Carra Tidings

Everyone in the harbour was talking about the impending storm (ex Storm Antonio), due  in the next few days and where they were going to spend it.  40-60 knots of wind were spoken about in hushed tones,  these strengths could easily cause damage a boat if not moored in the right place.

Remarkably we sailed all the way to Simishamn  – a first for the season! Tom invited us to raft up next to him, I think he preferred it was us than some stranger with hob nail boots – the inside boat has everyone trample over their decks. So in turn, we invited them to come and eat supper with us. Mags had made a big batch of chilli. They are a remarkable couple who have led a fascinating life, true adventurers. Simishamn looked an interesting little town, worth exploring had we been staying for longer but we wanted to move the next day to get a safe position in Ystad.

 

Another 5am start and boats were already streaming out of the harbour,  it felt like a race but we just let them go and set our own pace. The sea round the headland was lumpy, but soon we had the sails down and were inside the marina and we managed to get an inside berth in the direction we wanted, despite some questionable seamanship from a Dutch boat determined to beat us in. I then proceeded to spend the next hour securing Carra with our thick storm lines, extra lines, snubbers (big springs to absorb the shock in the lines) and chafe guards.

Our good friends Martin and Christine were already in the harbour – they kindly invited us for supper. It was a great evening and good to catch up with them. Martin is in the same place with his mother as mine – so it was reassuring to hear that our challenges and frustrations were similar.

The next day in the light rain, we explored the historic town  – some grand houses but also some little coloured town cottages bordered by roses and hollyhocks. Ystad, is also home to Wallender, the Swedish TV Detective. It portrays Ystad as crime central, think Midsommer Murders – or Mass Murder in Middle England as we call it.

In the harbour, I managed to spot the other famous resident  – a mink. Martin and Christine had warned us about them, as they have found one on their deck looking in through the hatch! The photo is theirs taken on their boat!

 

Ystad has the best chandlery every – part museum, part shop. Some of the old navigation lights were classic – a pole with an oil lamp on the top! We wandered up to the church one evening to hear the traditional trumpeter who has bugled every 15 mins through the night to reassure the town was safe from fire, a tradition dating back hundreds of years. On our way up, we heard the fire engines race off to a fire…. And the other tradition is that the bugler doesn’t bugle when the fire brigade have been called out. I can add it to my list of famous things I almost saw – sunset over Ayers rock – only it was raining or Rio’s Christ on a mountain – only he had scaffolding round him.

 

By the next evening, the wind was picking up, Storm Antonio was definitely approaching, time to turn Bertie off – our wind generator. He is such a drama queen – he always manages to make a fresh breeze sound like a gale. But this time it was a gale and too much whirring is bad for him. By now it was double blobs of rain and remarkably many boat owners started appearing  to put out more ropes….bizarre behaviour  given that this wind had been well forecast and it was much easier to have done it when it was dry!

Another boat we had been leap frogging was Infinity – Amanda and Richard. So it was lovely to have them finally on board and get to know them. We had first met them at the Harwich Yacht Club last year.

Storm bound for the next few days,  we decided that now was  a good time to move the car from Svinninge to our new Marina in Augustenborg – as we weren’t going anywhere anyway. We left to catch the train – at the windiest – large gusts of wind were rattling through the marina and the outer boats were jumping around like a bucking bronchos. The highest we saw was 37 knots  – we were happy with Carra in her inner berth.

3 days later we were  back at Carra and we checked her over. One snubber had failed, and one line had slightly chafed but there had been 2 others in the same direction – so she wouldn’t have been at risk had it worn through – but it just shows you the power of the wind.

 

Yet another 5 o’clock start! I went to use the bow thruster – nothing. I assumed that I hadn’t turned it on. But no – it wasn’t working. Nothing to be done about it, we set off, soon followed by Constance. We had a miserable first hour of the trip directly into waves, with a lumpy sea to get out of the Karlskrona. The bow would rise up, then crash down losing all momentum. Once out of the bay,  It was with great relief that we could turn out of the swell and the waves. The wind direction meant that we couldn’t sail,  but enough to take the waves at a different angle so we could maintain a good speed – albeit motor sailing.

