Fram's Voyages

10 August 2020

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Bohus-Malmön - Gullmarsstrand Fiskebäckskil

Distance to Destination: 8.4 NM

Time to Destination: 1.5 hrs

Wind: NE 5 m/s

Weather: Sunny 25C

 

Matts and Anna wanted to get on the road early today so we got up at 06.00, had breakfast and then left the dock. The wind was blowing off our port beam making it a bit tricky to back out of the berth but Dan did a super job and we were off. Put the sails up as soon as we left the marina and had a great sail to Fiskebäckskil. Matts did the navigation again, I steered and Dan trimmed the sails. Anna kept us all company. Everyone helped get us docked and then we said Good-bye to our friends. Spending the rest of the day chilling out.

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9 August 2020

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Dannemark - Bohus-Malmön marina

Distance to Destination: 15.2 NM

Time to Destination: 3 hours

Wind: SE 2 m/s

Weather: Sunny morning, fog rolled in around 14.00 and stayed the rest of the day. 21C

 

We woke up around 08.00, had morning swims, breakfast and then got ready to depart. There was no wind so we had to motor. Also Matts did the dishes and kept the water running and water pump working so we needed to charge batteries:) We ended up motoring the whole way so took Sotenäs Canal so Matts and Anna could experience that. It’s very beautiful. Came out at Kungshamn - Smögen and rounded the corner eastwards towards Malmön’s north and then east side where we pulled into the marina. We booked via dockspot.com. It’s very convenient way of assuring yourself that you will get a berth, but it’s not very good at telling you what kind of mooring to expect. Malmön is a big marina with a couple restaurants and a grocery store, but the marina facilities were not great, kind of dirty and small.

We had Greek salad for lunch and then set off for our afternoon hike to show them Malmön. Just as we started up on the path over the rocks, fog rolled in from the southwest, blocking out the sun and the beautiful view. Such a shame but the walk did us all good. We stopped and swam from the rocks. Red jellyfish a problem here too. They seem to be everywhere right now.

We all took showers and then had cocktails; smoked salmon spread on crostini, dinner; Fram’s new signature dish; Fettucine al Fram. Loosely, an al Fredo but with the mushrooms sautéed and put separately on top with a garnish of sautéed chopped spring onions fresh Thyme and Parsley. It’s pretty good, even if I say it myself.

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8 August 2020

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Gullmarsstrand - Dannemark anchorage

N58 30.798 E11 15.855

Distance to Destination: 22 NM

Time to Destination: 5 hours

Wind: S 3-5 m/s

Weather: Sunny 25C

 

Gorgeous day, we left right after breakfast and raised main and rolled out genoa. The winds were light so it was a very gentle and comfortable trip. Matts did some piloting and navigating. Think he enjoyed the navigating more than the piloting. We had lunch wraps under way and arrived at Dannemark around 14.00. Went for a swim but there were lots of red jellyfish, the kind that sting so had to be very careful and hold lookout for eachother. Dan Matts and I took the dinghy to the beach and hiked around the island. It was a beautiful walk over the rock cliffs. Took another swim when we got back, relaxed with our books until cocktails and dinner. I made smoked salmon, potato salad and cabbage salad. Another beautiful sunset.

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7 August 2020

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Kristineberg - Gullmarsstrand marina

Distance to Destination: .5 NM

Time to Destination: 10 min

Wind: None

Weather: Sunny 24C

 

Just a short hop over to the marina for the arrival of our weekend guests, Matts and Anna Rosendahl from Stockholm. Got Fram all spruced up and shiny for their arrival at 17.00. Also managed to get time for a run for Dan and a hike for me before they arrived.

Fresh shrimp for dinner on the boat and a lovely evening watching the sun go down from the windmill up on the rocks.

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6 August 2020

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Vikts Kile - Lysekil - Kristineberg anchorage

Distance to Destination: 20.3 NM

Time to Desination: 8.5 hours

Wind: S 3-4 m/s

Weather: Sunny in the morning, clouded over in the afternoon 23C

 

We motored out of Vikts Kile to charge the batteries for an hour, then rolled out the genoa and sailed on that alone. It was lovely. Such a beautiful day and lots of boats out as we sailed out of Stig Fjord and into Kråke Fjord turning northwards. We sailed between the islands and rocks awash past Möllesund, Salsön, Hermanö, Gullholmen, Islandsberg and docked at Lysekil Fishing harbor to fill up on Diesel and provisions. Once we had everything on board, we motored across Gullmars Fjord to our favourite anchorage, Kristineberg. Had a swim, cocktails and dinner up in the cockpit.

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5 August 2020

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Vikts kile 

Wind: 14-22 m/s

Weather: Rain

 

We sat tight here and watched the rain all day long. It didn’t let up until 18.30. The wind lessened around then too but kept up at about 10 m/s all night. We had a cozy day on the boat reading books.

