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| Anchored in Finnhamn the following day for a lunch stop.. Next stop Vaxholm... |
| 2007 Baltic Adventure |
| Page 6 |
| 07/25/07 |
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| Sweden |
| Here we are crossing the Gulf of Bothnia from the Åland Islands to east coast of Sweden. We were lucky to have such a calm day. From Mariehamn to Kapellskar - about 30 miles - took us just over two hours. We found a beautiful, peaceful anchorage on the island of Idö. |
| Early the next morning, Rhumb Line with Dick & Carol Tuschick, Rob Poirier and Salwa Farah of PDQ headed out from Mariehamn for a direct run to Stockholm. They had plane tickets home the next day and they planned to meet Beth & Dave Simkins (and their kids) who were to take over the boat.
We stayed another day in Mariehamn, then departed the next morning for our first open-water crossing. From Mariehamn to the west coast of Swededn was about 30 miles. We needn't have worried, the seas were calm (there was a slight swell) and we made landfall near the port of Kapellskar. We found a lovely anchorage on the island of Idö where we we spent our first night in Sweden. From here we traveled south through the Swedish archipelago. We made a lunch stop in Finnhamn where more than 30 boats were moored directly to the granite. Then we carried on to Vaxholm where we met up again with Rhumb Line. By now, they had changed crew in Stockholm and were headed out through the Archipelago - we later persuaded them to take the inland route, so they ended up following us (actually leading us) back to Stockholm. |
| The Swedish Archipelago en route from Finnhamn to Vaxholm |
| Four PDQ's reunite in Vaxholm Harbor north of Stockholm |
| In Stockholm, we tied up downtown at the Vasahamen marina right next to the Vasa Museum. (Photo above) Here lies the remains of a 16th century warship which was painstakingly restored. The detailed carvings on this ship are quite spectacular. We also toured downtown Stockholm, we took a "Hop-on, Hop-off" bus tour and visited the old town. |
| Revised 10/02/07 |
| Continuing the commentary from Page 5... |
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| For the most part, a knowledge of Swedish was not necessary, almost every Swede we met spoke English. But every once in a while we were confronted with a strange sign (photo at left). As I remember, everyone dutifully grunted as we passed this bouy. With a little help from my Swedish dictionary, I later discovered that grunt means "ground" in Swedish, in other words, "shallow". Fortunately, our PDQ's don't require deep water! |
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| Leaving Stockholm, we headed west into the lakes and then into a narrow passage south into the inner archipelago. This was a scenic and calm route south to the entrance of the Göta Canal. We made one stop en route at Trosa (which means knickers in Swedish) another very cute town - full of tourists. The entire country of Sweden appears to be on vacation right now, and many of them appearantly head for the small towns along the water. |
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| Our freind Ann Gaddis talking to an unresponsive man in the old town |
| It rained during much of our visit to Stockholm, but it failed to dampen our spirits |
| Mimie Currey watching a balloon at sunset in Stockholm |
| This amazing boat in Stockholm looked like a wooden shoe |
| Restored warship in the Vasa Museum |
| A real "snow dog" aboard a boat in Trosa |
| Horizons and Sno' Dog lie stern-to in Trosa |
| A typical scene in the Swedish archipelago south of Trosa. These really are gorgeous cruising grounds! |
| Heading south from Trosa, our next stop was Mem where we entered the first lock of the Göta Canal system. Here, we paid a rather steep $700 for a one-week pass, but it did include docking and shore-side facilities all along the route. Still, the week US dollar and strong Swedish Kronor are beginning to take their toll. (Remind me to talk to "W" about this when I get home!) The next several pages highlight out trip through the Göta Canal - it was a gorgeous adventure! Click here to start. |
| click on photos for larger image |
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