Two impressive numbers and a special experience.

The boat.
Well, the boat was there and non-negotiable. The damage to the keel (from the last attempt to sail the Bottnian Bay) has been repaired, and we tested the stability of the repair last year in the Baltic Sea off Großenbrode.
The solar panels and the diesel heater provide sufficient electrical power and warmth on the cold days (there were quite a few of those in the first weeks). For one to two people, the boat is ideal for such a journey.
Whether it works well to live together for such a time on the boat would certainly be exciting to try.

The navigation.
Basically, I am a fan of paper nautical charts. And I must admit that I often missed them painfully. However, if you buy the paper nautical charts for the entire Bottnian Bay, it costs nearly 3500,-- €. Aside from that, it also creates quite a large amount of paper that needs to be accommodated on board. The electronic version includes the entire Baltic Sea including Norway for about 260 €. An absolute price advantage. The navigation is also quite comfortable in principle.
However, details are often only displayed at the highest resolution. Recognizing a harbor, the height of a bridge, or power lines is significantly more challenging than with a paper nautical chart.
Admittedly, navigating on paper while simultaneously steering the ship, handling the sails, and keeping an eye on the surroundings becomes nearly impossible in the narrow archipelagos.
From a reliability perspective, the paper nautical chart is unbeatable. Electronics can fail in many ways; no power, cable problems, no GPS signal, software bugs, device malfunctions, etc. Nevertheless, I relied on the electronic nautical chart, and aside from the issues mentioned, I managed very well with it; it didn't fail either.

Me
Essentially, I have no problem being on my own. The challenge of being this way for such a long time intrigued me. Now I know I can stand being alone(!), in a foreign country, not knowing the language and only being able to speak a few broken English phrases.
If both sides want it, good communication is always possible!

But it would be a lie if I said I didn't miss my family and friends.
Therefore, a heartfelt THANK YOU to my girls! Thank you for supporting me in this project and for sacrificing so much time away from me!

Would I do a similar tour again?
Yes, I think I would like to do it again.
But perhaps in a different arrangement.
Not alone the whole time, but having a companion for some parts of the trip. I would very much like to have my wife or one of my daughters with me. Unfortunately, it is too cramped on Schröder for all of us.
Let's see what happens.

So, that's it!
This blog ends here.

In a few hours, my girls are coming, and we will spend 2 weeks with our friends in a vacation home in the Stockholm archipelago, with a dock for Schröder.

I am looking forward to it!

At 11:10 AM, the bridge opens, and we want to be out of the harbor before the big bustle begins and everyone departs.
To our surprise, the bridge opens up already. The reason quickly becomes clear, a sightseeing boat is approaching and gets its own bridge opening.
We take the opportunity and slip through as well.

Since the wind is very weak, we are motoring through the narrow shipping channels towards Stockholm. By around 6:00 PM, we reach the Hammarby lock and pay the Mälaren fee of 339.00 Krona.
After the lock, we go through the Stockholm canals back into the archipelago and towards our starting harbor Bosön, where we dock around 8:45 PM after approximately 45 nautical miles.

After leaving our anchorage, we wind our way through the islands heading west to sail south towards Strangnäs in the afternoon, west of Rumsö.

As expected, we just missed the bridge opening in front of Strangnäs at 15:10 and have to wait until 17:10.
Fortunately, we can tie up at an old pier during the wait and don't have to drift in the rain for 2 hours before the bridge.

After passing the bridge at 17:10, we enter the guest harbor of Strangnäs and tie up there around 17:40 after 34 nautical miles.

There is quite a lot to think about. Has it always been like this? I can't remember ever getting wool underwear, changing a mobile battery, arranging an international driving license, ordering new shock-absorbing soles for my Blundstones, or asking questions about my medications before. This is also the first time I am 46.5 years old on a trip, perhaps that’s part of it. Responsible now, mature, fully aware.

For a long time, I have blamed the journey when I have shopped: Well, I MUST actually have linen clothes, a leather waist bag, a flying tent, and emerald green mascara. But in the recent months, I have also been quite ascetic, not buying a single thing for 10 days and such. This month, the project 'live on 1000 SEK for 30 days' has gone down the drain, mostly because it’s July and people want to drink beer (by people, I mean me). It has been very easy not to buy food anyway, unless you count cheese puffs as food, because I’ve bought those a few times.

I’m leaving in six weeks, I don’t know where to start, it depends on where I can volunteer. There’s something about browsing through the various WorkAway hosts! Someone has built a hobbit house where you’re supposed to be with their dogs, someone has a walnut farm, but you can also attend weddings, there are beekeepers, animal shelters, ecological projects, cooking groups, yogis, and mountain dwellers. 

