Back ashore where we started at the end of May - August 29th

A successful and efficient lift out completed and we've given the topsides one coat of teflon polish and made time to cycle to the beach (a quieter bit beyond the beach chairs) for a very pleasant swim.

The old East German army trailer in use again with an almost equally old tractor.  The standard kit is very new and more posh.

Burgstaaken - August 25th

American bike weekend in Burg. (just a few of the bikes!)

Really hot today. Proper high pressure weather at last and just when we've ended our cruise!  But we've made use of the hot sun drying the clothes and washing the Genoa.  A short sail out of the lagoon and back in again was enough to dry it nicely and we had a late lunch on deck here in Burgstakken.  I like this basic, no frills marina.  It's small, it works and is beside the island port and fishing harbour.  There are still active fishing boats here and I have been told you can buy fish on the quay, but sadly have never seen this.  It's in full holiday swing at the moment and the boat activity is pleasure trips on various boats, from pirate ships to fast ribs, so not much P and Q.  The American bike weekend is starting tomorrow so we'll make a trip into Burg to enjoy the spectacle of middle aged, bearded men on their Harley Davidsons.

Burgtiefe - August 24th

The very busy beach, now deserted just before sunset.

It's very hot as it was at the end of May when I was trying to put antifouling on the boat.  So we had two pleasant swims in salty water underneath the chimneys of a large factory (is not an anchorage you'd visit for its beauty). We finally sailed off just after midday as we heard the factory lunch break siren sound.  A short upwind sail took us here, the big marina at the entrance to the lagoon where our laying up harbour is.  We have used the excellent washing machines and dryer to wash bedding etc which is why we came and have discovered the world kite surfing championships are here over the weekend, a big party judging by the advertised programme.  So we are hurrying off to the P and Q of Burgstaken tomorrow.

Fehmarn Sund (Grossenbroder Binnensee) - August 23rd

We've got here at last, against wind and tide until our final few hours when the wind veered to give us a reach into this final anchorage of 2016.
Sunday was a perfect sailing day, but we had a really good day with Gurli so had no regrets spending the day ashore.

Today has ended as our 2016 cruise began with a porpoise sighting and a gentle sunny off wind sail.  We've had a warmish swim in the 2.5m deep water in the evening light, enjoyed a chicken casserole and have a few days to do the laying up jobs.

Tracks

Tracks are sorted out at last! Click the link to see the track. (Sorry still doesn't seem to work on tablets and phones use a proper computer)

All Tracks for 2016 (be patient - it takes a while)

