Date: 05-08-07     Time: 19:10 UTC      Position: 58:27.84N  011:17.30E   Name: Near Hunnebostrand, Sweden 

Vi endrer planene våre hver dag! Først skulle vi til Sverige, så tok vinden oss til Frederikshavn og vi skulle direkte derifra over derifra til Norge, men så ble det fristende å dele turen opp for å unngå en nattseilas - og vips, vi er i Sverige! Vi har hatt den varmeste dagen siden vi forlot Bermuda i dag - sol fra blå himmel og med vinden i ryggen har vi kunnet gå uten nevnverdig tøy på oss hele dagen.

 

Som jeg skrev da vi kom til Danmark, var det danske gjesteflagg sannsynligvis det siste gjesteflagget vi ville ha bruk for - men nå er det definitivt slutt med bytting av gjesteflagg - det blir bare å ta ned det svenske flagget når vi forlater landet. Se dagens bilde.

 

Turen over Kattegat byr på en del kryssende traffik som man skal passe seg litt for. Kryssende seilbåter forekommer også, og vi fikk nærkontakt med en norsk båt som heter "North Wind". Vi seilte på styrbord halser, han på babord (dvs. han måtte vike for oss). I tillegg seilte vi med spridde seil slik at vår evne til å foreta kursendringer er betydelig redusert. Ekteparet var på dekk, begge opptatt med å lese hver sin bok. Den ene hadde ryggen til oss og den andre var skjult bak kalesjen. De enset ikke at vi var der før vi krysset foran dem med en båtlengdes klaring - men da spratt dem opp av plassen sin! Jeg hadde heldigvis rimelig kontroll over situasjonen og så at vi vill unngå sammenstøt uten å foreta noen kursendring fra vår side. Hadde dette vært i vanlig biltraffik hadde han mistet lappen for uaktsom kjøring. Resten av turen gikk uten dramatikk og vi kom til svenskekysten tidlig på kvelden, seilte opp mellom holmer og skjær forbi Smøgen og gjennom Soten-kanalen og fant oss en fin plass å ankre opp for natten. Her er vi i kjent terreng - vi har seilt mye på svenskekysten før.

 

We seem to change our plans every day! Originally we intended to go to Sweden, but the wind was wrong so we went to north Denmark instead, from where we would cross directly to South Norway. However that would involve an overnight sail and we changed our minds again this morning and went for a split crossing - going via the beautiful Swedish coast. Today was the warmest day we have experienced since leaving Bermuda - clear skies and with the breeze from behind us we could comfortably sun ourselves all day without the burden of the usual layers of clothes.

 

I wrote when entering Denmark from Germany that we had probably changed courtesy ensigns for the last time - but today it was definitely the last time - see today's picture. Now we will just take the Swedish one down when we enter Norwegian waters.

 

The sail over the Kattegat involves crossing the shipping lanes - so one has to keep a sharp look out. A number of sail boats were also about today and we got rather too close for comfort with a Norwegian boat called "North Wind". We were sailing on starboard, she was on port (ie. we have the right of way), as we also had poled out the genoa our ability to change course is rather limited. The couple on deck were clearly engrossed in their books - her with her back to us, him hidden from our view by their spray hood. We passed in front of them with a boat's length clearing - I had reasonable controll that we would go clear unlike the other boat who had not seen us at all. They seemd rather startled when we suddenly appeared on their port bow. I hope they learned a lesson from this to keep a good look out at all times in the future. If this incident had been on the roads and observed by a policeman, the other skipper would have lost his drivers license for driving without due care and attention. The rest of the sail went without incident and we arrived at the Swedish coast in the early evening, sailed between the islands and skerries, then through the Soten-Canal and found ourselves a quiet spot to anchor for the night. Suddenly we are back in known territory - we have been sailing on the Swedish coast several times before.