The ships diary
June


Bosse steering through the Stockholm archipelago

On Tuesday June 1st I was back at Bibbi. Now Ingrid and Robert joined me and in the evening Jossan, Erika and Thomas invited us for dinner.
It was a pleasant reunion. Jossan spent some summers with us on Bibbi in the 1990:ies. We've met since that, but not very often.

Swans in Hölö canal

Tiny beachhouse in Hölö canal

Robert and Bosse in the dinghy

Wednesday and Thursday we went to Sandhamn and stopped at several canals that we passed to takes photos for my canalsite. It was nice cruising all the time. It was also warm and pleasant weather. On Thursday evening Jossan, Erika and Thomas joined us onboard for another chat.

Tiny island, Västra Gastholmsgrundet northwest of Sandhamn.

Small airplane among the boats in Sandhamn

 

A last farewell to Jossan's house

On the tiny island Fjäderholmarna we saw this old car

Campers by Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen

Early Friday morning Robert left us to go back to Gothenburg. Ingrid and I left too and went through all the small passages to get into the centre of Stockholm, Kolström, Baggenstäket and Skurusundet. We sailed through Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen in both directions, later through Ålkistan to see Haga castle, then Stocksund and finally Hållsundet. We moored in Viggbyholm for the night.

Copy of famous Greek staty in a garden by Ålkistan

Nice old house in Stocksund surrounded by modern roads, bridges and houses

Rydboholm castle

On Saturday we continued our cruise northwards. We passed Vaxholm and several other known places and took photograhps of many canals and dredged sounds and finally moored in Furusund where we made a long walk in the afternoon.

These trees are destroyed by birds

This bicycle marks an undersurface stone east of Siarö sound

On Sunday we sailed eastwards. First to Rödlöga and later to Vidinge. Both small archipelagos in the east, close to the Baltic Sea. We anchored in a small bay at Vidinge.

View northwards from Bibbi at Vidinge.


 

On Monday June 7th the weather was perfect for sailing to Åland so we started early and reached Mariehamn in the early afternoon without trouble.
We met Ingrid's cousin Ulla and her husband Harry and stayed in their house overnight. Tuesday morning we went shopping in Mariehamn.
We went to a servicestation with our boatkitchen. And after a couple of hours they could locate the trouble. Unfortunately they had to get parts from Finland, but I agreed to wait until Friday for the kitchen.
In the afternoon Harry and I sailed Bibbi to Föglö and moored by their bridge. It was a rather tough passage over Lumparn. Ulla and Ingrid go there by car.

Getting close to the Sjölund bridge at Föglö

Mooring by the bridge

The two captains have a nice cup of coffee after mooring

We spent a full week with Ulla and Harry at their house in Blåviken at Sommarö in Föglö. We made several cruisings around the islands in their car and they showed us most of it. We also made several cruisings in Bibbi around the islands.

Bosse with a glass of wine at the terrace

Ingrid and Ulla sipping wine at the terrace

Joel watering the floor

We planned to go to Kökar with Bibbi as soon as the winds gave us an opportunity, but somehow that day there were other things we had to do. But on Sunday June 13th their daughter Patrica called. She, her husband Harry and son Joel planned to go to Kökar in the afternoon and we were all invited to come along.
Cruising in 25 knots it was a pleasant and fast trip to Hellsö at Kökar. Here we had dinner at Havspaviljongen. A couple of hours later we returned to Föglö.
Kökar was very nice and much like the Bohuslän archipelago.

Hard work for Harry

Joel onboard

Going back to Föglö

A few shots from Föglö. The fjordling Holger is the oldest fjordling in Finland, more then 30 years old, and as such a celebrity.

The fjordling Holger is a celebrity in Åland

Leaving the Sjölunds

Meeting Amorella in a narrow sound

On Tuesday the 15th we left the Sjölund family at Föglö and went back to Mariehamn to wait for good winds before crossing Ålands Hav to get back to Sweden. On day we visited Annika and Allan in their house in Jomala, just north of Mariehamn.

