The number one Swedish summer city

With the weather being a bit unstable, we try to put in significant distances when we get a chance.
So today we did a 7 hour, 46.5 mile stint from Figeholm to Kalmar. A nice, relatively uncomplicated trip. The first hour or two a bit knobbly ', after that the wind dropped and veered to come from almost behind and we ended up doing over 7 knots over the ground for the last 15 minutes or so.

On the way, we passed Dämman. This lighthouse was built at the expense of Lloyds in 1864, paying for the lighthouse was obviously better than settling lots of claims from ships that had run on the rocks there. In 1969, the lighthouse was replaced by a modern light 500 metres to the East and Dämman fell into disrepair. In 1995 a businessman bought it from the state (for SEK 250000, just over €25000) and it is now a restaurant and hotel, presumably quite exclusive as you can only get there by boat (we saw the boat, unsurprisingly called 'Dämman", on the AIS) or by helicopter.





We got to Kalmar in between a few rain- and thundershowers, fortunately it was dry when we were tying up.

During our visit to the Systembolaget (the state run store where any drinks with an alcohol content over 3.5% are sold), the uncharacteristicly talkative Swedish till operator told us that Kalmar was voted the best Swedish summer city. We checked this and it appears to be the true outcome of a vote by a national magazine.
We quite like Kalmar, not too big, not too small, nice pedestrian areas.

So here is to Kalmar!

Location:Skeppsbrogatan,Kalmar,Sweden

Encounters

We see some really interesting sights, moving from harbour to harbour.
A few days ago, a bit outside Loftahammer, we saw this nice boat with lots of interesting topsails. A fisherman, judging from the net hanging in the rigging.





That's quite different from what we saw yesterday on our way to Figeholm:





We hope for the occupants of this sailing canoe that no wave managed to hop inside!

With some sadness, we said goodbye to the 'skärgård' (archipelago, scherenkust). It is the wonderful collection of tens of thousands of islands, some no more than a rock, some big enough to have a few villages and even bus services on them. The skärgård stretches from around Figeholm in the South to Arholma in the North.
Yesterday we did the last 30 miles from Västervik, the last bit to Figeholm was quite tricky with some of the buoys marking underwater rocks being very close together.
A big feature of the skärgård is that it offers very nice protection from wind and waves. It can be 20 knots 'outside' and in between the islands it can be almost still.
We now enter the Kalmarsund, between the Swedish mainland and the island of Öland. It is about 80 miles long and up to 5 miles wide. Not 'open sea', but enough for waves to build up uncomfortably if the wind is strong.
As today it's up to 20 knots, we are going to stay in Figeholm which is a very nice small and protected harbour. Tomorrow looks better and we'll start moving towards Kalmar itself, a big town about halfway down the sund.

Location:Sjömansgatan,Figeholm,Sweden

Port

Look at the title of this post please....

Yes, we are in port. But that's not the meaning of 'port' I am trying to convey.
We have just opened a new bottle of port. That's the port I mean!
We only drink port if and when it is cold. It is now 29 June, the heater is on, it is blowing 25 knots in the gusts and we have had quite a bit of rain. It feels like summer has been cancelled. Fortunately we are snug in the boat, the harbour is full of yachts sheltering from the weather. One (slightly foolish) man was spotted brushing down his boat in the rain, wearing a pink hat and shorts. Lyn mentioned that his legs were as pink as his hat...
Anyway, we have lots to do, we are comfortable and it looks like we will be here for another two days.
Some day, we are sure, summer will arrive in Sweden and hopefully it will be when we are still here...

Location:Notholmsvägen,Västervik,Sweden

This is how it should be

After a few days with very unsettled weather, the forecast for today was good so we set the alarm clock for 6am and by 6:30 we were off our moorings. Although it was still a bit windy, it was a north westerly so we were under the lee of the land most of the time and had a great day's motoring. We had planned to get to Västervik in two days and had found a nice mooring about half way. But when we got to that spot we were going nicely and it was only 1pm so we carried on to the first spot where we ever back-anchored, a small island called Björkholmen. So now we are just 2 hours from Västervik, which we'll do in the morning. After that, there will be one or two unsettled days again but Västervik is a nicely sheltered harbour.
In the meantime, we are here with one British and seven Swedish boats. The British boat has a British / Dutch couple on it, with a guest who is a dual French - Swiss citizen. Quite an international bunch.
The view from the back of the boat is nice:








After dinner, the multinational crew met on Onbekommerd. The British skipper is a pianist and he gave us a concert, the first 'stranger ' ever to play Onbekommerd 's piano!









