Photos do keep my memory alive and the collage above shall represent some of the excellent time spent together over the last two month.
Thanks for your great accompany and support to sail the lady home passing very interesting land and waters! And some impressive & inspiring Public Houses like the one in Oban. Any time again.
See you out on the ocean!
Fair winds…
Since weather was mixed and more on the wet side, sailing between our stops was not a major highlight. But one aspect of sailing came back into the game – tides. They do not play a role on Azores, Canaries, Cape Verde or the Caribbean, but need to be considered on the British Isles. Especially north of Ireland they need to be taken into account for the plan. So, our departure from Belfast with destination Tobermory in Scotland was at 3:00 AM, but this helped us to have a fast ride with currents mostly from the back.
After a few days in Inverness we took the first feasible wind opportunity to cross the North Sea towards Denmark. It was not perfect, but more sailing than motoring. North Sea was very busy with many fishers, cargo ships and oil rigs, so night watches did not get boring. After 3,5 days we arrived safely in Skagen where we enjoyed the Danish coziness and nice tours, but not the pub scene with beer prices of more than 11 €.
After a few days we had a perfect wind to cross the Kattegat towards West Sweden. It was a fast ride with strong winds from the back. At lunch we arrived in a completely different world with many small granite islands and even cozier small villages compared to the sandy dunes landscape in Skagen.
We arrived in time for the Orust Sailboat Show, Scandinavia’s largest sailboat exhibition. It all started 30 years ago and since then it is hosted at the Hallberg Rassy Yard. It also allows access to its boat fabrication facilities.
We got a first impression today. The event is a ten minutes walk from our berth in the Ellös Gästhamn.
Fair winds…
We have been strolling around a bit today in Gullholmen downtown and did not only visit the one and only “Stenstugan” on the island but also the small Heritage Museum, where some of our questions found answers while new ones came up. We are planning to pay a second visit to Gullholmsgården tomorrow to address some further interesting questions.
I am glad we have some more time to explore although it might not be enough.
Fair winds…
We are making progress! There are around 8000 skerries within the archipelago at the west coast of Sweden stretching from Gothenburg towards the border of Norway. After less than 5nm, we have now moored at #2 – Gullholmen. Plenty more to explore…
Fair winds…
This little island is special and after walking across, we are left behind with spinning heads and a million of questions unanswered. One thing is clear, each question needs to be put into a time frame to bring it at least into some kind of structure. Even then, too many answers remain outstanding and our time here is coming to an end. Very intensive and interesting encounter indeed, but actually not enough time to absorb.
In any case, a great stop on our way to the Open Yard in Ellös.
Good night!
Fair winds…
The wind has dropped a bit for the night, now down to 20kn only. We had our dinner, Jan prepared a delicious cauliflower curry, my duty was clearing the pantry afterwards. Our agreed division of work for quite some weeks by now. Tomorrow it will be the other way round.
The sun has settled in for the day. Mooring buoys are left unused as shown on the photo above, no lines attached. There are plenty of those, needed for peak season. The marina will probably take hundred and fifty to two hundred boats on busy peak season summer days. We are seven boats tonight, including ourselves. All moored alongside, why to bother with mooring lines.
It is late in the season but not deserted. Less than one hundred people still live on this island. Its name shall be derived from the Gaelic word cairn, meaning pile of stones, which perfectly describes the landscape we are in.
It is a nice coincidence, that coming from Scotland it brings us to this particular island in Sweden.
Good night!
Fair winds…
After a good ride in winds gusting far beyond 30kn and a lovely white capped sea, we arrived on our first skerry island called Käringön. Quite different to Skagen!
Happy to explore a bit further tomorrow.
Fair winds…