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4 August 2020

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Rörbäckskil - Vikts Kile anchorage

N58 03.334 E 11 34.089

Distance Travelled: 34.7 NM

Time to Destination: 8.5 hours

Wind: SW 10 m/s

Weather: Sunny 18C

 

Our route today was a circumnavigation of the island of Orust. We had very nice sailing when we left the SXK buoy, sailing on genoa alone. The winds picked up just before Ljungskile which was about half way around and the winds were now headwinds. We raised the main sail. Had trouble with it as usual. It gets stuck on the lazyjacks and is difficult to get unhooked and up. After 2 attempts, Dan and I were really mad. He tried loosening the lazyjacks but it didn’t help. So he pulled them away from the sail and tied them down that way. After that the mainsail went up like a charm. We tacked our way down Havstens Fjord competing with a sailor ahead of us. Dan can never resist these challenges. It took a good while and a lot of tacking but we finally got past him. Dan was exhausted, the genoa we have is quite a big one and takes muscle to get it around to the other side. Once we had beaten our unknowing opponent, we dropped the sails and motored the rest of the way. Our intended anchorage was an island on the south side of Orust called Hälsön. But when we got there we realised it would not give us protection for the gale coming in the morning, so we motored on. Dan spied a big bay on the north side of Tjörn that looked promising so we went over and checked it out. It was perfect protection from the southerly winds predicted for Wednesday. We dropped the anchor. First time didn’t hold and anchor came up covered in grass. The second time it held.

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3 August 2020

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Näverkärrsskil buoy - Rörbäckskil 

N58 14.770 E11 34.492

Distance to Destination: 27.6 NM

Time to Destination: 5hrs 30 min

Wind: W 8-10 m/s

Weather: Sunny 20C

 

We were low on battery power to motored for an hour to go check out a little island not far from us called Brantkärr. It’s supposed to have a nice bay for anchoring. But when we got there it was very small and with boats moored to the rock walls there wasn’t much room to anchor freely, so we crossed that off our list and continued up Gullmars Fjord, past Fiskebäckskil and into the waterway that cuts between Skaftö and the mainland. There’s a bridge there that is 15.4 meters high. We were checking out another anchorage that we know and like on the Skaftö side but it was too windy in there. We debated chancing it and going under the bridge. Our mast is 15 meters high and then we have a topmast light, antenna and our wind meter gear up there. We dithered and did circles in front of the bridge but in the end decided not to risk damage to our mast by trying to go under. We didn’t see any boats bigger than ours go under so took that as a sign. Back out into Gullmars Fjord where we had to tack back and forth until we got north of Blåbergsholmen and could sail on a starboard reach. We past Islandsberg and turned due East through a narrow passage between 2 islands, across Ellös Fjord where we took down the main and sailed just on the genoa. We entered Hallen strömmarna, a very narrow channel connecting Ellöse Fjord to Koljö Fjord. Once out into Koljö Fjord it was just a couple NM to Rörbäcksskil and lo and behold, there was an available mooring buoy. We nabbed it and took a lovely swim and bath. 

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2 August 2020

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Keö buoy - Näverkärrsskil SXK Buoy

Distance to Destination: 3.7 NM

Time to Destination: 45 min

Wind: S 6 m/s

Weather: Rain and low visibility

 

Weather forecast called for rain most of the day. We had to move off the buoy in Keö as you only get to use it for 24 hours. We didn’t want to sail anywhere due to the bad weather so made the short move and got set up on another SXK buoy. The buoy moorings are great as they are solid and so easy to throw a rope around and then you’re done. Dan is much happier about leaving the boat to go running or for a hike with me when we are on a buoy rather than using our anchor.

We left the dinghy in the water, trailing behind Fram.

Spent the day reading books and playing backgammon

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1 August 2020

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We moved over to a mooring buoy as soon as it became available. then took the dinghy to mainland where we hiked to the ferry going to Bohus-Malmön. It's an island about 4.5 km long and maybe 1 km wide. It used to be a granite quarry that supplied stone granite all over Sweden and Europe until about 1930. Tourism is what makes Bohus-Malmön tick now. The ferry is free and goes every half hour. There are 2 marinas there,m a really cute town and then the rest of the island is for hiking. The municipality has done a really good job building and maintaining wood bridges, pathways and a trail that takes you around the whole island. The south side is very lush and green with great little coves and beaches for swimming. The rest of the island is one big rock with scars from all the rock cutting and harvesting. Our walk took us all the way around and took about 2.5 hours. It was 13 km around. Some of it was moderately difficult climbing especially around the quarried area; you had to balance from rock to rock. But it was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed it immensely. Treated ourselves to drinks and ice cream while waiting for the ferry to come in and take us back to the mainland. Once there, we took what we thought was a shortcut to the dinghy. We had to climb hand over hand on rocks and boulders along the water's edge and made it almost the whole way till we came to a rock wall that was about 10 meters high. Dammit. Had to turn around and retrace our steps and take the road back. Took a well-deserved swim when we got back to Fram.

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31 July 2020

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Grebbestad - Keö anchorage

N58 21.917 E11 19.754

Distance to Destination: 27.8 NM

Time to Destination: 7.5 hour

Wind: NE 1-4

Weather: Sunny 22C

 

We stayed a day longer in Grebbestad than we’d planned due to wind. It’s a nice town, originally a fishing village and there is still a fishing fleet here but no where near as big as it used to be. The houses are like Fiskebäckskil; wood houses with lots of happy carpentry. But there were too many people about. The restaurants were all full with people waiting outside to get in, forget about getting ice cream parlors, those lines were crazy long. People seem to have taken a break from the Covid virus to enjoy their summer. We have been on our own so long and are still conscious of the possibility of contagion from the Covid virus that we were uncomfortable being in crowds. We stuck mainly to the boat and long hikes along the sea. When I went shopping for food I walked in a zig-zag path avoiding groups of people, used disinfectant at the store, and washed my hands thoroughly when I got back. After 3 days, we were happy to get back to sea. One interesting note though; we didn't need to fill up on water for 2 weeks. Our last fill-up was in Fiskebäckskil on 18 July and before we filled our tank this morning, we still weren't out of water. Our tank holds 230 liters.

