This is "Onbekommerd"!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Why you don't pay harbour fees in Valdemarsvik

Valdemarsvik is quite a small place, so small that it has combined the tourist bureau with the harbour office. So this morning we reported to the tourist information to report and register (yesterday when we arrived the weather was too bad to go and later on they were closed).
We got a most enthusiastic reception, were given the code to access the sanitary facilities, a voucher for free WiFi Internet and the assurance that we could approach them anytime if we needed more assistance. And then they gave us a little card to hang on the boat and told us that all this was at no charge (I forgot to say that water and electricity are also included). It was then explained that the reason it was free was because of the environmental remediation in the harbour entrance. Valdemarsvik has been a centre for tanneries since the early 1800's (the last one closed in 1960). From 1904, chromium was used in the tanneries and the effluent was discharged into the stream 'Fifallaän', which runs into the Valdemarsvikken. Test have shown that there is a lot of sedimentation containing high chromium levels and also some mercury. We were told that there is no danger to human health, but there is a danger to wildlife. So they are dredging the end of the Vademarsviken, where the harbour is. Of course the people doing the dredging are Dutch.....





Now we have not noticed any disturbance at all, so the free harbour seems rather generous. But after Stockholm at SEK 300 per night and upcoming Västervik at 320, we are not complaining.

By the way, the only disturbance we have had was a swan at 4:45 this morning, picking at the 'kabelaring' (the rope around the boat) and getting hold of the electricity cable. He or she made such a racket that we both woke up. Lyn chased him....

Location:Hamngatan,Valdemarsvik,Sweden

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

At the end of the fjord

During our 3 hour trip today, we navigated some pretty narrow passages:





We turned into the Valdemarsviken, the fjord at the end of which the small town of Valdemarsvik is. By then it was quite cloudy and a few raindrops fell. The view into the fjord was quite nice nevertheless:





On the sides are rocks and trees. Here is a close up of an interesting formation. How did these strata get to be vertical?





Just as we were looking for a mooring and tying up, it started to rain. Just in time! After dinner the rain stopped and we had a quick walk around. Seems quite a small place. Tomorrow, we'll explore further and report back.

Location:Hamngatan,Valdemarsvik,Sweden

Monday, July 29, 2013

Still Fyrudden

As we enjoy the lively hustle and bustle here, we spent another day in Fyrudden. We are not alone in this, the harbour, small as it is, is full again.





There are a few typical old fashioned Swedish yachts, long and narrow, very suitable to sail close to the wind between the islands. The Dutch word is 'scherenkruiser', don't know the English expression for it.





We'll continue to Valdemarsvik tomorrow.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Place of the lighthouse

We are in Fyrudden. Now 'Fyr' is a lighthouse and 'Udden' is a place or a spot (if any Swedish followers know this to be wrong, please use the 'comments' function of the blog to correct me, I am always keen to learn about languages!). So one would expect a lighthouse here, but there is none. As we intend to stay here tomorrow, we'll try to she'd more light on that.

But Fyrudden is a nice lively harbour and we enjoy it. It is also a Coast Guard base and the coast guard boat is coming in and leaving all the time:





That's the small one, there is a bigger one too.

Apart from the coast guard it is a pretty popular and busy 'Gästhamn'. We got here around 12:30 and it was already quite full. Most of the yachts arriving after us have had to raft up:





It was also more busy on the water than yesterday, we seem to have chosen a more popular route.


Location:Fyrudden

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Off the beaten track

Yesterday we were in this busy marina in Arkösund, today we are the only visitor on a jetty in Lagnöströmmen - Östra sidan. That last bit means we are on the eastern side of this fairway in the skärgård, on the other side there is also a place one can tie up.
After we arrived at about 12:30, it was a coming and going of small boats, mainly arriving to buy fuel, ice cream or supplies at the kiosk here. Now it's getting quiet.
We'll see what we do tomorrow. With some rain predicted for Monday and Tuesday, it might be better to move on and take the planned rest day later. But distances for the next few days are short, so we'll see.
No picture tonight. Although everything is still very pretty and the view from the boat is nice, it is difficult to catch it with the camera.


Friday, July 26, 2013

Long trip!

