A foggy morning
Our position is 59:24.051N 18:21.048E Distance covered 16.7Nm We got up early hoping to get to Vaxholm ahead of some forecast rain and wind. However we awoke to thick fog so decided to wait and see if it would clear, as there was some tricky pilotage between the islands planned. Over the next couple of hours it came up and down, but then other boats started leaving so we decided to risk it. Ted went ashore to free the warps from the smaller trees and we relied on being able to pull back the one round the biggest tree, which went smoothly. Then backwards until the anchor was beneath us and we were able to winch it up on one of the sheet winches. It came up smoothly, but covered in thick, gooey, mud as usual, and after some work with bucket and brush, we were away, feeling our way back down the entrance channel. Visibility was about a tenth of a mile to start off with, but did increase to around half a mile before too long. By the time we reached the entrance to Baggensstaket it was clear. This was just as well as this is a narrow passage, fortunately buoyed and of sufficient depth now, but in the past frequently blocked with rocks to prevent enemy ships reaching Stockholm. Baggensstaket leads into Skurusundet, a fissure valley between two islands and spanned by the Skuru bridge, inaugurated in 1915 and, at the time, the longest concrete bridge in Sweden and considered unique in the world.
Not far after leaving Skurusundet was our destination, Vaxholm, and we managed to get to the marina before the promised bad weather. The island has a very large amount of ferry traffic so getting into the quite cramped harbour required vigilance with the many ferries coming and going, but once tied up it was reasonably peaceful. After lunch we had time to go ashore for a look round. Tomorrow we are planning to have a domestic day, cleaning and tidying before Guy, Kelly, Elsie and Bessie join us on Wednesday.
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