 

We left the dock at 09.30 and rolled out the genoa as soon as we got clear of the marina. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and barely any wind but enough to propel us ever so slowly southwards. It was blissful. As the morning progressed it got warmer and warmer. I actually took a dip off the stern during a near calm. Heaven. Our destination was actually Gluppö, an island with a good anchorage, not too far from Grebbestad. But when we got there, we felt it was too early to go in and end this lovely sailing day, so we decided to go on down to Dannemark island. We weaved our way between islands and rocks awash and arrived there around lunch time. Still felt too early to go in, so we left Dannemark in our wake and continued on to Keö. We took the Sotenäs canal this time, it’s very pretty. We were very few sailboats going through but there were any amount of motorboats both big and small. We came out at Kungshamn, put the genoa back out and sailed the rest of the way to Keö. This was most definately the best day of summer and everyone seemed to be determined to take advantage of it. I’ve never seen so many boats and people basking in the sun on the islands we passed. From Kungshamn we were constantly bouncing in the wake of motorboats and jet skis. Jet skis have exploded in numbers. There used to be one or two in a whole summer, now they are EVERYWHERE! There were several boats anchored at Keö but we found a good spot, got settled, and had a well-deserved swim. Dinner was crayfish lemon pasta with lots of spring onions, fresh basil and lemon.

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28 July 2020

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Testholmarna anchorage - Grebbestad Marina

Distance to Destination: 9.6 NM

Time to Destination: 2 hours

Wind: SE 8-10 m/s

Weather: Rain 16C

 

We have spent the last 3 days at anchor here enjoying the solitude, long walks, Dan's running, playing backgammon, and reading our books. Having the dinghy to row ashore with has been a blessing. We had some sun but mostly overcast. So far this summer we have not had the urge to just jump off the boat and bask in the water. Even on sunny days, the wind has been chilly, precluding spontaneous dips. We have however, done our morning dips and evening swims which are basically down the ladder, in and out. Our fresh water hose is fantastic and allows us to rinse the salt water off after dips. 

 

Today is a thoroughly miserable day. Rain squalls lined up in the skies passing over with annoying regularity. At 11.00 we got a respite, so quickly raised anchor and motored out. We decided to keep the cockpit tent up for as long as we could to keep out of the rain. It was really nice to be warm and dry during the passage. The wind was against us the whole way so motored the 2 hours to Grebbestad, winding our way between islands and rocks awash. Even with the blustery dark skies, it is quite a sight moving through these islands. A few boats were out, but not many. Most people sitting tight until the good weather comes back. The forecast is for gale, rain and thunder starting tonight and lasting through tomorrow. We found our pre-booked spot at Grebbestad Marina with no problem. We booked it on a site called Dockspot. Needed to make sure we could get a spot to sit out 2 days of bad weather and with your reservation confirmation you get a GPS point to head for your slip. We are on “Grebbestad’s dock” right next to the harbor office and facilities. It was raining as we came in and lots of sailors walking by but no one offered to take our lines. Sort of strange and normally people are so quick to help, Corona symptom perhaps? I jumped onto the dock and tied down our bowlines while Dan hauled in the buoy line astern. We were quickly in place. We had lunch with the last of our chicken which I made fajitas with and when the rain stopped went for a walk to see the town. Grebbestad is a cute town, very much a fishing village and home to Grebbestad anchovies which every Swedish home has a can of in the fridge. There are lots of restaurants, shops and grocery stores, even systembolaget is here. Lots of people walking up and down the pier which made Dan very uncomfortable. We have been out on our own for 10 days having next to zero contact with other people and now in Grebbestad, we found it a sensory overload. We spent the rest of the day getting food for dinner, getting hooked up to electricity and Dan washed down the deck from all the salt water splashes over the last 10 days. We are hooked up to our router now so have unlimited WIFI. Watched a movie after dinner. We haven’t had to fill up our water tank yet for which we are very proud. Our tank holds 230 liters of water; it’s almost 2 weeks since we last filled the tank and water is still coming out of the faucet.

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25 July 2020

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Stora Dyvik anchorage - Testholmarna anchorage

N58 45.197 E11 11.973

Distance to Destination: 11 NM

Time to Destination: 2 hours

Wind: SW 6-10 m/s

Weather: Overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon

 

We left our anchorage around 12.30. Once we came out of the bay and around Otterön we rolled out the Genoa and sailed on that only. Even so, we were doing 6.5 knots. We sailed right through Havstens Sound which is extremely narrow, but the traffic load was low when we went through so it was very easy. Otherwise, we notice that there are a lot of sail boats out in the archipelago this year, however, most of them are Swedish boats. A few Norwegian boats up here near Norway and a couple Danish boats, but no German boats at all. Once we got through the sound we turned right and entered a deep bay called Alevik Kil and headed for a favourite spot in Testholmarna. The anchor held and after a couple hours to make sure it was set, we headed off to land and took a hike to Havstens Sound town and bought a flag pole and a Swedish flag. Feels good to be identified again.

