Fram's Voyages

 

Summer Season 2015

 

20-24 April

Dan took Sail drive apart as it was leaking in water last year. He replaced the packings and got it all sealed and tight and filled with fresh oil.

We washed and waxed Roam and Dan painted her hull so she's all ready for Saturday:)

 

Roam goes into the water on 25 April 2015. Right now she is still covered from the elements by her blue tarp which is getting a bit tattered round the edges, to put it mildly. But with a few more warmer days, that will change and work to get her ready for the season will commence. We look forward to another great summer in Swedish/Danish/Norwegian waters.

 

25 April

Launch Day!

All went quickly and smoothly. By 08.00 on Saturday, 25 April, Roam was back at her slip in Skanörshamn. The weather was cold (8C) and rainy/dreary but only light winds. Dan put out all the docklines and we spent Saturday and Sunday getting her ship-shape inside.

 

19 May

Roam's mast went up today, unfortunately, the jib halyard fell back into the mast so we will have to go up the mast and fix it. Too windy right now

 

7 June

The wind died down somewhat finally, so in the evening Dan and I went to the harbour to get the jib halyard back up the mast. We waited till evening when the wind died down a bit. Then took Roam round to the mast crane and used that to haul me up the mast with a bicycle chain tied to a very long piece of string. I had to feed the bike chain over the wheel and down into the mast. Sounds easy but was very difficult with bike chain constantly bunching up and not going up and around the wheel. Dan sent up a screwdriver to help me and finally after nearly an hour of hanging there with my legs wrapped tightly around the mast, I managed to get it down inside the mast where Dan fished it out and tied the jib halyard to the string and we reversed the procedure until the halyard was back in position. Roam is now ready for sailing!

 

10 June

Our first sail of the season. Beautiful sunny day, winds about 5m/s from SW. We had Dan's cousin Carla and her husband Wally with us. Had a great sail out to the shipping lane and back, anchored off Skanör's north beach and had a lovely lunch of tuna salad and shandies. 

 

12-13 June

Friday evening was a gorgeous evening, sunny and warm. We grabbed some food and threw off the lines and went for a sail out in Öresund before turning back and anchoring off the north beach. Went for a swim, had dinner and spent a very peaceful night on Roam, our favorite place in the world. Went back to harbor at lunch time and were joined by Madeleine, Olivia and James for lunch. Olivia learned to tie her first knot.

 

26-28 June

Skanör- Flakfort - Ven - Skanör

Weather sunny and warm on Friday, overcast and warm on Saturday and Sunday

Winds: light 3-5 from SE on Friday and Saturday, NW on Sunday

Crew: Dan Margaret Varga

Varga is having a hard time getting her sea legs back from last year. She spent most of the weekend curled up in a ball in the cockpit hoping to sleep until we arrived back in Skanör.

Friday was lovely, sunny and warm. Our speed was anywhere from 3-4 knots until just south of the Öresund Bridge when it died completely. We went for a swim off the back before motoring. Took the route north of the windpark but south of the bridge over to Denmark side where the wind came up again and we sailed the rest of the way to Flakfort. Only a few boats there so no trouble finding a berth on the pier. No real slips, one just lays up alongside the pier which is quiet big. There's only electricity on the side closest to the harbour office, the outer wall doesn't have any water or electricity. We didn't need anything so we took the outer wall where it is quieter. Harbor fee was 200 DDK which we felt is a bit steep considering you can't even offload garbage there. 

Saturday was overcast and it had rained during the night. We took our time with breakfast and after a walk around the island (takes about 20 minutes) we sailed off to Ven. Just as we were hauling up the main sail I saw from the corner of my eye, something fall into the water, looked back and it was our flag and flagpole that had been tucked into the lazy jack bag for the night. Using only sail power from the genoa, we turned around and I steered us up close to the, thankfully, floating flagpole and Dan fished it up with the boat hook, none the worse for wear. We had a very nice sail, top speed 6 knots but average probably closer to 4 knots. Got to Ven at about 14.30 and soon after the wind went to dead calm. There were also lots of berths available there. Harbor fee was 180SEK without electricity. 30 SEK extra for that. Showers are included and OK, but not great. We took Varga with us on a long run around the island, about 10 K. Ven is such a lovely island, lots of farms with organic produce for sale, big fields under cultivation and cute paths in the woods and along the waterfront for bikes and runners/walkers. They have masses of bicycles for rent as that is one of the best ways to get around the island. We passed the other 2 harbors which were only about half full of boats. Guess season hasn't really started yet or people were put off by the cloudy weather. On Sunday we left early; 06.30 to take advantage of the wind which was from NW but forecast to die completely around 10.00. We made it back under sail mostly. Just a short hour as we passed Copenhagen with the motor.