Our destination was the tiny island of Hanö . Windy conditions and small harbours are an interesting combination when you don’t have a bow thruster ( a small motor at the front of the boat that pushes your bow sideways – it makes parking a big boat much easier). Add in to the mix a harbourmaster than wants you to go in a spot you wouldn’t have chosen and it looked a small spot too, plus you want to be facing out, to facilitate leaving so it meant you needed to moor downwind with the fresh wind blowing you off. If that wasn’t enough Tom Cunliffe is watching you, waiting to take your lines. After a couple of  attempts to get Carra into the right spot to make my final approach to moor , and by now I had drawn a crowd……we moored and much to my relief we didn’t hit anything and we just fitted in with 2 ft to spare at either end.

Hanö harbour was lovely, it was so well loved, everything freshly painted, flowers around the village – it just oozed pride and that it was cherished by the residents. The island also  had a fascinating history, having been a base for the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. On the northern side was the English Cemetery, where 15 sailors were laid to rest. Today, whenever a Royal Navy ship passes – they stop and lay a wreath here. It was a moving site

Back on board, we had just got the dinghy up on deck, to pack it away, when we had the first boat rafted up next to us. Quickly followed by a second. We then set about trying to find out what was wrong with our bow thruster. We got out our brand new amp meter and ready to use the fault finding skills that we had learnt  on an electrics course that we had done earlier in the year. We tested the fuses, the battery, the thruster and everything was ok. We had reached the limit of our knowledge. At which point the harbour mistress appeared, so Mags went to ask her if she knew of any electrical engineers on the Island. As luck would have it, our neighbour on the second boat out, heard the conversation and asked if we had tested the solenoid….. it had a solenoid? … that was news to us….clearly we had only done the basic electrics course! He said he knew a little bit and would come and have a look at it. A little bit meant he was an electrical engineer and within about 1 hr had diagnosed that a thermal switch had failed. But he was able to by pass the system which meant he had got the bow thruster working. But it also mean we could order and new part and get it send on ahead to our next harbour. How lucky were we that Harald had moored next to us. Remarkably, he kept his boat in Svinninge where we had kept Carra for the 8 years….. it is a small world. Our bow thruster has now been christened Harald in honour of our hero – the kindness of strangers.

Yet another early start, Kalmar Castle looking elegant bathed in the morning sunlight, rather than the cornerstone of Swedish defence that it once was. A tedious, but at least it was sunny, motor to a lovely little harbour called Kristianopel. It was picture perfect, lots of wooden houses and a very Danish styled white church dominating the harbour. You could see the Danish influence of its former heritage. The village was built within the old defensive walls as this had been a Danish stronghold. As the Finns and Swedes headed home, due to their  summer holidays ending, we noticed that our neighbours were more likely to be German and Danish boats with the occasional Dutch boat.

By now we were seeing a pattern in the weather, it would start off fairly light then build throughout the day to about 24-28 knots by about 2pm but always in the direction  that we wanted to go in. Not ideal – this meant many early starts and lots of motor sailing to avoid the strong head winds, summer seemed to have taken a holiday. There was also another pattern developing  – Klintemala, Kalmar, Kristianopel and next on the list was Karlskrona.

Up and off at 5am, we motor sailed all the way to the corner of Sweden.  Mags had done some baking in Kalmar – some yummy Moonstar oaty biscuits, so called due to the origin of the recipe. They were good crew morale boasters. Once round the  bottom corner of Sweden, the sea became lumpy and wind picked up but we could finally sail – hoorah – and we had a cracking sail to Karlskrona. Karlskrona has been home to the Swedish Navy for centuries – think Plymouth and Portsmouth combined and like Plymouth it has a huge breakwater which was much appreciated as it calmed the sea.