To end off, we had a sunset worthy of a nice picture.








A very nice day, all in all!

Location:Loftahammar,Sweden

Midsommar

Today is 'Midsommar', the Saturday closest to the summer solstice, 21 June. But more importantly, yesterday was 'Midsommerafton'. On Midsommarafton, the 'stång', similar to a Maypole, is decorated and raised.





And once raised, music is played and families dance around the stång.





It is a very traditional family affair, as important as Christmas, it appears. All shops, restaurants and other businesses are closed and it is the start of the holiday season.

In the evening, there are parties, usually with a lot of food and drink.
We are at our Swedish base and this year it was the turn of the British to organise the party at the 'Båtklubb'.





So we started with Pimms as a welcome drink. The starter was organised by the Swedes, different types of pickled herring with boiled potatoes. For the main course there was cottage pie with peas and carrots followed by strawberries and cream. Wine, beer, vodka and aquavit lubricated all of this. One of the local Swedes provided the accompaniment on his cornet and his accordion.






The international gathering of Dutch, British, Swedes, a German and a New Zealander enjoyed itself.

Our plan is to start moving South tomorrow, but at the moment the wind is howling and for tomorrow it is predicted to be quite windy too, so we might be here a bit longer.

Location:Parkvägen,Nävekvarn,Sweden

At home in Nävekvarn

Since yesterday afternoon, we have been in Nävekvarn. This is where Onbekommerd spent the winter. Also, we were here last year for the Midsommar celebrations.
It is the place in Sweden where we feel more and more 'at home'. It's a strange combination of attributes that lies behind this. The Swedes here at the Näve Qvarn Båt Klub (old fashioned spelling) are very welcoming (as are most of the Swedes we have met over our 4 seasons in Sweden). But there is also a significant contingent of 'foreigners ', made up of Hollanders and Brits. As we have feet in both the Dutch and the British 'camps', we get on well with all of them, it's a big happy family. We "mess around with boats", share experiences on and off the water and commiserate with those who have breakdowns (our Dutch neighbours have been waiting for parts to have their engine reconditioned for a few weeks now).
Tomorrow is Midsommar, a big event here in Sweden which we will celebrate, firstly by seeing the 'stång' (Midsummer pole) raised and afterwards with a party, this year organised by the Britis (supported by the Swedes of course). If last year's "Dutch" party is anything to go by, it will be fun!
More about all of that later!

Location:Parkvägen,Nävekvarn,Sweden

Busy busy

One of our regular followers pointed out that there had not been a blogpost for some time, and he is right. We have had quite a busy 'social life' on the boat and that keeps one busy.
After the 'swan lake', we moved to Grinda and then to Vaxholm. Both of these are 'old favourites '. At Vaxholm, Gwilym and Janine left us and we moved on to Tyresö. We were there a few weeks ago as well, and this time my former colleague Arend was in residence there (with his wife Birgitta). Arend came on board:





Arend afterwards took us home for a nice grilled salmon dinner with Birgitta. We also met their 17 month old granddaughter Liv (and Liv's parents, Elena and Jakob).

The next day we retreated to Saltsjöbaden where our niece Philippa and her husband Sean came on board.





They stayed for the night and enjoyed the sunset (behind the Grand Hotel) with us.







The following day (we are now talking yesterday), they came for a 4 hour trip to Nynäshamn with us. The weather was great and we had a smooth trip. They took the train back to Stockholm from there, but only after giving in to the typical Swedish temptation: ice cream!






This morning was quite a bit more windy, so on our trip to Ringsön (a favourite anchorage), we got quite a bit of water over the deck. Nothing unusual, but it had not happened for quite some time and the boat is 'as salty as a herring'. Tomorrow we'll return to Nävekvarn where we will stay for the Midsummer celebrations on Friday. More about that later.

Location:Tystberga,Sweden