After the football debacle we returned abjectedly to the boat to have another drink. Derek cooked his special stir fry on Celtic Warrior, which was very good and made up for the dismal result. We soon cheered up & the football was long forgotten, as it should be!! (Nick kept saying that now he remembered why he didn’t like football).
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| Frankie on the Warnemunde car ferry |
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| Calamares & chips at Backfish stall, Warnemunde |
We were going to a little place called Dasser Ort. Wind on the nose, donk on & radioed CW to see how they were getting on. They were ahead & also resorted to the iron spinnaker. Later had a radio message to say they were in at the pontoon, bows in and little buoys at the stern. Not used that system before so another challenge. We were ready tho’ as had our magic rope in a plastic tube with hook on the end that worked a treat. Made it look as if we had been doing it for years so the locals were impressed!
Managed to find fly screens for the hatches in a long forgotten special place (for such things that one never uses in UK) as the local mossy population were large mean & hungry. We lit our citronella candle & dared them to come in, which they did so resorted to the Raid which sorted everything out. Interestingly Raid is hugely expensive over here E10/12 per can. So any budding entrepreneurs should start shipping in big time as there is definitely a market to go at. We didn’t dine with CW that night as we both had aging food to eat up. We did manage the odd aperitif later & sang happy birthday to Julie for the next day including the musical candle but no cake – sorry!
Dasser Ort to Hollviken
Dasser Ort to Hollviken
Up quite early to pay the harbourmaster for the cheapest marina so far, we know why. Nothing in the way of facilities just lots of midges. Had to fill in a form in German that was completely unintelligible so not sure if I joined the army or not, maybe find out on the way back!!
Left in good time with a favourable wind at last. Put the chute up and made good speed in a steady wind with lots of sunshine. Easy sail, went through the short canal & arrived just in time to miss the bridge opening. 1 hour later we went through into the little marina & found a green tag (means the berth is available to visitors) and moored up in the customary box quite successfully. About ½ hour later the berth owner turned up but because he hadn’t changed his tag he will have to wait until we are gone. The Hafenmeister showed up and we parted with the requisite cash & learned about the area. Evening meal on board, v nice pork fillet & closed the hatches against the gathering cloud of midges. Later watched a couple of episodes of Dads Army in B&W. My birthday present from Trish is the whole series on DVD & it is a real treat as it soon had us smiling.
Next day used the free bicycles first to do food shopping. We were a bit wobbly on the way back laden with very full Sainsbury carrier bags & the bikes only had a front brake the rear being one of the reverse pedal jobs. All gets a bit tricky when you are not used to it & riding on the wrong side of the road. Starting off is not too bad but stopping is a bit of an experience & you have to watch the Crown Jewels!!
Having shopped we set off for the Viking village (reconstruction of same spot only from 1124 AD) which we found a mile or so later. It was quaint to say the least. The residents were in traditional dress sort of suede bootees & woollen shirts & were busy making spears & hooks & yarn etc. around little outdoor fires. The houses were very small & traditional, wattle & daub, big wooden planks, turf on the roof & birch bark as a damp proof course. The spaces in between were just a yard or so about the width of a small footpath. Ladders made of a single tree trunk went up to space in the roof & rough tables & chairs. Didn’t fancy the sleeping arrangements too much & reckon they would have plenty of spiders. Unfortunately in one hut hidden under a cloth was a lager beer pump & bar. Obviously they moved back into the 20th Century once the punters had gone home.
Having done Viking town we set of for Skanor a good 45 mins ride away. The good thing about all of this is that it is flat so you can ride at a steady pace & spit out the midges as you go. We made it to the town, saw the marina & Frankie went off to admire the beach. I just sat down on something smooth & cool & waited. Not sure if it is the saddle shape, being out of practice, having my prostate done or what, but by then the bike was becoming very uncomfortable. Had ice cream to make me feel better, we still had to get back, another 30 min ride through the midges.
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| Viking village |
Hollviken to Ystad
Next morning up to get the 10 am bridge lift & back through the canal. Soon had the kite up (no need for main) & scurried along in a pleasant 8kns of breeze, smooth sea & sunshine. Another glorious day. Arrived in good time around 3.15. Paid our dues & went foraging in the town.
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| Ystad Chandlers |
Managed to buy a Swedish dongle at a sensible price so now should have good access to the net. We had originally been told we could use the phone & our UKVodafone with the new charging tariff sadly this info turned out to be wrong so the Swedish dongle was the best alternative. Having bought the thing we were then completely lost as of course all the instructions were in Swedish. Once we had the local harbourmaster interpret the loading instructions things became much simpler & we have never looked back. We certainly recommend the system to any one. We bought a Comviq for SKr 199 (about £17) & it has really worked well.