Due to a Cruising Association Committee meeting, we needed to spend an extra day there but it did give us the chance to explore the part of  old Naval Base open to the public. The city was grand, as befitting its role in Swedish history – it was where most of the Swedish Navy had been constructed from the Vasa onwards.

 

For the whole trip to here we had been playing leap frog with Constance – Tom and Roz’s boat whom we had over for drinks on our first night of our cruise. Constance is an elegant yacht – and I was curious to see below –  So it was lovely to be invited with the crew of Melodrama (William and Karen) onboard for drinks. Below decks she lived up to my expectations – she had real character and lots of beautiful wood and stove to keep warm. It was a fun evening and great to get to know some more people who keep their boats at Augestenborg.

 

 

After a convenient passage anchorage, we set off at 6am to secure 1 of the 3 places where we could moor in the next harbour. After doing circles outside the tiny harbour till a motor boat left, we managed to tie up alongside in Ido. Sadly the restaurant which has a great reputation was closed on mondays, so we treated ourselves to lunch in the café which was delicious. The Island previously had been a coastguard, pilot station with a tall lookout tower – whose office at the top was still as it had been when it was last operational. Not the place to be on a windy night! But wonderful views over the surrounding islands.

We had a civilised start the next morning,  then picked our way through the rocks and a bonus we sailed most of the way, I had forgotten how beautiful the archipelago can be – the warm red granite lights up in the sun, and clinging on, where logic would  indicate that no tree should thrive, were small stunted knurled pines.  At this point, I decided to take a short cut from the recommended route. But when the depth gauge bore no resemblance to the chart and I seemed to be surrounded by low lying menacing rocks, that just broke the surface, I decided it wasn’t my best idea. So very slowly I did a 360, retraced my steps and breathed a sigh of relief, when we got back to recommended route. Slightly off the beaten track,  Klintemåla had a  friendly feel to it and was at the head of a beautiful fjord.

After another early start, we threaded our way out of the archipelago for the last time and into open water. By setting off at 5 am, we caught the last of a westerly wind which meant we had a cracking sail until about 11am. 8 knots with all 3 sails up – just what we needed as we had a 60nm sail ahead of us.  By 4pm it was against us and gusting 28 knots – so we reefed and made very slow progress. We could see the Kalmar bridge in the distance, it spans the stretch of water to the Island of Oland but it never seemed to get any closer. After sailing for about 12 hours, we finally made it under the bridge. It felt like going through the gateway to the north – so it was sad because it felt like a door closing but exciting at the same time as it was the beginning of new adventures. We finally arrived at Kalmar at about 6pm and got one of the last few berths – it had been a long day.

With windy weather for the next few days, we stayed put and explored the attractive town, caught up on admin and boat jobs. The harbour is a real melting pot of nationalities and there is a real buzz about the harbour – great for people and boat watching. Less ideal if you want to do yoga on the coach roof unnoticed. We fancied a night out at the cinema – I know it will be a great surprise but we chose Oppenheimer over Barbie!

We cycled through a park full of Linden trees with their powerful pleasant scent,  to Kalmar Castle, home of the signing of the Treaty of Kalmar Union. Its strategic importance on the old Swedish Danish border was well told in one of the exhibitions. So anything south of Kalmar used to be Danish.

The Castle was in remarkably good condition. The old town nearby had many historic wooden houses and a wonderful garden with a café. It was definitely Fika time – a southern Swedish word  which describes cake, chat and chilling in one.

The next day we cycled south to a lovely little harbour past some amazing sand sculptures which had been part of a competition. Nearby we got the most amazing cinnamon and pistachio buns….for some more Fika back at the boat. But after 4 days in Kalmar it was time to move on.