 

17 July

Skanör - Helsingborg

We had thought to do the entire  trip up to Gothenburg's islands in one go but there was no wind on Friday and we had to motor so we went in to Helsingborg's marina which is extremely nice. There is always room there, electricity is included and the showers are really nice. It was a sunny day so basked in the sun and enjoyed ourselves. Got in to the harbor at about 19.00. The wind came up from the south when we were just a few NM from H-borg so got to sail for a little while anyway.

 

18-19 July

Helsingborg - Framnäs Marina, Björkö

Wheather: Overcast, rain, a few hours of sunshine and winds of 8-14 from WSW.

Total sail time; 19 hours

131 NM

We dithered in the morning checking weather reports and finally at 10.00 decided to go even though it was going to be rough. The wind was forecasted to be from SW 8-13 m/s and as it would be a following wind for us, figured it would be all right. We had to tack out of Öresund and Dan got very irritated to see other boats pointing higher than we did, but we eventually got out and had a good SW wind of about 8 m/s rushing us along the coast. We decided to get out to sea as much as we could in case the wind went over to W or NW which often happens around here. Main was reefed to first reef and we had changed sails from genoa to working jib which was full out. The balance was really good and Nelsen did a good job steering. The sun came out and we had a couple hours of pleasurable sailing. Then around 15.00 we got a lull for 15 minutes and the wind kicked in from WSW at 11-14 m/s. We reefed down to the second reef on the main and left the jib as is. The waves built up really fast, as they do in Kattegatt. It is not a nice sea to be in when high winds come through. The waves get very big and very close together so it was extremely choppy. We were close hauled and doing 7 knots, battling 2.5 meter waves with the occasional rogue wave knocking us and stopping us in our tracks. At other times, in the dark with the wind howling it felt like we were going impossibly fast. Varga was seasick and lying in her basket on the floor of the cockpit when we got a perfect wave that hit us at the same time as it broke so masses of water came pouring into the cockpit drenching us all. I looked down to see poor Varga in her basket on the floor of the cockpit, ears plastered to head and looking at me in total incomprehension. I picked her up dried her off and stuffed her into the front of my survival suit where she spent the rest of the journey. We tried to eat a prepared meal of meatballs rice and gravy that I warmed up in the oven but none of us had the stomach for it. None of us got any sleep either as it was so chaotic down below with the rocking/rolling that we both stayed up in the cockpit and stood watch together.  When we could see Trubaduren lighthouse at 01.00, we turned in towards land to get behind the first islands and into protected water. With the west wind we changed our rigging to only reefed main. It was easier to furl the jib than to turn around it the rough waters and take down the main. It was difficult to find the right navigation signals and lights with the coastline all lit up with street lights etc. Also saw 3 very brightly lit tankers out there in the rough waves just sitting there. Thought it very strange. We found out later when we got to Björkö that it was a ferry and a tanker than collided just before we arrived on the scene and a coast guard boat was also there. At 03.00 We surfed in just north of Donsö and once we turned the corner and were in the lee of the islands it became smooth sailing, still on just the reefed main. We crossed Gothenburgs Göta Älven entrance and found this cute little harbor called Framnäs in the Swedish harbor guide. We were so tired that we just wanted to tie up anywhere and get some sleep. There were slips available so we quickly dropped the main and steered our way in, tied up, took Varga for a walk to relieve herself. By 05.00 all 3 of us were sound asleep and slept till 10.00. Woke up to a beautiful day and spent it lying in the sun and drying out all our stuff. Framnäs  the southern tip of Björkö and has 30 guest slips, a club house and a swimming area. Think we will stay here for a couple days. Weather forecast is good for Monday but not for Tuesday and we are on vacation:)

 

20-21 July

Mostly blustery cloudy days but with some sun inbetween.

We have spent the last couple days relaxing, running, climbing on the rocks and even took a roundtrip ferry route from Björkö to Vallholmen to Hönö, walked to Öckerö where we took another ferry to Kalvsund and then a hop across to Björkö again. Framnäs  has a sailing club witih a very impressive club house in the shape of a rotunda with an amazing view out over Götaälven entrance to Gothenburg. There are murals painted on the walls by a Danish artist and artifacts from all kinds of sailors, races, trophies and memorabilia. The  harbor master was very pleasant and had all kinds of information to share. He only takes cash payment for a slip so we had to walk to the grocery store 2.8 km away to get cash every day. Varga loves the opportuntity to get off the boat and run around. She is a little mountain goat on the rocks and cliffs.

