Carra Tidings

15th-16th Aug With the boat being built in Falmouth and my mother living in Suffolk, the 2 had never crossed paths. I was very keen for my mother to see Carra. So when she came to Finland it was the ideal time to have a surprise visit to see Carra in Sweden. I knew it wasn’t an option to go sailing. My father had spent 3 years building a 17ft wooden sailing boat to discover my mother hated sailing. She did take secret sailing lessons on her own to see if she could conquer the fear of the wind and sailing… to find she couldn’t.

Whilst a trip out on Carra wasn’t an option, we did take the safer more stable option of a ferry ride into Stockholm, which is an hour long trip and we could let her see some of the beauty of the archipelago. We wandered through the narrow cobbled streets of the old quarter, having lunch just off the market square. As luck would have it as we left we bumped into the changing of the guard. The best way to get a view of the city with a relatively short time is by bus – so we had a guided tour round the very grand Royal City.

Next came the main point of the visit. She was thrilled to see Carra and I was so pleased that she could, as sailing and Carra are so much part of what we enjoy doing. We had a meal on board but too soon it was time to take her back to her hotel. We stayed on board whilst my mother stayed in a lovely old hotel over looking Vaxholm Harbour.

Vaxholm is an old traditional harbour town with wooden buildings. It is located at an important strategic seaway hence it has a massive Castle built on a near by island. Vaxholm is a relatively small town yet apparently is built over 70 islands. We had an enjoyable meander round the streets before it was time to head back to Finland.