Stockholm Archipeligo

Astra of Hamble
Jan & Danuta Grieg-Gran
Mon 9 Jul 2012 09:58
59:17.31N 18:55.17E

Sat. Off into the archipeligo, through a narrow and shallow channel (Stockholm's back door). Lots of boat traffic, but luckily no big ferries.  Mixture of sun and cloud. Explored around several islands and channels looking for a "wild nature" berth and eventually found a lovely spot on Barn Holmen about 20 miles south east of Stockholm. Moored Swedish style with a stern anchor and bows to the rocks.  Water temp was 16.5 celcius and the water was still and clear, so Jan and Lucy had a quick (very quick) dip. Lovely once you are out!  Finished with a BBQ on back deck.

Sun. Woke to thick mist, which came and went all day.  Motored slowly using radar, AIS, chartplotter and lookouts all round.  Biggest risk was the ferries and taxi boats, which were still charging around at 20 knots. Luckily they all showed up on the AIS, so we were able to move well out of their way before they loomed up out of the mist.  At one point, when the mist was at its thickest, we were hailed by a small speedboat with five young lads heading for Sandhamn, the Party Capital. Their chart plotter was broken, but they had a compass of sorts. We took one of them on board to see the chart plotter and gave them a rough compass course to steer. They had three miles to go, but through a mass of rocks and islands.  We found a lovely little store on Namdo Island with a pontoon for customers, then as there was no sign of the mist lifting we headed slowly for the delights of Sandhamn, where the marina was jam packed, but we luckily found a good berth. We also saw the Swedish lads, so they did make it safely.  Nice walk around the island to get some exercise, followed by Full English fry up on board. Cannot beat it when you are hungry!

Mon. Bright sunshine and hot, wind has swung round to the west. Visit to the island baker and then off to find another "wild nature" anchorage.

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