 

22 July

Björkö - Käringön

27.5 NM

4 hrs 39 minutes

Weather: Sunny but chill wind of 10-12 m/s from W

We left the dock at 09:30, went out around the southern rocks of Björkö and up between Björkö and Öckerö, past Hälsö to our port, and continued northwest inside the outer islands until we came to Marstrand where we took the outside route leaving Klåverön and Marstrand to starboard. Had we stayed inside, we would have had to motor the last bit to Käringön. We had some very tight passages through breaking waves over rocks awash on our port and an island/rock to our starboard at Eggskär but the wind stayed steady and we got through it. It always feels like such a feat to make it through these dangerous passages.  Eventually we saw Måsekär to our port and Käringön came right after. The marina at Käringön has added a new pontoon with about 50 new slips, but most of these were on the outside with no protect from the westerly winds so most boats opted to crowd into the protected part of the marina. We were no exception. We rafted onto a sailboat the same size as Roam and then tidied up the boat and stowed all our sailing paraphenalia and had lunch of tunafish sandwiches. Käringön is one of the most well-known islands of the west coast with frequent visits from celebrities. A ferry goes there from the mainland every other hour or so and lots of tourists come out for the day to sun on the rocks, eat lunch or dinner at Petersons Krog and shop in all of the little shops and cafés around the harbor. It was literally hopping with people. It was a gorgeous afternoon and there was an Allsång (singalong ) with live music going on at Petersons, the local fish restaurant. People came walking down from all the streets and paths down to the dock where the band started playing. There was wine and beer to be had and everyone sat on the rocks and enjoyed the music singing to the traditional Swedish summer songs of "Ta mig till havet" "dans på brännebrygga" etc. It was a perfect afternoon. We met Anna Rosendahl there with her brand new little son Axel and boyfriend Marcus. Sara Rosendahl was coming in later in the afternoon so we invited them to Roam for a drink after dinner. After the entertainment, Dan Varga and I took a long walk round the village. It's very cute with the west-coast houses of wood paneling, though not with all the carpentry flair that Fiskebäckskil has. There's a church that was run by a minister called Simson for 50 years, who is said to have brought all the villagers into the fold of the church with a firm hand. Käringön was a pure fishing village, not unlike many of the islands around here.  It is all rock and in order to build a cemetery, they had to ship in dirt from the mainland. Most of the yards in the town are of pure rock, no grass.

We had a nice evening with Anna, Marcus, Axel and Sara on Roam. Axel barely cried the entire time he was on Roam, a very sweet little baby.

 

23 July

Kärinön - Malöströmmarna SXK bouy

N 58 14.500 E 11 31.030

12.7NM

2hrs 33 minutes

Weather: Sunny, Wind from W 8-12 increasing to 15 m/s in the afternoon

Anna R arrived at the boat for breakfast. She and Dan had agreed that she should come sailing with us and see what it's like. She is always game for a challenge so there she was before 08.00. We had breakfast of coffee and pain riche hot from the oven and then left our mooring, it was a little bit tricky as the wind was blowing quite hard from west and into the narrowest part of the harbor. Dan backed us out and we turned around once we got out of the harbor and pulled out the jib. Sara was an avid student and learned very quickly asking questions all the while. Steering was a pickle as with a tiller, you steer the opposite direction you want to go and this is a hard thing to get one's head around. But she did a good job. We sailed to Gullholmen which is only 9 NM from Käringön where we dropped her off at the ferry station with quick hugs good-bye and then Dan and I sailed on to malöströmmarna. We continued on jib only until we came to Dragsmark and the beginning of the narrow channel that leads to Gullmarfjord. You have to get by a cable ferry that goes between Dragsmark and Malö that goes back and forth all day. The ferry has a light that blinks yellow when the ferry is underway and once it leaves the dock you can't cross until it has reached the other side and let the cables fall down to the bottom. Then one enters the narrowest of channels twistiing and turning and taking one on one of the most beautiful routes on the west coast. Boats find nooks and crannies in the rocks to tie up to for the night and Svensk Kryssar Klubb has bouys that members can use which are normally very popular. We were surprised and happy when we came upon an unoccupied bouy about half way through the passage just east of Bassholmen. We happily grabbed it and then settled down for an afternoon of very heavy winds. During the afternoon we read books and watched the boat traffic. There was some drama as 3 kayaks were trying to against the wind, presumably to Bassholmen and couldn't make it, one of them tipped over and the kayak drifted so fast that the girl couldn't catch up to it and had to swim in to land. Eventually all 3 kayaks ended up on land and were rescued by a motor boat. That was our excitement for the day. We both swam in the late afternoon staying behind the boat and out of the wind. After dinner we watched a movie; "The next 3 days" with Russel Crowe, very exciting.