We did a 46 mile, just under 7 hour trip today. To get from Nynäshamn back to the skärgård on the East coast is just quite a long way and although there are ways to break it up a bit or take a longer more protected route, we decided to take advantage of the predicted light winds and go to Arkösund in one hop. The first hour and a half was due South, towards Landsort. There are several lighthouses here, of which this the most conspicuous.





Then comes a 30+ mile stretch of sea crossing towards Arkösund. The wind initially was almost nothing resulting in quite a flat sea. Good enough for Lyn to get the laptop out and do some work! About halfway it picked up to around 10 - 12 knots which was just enough to get a bit of water over the bow at our cruising speed of about 6.5 knots. But still comfortable enough to make coffee! There was quite a bit of cloud at this stage and rain seemed possible but it remained dry.

As we had left at 7, we got to Arkösund at 2pm. We also were here 10 days ago, the day we left the Göta canal, so we knew exactly where to go. The marina was much more crowded than then, but we got a nice place right at the end of the outer jetty with a nice view. This video gives an impression!


YouTube Video


The next few days we are going to take it easy, visiting a few small harbours in the St Anna skärgård, before setting course to Valdemarsvik where we have guests joining us.

Location:Arkösund

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Nynäshamn. Always different from what you expect!

Last night we witnessed a supposedly typical Scandinavian 'ceremony'. We were on a small guest jetty at Dalarö with only 4 boats (from 4 nationalities, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Dutch). On the Finnish boat someone was playing the saxophone, quite softly. A few minutes before 9, the volume increased and he played a specific tune after which - at exactly 9pm as is the correct etiquette - he took down his flag. According to one of our pilot books this is quite usual at moorings 'in the wild', but it was new to us. Nice!

This morning, after filling up with diesel at eye-watering prices (€1.95/l but at least it is 'boat diesel' which does not have bio additives and therefore is less susceptible to the dreaded diesel bacteria), we left Dalarö. First we encountered a fort:





It was almost still, good for us but not for the yachts trying to sail:





When we got close to Nynäshamn, we saw quite a big regatta, involving small (26 foot) keelboats:





And suddenly there was one of the 'Costas' (undoubtedly without captain Scettino on board):





They were taking the guests ashore. We are not sure where to, maybe by coach to Stovkholm? Or a skärgård trip?





And then from behind an island this one appeared:






The Nynäshamn marina has a brand new jetty, which is reserved for the regatta we passed, but we were allowed to tie up at the end anyway. At the end of the day, the yachts came in and now there is a nice 'regatta atmosphere', with live music ashore and lots of people milling around.

Tomorrow, we'll leave early. The weather forecast is (again) good and we plan a long (43 miles) trip to Arkösund (where we also were the day we left the Göta canal).

Location:Sjögatan,Nynashamn,Sweden

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Dalarö

After the short (2 hour) trip from Saltsjöbaden, we got to Dalarö. Greg took the bus back to Stockhom here, from where he'll fly back to London. So we are by ourselves again. We enjoyed having the boys here, these days with our 'geographic spread' it is becoming a rare occasion to have all 4 of us together. We'll miss them a lot, especially the next few days.

It is becoming more difficult to find good images to post. The scenery remains breathtaking and it certainly does not tire us, but we are not sure if our audience enjoys yet another skärgård shot.

Today's one is taken from up the hill in Dalarö, which used to be a pilot station for the Stockholm approach.





Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Saltsjöbaden

We phoned the harbour master in Saltsjöbaden this morning to enquire after the availability of moorings. He told me that it was currently full and he could not make any promises but that he was sure they could make a plan for us. So we set off at 10 and by 12 we were at Saltsjöbaden, one of the bases of the KSSS, the Royal Swedish Yacht Club. It was blowing quite hard, probably 15 to 18 knots and it was also cloudy, the first time in a week or two. As we arrived, we were hailed by a RIB ('rubber duck' for the South African followers) and asked if we wanted a mooring. They told us there were 6 yachts waiting and advised us to tie up on a swing mooring (a buoy) and they would come back to us in 30 minutes. About an hour later the RIB arrived and - after apologising for the delay - guided us to a nice spot on the main jetty. There were people there to meet us and take the lines too. What excellent service! So there we are, right in front of the 'Grand Hotel':





Bur with a real yacht club atmosphere:





Tomorrow, the wind is predicted to be lighter and the sun to be back. Our plan is to go to Dalarö, where Greg will take bus, train and plane to rejoin Sean in London.