Track

Date	From	To	Track link
20-May-2016	Burgstaaken	Gedser	Track
21-May-2016	Gedser	Hesnaes	Track
22-May-2016	Hesnaes	Smygehamn	Track
23-May-2016	Smygehamn	Ystad	Track
24-May-2016	Ystad	Simrishamn	Track
25-May-2016	Simrishamn	Hano	Track
26-May-2016	Hano	Karlskrona	Track
28-May-2016	Karlskrona	Kristionopel	Track
29-May-2016	Kristionopel	Kalmar	Track
30-May-2016	Kalmar	Kalmar	Track
02-Jun-2016	Kalmar	Sandvik	Track
03-Jun-2016	Sandvik	Byxelkrok	Track
05-Jun-2016	Byxelkrok	Grankulla	Track
06-Jun-2016	Grankulla	Visby	Track
09-Jun-2016	Visby	Farosund	Track
12-Jun-2016	Farosund	Arkosund	Track
14-Jun-2016	Arkosund	Lundarna Sodra	Track
15-Jun-2016	Lundarna Sodra	Oxelosund (Fiskehamn)	Track
17-Jun-2016	Oxelosund	Nykoping	Track
18-Jun-2016	Nykoping	Navekvarn	Track
01-Jul-2016	Navekvarn	Oxelosund (Fiskehamn)	Track
03-Jul-2016	Oxelosund	Fifang	Track
04-Jul-2016	Fifang	Uto (Church Bay)	Track
05-Jul-2016	Uto	Erikstorpsviken	Track
06-Jul-2016	Erikstorpsviken	Stockholm Navishamn	Track
09-Jul-2016	Stockholm	Kalvholmen	Track
10-Jul-2016	Kalvholmen	Loknasviken	Track
11-Jul-2016	Loknasviken	Sack	Track
12-Jul-2016	Sack	Tyssgryteviken	Track
13-Jul-2016	Tyssgryteviken	Gronskarsfladden	Track
14-Jul-2016	Gronskarsfladden	Fjardlang, Nedergardso	Track
15-Jul-2016	Fjardlang	Orno, Kyrkeviken	Track
17-Jul-2016	Orno	Ranohamn	Track
18-Jul-2016	Ranohamn	Nattaro	Track
19-Jul-2016	Nattaro	Rassavikar	Track
20-Jul-2016	Rassavikar	Landsort	Track
21-Jul-2016	Landsort	Fifang, Sorviken	Track
22-Jul-2016	Fifang, Sorviken	Trosa	Track
23-Jul-2016	Trosa	Ringson	Track
24-Jul-2016	Ringson	Idklubben	Track
25-Jul-2016	Idklubben	Rageten	Track
26-Jul-2016	Rageten	Riso	Track
27-Jul-2016	Riso	Harstena(Flis..)	Track
28-Jul-2016	Harstena	Lango/Hafso	Track
29-Jul-2016	Lango/Hafso	Sparogloet	Track
30-Jul-2016	Sparogloet	Stora Vippholmen	Track
31-Jul-2016	Stora Vippholmen	Figeholm	Track
02-Aug-2016	Figeholm	Solberganaset	Track
03-Aug-2016	Solberganaset	Borgholm	Track
04-Aug-2016	Borgholm	Kalmar	Track
05-Aug-2016	Kalmar	Sandhamn	Track
06-Aug-2016	Sandhamn	Karlskrona	Track
11-Aug-2016	Karlskrona	Tejn	Track
12-Aug-2016	Tejn	Allinge	Track
15-Aug-2016	Allinge	Skillinge	Track
16-Aug-2016	Skillinge	Skare	Track
17-Aug-2016	Skare	Flakfortet	Track
18-Aug-2016	Flakfortet	Copenhagen (Lynnetten)	Track
19-Aug-2016	Copenhagen	Rodvig	Track
20-Aug-2016	Rodvig	Klintholm	Track
22-Aug-2016	Klintholm	Gedser	Track
23-Aug-2016	Gedser	Grossenboder Binnensee	Track
24-Aug-2016	Grossenboder Binnensee	Burgtiefe	Track
25-Aug-2016	Burgtiefe	Burgstaaken	Track

Google Sites Dropbox 22-Jul-2016 normal track. Contains 4 <trkseg which have single points Track Track Track20160722.gpx 22-Jul-2016 track manually edited to single <trkseg Track Track Track20160722_a.gpx

Klintholm with Gurli - August 21st

Gurli drove here to spend the day with us, having dropped off Mogens at the airport.  She treated to us to a very fine fish buffet at the famous fish restaurant..... three large courses starting with marinaded herring (15 different types), then fish salads and smoked salmon, finally the hot course, fried plaice and fish cakes), none of us could eat anything else until Monday despite having a walk along the beautiful chalk cliffs.

Watched SAR helicopter practise low height hovering inshore and dlighted with the symbol on our plotter!  We're the black triangle, the blue triangle is the navy ship with the helicopter and the red cross is where we're aiming to reach just off the Klintholm headland.

Enjoying the final course of the fish buffet in the hot sun with Gurli.

Beautiful gardens on top of the cliffs carpeted with extensive beeach woods.

Slowly onward south - August 19 th and 20 th

We blew our chances of a fast of wind passage south by going to Copenhagen as the wind was forecast to yet again blow from the S, if any is to blow at all over the next few days.  However we were lucky in managing to reach Rolvig in one slow track after a long motor out the Oresund (strait between Copenhagen and Malmo).  Rolvig was busy but we still think it's a good place and Pat is determined to visit the ship motor museum on a future visit.  Then another slow sail to windward today, first on one tack then on the other tack making the same heading.  The big disappointment was that we have had adverse tide of about 1 knot at times for both days.  This has a big effect on progress when you're only making 3 knots.  That's the tideless Baltic for you.  We've also been sailing through green pea soup at times.  That's what it looks like.  We think it's an algal bloom and we can see lots of stringy green things in the water plus lots of little jelly fish.  We are now in Klintholm and are spending tomorrow with Gurli, Mogens having  flown out to USA for yet another 6 week residential ..... It's a hard life being a senior academic on the verge of retiring!