This area is quiet beautiful and reminiscent of the Stockholm archiplego. Lots of woodlands, meadows amid huge rock cliffs. Bad weather is coming in so we will be here for a couple days. We are running out of our food supplies but have enough for about 4 more days.

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23 July 2020

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Dannemark anchorage - Stora Dyvik Anchorage

N58 39.362 E 11 14.710

Distance to Destination: 11 NM

Time to Destination: 2 hours

Wind: NNW 2 m/s

Weather: Sunny 20C

 

 

We moved over to an SXK buoy as soon as one became available yesterday morning. There are 6 buoys in here and by 10.00 every one had changed occupants. It looks like sailors leave early in order to get a buoy first thing. They tool around asking boats moored on the buoys when they plan to leave and then they tie up to them and wait till the first boat moves off then they take over the buoy. Kind of stressful to be constantly asked if you are leaving soon. But once settled we had a lovely day hiking on the island and reading our books.

 

We left our buoy at 08.30 before anyone could start hanging about waiting for us to leave. There was very little wind and we needed to charge our batteries so we motored through the labyrinth of waterways between islands, rocks and the mainland. We went through Hamburgsund as it’s a very narrow passageway and thought it would be nice to see it up close. Unfortunately, there were boats all over the place milling around waiting to get to the fuel dock or water dock. And then there was a cable ferry plying between the mainland Hamburgsund and island Hamburgsund; total distance about 200 meters. It was very pretty but happy we didn’t choose to stay there.

 

We settled for Stora Dyvik bay which is a lovely bay on the island of Otterön outside Grebbestad.

There were lots of boats but plenty of space. We dropped our anchor and it caught right away. Spent the day hiking on the rocks down through woods and over meadows. Back on Fram we went swimming and read our books.

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21 July 2020

 

Näverkärrskil anchorage - Dannemark anchorage

N 58 30.770 E 11 15.858

Distance to Destination: 30.6 NM

Time to Destination: 6 hours

Wind: NW 6-10 m/s

Weather: Sunny

 

Windy day. We dropped the lines off the buoy and sailed out on the genoa. A bit tricky sailing through the very narrow channel out but it worked. Dan had set a tracking line when we went in so I had that to follow. Main went up once we were out and we set off towards open sea, through the  famous “Nålens Öga” Eye of the Needle, which is 2 giant markers for tankers coming through the line of rocks awash and small islands. It’s a narrow passage for them and dangerous in rough weather. These tankers are all headed to the refinery which is hidden behind rock cliffs on the main land. The swells were about 1-1/2 m high and we were tight-hauled. Got 2 major splashes from waves breaking on the windward side of the boat but other than that we stay very dry in the cockpit. We took turns steering, reefed to reef 1 when the wind increased and then to reef 2 when it increased again. Reefing makes the boat much easier to handle and a more comfortable ride; you don’t lose much speed. We made one long tack and one short tack to avoid a rock awash.

 

We followed the GPS in to what looked like solid rocks but as we got closer one could make out a passage through into calmer waters. That’s the exciting part of sailing here. The navigating is very tricky and looks impossible with the naked eye until you get close and suddenly see an opening.

We lowered the sails and motored in to Dannemark anchorage which was full of boats. We found a spot to nestle in and then had a cup of tea and some crisp bread with tube cheese. It had been too rough to go down and make lunch during our sail here. Dannemark is popular because it’s big and has good hiking on the rock cliffs. There’s also a very nice beach here.

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Settling down for the night, we noticed our flag and flagstaff were gone.

Can’t think how it happened. Dan asked if I’d taken it down. “Nope”. It must have fallen off when we were sailing in the rough seas earlier today.

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20 July 2020

 

Kristineberg anchorage - Näverkärrskil anchorage SXK Buoy

N58 20.516 E11 22.341

Distance to Destination: 6.9 NM

Time to Destination: 1 1/2 hours

Wind: NW 4 m/s

Weather: Overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon

 

After sitting still at anchor for 2 days, we ran the engine the whole way to Näverkärrskil to recharge batteries. The wind was mostly on our nose anyway. High winds were forecast to come through from the  W so were looking for a place with good protection. This place was perfect and is part of the mainland so plenty of hiking in the offing. 

We pulled the dinghy up on deck and it fit like a glove. It will be nice to have it for excursions to the islands now. 

 

We found an available SXK buoy and happily tied up to it. We put up our membership flag and then ate lunch of hotdogs before lowering the dinghy into the water and rowing over to a safe spot to land her and leave her for a hike. The landscape here was beautiful, lots of rock cliffs with little meadows squeezed in down by the water’s edge. We followed a trail that was about 12 km and included a passage through a herd of Hereford cattle. Dan was not keen to go through them so we sat on a rock and waited for them to cross over the path and continue on to better grazing. One was a big suspicious bull so I didn’t mind deferring to Dan’s wishes. We waited for about 10 minutes and then I’d had enough, the bull was far enough away to be able to make a run for it, if necessary so I walked on. Dan followed. The rest of the walk was through ancient beech and elm trees, an old farm from the 1700’s, over high rock cliffs with a little bit of climbing and along the water’s edge, no beach really but nice all the same. Once back at the dinghy there were several sailboats milling around waiting for one of them to get settled on the rock wall. We sat on the rocks and watched with interest until there was a passage open for us to get by with the dinghy.