Location:Torben Gruts väg,Nacka,Sweden

Monday, July 22, 2013

Swedish meatballs

As Swedish meatballs are sort of famous (partly thanks to Ikea, one thinks), we had to try them. We went for lunch to celebrate Lyn's birthday (early, but this was when we were all together) and all had the veal meatballs with pick led cucumber, lingonberries and mashed potatoes, supposedly all the traditional accompaniments. They were excellent! Washed down with a Swedish beer, of course:





We did a self-guided tour of the old city. That is, Sean guided us using a website on his 'device'. The Gamla Stan is a very well preserved medieval town. Unique! This is the narrowest alley, 85cm wide:





Sean is now on his way back to London. We'll just check availability of moorings in Saltsjöbaden tomorrow morning. It's only 12 miles away, and very protected but there is a lot of wind predicted so we want to be sure of a good place to tie up!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

STOCKHOLM!





As you can see from the above picture, we are in Stockholm! Definitely the most northern point of our trip, although we'll go a bit more east when we leave through the Stockholm skärgård. These are our coordinates now:





We were a bit worried about getting a berth in Stockholm as - like in many big cities - there are not a lot of marinas and the ones there are soon full in the height of the season. We got to the 'Vasahamn' by 13:00 and found at least 4 free places. By 13:30 they were all taken, so we were just in time! It's not a very calm harbour, the wash from the many craft in the harbour makes us rock and roll all the time. But we are in what is said to be Scandinavia's most beautiful city, so we grin and bear the slopping around!

After lunch we went to the fantastic Vasa Museum, which is a few minutes walk from the boat. This must be seen to be believed, a 1632 ship which capsized after a few miles on its maiden voyage and was only found, lifted and restored in 1961.





Then we took a walk around the 'Gamla Stan', the old town. This too is very nice and worthy of the most beautiful Scandinavian city.





Tomorrow, we'll do a bit more 'being tourists'.

Location:Sweden

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Södertälje

The name 'Södertälje' for us has meant the last stop before Stockholm. You go through the Södertälje canal through a lock, which brings you into Lake Mälaren, from which you reach Stockholm from the West, through the back door so to speak. But now that we are actually in Södertälje, we find that it is also where Björn Borg learned to play tennis: although he was born in Stockholm, he grew up here in Södertälje. The road he walked to the tennis courts every day from age 7 is now Björn Borg Promenade. Here it is, with the tennis courts in the background:





For the rest, Södertälje does not seem to have a lot to offer apart from graffiti. Tomorrow, we'll continue to Stockholm in the hope we'll find an empty slot in a marina. It's high season now and quite busy.

No need to say that our earlier post about the most northern point in this year's trip was wrong. That was before we decided to head for Stockholm. Today we passed 59 degrees North. The insurance for Onbekommmerd sets a limit of 60 degrees, Stockholm is 59 degrees and 20 minutes, so we're OK!

Location:Strandpromenaden,Sodertalje,Sweden

Friday, July 19, 2013

Trosa

We gave Greg and Sean a taste of the skärgård today. Although it was windy, around 20 knots, the protection of the islands made for a very comfortable 4.5 hour trip to Trosa. Everywhere, so see people anchored in little protected bays. When I say 'anchored', I mean the Swedish way of anchoring: the bow of the boat is tied up to a tree or mooring pin on an island and the back anchor keeps the boat off the shore. Very nice, we have a back anchor so one day we'll have to try it.

With the relatively strong wind, many people stayed in port so when we got to Trosa the harbour was quite full and we ended up rafting next to a friendly Swede. Trosa is a bit 'end of the world' from a navigation point of view, but it is a very pretty and lively place with lots happening around the harbour.


As a new feature, here is a video Greg took today. Hope it works! (Click on the grey video icon and it will take you to YouTube and then show the 19 secs of video)

YouTube Video




Location:Edanövägen,Trosa,Sweden

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Guests arrive!