Swedish south coast - August 15th and 16th

  Asign ofAutumn, swallows gathering on the boats at Skillinge.

Entering the small harbour at Skane

Not my favourite part of the Swedish coast, rather ordinary villages and a tenancy to rather smelly sea weed.  However our sail from Bornholm took us to Skillinge (pronounced schillinga) which is a pretty fishing village with narrow cobbled streets and the next days sail took us to Skane where we enjoyed the snorkel trail, though the water was a bit too cold to take the time to see everything that the sea bed labels described. 
I am continually puzzled as to why these old fishing harbours were sited where they are,seemingly stuck out into the sea.  We think that some small natural feature, a small river or a slight bay or a shallow lagoon, must have existed before the present harbours were built.

Copenhagen - August 17th and18th

Even I felt comfortable sailing under the Oresund bridgeit is so high and long.

Flakfortet fortress.  You can see copenhagen in the distance.

Sailing back home from Flakfortet in the evening.  (not us)

The new cycle/pedestrian bridge in Copenhagen.

The little mermaid (as you probably knew)

We saw this sailing cruise ship hull down last year with its 5 sails set.  But notice its many exhaust pipes inamong the masts.... I expect it travels under engine power mostly.

Just enjoyed an evening with Gurli and Mogens (Danish friends) having spent last night at Flakfortet, an artificial island built in 1910 to improve the defence of Copenhagen, an amazing place which you are at liberty to explore (in England much would be fenced off for safety but these Baltic nations leave more to your own judgement of the risk.)
We arrived at Flakfortet in the usual F6 to F5 having managed to extend our passage from the very small Swedish harbour of Skane by going round the Falsterbo point (rather than taking the canal through it) and by then sailing under the Oresund bridge.  Was it worth it?  Until the sea breeze kicked in I'd say yes, but later I wasn't so sure. 

Allinge again - August 14th

2000year old rock carvings near Allinge.  Not as convincing as those near the Crinan canal in Scotland.  These were so worn they had to be painted to make them visible.  They were mostly lots of ships (so the information boards said)

One of many pretty streets in Ronne.

The old WW2 bomb shelter in Ronne.  The curtain gives a bit of privacy but not much.

One of several displays of the gold votive offerings, mostly of men in all their finery.

One of the round Bornholm churches with its more conventional bell tower on the left.  We visited two but, sadly both were locked.

This tall ship (Pat says its a briganteen) berthed in Allinge.  Note the help of the shore party in the rib needed to achieve the sharp turn to starboard to get in.  Iposwich pilots would have pulled the stern rather than pushed the bow.

With another W F5 increasing to F6 forecast we decided to enjoy further exploring here rather than suffering a washing machine sail again.  Very glad we did as we've had a really good day, taking the bus upwind to Ronne (biggest town on the island) and cycling back downwind. (So good to have a downwind trip..... A rare event in 2016.) We followed the suggested tourist trail round the town, through pretty winding old cobbled streets, past the Swedish houses donated after WW2 and ending in the excellent museum.  The gold sheet figurines from about 500BC were pretty special , and it was interesting to see how history repeats ..... The island  struggled to cope with the massive immigration of Poles fleeing the Russian advance at the end of WW2 plus the strategic importance of the island for both Allies, then NATO and the Russians led to a great deal of uncertainty and paranoia on the island (probably ongoing?). Island became centre for clockmaking after Dutch ship with cargo of British clocks was wrecked.  Island craftsmen decided they'd have a go at clockmaking after repairing the clocks and they soon were exporting them.   Picked a bag of cherry plums on the cycle back.

Allinge, Bornholm - August 13th

Allinge is a popular tourist destination because it is a pretty old fishing harbour and town.  So we went there.