 

24 July

SXK Bouy Malöströmmarna - Fiskebäckskil (LyckansSlip)

6 NM

1 hr 28 min

Weather: Sunny, less wind, approx. 8 m/s from SW

Once we got out of Malöströmmarna we hoisted our sails and entered Gullmarsfjord. We had to tack our way to Fiskebäckskil but it was a nice day and a nice sail. There was lots of room at Lyckans Slip. We chose this because there is more bad weather coming and our usual anchorages around Firre will not be safe enough. A low pressure is coming directly over us bringing strong winds from all directions. We were directed to a slip by the marina personnel and got things settled down below. Fiskebäckskil is one of the most beautiful villages, at least in our opinion. We are, of course, biased as we have a summer house here and have spent many summers on the island with our girls. Skaftö is one of the bigger islands and has a varied landscape; rocks, cliffs, beaches, farm land with rolling meadows and several villages, the biggest of which is Fiskebäckskil. There is a ferry that goes between Fiskebäckskil and Lysekil that brings tourists here and allows villagers to go to a bigger town with more opportunities for shopping. Fiskebäckskil must be one of the least commercial villages on the west coast boasting only a grocery store, hotel, gas station, marina and one interior decorating store. But the houses are all beautifully kept with roses of all colors and lavendar decorating every fence or house wall. Dan walked  me to the ferry as we need a 12 volt charger for our phones when we are at sea. We stopped at Dan's cousin's house on the way and met up with some of the cousins that are staying there. I made a very quick trip back and forth, got the charger and was back on the next ferry. We had tea and then went for a long run past the golf club, the cholera cemetery and back through Bökevik. Checked on the house to make sure all was well and then came back to the boat for showers, cocktails and dinner. The marina is packed with boats now, all seeking shelter from the coming low pressure. We took Varga on a night walk up to Kvarnberget to see the sun set over Smögen.

 

25-27 July

Fiskebäckskil, Lyckanslip

Weather: Rain, rain, wind 10-12 m/s, more rain, temp around 15C

We stayed the whole weekend in Fiskebäckskil, checking up on the summer house, running, and pouring over weather sites, hopíng for a break in this dreary weather. I don't think we have ever experienced such a cold and blustery July, feels more like October. On Sunday, our friends from the Med trip, Dick and Ginger from Alchemy came in to the marina. We met way back in Lagos Portugal and then again in Baiona Spain in 2011. It was wonderful to catch up with them as we hiked on small and large trails around the northern tip of Skaftö. Dinner on Roam and the next day breakfast on Alchemy, before they took off for Orust and we for parts south.

 

27 July

Fiskebäckskil - Björkö

39 NM, sail time: 0 motor time: 8 hrs

Weather: Overcast, wind S, 8-10 m/s 15C

As we were traveling south we had to motor the whole way to Björkö, it was another dark dreary day with rain squalls occasionally washing over us. Nice to get back to Björkö and settled in with heater on, a shot of whisky and a beer to follow.

 

28-29 July

Björkö - Skanör Harbor

154 NM, Total time at sea: 31 hrs Sail time 23 hrs, motor 8 hrs

Weather: Overcast, rain, E, SE, SW 8-10 m/s, 15 C

We left the dock in Björkö at 05.00 intending to sail to Anholt as winds were going to be E to S the whole day and tomorrow was forecast as no wind at all, then gale from SW and W

We had good sailing until we approached Anholt, then as forecast, the wind died. As we approached the last marker before turning towards the harbor, we suddenly noticed that we had Edge Coverage on our phones, so quickly checked the weather again. The wind was now forecast to switch to SW in late afternoon increasing to 8-10 m/s until tomorrow mid-day then increasing to gale. We discussed back and forth and finally decided to just go for home. There was no sign of good weather coming so no point in hanging around Anholt. Varga looked longingly towards land....We motored until the wind came up, about 15 NM south of Anholt. The sun came out briefly and we all sat up by the bow soaking in the warm rays and enjoying the moment. All too soon, the clouds gathered again and blocked out the sun, we put our survival suits back on and moved back to the cockpit. Varga was less than a happy camper, got a bit seasick in the first half of the day and slept mostly. Once the wind came up it was indeed from SW, for once, just as forecast. We hoisted the sails and set off at a respectable 5.7 knots. There was quite alot of tanker traffic, once night fell we saw a string of lights pasing north of us towards the Swedish coast. We took a more southerly route in order to get in close to Denmark's coast where we would be somewhat protected from the big seas. It worked like a charm and in the early hours of the 29th, we rounded northern zeeland and entered Öresund. We had the current against us so our speed slowed considerably. We hugged the Danish east coast all the way down until we could cross beneath the windpark and head for home. Got hit by several violent rain squalls with gusty winds as we struggled against the current. Arrived in our slip at 13.00 thoroughly exhausted but happy to be home again.