This morning, our sons Greg and Sean arrived. We had Sean and his girlfriend Nikola on board two weeks ago, but we had not seen Greg since early March and the last time we were all together was back in January. That's how it goes with an internationally operating family. But it makes it extra special to have a few days together on Onbekommerd!

Here are mom and her boys:





We are still in Nyköping, tomorrow we'll leave early for Trosa, about 25 miles to the North. From there it's two more days to Stockholm. We originally did not plan to take Onbekommerd all the way to Stockholm, but looking at the 'forward plan', it seems a good thing to do!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Rest day in Nyköping

Well, when we say 'rest day', it usually means we stay 'in port', but it also often means that we have lots to do! So also today:

We started doing some admin and other work for Lyn's business. Have to keep that going!
Then to 'Nyköpingshus', the castle in town. A medieval caste (originally), with a history very similar to other Baltic castles we have seen: started as a fortification to protect trade routes, was 'modernised' in Renaissance style when the King took it over, got destroyed in a couple of city fires (which were common in those days) and only partially restored thereafter.
The Nyköpingshus has a very nice museum in the 'Kings Tower'.





In the afternoon, we had a guided city walk. This was in English, which is unusual, well done Nyköping! You can learn a lot in a 45 minute guided walk.

Here are a few pictures, one of houses of well-to-do merchants and one of the houses of the poorer classes.









The latter are still based on medieval design, with the gable facing the street. We find them more attractive than the 'upmarket' house. And they are very fashionable these days!

In the late afternoon, there was the weekly 'old car gathering' at the harbour. Throughout the summer there is a different theme each week. This week it was 'open cars'. There were about 300 cars, some of course nicer than others. We especially liked this Morgan, which may have been influenced by the custom leather suitcase on the back.





The event was supported by a bag pipe 'ensemble':





Tomorrow morning, Greg and Sean will join us. We'll let you know about our plans after that.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Nyköping (no pictures)

The first 18 miles today were similar to yesterday, nice skärgård navigation. It was windy but very protected. We did get some water over the deck, but that was due to big speedboats. These seem to be a Swedish passion and they appear to take great delight passing you at close quarters and making big waves. Pretty unpleasant, they must irritate the sailors even more than us!
Then some 7 miles up a dredged channel into Nyköping. The town is pretty and makes up for the somewhat boring approach (we are getting quite picky, aren't we?). As we'll be here tomorrow as well, we will do the guided town walk (in English). Nyköping is one of the oldest towns in Sweden (more than 800 years old, the brochures say) and it will undoubtedly have an interesting royal history. More tomorrow!

Location:Gert Fredrikssons väg,,Sweden

Monday, July 15, 2013

Skärgård to Arösund

At 9 this morning we were ready at the lock and 10 minutes later we were back on the Baltic.





The approach to Mem for people starting the Göta canal is quite nice:





Our trip was 20 miles through the skärgård (an archipelago of thousands of small islands which you find in several places on the Swedish coast, I'll use the term regularly in the next few weeks). Although it was quite windy, the islands give so much protection that it does not really affect you. Just when you think that the scenery can't get any better, you arrive at an even more beautiful place.

This is a typical summer cottage we passed:





And the route through the skärgård is marked by this type of 'lighthouses':





The navigation is not difficult, but you need to keep on top of things and follow where you are on the paper chart as well as the plotter. Always have a back up!

Around 12:30 we got to Arkösund, where a dinghy with harbour assistants hailed us and directed us to a nice place alongside. Luxury, no stern mooring for a change! And another assistant on the jetty to take the mooring lines. Well, the fees are certainly paying for all that service...
The 'town' is somewhat non existent, but the harbour is busy as it is on the main skärgård route.

Tomorrow is a 23 mile stretch to Nyköping, where our sons will join us on Thursday morning!

Location:Arkösundsvägen,Norrkoping,Sweden

Sunday, July 14, 2013

(Almost) out of the Göta canal

Only 3.2 miles and 2 locks brought us to Mem, where the Göta canal finishes. We are still inside the canal in the last Gästhamn. Very quiet and idyllic.