It is often full in the season, but was quiet when we were there.

Dawn from the boat at karlskrona... we really were desperate to leave!

A big granite quarry near Allinge.  The blocks are spilt repeatedly with gunpowder and then wedges to make paving and worktops.

Our sociable stay in Karlskrona continued with a three course meal onboard Tahi, with our Australian/Swedish friends.  It included Swedish Schnaps drunk with beer, white and red wine and we discovered some new foods we should buy a bit late in the day as we are now in Denmark, stuck on Bornholm, for a couple of days.  As we have not really explored this island this is not a hardship.  We had our wettest ever sail here on Thursday, achieving an uncomfortable 60 miles just off the W wind which rose to a robust force 6 all afternoon.  We both fell about in the boat and Pat has an impressive bruise on his forehead.  Typically I chose not to make sandwiches as we left Karlskrona at 6am.  I'll never learn! 
Bornholm is a far east outpost of Denmark in a patch of Danish sea in the middle of Sweden.  The Danes have kept hold of it since 1648 despite agreeing to give Sweden land in an agreement to end years of war, (they could keep a close eye on the Swedes.)  It's a cycling island with lots of cycle routes.  We had a tiring cycle ride and a walk round the NW end of the island today .... A bit hilly and a lot windy.  We cycled to the nearby granite quarry yesterday afternoon and were so disappointed it was closing that we got a personal lesson on how to split granite blocks from the curator which added a great deal to our wander round the quarry afterwards.  The blackberries in the quarry were the biggest and sweetest ever so we picked loads for tea (and a few more teas)

Still Karlskrona - August 10th

This stealth ship was doing sea trials, so not being very stealthy.

Calling the ferry at a request stop (not really, we made sure there wasn't any ferry within sight)

Waiting to catch the ferry.  There were a lot more bikes behind us.

Drottingskar citadel guarding the main entrance to Karlskrona.  Its presence stopped the Russian fleet in the 1700s.

Kalskrona old and still active naval centre with "the buttertub" in the foreground.  returning sailors and prisoners were deloused here to prevent disease entering the city.

Those on Facebook will know we've been making the most of a frustrating holdup ..... beautiful sunny weather but with force 6 SW wind.  The harbour has filled up with German yachts, a few Brits and Dutch all trying to get SW.  However we've managed to keep busy with more ferry trips, first a fast ferry to a couple of the outer islands in this archipelago.  We found that one had been for 60 years a major granite quarrying centre and now has an interesting museum and trail around the quarry, old harbour and various houses. The outing ended on a high note when we detoured to get smoked fish and found a bee keeper and wife selling honey.  They were very chatty, delighted to see us, dug out the last jar of flower honey and picked lots of salad, courgettes and carrots for our tea.  Today we took the free ferry to Aspö and enjoyed a windy and cold cycle, visiting the old citadel and seeing the cold war and WW2 relics.  The evenings have all been very social occasions and we have drunk more wine and beer than we normally consume in a year!  We followed an English boat down the rock route into here. John and Suzanne were very concerned when we kept deviating from the recommended route (looking for a sheltered anchorage) hence the initial contact which preceded two entertaining and informative evenings (they have sailed the Baltic for 20 years).  Yesterday Gisela and Bertil arrived from the south. (Australian boat met during our Shetland cruise).  They had come to see us so helped finish off our very nice smoked fish over an evening meal.  As Bertil is Swedish and a local lad he was a great help.  We have fingers crossed for an escape tomorrow, with a two day window to get further SW.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Karlskrona - August 7th

The naval dockyard doesn't want visitors and did not want any photos taken, so I hastily put the camera away at this point.

The old wooden rope making shed, 350m long.  We made a rope (I'm twisting the hemp into the 3 singles which are then twisted round each other to make the 3 strand rope.  We have a piece that smells very tarry so is well wrapped and stored with the smelly polishes.

The old dry dock, wet at the moment because the gates need mending.

The free ferry to Aspo (a good 30 minute ride) in front of the lighthouse.  This was first built as a defence position, but was not needed, so became a lighthouse.  The keepers children played on the roof which was not covered by a roof then.