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| Ystad Town |
Ystad to Simirishamn
Started in a good breeze with chute up but the wind died & we ended up motoring the rest of the way to Simirshamn. Moored up & went to the town where we stocked up with food for the next few days. Resisted temptation to go to the bar or eat out & spag bol back on board. (very nice it was too!). Next morning we went to the pump out station but couldn’t find the Havenmeister. We did however meet Knute a friendly old chap messing about with his traditional yacht. It turned out he was a retired surgeon & in his words had come back to Simirshamn to die. Not just yet but he wanted to go back to his old friends & roots. He phone the HM who turned up whilst Knute was still on my phone! The HM got the sh*t sucker working & we pumped the tank again, very thoroughly, still no joy. Will have to keep trying.
Simrishamn to Hano
After bidding farewell to Knute who advised us to go to Hano we set off for another glorious day of sun smooth sea, kite up & 7 kns easy sailing. What could be better. This boat if definitely suited to Baltic conditions the smooth sea & lack of swell means that she just creams along. No main as wind abaft the beam so once the kite is set you just enjoy the ride until you want to take it down hours later.
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| Hano harbour |
The island had been used as a base by Nelson during a Baltic campaign and there is a graveyard for some of his sailors. It was at the far end of the island so we didn’t get to see it but it explained the Union flag on his pole & it appears the RN drop in if they are passing & visit the graveyard for a service of remembrance.
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| Hano sunset |
Next morning visited the shower & facilities before going to the little shed/shop for fresh bread. Then stopped at a local fishing boat and FRESH fish. He took 4 flat fish from his keep net cut off heads, tails, gutted & skinned them while we waited all for 20 krona (about £1.80). They went straight in the fridge until the evening meal, done with a tomato sauce a la Frankie & they were delicious.
Hano to Tjaro
Hano was delightful but only as a stopover so we pushed on to the strongly recommended Tjaro pronounced Tee Arr Huu. No kite today just main & headsail which was ample & skittled across from Hano. This was our first taste of approaching a shallow rocky shore with little in the way of buoys at speed & feeling slightly out of control. Furled the Genny to slow down while local boats raced across without worrying. We than dropped the main and gingerly motored through the islands & rocks, eventually getting into a little bay. This was the first time we had seen the Swedish practice of mooring about 3 feet from a rocky shore with bow line on to a ring or stake in the ground. They all seemed quite secure but being British we opted for the sensible approach, dropped the hook, pumped up the dinghy & motored ashore.
The island was quaint & unspoiled. After a short walk we found the holiday village of some 10 multi occupancy wooden lodges painted in the traditional maroon colour, with a small shop to get the obligatory ice cream. We then walked the island, a mixture of trees, pasture & huge smooth flattish rocks. On the other side of the Island, what we thought was to be the windward side we found a solitary English Yacht called Wandering Star. They were too far out for us to contact them, so we hoped their anchor held & they had a comfortable night. Our mooring was great, very sheltered with a lovely view across the sound. Only to be spoilt by a busy ferry boat shuttling to & from a nearby Island about every 20 mins & bouncing us in his wash as he passed. Still he went to bed early & started late so it wasn’t really a problem.
F persuaded me, I don’t know how, that a swim would be a good idea, so we jumped off the back & swam (quickly) around the boat. Very refreshing, I am sure it did me good, I hope so as it seemed B cold! (see pic.).
Tjaro to Dragso (W of Karlskkrona)
Mooring costs have been going down & Tjaro was the cheapest so far at 0, apart from the ice creams. We set off quite late in the morning & soon had the kite up for our crossing to the Karlskrona sound. Another lovely sail in the sun.
Dragso is a small marina/club at the back of Karlskrona. Ka has lots of history & is a main base & training establishment for the Swedish Navy. As we came in they had several small oddly shaped Frigates with peculiar grey camouflage. The designs must have been to make them invisible to radar as all surfaces were angled to distort any echo. The marina was small but the people friendly & they helped us moor up bows to the pontoon and mooring buoy to the stern. Once settled we found 2 bikes & peddled into Ka. This time the equipment was not so good. Gears that slipped, if you had them, no cable brakes & only the back pedal to stop you. That got a bit interesting as we went down the hill into the town but we made it in one piece. We crossed to the Stortagartan, F says means High Street & wondered up through the town. We eventually found our way to the Naval museum just in time for it to close & bought an ice cream (again). Although I am sure it is very interesting (it had several small ships as exhibits e.g. WW2 mine sweeper, MTB, Patrol boat etc) it didn’t appeal to us so we moved on & decided not to spend the next day there. Found supermarket topped up the food & made our way back to the boat. They do have very good cycle lanes here plenty of wobble room and smooth surface to ride on.