As we headed south, so did the wind and with the exception of the last couple of miles, we motor sailed to Brunnesviken – our planned rendezvous with  friends Julie, Yvonne and Foss in Moonstar. As we rounded the headland,  we could see Moonstar snuggly tucked up – there was due to be some windy weather and Brunnesviken was the ideal sheltered spot.

It was the best kind of windy weather, with no rain which meant we could get the bikes out and cycle over to the other side of the island to the bakery.  Foss was quite happy to sit in the front  basket on Yvonne’s bike – with her ears flapping in the wind – Foss’s that is!

We climbed a rocky outcrop to a beacon, with spectacular views over the archipelago – it was a biggest test of Mags’ new knee so far, which she was pleased to complete pain free. We had walks through the bilberry filled woods, made use of the barrel sauna, went sea swimming, joined in my Pilates classes in the UK via zoom and had a BBQ for Julie’s Birthday. It was the first time we had chilled in months and it felt great.

With the chaos that preceded our departure from the UK, neither of us had managed to squeeze in a haircut and by now had a distinctly shaggy look – or windswept and interesting, as we preferred to call it.

 

So it was time for the pontoon saloon to open. Not helped by the fact Mags knocked the scissors into the water and I had to retrieve them before starting. Perhaps she was trying to tell me something. I dusted off my lockdown skills and 30 mins later a more aerodynamic Mags appeared. Did I allow Mags to reciprocate…….NO – once in lockdown was enough. I decided I could wait until we could find a hairdresser!

Windy weather over, we set off for Nynäshamn, which had 3 highlights: its fabulous fish shop, home to the shop that makes all the chocolates for the Nobel Prize Dinner and they do rather good icecream too – which we sampled and I managed to get a haircut.

An early start, a cloudless day and sailling, meant it was a good opportunity to have a Carra/Moonstar photo shoot.

The short cut through the headland of Landsort – which had seemed so intricate and scary, when we first came through here 8 years ago, now seemed positively wide compared to other shortcuts we have encountered since then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our destination was Fifång, where we anchored in the north of the island – it was the club island of a local yacht club. Yvonne and I walked to the south of the island to find a well loved little harbour. For our last night with Moonstar, I brought  my guitar over to theirs and we had Julie on the tin whistle and Yvonne on the Ukulele  and we sang Sea Shanties – poor Foss she didn’t think much of our singing.

It was great week with Moonstar but we needed to start heading south and with an ideal westerly wind we said goodbye to Julie and Yvonne – who had kindly got up at early o’clock to wave us off – Foss had more sense and stayed in bed. Once out of the lee of the island, the noisy engine was switched off and Carra sped off. It was great to be finally sailing. It seems such a long time since we have sailed in a straight line so far. It seems like you are making slow progress til you realise that the lighthouse you had been sailing towards was now a distance blip on the horizon behind you. We entered the beautiful anchorage at Bokö with plenty of time to go and explore the heritage island, which aimed to preserve island life as it was.

There was some windy weather expected and whilst our anchorage would afford us protection, we decided that we would rather be in a harbour so that we can easily get off the boat and catch up on some admin task such as laundry – which always take longer on the boat. So Gräddö was ideal, only 6 nm away so sailing slowly was allowed. Then came the conundrum. All the entries on Capt’s Mate (an app that gives people views on the harbour) had all said go on the inside of the guest pontoon to get out of the way of the wash of local speed boats that enter the harbour but that would mean that we would have our stern into the gale. I wasn’t keen as it would be much better to be head to wind. Whilst the harbour was sheltered, it would mean we were hanging off a buoy with the full weight of our boat plus windage on whatever stone was used to anchor the buoy. We arrived and you could see the boats on the outside of the pontoon wildly bucking and snatching at their bow lines. Bows crashing down close to the pontoon. Very uncomfortable – so decision made and I resolved the dilemma by three lines – 2 to our buoy and a rope to the neighbouring buoy which had another boat attached to it and also decided to reduce our windage – by taking down the spray hood and putting on our winter cover – our hobbit hole. We weren’t going to go anywhere. The windy weather came and went without drama.