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18 July 2020

 

Lyckans Slip - Kristineberg anchorage

N58 14.956 E11 22.341

Distance to Destination: 1 NM

Time to Destination: 30 min

Wind: S 

Weather: Overcast and rain

 

Made a short move over to one of our favourite anchorages, Kristineberg. It’s very well protected from South and West. North and East would be untenable. We anchored, set an anchor watch; an app that Dan just bought. You push a button when you drop the anchor so it knows where it is and then you set a radius of safety and get an alarm if the boat wanders outside the radius, essentially meaning that the anchor is dragging. It worked great and we sat fast. However, because we have borrowed the dinghy Pelican from the house in Fiskebäckskil and could row in to land to take a walk, we noticed how incredibly fast the bottom shallows up. We were only about 30 meters from a depth of less than 1 meter. Gulp. This of course meant that our anchor app wouldn’t sound an alarm if we swung over that way before we hit ground as ground was inside our radius. We decided to trust the wind forecast for steady winds from S and W.

Stayed here for 2 nights as second day was pretty much non-stop rain all day.

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17 July 2020

 

Utkäften - Lyckansslip, Fiskebäckskil

Distance to Destination: 28.4 NM

Time to Destination: 7 hours

Wind: NW-W 3-5 m/s

Weather: Sunny

 

Woke up to another beautiful day at about 07.30, there was not a peep from any of the boats around us until about 09.00. Then heads started popping out and the sound of breakfast being made could be heard around the bay. We left at 09.30 and motored out of the bay and out to open sea. To get out there one has to negotiate all the rocks awash and small islands sprinkled everywhere. We set our sails outside Marstrand and sailed out between Pater Noster lighthouse and all the rocks. As we made our way through the maze, we saw a mother sailboat motoring towards us. Dan looked at their chosen route and looked at the charts and said, “What are they doing there? There’s a big shallow area of 1 meter there” No sooner had he said it than we heard a big Boom of the keel hitting the rocks. It sounded like an explosion. The boat stopped abruptly and the crew poured out from below decks in shock. They spent about 5 minutes checking for leakage and damage and then motored on. We watched the whole thing in tredipadation. That is just not something one wants to see happen. We were super careful picking our way between the rocks awash and at one point the wind was so light that the current was started to push us towards one big rock awash, so we started the engine and motored past the last of them into open water. The wind moved over to West making for a lovely sail up the coast outside all the islands until we got to Hermanö near Måseskär lighthouse. Lots of boats were out and it was a lovely sight seeing all the boats pouring into or out of the small entrance into the inner waterway past Hermanö, Gullholmen, and Islandsberg. We turned right into Gullmars fjord and arrived at Lyckansslip at 16.30. 

 

Harbour Fee at Lyckanslip: 400 SEK including water and electricity.

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16 July 2020

 

Malö - Utkäften, Klåverö

N57 51.666 E11 35.184

Distance to Destination: 37.9 NM

Time to Destination: 8 1/2 hours

Wind: NW 4 m/s

Weather: Sunny 

 

Well rested after a day spent at Malö spent reading our books, swimming and cleaning various parts of the boat that seldom get our attention; like the cockpit floor. Everything winds up down there under the wood slats; stray potato chips, hair, crumbs from crisp bread and crackers, small bits of electric tape, etc. Lifted the wood slats and got the floor spotless. Dan mounted his prototype of a new cocktail table in the cockpit that attaches the same way the table attaches. It’s brilliant, small enough to move easily past and big enough for 4 glasses and a small cocktail platter. We woke up  this morning to a beautiful day, took our time over a morning swim, breakfast and reading the news, then prepared Fram for the day’s sail, dropped our lines to the buoy and motored out of the little bay. The winds were light from the NW and we had to tack once, then were able to sail right on course up to Gothenburg harbor entrance where we had to put on the motor for an hour or so to get past all the tankers and get to the other side at Björkö where we could put the sails up again and sailed the rest of the way to Utkäften. It’s a bit tricky in the approach as there’s a big shallow area right in front of the entrance to this bay. We followed our GPS right in. There were lots of boats there this time. About 11 boats anchored and at least 40 boats tied up to the rocks. It was very crowded along there. We found an open spot farthest out and dropped our anchor. Got settled, swam and had cocktails and then our favourite dinner; Beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes and fried onions with Bearnaise sauce. 

 

 

14-15 July 2020

 

Skanör harbour - Malö

Distance to Destination: 125.6 NM

Time to Destination: 24 hours

Wind: S-NE 0-4 m/s

Weather: Sunny with chill wind

 

We got an early start, 07.00 on Wednesday morning. It was the first good weather for some time so several other boats were also getting ready to head north to the islands as we departed. Sails went up immediately outside the harbour and we started a gentle float up the sound. We had breakfast of coffee and crisp bread with marmite and marmalade. That’s Dan’s choices. I had cheese with cucumber; about as Swedish as you can get. We set the sails in a butterfly configuration and were able to do about 4 knots. That was fine with us, we had our books and we were in no hurry. 