2 August
Afternoon sail out of Skanör, skipper only.
Sunny and warm weather, wind from S at 2-3 m/s
10 NM

Dan took the afternoon to just sail for a few hours, anchored off Skanör N beach and had a swim before lifting anchor and sailing back to our slip at Skanörshamn

 

7 August
Skanör – Rungstedt DK
31.3NM
6 hrs 22 minutes
Wind SW 3-5 m/s
Weather sunny and warm with rain clouds in the vicinity. Light squalls

Harbor fee at Rungstedt: 150DKK

Very light wind to start. Sunny but with lots of clouds around. We got a very short but intense rain squall just after we left Skanör. It lasted about 5 minutes and then the sun came out again. We had little rain squalls all day as we sailed south of the windpark over to the Danish coast. The wind died as we passed Coepnhagen’s harbor entrance and we had to motor for about an hour until we were even with Flakfort to our starboard. Then some wind came up from W and we could sail for another hor before it toally died. No trouble finding a slip at Rungstedt. It’s such a nice marina, plenty of guest slips and lots of restaurants, shops and people enjoying themselves by the sea. We have a new tradition at Rungstedt of making steak for dinner and ordering French Fries from one of the restaurants along the quayside.

 

8 August
Rungstedt – Skanör
30.5NM
6 hrs 18 minutes
Wind N 0-12 m/s
Weather overcast but warm

We left the dock around 12.00 after a lazy morning and walk for Varga. She and I went to the bakery and bought fresh baked rolls and wienerbrød for breakfast. We slowly drifted down the Danish coast on jib alone and barely any wind. At 13.30 the wind came up and rose steadily from 2 to 12 m/s. Dan hauled up the main and we had a good sail back to Skanör, sailed the same route as we took on the way up, south of the windpark and then straight for harbor entrance in Skanör. We had a tough entry into the harbor due to the big seas that built up coming from the north which flow right past the narrow harbor entrance. Skanör harbor was full to bursting with guest boats and a C55 Swedish Championship regatta going on.

 

29 August
Skanör – Dragör DK
12.2 NM
3 hrs 36 minutes
Wind W- SW 2-5 m/s

We left the dock at 11.30 on a sunny lovely day with high wisps of clouds in the stratosphere. The seas were bigger than we would have liked, due to the gale winds of the past few days but all in all we had a nice sail to Dragør. There was a very strange water phenomenon as we passed south of the windpark. With the current running from north to south(unusual) and winds running south to north, there was an area of very turbulent water that looked a bit like the straits of Messina. Our speed slowed down and we had a hard time keeping course. After about 10 minutes we were through it and things settled down again, though our speed was painfully slow. We got to Dragør’s south harbor and found a slip though there were lots of slips marked with red meaning, not available, though empty. Dan made a comment about it and decided to take a picture in the evening and then in the morning to be able to send to the harbor master. We took a long walk with Varga along the coast south of Dragør , there were masses of tame white farm geese wandering all over the place so had to keep Varga on her leash to prevent her from wreaking havoc. Dragør´s fortress was open to the public so we took a walk up on the ramparts. We walked through Dragør’s old town which is so quaint and pretty with its yellow stone houses with green trim. There was a festival going on, the Herring Festival, with live bands and lots of food at the old harbor next door. We went back there in the evening after dinner to listen to a band. The Danes are very friendly towards dogs and Varga got to be at the pub and walk around free while we drank Irish Coffee and listened to the local band playing.

 

30 August
Dragør – Skanör
11.1 NM
2 hrs 26 minutes
Wind SW 0-3 m/s

The sun struggled to come through the clouds making a very hazy day. We left the dock relatively early; 09.30. Sure enough, no boats had returned to their empty slips of the day before. Dan took a photo and plans to write to the harbor when we get home. It’s a big loss of revenue for the harbor to have empty slips with red signs showing that guest boats are not allowed to moor there. And frustrating for guest boats looking for slips. Our passage home was much quicker due to the current which was again very sloppy in areas where the current and winds moved in opposing directions.

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Total Distance for 2015: 527.7 NM