We
flew back to Stockholm on Monday 6 August. This time we were joined
by my brother Clive who was accompanying us for the first nine days. In
Nynashamn “Whileway” was fine apart from having an army of
spiders on board! We recommissioned and provisioned the boat before a
fine meal at the fish restaurant on the quay.
On
Tuesday we took on fuel then headed N up the coast, finally turning W
into some of the numerous smaller islands that form the archipelago.
This was Clive's first experience of both the beauty and the
navigational challenges as we threaded our way between islands and
rocks.
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New helm Clive! |
We did notice that there seemed to be more modern summer houses on the islands as we got more within travelling distance of Stockholm.
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Black and grey become more common rather than traditional red houses |
After
mainly motor sailing some 30nm in light S winds we went through a
narrow inlet into the secluded bay of Napoleonviken, joining about a
dozen or so other boats at anchor on a fine sunny evening.
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The anchorage at Napoleonviken |
We
had a shorter journey on the Wednesday of 13nm but were able to sail
in F4 S winds to Malmskvarn on the island of Fagelbrolander.
En-route we passed a tall ship in full sail.
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Tall ship in sail |
This
is a sailing club harbour with a few visitors places and we were
pleased to get one of the remaining berths.
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In Malmskvarn; Whileaway third from right |
An
afternoon walk showed what an unspoilt place this is with a couple of
beautiful lakes, surrounded by predominantly pine woodland and small
meadows.
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Nearby lake |
On
the following day we headed 18nm NE into the outer archipelago to the
island of Sandhamn, described as the “Cowes of Sweden” for its
yachting and racing activity. Here we had a surprise as the harbour
was full as a classic yachts sailing regatta was taking place. However just opposite Sandhamn is the small
island of Lokholmen where there was a better and sheltered harbour with
plenty of space. In addition there is an hourly free ferry between
the two islands.
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Whileaway moored at Lokholmen |
Sandhamn
had plenty of action with small and large classic yachts which were gleaming with varnish.
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Classic yachts at Sandhamn |
It also has very attractive buildings, some with significant
history. The island having originally been established as a Customs
post and a base for Stockholm Pilots.
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Some of Sandhamn's houses |
The
next day was very windy but fortunately we had decided to stop for a
second night. After reviewing the yachts in Sandhamn we returned to
the N coast of Lokholmen to watch the racing only to see that it had been abandoned that day because of the conditions!
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Just too gusty for racing yachts, returning to harbour |
However
we then had time to look around Sandhamn and see some more of the
traditional and historic buildings as well as many yachts.
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A breezy day in the archipelago |
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The waterfront at Sandhamn |
On
Saturday 11 August we sailed a short distance N to anchor in the
beautiful bay of Ostholmen. Once again we had some tight navigation between rocks and islands to reach our destination.
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Through narrow gaps |
Ostholmen
is in a nature reserve and we got in
the dinghy and explored the uninhabited island. This really is the
natural granite rock with many trees, extensive undergrowth and
different types of lichen.
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Horses and heritage breed pigs on Grinda |
Grinda
has a small farm and also offers leisure facilities including an Inn
and Hotel, a youth hostel, cottages and a camping site. There were some interesting photographs of the island including showing snow on the ground and horses pulling sledges.
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The Vardhus on Grinda |
On
Tuesday we made the short passage to Waxholm. Described as the
“capital of the archipelago” it is an important ferry hub and is
just under an hour from Stockholm by ferry. Linked to the mainland by
a bridge it is also possible to get a bus to Stockholm. There are
also plenty of cafes, restaurants and shops in Waxholm.
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Part of the waterfront at Vaxholm |
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Inside the fortress |
Guarding
the entrance is the Fastning (Fortress) first began in the sixteenth
century when King Gustav Vasa ordered the isle of Vaxholm to be
fortified in order to lock the approach to Stockholm. We took the
electric chain ferry the short distance to the Fortress and visited
the museum which has an interesting exhibition of the defence history
of the archipelago.
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The electric chain ferry, with its long lead unwinding |
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Mural on ceiling of Council Chamber |
Back in the town we had also visited the impressive old Council House with its interssting wall and ceiling paintings.
On Wednesday morning Clive caught the 0845 ferry to Stockholm where he
was to visit the excellent Vasa Museum before returning to London.
We
set off just after midday and headed E to the marina at Bullando some
19nm away. On arrival we found, to our surprise, that the huge marina
was stuffed full of residents boats. Clearly the Swedes were
returning to base in large numbers as it was now mid-August. The
Harbour Master was sorry to tell us that he had no room for a boat of
our size.
So we
retraced our steps about 0.5nm to a pontoon that we had spotted on
our way in. At the head of the pontoon was a restaurant called
Sjoboden which we subsequently discovered markets itself as “The
Archipelago Pub”. This was actually in the extensive grounds of the
upmarket Djuronaset Hotel. There was no sign of activity as we moored
to the deserted pontoon. Later we discovered that the pub had closed
for the season a couple of days before!
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The deserted pontoon at Djuronaset |
We
walked through some of the wooded hotel grounds and then and later
saw residents who seemed to be delegates on some sort of management
training or development course. They had some sort of team building
exercise later, judging by the events that we could see. We were happy not to be involved!
On
Thursday 16 August we travelled about 24nm SE to a larger island in
the outer archipelago, Ormo. We moored in the very quiet Brunnsviken
harbour on the SW coast. The HM also manages a few holiday cabins and
runs a very small shop. She explained to me that it is left open
during the day and prices for all the goods are displayed. If you buy
anything with cash just put the money in the tin in the shop; if you
need to pay by card you have to ring a bell for the HM. This is not
the first time that we have come across an honesty box for payments.
As Andrea and I noted it shows the difference between their society
and ours – in the UK not only would payment not be made but an
opportunist thief would soon make off with the money as well as many
goods as he or she could carry!
Ormo
is a large island but with only about 500 permanent residents.
Tourism seems to play quite a small part in this islands economy.
Later we cycled on empty roads to the main 'town' of Kyrkvikan. In the local cafe the owner
explained that he imported Godminster cheddar cheese and Snowdonia cheeses from the UK and that it was
very popular in Sweden.
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One of the main roads on Orno |
The
next day we travelled the short distance SW to Uto mooring in the
North harbour at Gruvbyn. As may be recalled from our previous blog
we had tried mooring in the South harbour one windy day but had to
give up as we couldn't get the stern anchor to set. This time we were
successful.
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Bouyed entrance to Uto, NE harbour |
Uto
is much more orientated towards tourism than the larger neighbour
Ormo. Here there is a large hotel, hostel and numerous small cabins
available.
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Typical traditional house on Uto |
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The Windmill is conspicuous as you approach the coast |
And during the afternoon we went for a long walk - even longer than we had expected as it followed a meandering route along footpaths and rocks reaching the E coast for a while.
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Skerries on the coast |
An
unusual aspect of Uto is its mining history. It has Sweden's oldest
iron mine said to date back to the 12th century. The mine
ceased operating in the 19th century but you can still see
the water-filled open-cast mines and a few surviving mine workers
homes.
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One of the mines |
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Iron ore truck |
Our
visit to Uto completed our time in the archipelago and from here we
began our journey returning S. We had enjoyed 12 days and although
we had only visited a few of the thousands of islands we felt that we
had seen plenty of interest.