Dragso to Ytteron
Late start as we decided to do the laundry while we had the chance. We like the clean showers, free laundry, cheap mooring & lots of sunshine. It was blowing quite hard for the Baltic, or what we have got used to. It seemed more like the Solent in a strong SW breeze. So no main just used the Genny & we were flying. Our destination was a natural harbour (i.e. no facilities but a sheltered bay & the odd rock to tie onto). The channel in was an interesting ride as we passed semi submerged rocks aplenty and as noted earlier it was blowing. We mad in to what we thought was the bay but it seemed too shallow, like 0 on the depth sounder & a lot of grassy weed. Still the hook went down & we seemed ok. After further reference to Pilot book etc we decided this was not the place but that we should be round the corner & be ½ mile away. Up came the hook complete with the makings of a new lawn and a good chunk of mud. Round the corner & into the proper bay which was a) deeper & b) more sheltered from the NW wind. We pumped up the dinghy & went ashore to a smooth rock. It turned out to be a nature reserve so we set off looking for nature! Found ants, that bit my toe, more smooth rocks, & a few trees. Very desolate but after a mile we found a track which led us to the odd holiday chalet. All painted regulation maroon & all very quaint in there own little gardens with the odd swing & trampoline. Didn’t see any people so retraced our steps (without getting too lost) & back on board for tea. Watched the sun go down & turned in as the wind seemed to slacken off.
Ytteron to Eskenas
Not an early start as we tried to catch up on email. Retraced our route in to avoid the rocks & then headed North. Channel v. narrow so careful pilotage as lots of rocks here. Again not Baltic weather as wind 20+ kns & zipping along in the smooth sea.
The channel in Eskenas was straightforward enough & we came into an alongside berth on a little jetty guided by a local man who appeared to have nothing to do with the port itself. Anyway we tied up & started to explore. It is a tiny village, no shop, just a sailing clubhouse with a clean shower & free washing facility. It cost 100kr for the berth & 20 for the electricity so not expensive.
The town looked pretty enough from the Pilot book & it was very nest but no life & the sole activity appeared to be a rather old boatyard with a few boats & an old crane. We had a paddle because the water was really cold & I refused to go in beyond my knees. F went for a long walk to enjoy the view but didn’t find anything exciting either.
Eskenas to Borgholm
F wanted to try & see the Harbour seals that were reported to be nearby in a nature reserve. Baltic rig i.e. kite up no main, and we were slipping along in a steady breeze.
Having found no sign of seals we then realised we were amongst the rocks & shallows with kite up, lots of speed & not much manoeuvrability. It got a bit exciting when the depth alarm started going & we were down to ½ meter under the keel. Well with great skill & daring we made it back to the channel heading North past Kalmar & under the Oland bridge. The breeze held & we carried the kite all the way to Borgholm. We were guided into the inner harbour where we picked up a stern buoy using our magic plastic pipe with hook on a rope. It makes the whole operation simple & we are starting to look quite professional. Borgholm is a holiday town with lots of boutique shops, bars & restaurants. We had to do some supply shopping so strode about ½ mile from the main street to the supermarket. Got bags of fresh provisions & chatted to the check out lady who spoke very good English. Turned out her mother came from Bristol but we have found that most Swedes can speak at least enough to get us out of trouble.
We staggered back laden, not even time to stop for cold beer & got back to find we had a new neighbour. Unfortunately in mooring up he had managed to clip my ensign staff which now lay broken in the cockpit. Neither of us were too chuffed as they say. The man was very apologetic & offered to pay for a new one, but then he suggested I could cut down the old one & he gave me his spare one which also didn’t fit, To cut a long story short I now have a spare staff, the wrong size & I have mended my old one which is now 3 inches shorter.
That night we decided to go mad & eat out. The first restaurant seemed to be self service & we couldn’t quite work it out so we moved on & found somewhere to eat outside. Most people were on a budget & had baked potato but we had chicken & WINE. Only ½ ltr mind you & F resorted to drinking the water which is unheard of. Needless to say we nipped back to the boat for a night cap before turning in.
Borgholm to Monsteras
(pronounced Muunsteross later known as Monsterous ‘cos of mossies)
Before leaving we paid a visit to Systembolaget (sism bolar get) to buy beer &wine to keep the crew happy. Good job they accept credit cards as we got carried away sampling their different brands.
Set off across the sound to the mainland, Baltic rig, sunshine, tee shirt & shorts or knickers only, steady breeze, loverly!
Monsteras has 3 marinas. The first we didn’t fancy from the Pilot book, The second we went into but found we couldn’t fit so came out again & the third was in the middle of town. Not that you would know it as sleepy was its middle name. We arrived selected our spot, stern mooring buoy, bow to the sea wall. Came in perfectly being assisted by a German gentleman who had arrived before us. Using the magic pipe & rope I expertly hooked the mooring buoy only to find the buoy was not attached to anything & just trailed in behind me. This caused some concern & totally screwed up my perfect landing until I realised what was going on. I therefore hooked on to my neighbours buoy somewhat to his dismay until he also realised the problem. Tangles sorted out we then settled in for the evening. The town was about the sleepiest so far. We walked in the shade as the hot sun was baking & there was no air stirring. We bought an ice cream which we ate inside the Supermarket because it was air conditioned. Returning to the boat we discovered that our neighbours on the other side were a couple from Sweden & USA. Nancy & Anders. He was very genial & she enjoyed a good natter. Before long we had heard the entire family history & shared a bottle of their Moselle wine, which they go & collect each year from a little vineyard. It is worthwhile as the price & quality were excellent. Unfortunately F got eaten that night as the mossies came in & did their worst.
MAP for chapter 3
MAP for chapter 3
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