The 26 June saw us heading for Stromstad, which was to be our final stop in Sweden ( ( 58:56.2N, 011:10.4E).

 

We started by retracing our steps up the fjord out of Sannas, and then worked our way between islands before getting to some fairly open water and getting the sails up for some great sailing , once again in clear sunny weather. As we approached Stromstad we began to see larger ships and local ferries plying between the variuos islands, and the final approach to marina was fairly tricky, partly because of the number of marinas to choose from, and also some bouyage that required careful interpretation. 

 

It took a while to find a place, but we eventually got a good berth and moored without drama. The arrangements here were quite exciting, with a ' ferry card' included in the marina fee. Not only did this allow us to use the little cable ferry to get across a river into town, but it also meant we coud drive it !! Very tempting to spend all our time going back and forth, but the novelty of pressing a 'go'  button quickly waned.

 

Stromstad is without doubt the most 'full on ' tourist town  yet visited, with midsummer crazy drinking still in full flow. It was all very different from the quiet little places visited so far, but it was interesting to be back in the hustle and bustle....probably been sailing too long !

 

However, our wanderings did result in finding a great fish restaurant by the harbour, and we had   great meal.

 

The next day was spent in Stromstad, as we waited for my daughter, Ali, to join us, so plenty more time to play at driving the ferry, and then watching England get knocked out of the World Cup.....We also found that our berth was in danger of being claimed by a fiercly territorial tern, who certainly showed no fear as we walked past just a few feet away. This was a very windy day, so no bad thing to have an enforced rest day.