Toasted Marshmallows, Crayfish and a Bonkers Museum
We had received an email from friends that we had met on a rally last year that they were going to be in Ulvöhamn. Whilst Ulvöhamn is one of the must see places in the High Coast, its attractions can be done in 2 hours; so not the place to sit out a day of windy weather. So it made sense just to pop in for lunch. Robert and Helen from Trenelly invited us onboard for a lovely lunch. Followed by showing Elaine the “sights” and it was back to Saku’s boat Duo for tea and cakes. It was fun catching up with them all and about 4pm we had a gentle drift to Norrfallsviken.
The next day you could hear the waves crashing on the nearby shore and the wind whistling in the trees but we were all tucked up with not enough wind to turn Bertie, our wind generator. He is called Bertie after a Scottish phase Birling Bertie – Birling being Scots for spinning. Bertie is a bit of a drama queen and can make a light wind sound gale force strength. But even he was silent.
Once the fresh rolls had been delivered to the boat, we were ready for our hike. We were keen to show Elaine the cobble beaches – so we decided to repeat the walk we had done previously – but it is amazing how much quicker it was without carrying a bike! The hut and fire pit we picked for lunch had dramatic views over the headland but little in the way of vegetation, so it was just as well we had collected some wood en-route. We had improved our BBQ offering – these were no ordinary bacon butties, these were…….. M&S smoky BBQ cooked bacon on fresh baked seeded bread rolls and smashed avocado – all very Hampshire darling. Followed by toasted marshmallows on sticks whittled by Mags.
We had a leisurely start hoping that the sea would have calmed down from the previous days windy weather. Sadly it hadn’t, thus the deep swell and light wind from behind us meant that it was a lumpy and uncomfortable trip. It wasn’t til we were protected by land could we actually sail. Haggvik was tucked up behind an island and had more in common with a small boating lake and as a result it was very protected.
It was a real suntrap – perfect for a cold beer and chilled wine whilst watching the wildlife. Slovenia Grebes kept us entertained – parents and 2 young riding on their mother’s back. Definitely a case of ugly duckling turning into beautiful swan, as the 2 babies looked more like ugly baby dinosaurs.
Haggvik – you can just see Carra nestled in front of the island in the centre
Not only was Haggvik in a lovely setting – plus it was a bargain – free washing machine in the price of the harbour dues…. That meant a dobe evening. Close by we visited the most eclectic well actual totally bonkers Museum that I have ever been too – Mannaminne. It has everything from a woolly mammoth, old ships, trains, cars, farm equipment, computers, telephones, building from across Scandinavia and that is only a tiny portion of what they had…..you name it – they had it – todays junk tomorrows museum piece came to mind.
We had a lively sail out of the fjord, the scenery here resembling the Norwegian fjords, then out into the open sea which was very tame compared to the previous day. Gybing downwind through the skerries and islands which is always fun and gives you a sense of achievement when you don’t need to put the engine on. We tucked into the small old fishing harbour of Lövvik for the night.
For Elaine’s last sail we had a great wind and sailed between the islands. We looked into Lustholmen, where I thought we might stop for lunch – but holiday time on a club island meant it was packed; so we headed off to Härnösand where we would be dropping Elaine off.
High Coast Bridge – Swedish Equivalent of the Golden Gate Bridge
The guest harbour was in the centre of town and seemed to be the drinking spot for the local drunks. The reception committee thought nothing of urinating next to the buildings in front of us. It couldn’t be a greater contrast to the little harbours we had seen for the last few weeks. Härnösand had been slightly oversold by the Rough Guide – or may be we had been put off by the reception committee. But the grand square – was very ordinary with a couple of nice buildings. There were some nice wooden building in pastel colours – but the best bit was a fab little deli. Clutching our garlic mayonnaise and strong cheddar we headed back to boat. However, one redeeming feature, it did have a very good Restaurant and Elaine treated us to a lovely Dinner. Mags and Elaine sharing a traditional Crayfish Dinner complete with silly hat and bib.
Slowly the weather cleared and sun and blue sky were seen. One advantage of being tied up by 10 o’clock was we had ample time to explore the island and it gave us a chance to revisit our favourite stone beach with its big silky smooth rounded cobbles and big grey rocks – shaped by the sea into perfect seats and warmed by the sun. 
A place for contemplation and just being.
We were greet by an incredibly friendly and helpful harbour master Tommaso and his wife Anna and it was a surprise to hear their Italian accents. Tommaso was speaking at full tilt and by the time we had put the 2nd rope ( of 4) on ashore he had given us a map of all the hiking routes, told us the best routes to go on and given us the brief on the facilities!
across bare rock with knurled pine trees growing in the most unlikely of locations. Steep climbs rewarded with great views of the islands below.
Arriving at a beautiful lake with a little red bothy for the trail hikers and a couple of fire pits, it was the perfect lunch stop. Our route returned through the Slattdalen Ravine – created over 1.5 billion years ago with steer granite walls and rocky floor.
Continuing on the High Coast Trail the next day, we past a suspended seat with different positions as demonstrated by Mags– which is part of a series of architectural installations along the trail.