Allan and Annika outside their house in Jomala.


We did hope to get away on Thursday afternoon but the winds were strong and Ulla and Harry called. They were back in Mariehamn too, so we had dinner together. But on Friday the wind was perfect for our crossing and we left fairly early.

Saturday morning we spent exploring the sounds that used to make Rådmansö an island. We sailed the narrow sounds in the dinghy and got rather lost until a kind local man told us how to go. We had our picnic close to Rådmansö church.

On Sunday we went to Blidö and explored Sikmarö canal in the dinghy. After that we continued southwards and finally anchored in a northern bay of Gällnö. During this trip we passed Paradise!

It's called Paradise! The area between Ingmarsö, Idholmen and St Jolpan!

Paradise again!

A bunch of swallows rested on Bibbi

Ingrid gets the anchor onboard again.

 

On Monday we first went to Grinda for some shopping and then we sailed into and through Stockholm.
Stockholm is very nice seen from the water like this, but there was no time to stop and explore it this time.
So we went through the Karl Johan-lock to get into Lake Mälaren.
Our first stop was Tappström, but after dinner we left and went to Törnbyviken which was a very nice and cosy harbour nearby.

Tiny island, The Monk, close to Färingsö in Lake Mälaren

Nice way to mark a stone just below surface!

On Tuesday we went to Stäket and Ryssgraven on the fairway to Uppsala to take some photograhs, and while waiting for the bridge to open it started to rain. But we got through and got those pictures we wanted too.
We continued to Strängnäs to meet Ingrid's cousin Lars and his family. They invited us to their house and treated us with a delicious dinner.

 

Ingrid after shopping in Strängnäs

We stopped at Stallarholmen to buy smoked fish

On Wednesday, June 23rd, we left Strängnäs and sailed through Södertälje Canal to get out into the Baltic Sea again. We had to wait half an hour to get into the lock.
From Södertälje we continued to Trosa. It was rather windy, but we found a nice route in shelter of small island.

 

We like these tiny islands! We saw these three when sailing from Strängnäs and Södertälje.

We had planned to leave Trosa on Thursday, but the winds were much too strong so we had to stay, as did most of the boats in the harbour.

 

The Bridge of Sighs in the guestharbour

The library by the square has a belltower

The old harbour

On Friday Anders and Linda arrived to spend Midsummer with us. We had a lazy afternoon.
On Saturday the wind ceased, but there was a heavy rain in the morning. At noon we left Trosa to go southwards. We used all those small passages we could find. It's a very beautiful archipelago here.

 

Mist arising from an island.

Among the tiny islands between Trosa and Oxelösund.

 

At the dinertable

 

Linda and Anders during the trip.

On board I, Anders and Linda, while Ingrid had to take the car. We stopped at Oxelösund for the night and Ingrid was there to meet us.

 

The wooden bridge between Djursö and Yxnö.

On Sunday we continued. Ingrid in the car and Anders, Linda and I in the boat. We all met at Stegeborg at the mouth of Göta Kanal.
Stegeborg is a small village with the ruin of an old fortress and castle. Nice place.

We entered Göta Canal on Monday June 28th. We payed the fees, passed the first three locks and finally moored in the old little town Söderköping.
Here Anders and Linda left us to go back home, and our friends Maria and Bengt from Gothenburg came abord. We had a nice evening onboard.

Tuesday morning Ingrid left us to go back home, while Maria, Bengt and I started the trip on the canal in excellent weather. We passed three lockstations during the day and also passed Lake Roxen. We moored at Berg with the impressing and rather frigthening flight of seven locks.
There was no reason to be afraid of that flight of locks at Berg. Early Wednesday morning we started and after two hours we were ready to leave. We were all surpised how easy it had been!
In the evening we moored at Borensberg.

Dairy of April

Dairy of May

Dairy of July