Just north of Ven the wind suddenly died and then came up quickly from the north. This was not forecast on any of our weather sites; SHMI, DMI, or Predictwind. Very annoying as now we had to sail tight-hauled. We were hoping that it was just an anomaly for the Sound and once we got up to Kattegat it would go back to south. But no such luck. We had to tack our way out of the sound and once in Kattegat were tight-hauled. As evening progressed, the wind died and the sea became flat calm. Dan took down the sails and I turned on the engine on. We motored for about for about 7 hours until the wind came up, from the NE. We raised the sails again and off we went in blessed silence. We saw tumblers just off Kulleberg and they showed up several times over the next few hours when the sea was calm. They aren’t very big, barely a meter long and almost black in color. Dan took the first watch from 22.00-01.00. During my watch from 01.00-04.00 I listened to a podcast about The UN scandal in 2014 regarding French soldiers raping and abusing small children in the Republic of Central Africa. Usch. Then listened to music and munched on a sandwich that I had packed in a cool bag. I have started packing a small picnic for us when we are on long sails or rough sails and don’t want to go down to make something below. There’s drinks, chocolate and some sandwiches.

We arrived at our destination at 07.00 on Thursday 15 July. There was an SXK buoy available so we grapped it, hung up our cozy survival overalls and went to sleep for a few hours. Woke up to a beautiful day sunny and warm, took a swim off the back, showered with our fresh water WARM water hose and had a brunch of steak, beans, fried eggs and fried toast. We both agreed it was the best meal we’ve had in a long time.

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25 June 2020

 

Fiskebäckskil - Skanör

Distance Travelled: 197.7 NM

Time Travelled: 40 hours

Wind: SE-E 0-5 m/s

Weather: Sunny 25C

 

The sea was glass calm at 06.30 when we motored out of the inlet and remained so for about 7 hours, till we were nearing Gothenburg. We energised ourselves in the late morning and changed the jib to the genoa. With these light winds, we would need all the sail we could get up there. We saw 2 seals in the middle of the fjord ‘playing’ and 2 tumblers off Måseskär lighthouse. Finally, a light breeze came up from the SE and we were able to sail very gently forward. We didn’t mind, it was such a lovely day it was nice to just relax as the boat carried us slowly southwards. We swam off the back of the boat and drip-dried sitting on the 2 seats on the stern.

South of Gothenburg we encountered about 15 tankers, anchored and waiting to either enter Gothenburg harbor or leave. We had to weave our way between them while keeping our sails filled as much as possible. Towards evening the wind died again and we had to motor while Dan took his 3 hours of rest between 23.00-02.00. I listened to podcast by Greta Thunberg and listened to music. Occasionally a ship passed us in the semi-darkness. We were not in the shipping lane but sometimes ships take short cuts and pass rather close to us. We see their lights and hear their engines as they pass. The wind came back around 01.00 but wasn’t good enough to sail on until about 02.00. When Dan came up we hoisted the sails and turned off the engine. I was the lucky one that got to sleep for 3 hours in peace and quiet. Such is life. The wind died as we passed Kulleberg and as we knew that Öresund’s north-bound current was going to kick in soon, we started the engine and motored into Öresund. We stopped at Helsingborg harbor to fill up on diesel, basically a top-up because Helsingborg’s fuel station is so easily accessible, its silly not to take advantage of it. Back out again we motored through the Helsingborg-Helsingör ferry traffic and continued on our way. South of Ven the wind came back, this time from the East which was perfect for us, and we were sailing again, all the way home.

It was 22.30 at night when we arrived back in our home harbor. We had called ahead and asked the harbourmaster to free up our slip which he happily did. Only problem, he freed up the slip next to ours, not our slip which of course was taken. The harbor was full up. We took a slip of a sailor we knew to be out sailing and settled down for the night.

The sails on this boat are not the newest. Both are pretty much blown out and need replacing. We also knew this when we bought her. Even so, she has a very expensive furling system for jib/genoa and expensive travellers on the main sail. So believe she will sail beautifully when we get new sails.

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23 June 2020

 

Rörbäckskil - Keö - Kristineberg

Distance Travelled: 20. 6 + 7.2 NM

Hours Travelled: 4 1/2 + 1 1/2 hrs

Wind: W 0-5 m/s

Weather: Sunny 25C

 

Had a very lazy sail to Keö. Motored the first hour down Kalvöfjord and then sailed from Islandsberg to Keö, to an anchorage we’ve used before and enjoyed. The scenery was peacefully beautiful with the pink-hued rock-islands, blue sky and blue water. Boats were anchored or moored in the most outlandish places that ou would never think were viable spots giving the proximity of the rocks, but somehow it works. As the wind was so gentle we had plenty of time to get an eyeful of this amazing place on earth. 

We spent the afternoon reading our books ( John Bolton’s in the room where it happened - me and Ström ombord - Dan). Sometime in the late afternoon, I looked up and saw that we were not in the same place anymore. We had been dragging. Ugh, on with the engine and up with the anchor. Dan had just been reading about how anchor windlasses run down a battery very fast unless the boat is kept at a RPM of 1500. Sounded absurd. We were both certain we never heard boats rev their engines while using a windlass. But it was enough to worry Dan, so we did the revving while he lifted the anchor. After 2 unsuccessful tries due to the depth meter conking out so we couldn’t see what depth we were in but knew it was pretty shallow, we upped sticks and sailed out of the bay and 6 NM back to Kristineberg where we anchored and spent the night.