It is quite normal for 2 boats to be on a mooring buoy here – but our neighbour who wasn’t Swedish informed me with bags of confidence that the rule here was one boat per buoy. As I pointed out to him the buoy on the other side of him had 2 boats on and if he was concerned he should but another line on the free buoy next to him. Mr Rules as it turned out was a 2 week holiday in a club boat – so had little knowledge of local custom. It was only after they left did I see the sign that they were parked next to which said max 3 boats per buoy….. what a shame I hadn’t been able to point that out at the time!

This was the first time we had been on the mainland – as opposed to an island for nearly a month. As water is rationed on islands, boat washing is a no no and Carra was looking a bit grubby. So Mags decided to wash the decks and provide entertainment to the marina – act 1 – hose parts company from tap when she turns it on – Mags gets soaked. Act 2 the spray nozzle separates from the hose and flies over the side and is declared Man Over Board. Thankfully they float – so Act 3 was fishing to catch said nozzle. Once retrieved, we rewarded ourselves for the many tasks ticked off with some cakes – It is always good for morale when the marina is next to a cake shop!

Next stop was Fejan, a former Cholera quarantine island. In the 19th Century, the disease killed 60 million people in Europe and in order to prevent it spreading to Sweden, the very smart Swedes set up quarantine stations where ships arriving from infected areas had to spend 48 hours – which is the incubation period. Fejan was one such island, the buildings are still there including the Doctors House – a very ornate wooden building – which was also known as Congo – as it was originally destined to be a chapel in the Congo. The morgue and autopsy room are now a beautiful restaurant – but sadly shut up during the weekdays as the season closes as soon as the schools go back. One of the other reasons for coming here was that it had a pontoon – which meant that I could polish one side of the hull – one task on our annual maintenance task list – which is easier at pontoon height than it is when she is out of the water.
We had 2 lovely chilled days in 2 anchorages – one new one and one favourite. The peace of being in a secure anchorage which is more like a lake when the only sign of it being windy are the tops of the trees rustling in the breeze. I have just been told that is too romantic an image – they were whipping around in the gale – either way there wasn’t a ripple on the water.

We left the anchorage and had an entertaining time dodging the ferries that use this fairway into Stockholm. We headed off to Vaxholm to fill up with fuel before heading back to our home Marina. As we store the sails on the boat –we need to ensure they are dry. With no rain forecast, sun and a gentle wind it was the ideal day to take off the sails. We had just tied up a Vaxholm and started filling and the rain came from nowhere – short and sharp but enough to soak the sails and then back to bright sunshine all within 30 minutes. So we then had to spend the next 1:30hrs sailing up and down the fjord by our marina drying our sails…..

The only dramas putting the boat to bed was a wasp sting – ouch. Followed by a long drive back home – this time driving the length of Sweden to go and visit Carra’s new home in Denmark. Enroute we stayed in Karen Blixen’s family – she of “I had a farm in Africa” fame – well it turns out they had one Denmark too. Then we diverted off the motorway to go and visit a farm – I had stayed with my Parents when I was 11. I remembered a working farm, the smell of cows, 101 feral cats and an idyllic  holiday where I learnt to milk cows…… we found a ramshackle farm which had become a junk yard. I now understand why going back is not always a good idea. Next stop was Augustenbourg – soon to be Carra’s next home….. We arrived back home close to midnight with a boat load of kit – and given the benefits of hindsight turns out was not the best idea!

2019 Stats

Miles sailed: 1074nm – 62% under Engine

No of days on board: 106

Harbour visited: 44 – 37 new fishes gained

Drop dead gorgeous traditional red fishing villages: 7

Bizarre Museums: 2 Haggvik and the Bonk Museum in Uusikaupunki

New rocks found: 2 – and a large quantity of mud in Rauma

Boats stalked:1 ….Foss and the Nauticat