We went through a seried of low bridges.  When we saw the driver kneel down behind the wheel, we all took it seriously and knelt as well.

Well we haven't got far since Kalmar due to strong S winds which are of course forecast to veer to W just when our route back to Germany turns westward.  But that is sailing for you!
We have made the most of being here by first enjoying drinks on the very fine 48ft Nordship yacht (met in Kalmar). It's comfortable living on board with big deck saloon and inside steering useful in rain. It has an evening snug below, under floor drinks fridges and probably a double bed and two bathrooms!  But it's size is a severe limitation in harbour and it's mast height and draught limit the routes and anchorages possible. Then we spent this morning touring the historic naval dockyard by boat. This is still the major naval dockyard in Sweden (it is less prone to freezing than Stockholm).  They make the Stealth ships here.  (Wonder if they let Russian sailors in...... there are a few Russian yachts and a Russian tall ship here)  it was an excellent tour, mainly in the rope making shed but we also saw the first Baltic dry dock.  It's not so easy to dry a dock in a tideless sea!  It took four days to bucket the water out by hand!
Later...... another evening drinks on another boat..... very different being perhaps smaller than Phun and owned for 40 years by a Brit and his German wife from Dusseldorf.  They have spent the last 15 years in the Baltic so were a source of very useful information. E.g we have discovered that the Swedish weather forecast in Swedish is actually in equivalent detail to the norm, therefore actually useful if you can understand it unlike the useless overall view presented twice a day in English.

Kalmar Sund successfully negotiated - August 5th

The start of our narrowest and trickiest country lane rock route yet.

This is where it got really tricky.  The charts admitted to no knowledge of the depth of any of these submerged rocks, so we lifted the keel and went slowly.

Before the demanding passage above we'd enjoyed a very sheltered and peaceful afternoon and night with a few swims in this very shallow and very muddy anchorage.  Phun actually went softly aground in about 1.5m without us realising until Pat dropped the anchor relkeasing a lot of smelly gas and having no effect at all on Phuns position or heading.

But we made it safely to Borgholm, the biggest town on Oland.  We felt very small beside the big yachts here.

We've got through the Kalmar venturi against the wind in two days despite a force 5/6 spell just before the bridge and up to Kalmar town.  But we managed to sail with less and less sail up right up to the bridge where we motored into both wind and water crawling along at about 2 knots over the ground. We're now sailing sedately to windward (of course) southwards having enjoyed the warmest swim yet at Kalmar(19 degrees the notice said) and a glass of wine with acquaintances from last year's rally and Royal Harwich Y C.  We've enjoyed possibly our last secluded anchorage for a while, negotiated the narrowest and trickiest country lane through the rocks yet, enroute to the town of Borgholm which is a spend spend spend, eat eat eat holiday destination on Öland.

Figeholm - August 1st

You can just see PHUN between the two trees on the right and groups of diners enjoyiong the evening sun at the picnic/barbeque tables.

A small river comes into the fjord beside the harbour.

The yacht club harbour at Figeholm seen from the opposite bank

The narrow pinch point

The haste isn't happening.  We arrived here yesterday to do the washing and stock the larder and because we really liked it last year. We are still here as the forecast gusty showery weather has arrived with its prolonged strong gusts as is usual round here. I think the weather forecasts should cite the gust strength instead of the average of almost zero and the gusty periods.  But with free washing machines and electricity, best (indeed the only) showers for a long time and a handy village COOP we are quite happy to be here.  We had our first run for three weeks before breakfast along one of the many woodland trails all way marked with sticks.  There are thousands of sticks marking both sea and land trails in Sweden!  We have picked cherries here!
We had spent a happy week at anchor, swimming three or four times a day, picking bilberries ashore and generally making slow progress into the persistent S wind.  But we are now nearly at the end of the archipelago, and we have realised why we found it all so stressful last year.  The rock routes here are very narrow (one pair of sticks were closer than Phun's length, see above) and no longer lit by many leading lights...... far too twisty.  We could tack down most of the routes until yesterday afternoon when we had to motor.

A big blackbird at the cherries.

The path was not as good as this everywhere.  That's our excuse for a very slow 8.5km.