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 22 June 2020

 

Rörbäckskil buoy - Vindö - Rörbäckskil buoy

Distance Travelled: 7 NM

Time Travelled: 2 hours

Wind: W 2-3 m/s

Weather: Sunny 22C

 

Sailed off the buoy out and up Kalvöfjord the short distance to Vindö where  a company called VakuumTeak has its operations. They re-do/renovate teak decks. We got Kjetil’s name from a Facebook group we belong to called NajadForum. He showed photos of a teak deck on a Najad 360 he was working on. We knew when we bought our boat that she would have to have a new teak deck and Kjetil has great credentials. He worked for Hallberg-Rassy for 20 years before starting out on his own doing teak decks. It was very interesting to see his workshop and meet his partner. They do everything by hand and it looks amazing.

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After an hour of chatting with him, we left the dock and motored back to Rörbäckskil where we got another buoy for the night.

 

21 June 2020

 

Lyckans Slip Fiskebäckskil - Rörbäckskil SXK buoy

Distance Travelled:

Hours E 3m/s

Weather: Overcast and rain

 

We departed under a very cloudy sky in the afternoon after waving goodbye to all the girls and their partners who were in Fskebäckskil for Swedish Midsommar. It was really lovely to get back out on the water again, despite the rain. We sailed all the way on very light winds that were totally in our favour. And to our utter delight, there was an available SXK buoy waiting for us. SXK stands for Svensk Kryssar Klubb (Swedish Cruising Club) If you are a member, you have access to several hundred buoys placed in bays and inlets all around Sweden. Dan insists it’s not worth the 500 SEK membership every year because we seldom manage to get one when we are out sailing, they are very popular. All one has to do is fly one’s SXK flag where it can be seen by all to prove that one is a member. Some people are not members and just take a buoy which can lead to some very unpleasant discourses between boats. We generally don’t fuss, but we sure think evil thoughts of the boats that do not have membership flags using the buoys. Anyway, all was right with our world and we had a great evening, tucked up cozy and warm below on Fram.

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17 June  2020

 

Klåverö anchorage Utkäften - Lyckans Slip Fiskebäckskil

Distance Travelled: 33.2 NM

Time Travelled: 8 hours

Wind: NE-NW 4-5 m/s

Weather: Sunny

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Another gorgeous day. Despite the winds not being totally in our favor, we managed to sail with full sail northwards towards Fiskebäckskil. The last bit along the north side of Skaftö was amazing, we just sailed lazily along until we rounded the northeast coast and dropped sails and headed in to Fiskebäckskil. As we motored into the inlet towards the marina, we saw all our kids on the dock outside the house waving wildly as we passed by. A lovely greeting. We had already booked a slip for the Midsommar holiday as it is normally jam-packed at the marina. But today it was almost empty. We got Fram tied up and settled, then headed up to the house to celebrate Kimberly’s birthday.

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16 June 2020

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Skalla hamn anchorage - Klåverön anchorage Utkäften

Distance Travelled: 33.5 NM

Time Travelled: 8 hours

Wind: NE 4m/s

Weather: Sunny, 20 C

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We slept in. Finally got our stuff together and lifted anchor and motored out of the bay. It was a good spot and the night was quiet and calm. Once out and heading north, we raised the sails and floated slowly, 4 knots northwards, past the southern archipelago, over Gothenburgs harbor and into the narrow passages past islands rocks and rocks awash that make up the West Coast Archipelago. Towards evening we started looking for a protected anchorage. We needed protection from the northeast. Looking on the charts we found Utkäften on Klåverön just south of Marstrand. It was a long deep bay perfect for the night. There were a few other boats there but there was plenty of room for us. Took a swim and had a favourite dinner; beef tenderloin, fried onions, mash potatoes and bearnaise sauce.

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14 June  2020

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Skanör Harbor - Skalla Hamn anchorage

Distance Travelled: 135NM

Time Travelled: 25 1/2 hours

Wind: NE 5-8 m/s

Weather: Sunny

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We waited all day for the wind to die down. It had been blowing 15m/s all weekend. Finally at 19.30 it started to go down and at 20.30 we left the dock. We raised the sails as soon as we were out of the channel and set off on a course of 354 degrees towards Öresund Bridge. It was a very clear evening and the sailing was grand as there were no waves; just wind. Fram sailed beautifully on the main and genoa. She is easy to steer with very little action. Once the sails were set she stuck to the course we put her on with barely any adjustments. In Sweden at this time of year it doesn’t get quite dark at night. More like twilight. We passed under the bridge without the engine as security this time. The wind was good but even so, it dies just as you pass under the bridge so you have to have some speed to keep you going. We also had the current going with us so that helped. The moon came up as a huge crescent on the easter horizon at 02.38. Dan and I took turns on watch. I made a food bag to keep up in the cockpit within easy reach, filled with hard bread, tube cheese and some sandwiches. A thermos of vegetable broth was up there too as well as coke and mineral water. We stayed just out of the shipping lane and watched in fascination as tankers looking like huge dark shadows with lights coasted up from behind us and passed us by.

 

At 04.00 we crossed the ferry traffic between Helsingborg and Helsingör. There was only one ferry going across as we approached where normally there would be 4 of them. Covid-19. It was easy to see as the sun was up and shining. I woke Dan and we dropped the sails and pulled into Helsingborg marina to fill up on diesel. It’s the easiest place on the way and we were back out sailing within 30 minutes. 