Today, we could finally head out to Mälaren.
With moderate winds, we sail into the center of Stockholm. Here, the connection to Mälaren branches off. Through the Hammarby lock, with a height difference of approximately 70cm, we reach Mälaren and sail north in light winds.

At around 5:15 PM, we anchor in the sheltered Viksund after covering about 30 nautical miles.

After having our coffee and packing our motorcycles in the morning, we started our journey, but after a few kilometers, it began to rain.

We put on our rain gear and continued. However, it wasn't just rain; it started to storm heavily, so we first sought shelter at a gas station (photo). You can't see it in the photo, but a real stream flowed through the gas station.

When the rain eased up a bit, we headed towards Gothenburg. After a few kilometers of some sun and blue skies, it started pouring again. Despite our rain gear, we were completely soaked, and Buddy was swimming in his shelter.

At the next gas station, after a cup of coffee, we decided to look for accommodation. We found one 10 kilometers later at the Boutique Hotel Evika.

Travel time 51 days
Port days 8 days
Total sailing time 317 hrs 45 mins
Total distance 1375.8 nautical miles
Average speed 4.33 knots
Engine hours 221 hrs.
Fuel consumption 205 liters

Currently, we are weathering the bad weather in our starting port Bosön near Stockholm. By Monday, the weather will improve and we will start the encore.

5 days on Lake Mälaren, the 3rd largest lake in Sweden (1090 km²). It is located west of Stockholm and borders directly on the city. 

After a relaxed breakfast, we set off for Bosön around 10:45 AM. This is where we started 7 weeks ago.

The wind is very light, so we are under engine power. Later, the wind picks up a bit, allowing us to add the genoa.

We reach Vaxholm around 5:30 PM. There's always something happening here in the summer. Plenty of sailing and motorboats, jet skis, 2 car ferries, numerous passenger ferries, all at the same time.

From here, it's still 5 nautical miles to our home harbor.

We dock at the guest bridge around 6:30 PM after approximately 8 hours and 38 nautical miles.

It is supposed to rain and storm for the next 3 days. After that, we have another 4 days during which we can sail back into the archipelago.

To avoid this problem, we will loosen the lines around 08:00, stop at the gas station, and then head back to Sweden.

There is no wind today. The sea is like a mirror. Thus, we will cover the entire distance under motor and drop our anchor around 17:15 in the shelter of Granhamn island.

Tomorrow we will return to our home port Bosön to ride out the storm and rain there. Afterwards, we will continue to explore the Stockholm archipelago for the coming week.

Good morning from the North.

The sun has been shining since 4:00 AM, well, actually it hasn't even gotten really dark. We haven't even crossed the Arctic Circle yet.

After our overnight stay at the shelter, we first headed to the gas station in the morning. Fuel for the Hondas, coffee for us.

After that, we took the Inlandsvägen towards Dorotea, our destination for today. The Inlandsvägen or E45 stretches hundreds of kilometers through the country, bordered by forests and lakes. The abundance of nature is incredible. It reminds me of Captain Kirk and his Enterprise with log entries: 'Stardate 2026, the infinite reaches....'

We reached Dorotea in wonderful weather and continued a bit further to our campsite.

After breakfast, our tour today went to Filipstad. Bikes loaded up, and it started to rain. Until around 2:00 PM, it was just a ride in the rain. We took a short break by Vätern Lake. The lake is 135 km long and 31 km wide. Upon arriving in Filipstad, Ricarda drove as if she had been here before. Blinked left, blinked right, and drove through the town like a local. 30 km later, she stopped and asked me if we were going the right way 😂😂

Since we had already passed Filipstad, we continued directly to Mora, where we looked for accommodations. Of course, it started to 🌧️ again.

After another excellent breakfast, we left for our ferry to Denmark at 08:30.

Despite the inclement weather with rain showers and changing winds, we manage to sail the whole way.

Around 6:40 PM, the anchor drops south of Haparanda near Stoa Hamnskär Island, just 1.5 nautical miles from Finland.
Thus, this is our last night for now in Swedish waters.

On the port side, industrial and port facilities align, while on the starboard side, forests and summer houses are lined up.

At the end of the fairway, we turn the bow north and dive back into the Luleå archipelago.

At 7:03 PM, the moment arrived. At the position 65°46.595' N, 022° 44.526' E, we reach the northernmost point of this journey.

The northernmost point of the Baltic Sea is still about 8 nautical miles away in the Törefjord. We will skip that this time; it is a sought-after destination for many sailors.
However, we had the pleasure of high-fiving the large yellow buoy that marks it during our last trip here on June 21, 2022, at 7:25 PM.

