat rockier, every bit as narrow and bendy.  They say you must sound your horn, but we followed a line of motor boats through.

Deeper into the canal.

Entering the gap in the rocks.

Aa week at anchor in the Stockholm archipelago - July 9th to 15th

These maypoles are on every village green.  They were covered in fresh birch leaves on Midsummer day, a major Swedish festival when they dance and play games round the maypole...sounds a bit like a junior school sports day!

This is a semophore for stopping the ferry as it drives past.  You pull the handle and flip the disc.

I would say "a cool sauna" but it is of course very hot.

Swedish boats do anchor in the middle sometimes.

Perfect except for being overlooked by a very large house with security lights all round, and on its posh jetty.  This explains why locals anchored outside the narrow entrance

A zig zag entrance to this anchorage.

More boats tied to rocks than anchored.  It was easier and more peaceful to anchor so we anchored as normal.

We've actually enjoyed very good sailing (mostly to windward as per normal for 2016) and some stunning anchorages with perfect shelter, good though cool swimming and lots of Swedes enjoying their summer holiday.  The locals tie to rocks and use a stern anchor. They wouldn't dream of doing anything else and do not have bow anchors or rollers.  They get out barbecues and the rocks are splattered with mooring rope, rings, pitons and cooling barbecues, not forgetting the cows (come to lick salt off the mooring ropes?)  This method fits large numbers of boats into a small space.  All retire before 10pm and sleep to at least 10am so it's very civilised. We are now successfully using our new stern anchor for the first time on a rainy day in a tiny guest harbour on the island of Orno, so we may try a rock mooring ourselves. Lacking the standard fitments (a projecting bow sprit and drop down ladder plus an anchor tape reel and anchor launcher at the stern) makes it more difficult.

Decision time and Stockholm archipelago - July 9 th

You can't have an ugly crane blotting the sights of Stockholm so make it into a bit of art. 

The old town island from the water.

Several cruise ships  came and went, stopping just long enough for the Chinese to run round the Vasa museum, watch the changing of the guard, run round the royal palace and take photos of everythinhg in sight.

The royal palace.  A lump from outside but very fine inside.

Our marina, almost in the country. ( the fine house behind is the italian embassy) We had meals in the cockpit looking out onto a wooded shore backed by fields.

We have decided to come slowly back. We've sailed through yet another chart portfolio so moving onwards further north, tempting though it is, requires yet more expense and it is a difficult to navigate through the rocks using the plotter alone .... the black lines which mark the routes are absent on the plotter. So we are now sailing slowly back and enjoying warm weather, lots of swims and seeing lots of Swedes on holiday within a days sail of Stockholm.  The sailing here is good and navigation easier than further south. The anchorages surpass those in Scotland for shelter and there are hundreds.  But it still takes us hours to work out the route for tomorrow and possible anchorages.

Stockholm - July 7 th and 8 th.

We went to the Vasa museum early to beat the cruise ship crowds..... there are two new cruise ships near the marina every morning and more around the corner. We spent most of the day there despite the ship being the only major exhibit. Its almost complete preservation after over 300 years on the sea bed astonished us as much as it's obviously unstable shape.  It looks as if would fall over in the slightest of breeze which is exactly what happened to it.  The ornate carvings on the ridiculously high stern and very long beak at the front are still stunning and must have been awe inspiring when painted.  The day ended on a high as we managed to get Gas at the expensive marina a few minutes walk into town at a reasonable price. We think it's propane but it'll still work fine.
A cycle ride round our island (the park island) was a pleasant country diversion and we could hear cows from the boat.

An extreme ramming beak weighs down the bows.

A very ornate and high stern overbalances the stern.

Look at the people below and you'll see how high the ship was.  It's stability tests were stopped for fear of a capsize after 30 sailors had run three times from side to side.

This bus was amphibious.

Changing of the guard swedish style.

Grand rooms in the queens palace.

Heavily decorated ceilings throughgout showing the heavenly host.

We spent Friday visiting the royal palace which seemed the correct thing to do in the capital city.  Changing of the guard was a marching band concert and I especially liked the fairy tale pointy crowns in the treasury. 
Now we need a rest so plan to carry on tomorrow though we'll run out of paper charts.

Last rocks for a few days and Stockholm - July 6 th

An excellent sheltered anchorage overnight. Even better were a morning swim before the breeze sprung up and a close sight of a sea eagle being harried by crows.  Then more relaxed sailing through the rocks to Stockholm. The routes are comfortably wide here except for short passages between lines of large islands which are increasingly inhabited as we get nearer Stockholm. Also you get what you see with no hidden rocks. We took the Baggenstaket canal for the last bit and the the final mile or so to the marina a short walk from the city centre. Exhausted ourselves researching the Vasa museum, visiting best tourist office ever and the old town. First impressions of Stockholm are excellent.

Rock routes, rock anchorages - July 3rd to 5th

A peaceful anchorage despite the ferries which also stopped almost beside us!  They take the place of mainland buses round here.

Independance Day celebrations in full swing at this small island pub.  Its a mystery why the Swedes are so keen on everything american, especially classic Cadillacs. 

Another sheltered anchorage.

View from the boat.  Complete shelter  is the norm round here.

All more cheerful. The mood follows the weather though the latter is still low pressure for summer so unsettled.  Not sure we could claim our passages through the rocks were stress free but they were incident free.  We have enjoyed a few anchorages, a surprisingly warmish morning swim and breakfast in the sun. Today we came N of the Landsort headland. We actually came through it by following a train of full sailed yachts disappearing between the rocks.  Not liking a downwind approach to a tiny poorly marked gap, we joined the procession under motor, sailing when out of the narrow shortcut.  I think it's the narrowest channel we've every wiggled through and we would not have risked it on our own. After this the following 10 miles of more open water were a relief and we had a good fast sail downwind.

Oxelösund (again) - July 2nd

Control room 1960s style - plotting map and radar

Tunnel under the guns of Femofortet

More fed up and depressed than ever on the boat and ready to fly straight back home. I can't believe we were so stupid to leave the nicest harbour, miss it's festival and get stuck part way to our planned anchorage in the least attractive harbour.  After a good sunny and light wind start and a biassed beat out of the Nävekvarn inlet we hit strong wind and choppy water in the exposed leg of our rock route, making 7 knots with two reefs and no jib.  Very stressful when looking for green and red sticks. So we bailed out and headed for this little fishing harbour, having a much needed cup of tea and sandwich at about 2:30 safely tied up.
Things have been better today. Forecast heavy rain and wind kept us in bed late, but then we walked to the cold war fort which dates from 1965 and is underground. We'd run round it last night but our English tour made it more interesting and we got to go into the tunnels.  I also picked and ate lots of strawberries and bilberries.  We got back to the boat just before afternoon rain started, so have cheered up.