One more lock to go here. 3m down.



And then we will be back at sea level, in the Baltic. Destination tomorrow is Arkosünd just over 3 hours away. A new adventure, the Swedish east coast, awaits!

We'll probably write a bit more about the canal later, but at this stage we want to say that it has been as fantastic as it was made out to be. A wonderful mixture of lively and quiet stopovers, beautiful and varied scenery, narrow canal stretches and nice lake crossings: one never gets the feeling of 'now its enough'. We have been hugely privileged to be able to do this. It is however very doable and we would suggest that anyone with a boat that can handle the trip (and that really means the trip to get to or from Göteborg) and of course the time to do it would do themselves a disservice by not heading to Sjötorp or Mem!

Location:Mem

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Söderköping (2)

Söderköping is a town with a rich history, going back to the Middle Ages. Two mediaeval churches (or at least churches incorporating parts of earlier churches) still remind us of that time. In those days it was also an important harbour ( the old Storän river still runs through the town but is no longer navigable) and several early Swedish kings and queens were crowned or inaugurated here. These days it is a very popular tourist destination, the Göta canal plays an important part in that popularity.
We climbed the Ramunderberger from where there is a good view of the town's surroundings and then gave ourselves a tour with the aid of a brochure.
Here are some impressions:
View from above:

Belfry, built in the 16th century:

Hospital cottages from the 18th century:

Almost next to the boat is an interesting work of art, called 'Rabbits Crossing'. There are two sculptures, one on each side of the canal. On the opposite side the rabbits jump in the water. On this side they help each other to get out:

After supper we headed for "Smultronstället", the ice cream restaurant we mentioned in yesterday's post. There had been long queues from 10am to get a table but by 20:30 when we got there it was not very busy.
We 'pigged out' and don't need ice cream for the next few weeks. Meet 'Dark Orange' and 'Lido'

Tomorrow, we will probably do our last canal stretch, only 4 miles to Mem. Two locks and the day after the last one, back to sea level.

Location:Göta Kanal,Soderkoping,Sweden

Friday, July 12, 2013

Söderkoping (1)

After another 2 double and 7 single locks (of which one was standing open) and a few bridges, we got to Söderköping. We are now only 6KM from Mem, where the Göta canal ends into the Slätbacken, which is directly connected to the Baltic.
Söderköping is rather special, being historic as well as touristy. Now, in the midst of the summer holidays, the canal sides are full of people strolling along the many restaurants and taking in the view of the boats tied up. So we are again part of the entertainment. The atmosphere is very nice and we'll stay here another day or two. We'll also post more pictures then, but we have to show you one now of the 'ice cream restaurant'. Yes, only ice creams in a sit-down restaurant. Of course we'll have to try it, but we'll have to queue as it is very popular:





If you bring a baby or toddler, you park the pram in the 'pram park' outside:





And for our South African blog followers: yes, those prams will still be there when you leave the restaurant. And they are not locked...

More tomorrow!

Location:Göta Kanal,Soderkoping,Sweden

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Berg to Norsholm

We started the day with an hour wait at the 'down' locks at Berg. As it is a set of seven, it takes some planning. A group of 3 boats was being locked 'up'. From the top the 'staircase' looks like this:





Once we got into the first lock, it went quickly. When locking 'up' there is a lot of turbulence in the lock and they dose the water flow relatively carefully. But when going down there is no such problem and the gates are opened fully. In 40 minutes we were down and from there you see this:





Quite spectacular, is it not?

From there, you cross Lake Roxen which is 14nm, a bit over two hours. Wonderful scenery again, we find the Eastern part of the canal a lot more scenic than the Western part.





At the eastern end of Lake Roxen is Norsholm, a little place with a 0.8m drop lock. The Gästhamn along the canal was empty when we got here, but now it is full. People are having dinner at the tables that are placed on shore for that purpose:





It is not very quiet as Norsholm is between a busy railway line and an equally busy motorway. Not very noisy but background noise all the time.

Tomorrow the destination is Söderköping, supposedly one of the highlights of the canal. To get there, there are 11 locks to navigate. All downhill though :-)

Location:Göta kanal,Norsholm,Sweden