 

We continued northwards up Kattegatt with same good wind and flat sea. The sun was bright all day, not a cloud in the sky. Before our second breakfast around 10.00 Dan put Fram in irons and we took a swim off the back of the boat. The water was clear and cold; very refreshing. We air dried on the aft deck enjoying the moment, then got Fram back in motion and continued on our way. The wind freshened to 10-12 m/s towards the end of our sail. Dan put in the first reef which flattened our heel a bit making it more comfortable. We arrived at Skalla Hamn anchorage at 22.30. This was our first time using the anchor windless and it took us a few minutes to find the remote control and then figure out what power switch gave it electricity. Finally I remembered that the owner said the anchor windless was connected to the same battery as the bow prop so I turned on the bow prop and lo and behold the anchor windless worked. Go figure. I’m sure Captain Dan will get to the bottom of that combination and change it. Anyway, the anchor went down and stuck without a hitch. I made cocktails (beer, whisky) and hors d’oeuvres of smoked salmon and sat in the cockpit to unwind. Dinner was pyttipanna and fried eggs. 

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29-30 May

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Mjelsvig-Skanör Harbour

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Distance Travelled: 148 NM

Time at Sea: 32 hours

Wind: NE/E 0-3 m/s

Weather: Sunny

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We decided to try our luck getting over the Danish border to pick up our new Najad 360 on 29 May. Madeleine drove us and did the talking at the border. The young police man was very polite and when Madeliene told him our reason for coming to Denmark; we were closing a business deal.... he smiled and wished us a good day. And that was it, we were allowed into Denmark. We all heaved a huge sigh of relief. Mjelsvig is on the island of Als just off the southeast coast of Jutland near the German border.

The owners, Momme and Ulrike were there waiting for us and welcomed us. They showed us the boat and then let us have some time to look her over ourselves. They were leaving the galley fully equipped and put very nice small touches everywhere. Some things looked brand new. Prosecco was opened and they invited us to a dinner of grilled Ringreder sausage, a local specialty. We moved the few things we'd brought with us onto to the boat and next morning Madeleine left for home right after breakfast and we four (old and new owners) disinfected our hands, shook hands and made a fond good-bye.

Dan and I motored out of the inlet through a maze of green and red buoys out to open water and raised the sails. They are a bit old, but we knew that. The winds were very light and we couldn't do more than 4 knots, but it was a very enjoyable 4 knots. After 6 hours the wind died and we had to motor the rest of the way home. At 22.30 when it got dark, we were south of Lolland. At one minute past midnight I wished dan Happy Birthday, and by 05.00 we were past Gedser and the last of the shipping lane traffic. We didn't have our AIS with us, but Dan downloaded an app that identifies all ships in the area which was very helpful. We had mobile coverage pretty much the whole way home. At 17.30 we approached Skanör Harbour and saw Madeleine and Steph, little Viggo and Varga waving and whooping. Caroline, Peter and the kids were on the dock waving and greeting. James caught my bowline and soon everyone was on the boat wishing Dan happy birthday, running through the boat to have a look and pouring Prosecco to celebrate. Kimmie, Oscar, the boys and good friends Nina, Douglas and little Giselle joined up. The cockpit managed to accommodate all of us. 

We are so relieved to have our Najad in our harbour and now look forward to making adjustments and generally making her ours. Her working name right now is Fram. We both have been inspired in our lives by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Roam got her name from the first two letters of his first and last name. We thought of a Roam 2 but finally realised that there can only be one Roam and that's the Hallberg-Rassy 29 that has taken such good care of us for almost 20 years. Fram was the name of Amundsen's ship that he bought from Frithiof Nansen, another Norwegian explorer, that carried Amundsen and his crew to the South Pole. So Fram feels fitting. But we'll decide over the summer while we are getting to used to her.

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11 May 2020

 

Roam went back in the water on 19 April. It was a very calm and uneventful launch on a nice sunny spring day. 

We got her mast up on 21 April which also went smoothly with no hitches.

Her maiden voyage was a short 2 hour sail from our marina out towards the wind farm in Öresund. Everything worked and it was a blissful sail.

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Our new boat, Clara, launched on 4 May and masted on 8 May so she is ready to go. This is where the hitches start. Clara is on Jutland in Denmark, very close to the German border. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, Denmark and Germany closed their border to Sweden. Denmark has just extended that closure to 31 May when the government will decide on whether to extend or open its borders. Germany is closed until 15 June. Until the borders open, we have no way to get to Clara to bring her home and start our summer sailing. We’ve looked into several options and called the Danish police to see if we can just go through to board her and sail out of Denmark to Sweden. But it’s a no-go. We are currently looking into having her delivered by a professional boat deliverer as they are allowed to go in on a business permit. We actually considered starting a boat delivery company just so we could be allowed in to Denmark to get Clara…

The downside with the delivery is that we don’t get to meet up with Clara’s owners to get a good handover. We are communicating with the previous owners as to what choices to make. In the meantime we are enjoying being on Roam again.

 

Stay tuned.

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6 April 2020

 

We bought a boat! A Najad 360 built in 1989, so just a couple years younger than Roam,

but in very very good condition. She's currently in Denmark which is under lock.-down from the Covid-19. Scheduled launch date is 4 May. We'll see if it holds. We are very excited! Roam will stay in the family for at least another year while our oldest daughter Caroline and her family learn to sail her.

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