We took a guided tour round some of the 2600 carvings which are believed to be between 6000 -1500 BC. Their proximity to the roaring water of the hydroelectric dam is a dramatic situation for these unique carvings.
e Haze already moored up. We put Carra to bed and joined Ada and Akko on board for drinks. That evening the former fishing houses of Norrfällsviken glowed in the evening light.
The mist lifted later and the beauty of the coast line was finally visible – yes we were definitely in the high coast – as this area is known. Don’t think high as in the mountains of Scotland – high round here is 250m!
We are self confessed Scandi fans….and yes we know we do wax lyrically (bore friends rigid) about the joys of life here and in Finland. However there is one thing that we draw the line at and this Island is famous for it….fermented Baltic Herring, Surströmming. Back in the day, as salt was expensive only enough was used to prevent the herring from rotting ( a matter of opinion). Fermentation takes 6 months and it is described locally as have a strong characteristic smell. 
Apparently a Japanese study (and they are lovers of fish) described a newly opened tin as the most putrid food smells in the world.
Our electric engine gently whirred her way past the houses as we had a good nose deciding which property we would like to live in. I left Mags pottering in the dinghy and I went off to take some photos. A beautiful white old yacht came in. They picked up the stern buoy and an elderly gentleman on the wooden staging went to catch the lines. Only he fell and missed the rope. By which time the wind caught her bow and quickly blew her away from the dock. Enter Mags to the rescue, in Pikku Carra the tug….. Mags went to get the bow line and take it to shore – through a fine display of seamanship she managed to go into reverse instead of forward. Get the line wrapped round herself, but eventually threw the line – but the same elderly man went to catch it and fell over again. Mags then disappeared under the jetty at a rate of knots only to emerge with the propeller spluttering as she tried to avoid the rocks. Thankfully said man then decided best he left. Calm restored, we managed to get the heavy yacht – White Haze to shore with me pulling and Mags pushing the bow with the dinghy against the wind
Skatan oozes pride – the beautifully kept red houses with white capping are in immaculate condition, beautiful tended pots and the all the wild lupins and lilac were in flower. Capt Ahab was a mine of local info having lived here since he was a boy and his parents before him – he could still remember the village as an active fishing harbour.
We invited Akko and Ada from White Haze over for drinks….. Their yacht radiates elegant beauty –from the grain of the coach roof, the sleek lines of the white covered steel hull, the wooden mast and her sheer simplicity. No gadgets and gimzos that adorn most boats these days. White Haze was of the KISS (keep it simple stupid) school – she was a go anywhere boat and indeed she had – they have sailed over 100,000nm in her. Yet her the condition belies this fact. Some of the places they have sailed to: Antarctica, Easter Island, Galapagos, Alaska, NZ, Japan, South Africa. Last year they sailed round Iceland. I asked them about the roughest weather they had sailed in “ we crossed the Beagle Channel (between the bottom of South America and Antarctic) and we hove to and went to sleep” – and we wont even sail in 2 blobs of rain!
Mosies – that was the buzzing sound we awoke to – hoards of them. Slow moving, as they had feasted all night – on us! All thoughts of preserving the insect population disappeared rapidly and we killed at least 20 before breakfast. We left early, keen to benefit from the windless, mirror like conditions. We were wanting to make a lunch stop at an island with a rather exposed harbour. Given that there was only 2.5m water depth in the harbour we needed no swell and benign conditions. So we set Carra on a path to her date with Big Virgin or Storjungfrun in Swedish – the name of the Island. Which is supposed to be very attractive. As we rounded the southern tip of the Island there was a slight swell from the last few days of SWs…. Whilst very slight it was about 20-30cm. 2.5m minus 1.9m minus 0.3m is the square root of bugger all – so no landing for us. With inuendos aplenty, we had a quick peek at the Big Virgin and then set sail.
Below we had some more stowaways onboard as some of the mosi population had hitched a ride – 30 mins of fun playing chase the mosi. Happy that the cull had been successful. We decided to cross the island to the old harbour. Clearly our slaughtering activity had made the mosi-net and their friends came out on the walk to seek their revenge. So we walked the 2km path waving our arms frenetically in the vain hope of preventing the inevitable.
The harbour we were visiting was hundreds of years old. Tiny little red houses (would it be anything else) and boat houses bordered a little inlet. Full of atmosphere of days gone by from the lichen covered racks used to dry the nets to the tiny houses designed to preserve the heat in the cold harsh winters. Everything looked very functional til you realised that all the boat sheds were about 2m higher than the water.
We had 2 relaxing days there, a few boat jobs done, Mags went swimming – it is getting warmer – now a positively barmy 14C and I practised my guitar – is that why all the boats left our side of the pontoon?
A last visit to Café Vilma to stock up on some tasty treats: freshly baked rolls and cakes and we were ready for the off.
The main fairway out of the Archipelago is also used by the big ferries and cruise ships to Stockholm. I say “main”, most UK sailors would describe as a narrow passage with some passing places. Passing one ferry is somewhat routine, the best bit comes when you have 2 ferries coming in opposite directions and you are at the narrow bit. It concentrates the mind.
Carra Tidings 