Not far from our northernmost position, we reach our anchor spot for Midsommarnatt around 7:30 PM.

Every year on June 21, the 'MidsummerSail' regatta starts in Wismar, running from the southernmost to the northernmost point of the Baltic Sea. The distance is approximately 900 nautical miles (1667 km).

With light to moderate winds, we sail under motor and sail in a zigzag through the archipelagos of Piteå and Luleå.

After approximately 9.5 hours and 43.6 nautical miles, we arrive at the guest harbor of Luleå around 19:00.

After the bike ride, we leave the port and set sail immediately after exiting the harbor, heading north. Gradually, the wind dies down, and we again have the pleasure of continuing our journey under engine in calm conditions with old swells.

Around 7:30 PM, we enter a winding bay near Kinnbäck and look for an anchor spot.

After departing, we will stay close to shore to avoid the strong swell and will motor northward; our daily goal is Skellefteåhamn. At the point of the Grundskatan peninsula, we want to change course and sail the rest of the way.

Unfortunately, the weather is putting a damper on our plans. Just before reaching the turning mark, the wind completely dies down, and we have to motor the rest of the way to Skellefteåhamn in absolute calm and old swell.

Immediately after leaving the bay, we set sail and tack against the fresh north wind in the drizzle. Unfortunately, it proves once again that the weather does not adhere to the forecast. Instead of calming down, the wind increases.

After 7 hours, we reach the port of Kallviken after 31 nautical miles. This is 'only' 15 nautical miles north of Sikeå.

This confirms an old sailing saying:
Tacking is double the distance and triple the trouble.

The weather report promises us dry days and we can finally explore the Skoleskogens National Park and the rock crevice 'Slåttdalsskrevan'. Now that we’ve reached the northern half of Sweden, there are altitude meters to climb again! The national park lives up to its promise, and after a beautiful forest landscape, there is a continuous ascent over logs and stones. We enjoy the simultaneous challenge for both our minds and bodies, alternating between the red and blue paths, just as Komoot suggests. After the ascent, I consider turning back due to pain in my lower abdomen, but the constantly changing nature drives me on, and the hardest part is behind us. I definitely don't want to miss this! We leave the families with small children behind and reach a plateau (the Slåttsdalsberget). Upon arriving at the top, Henry enjoys the vastness he has been looking forward to and I appreciate that the path leads over stone. (Turns out it's specifically red granite, but any stone would have sufficed for me.) We can already see the promised rock crevice below us at the edge, but I can't figure out how we’ll get to the other side. Henry navigates us to a steep slope where one can descend by climbing halfway - it’s amazing! At the viewpoint to the gorge, we meet the family from below again. At this point, we can't enter the gorge due to the risk of rockfall, but our hike is far from over.

A lonely bench with a fantastic view invites us to rest, and we replenish ourselves with some sandwiches. An elderly couple joins us and tells us that a lake awaits us on the further path. Although the way is challenging at times, the gentleman says he managed it himself and is actually disabled. These words will stay in my ears for the entire journey.

On the further path, we initially find a small detour leading to the other end of the gorge. A large boulder is wedged between the rock walls, and inspired by the Egyptian tourist guides at the pyramids, we make silly photo illusions with it. The rock crevice is genuinely impressive, but to be honest, I still don’t understand how it was formed. I only know that the Högakusten continues to grow, and at 6mm per year, that’s quite fast. To live in a place where you can clearly see changes, and where fishing huts no longer stand at the edge of the water where they were built after just one generation, is rare, fascinating, and not really comprehensible to me.

Eventually, we also pass the promised lake, which actually invites swimming... It doesn’t feel like we’ve been walking here for almost two hours at the shore with the obligatory red house. We wisely decide against going into the lake, but agree to come back tomorrow.

Surrounding us, the environment is constantly transforming. From barren rocky ground to beaches and finally into a dense, wet forest where the paths are harder to access. As we will find out later, the blue-marked route is for advanced hikers, which is why it’s not as well maintained. We always find a creative detour, as turning back is not an option, and are rewarded with little coves along the way.

Unusually, one can spend the night in the parking lots of the national park. Since we’re planning another trip to the lake the next day, we want to camp strategically at the northern entrance. We had just left the southern entrance when a middle-aged couple waves at us frantically from the roadside. They started in the west, somehow got off their route and now need to walk about 2 hours along the road back to their car. Good thing we have a free backseat. We’re very happy to help, and the west entrance is logically right along our way. You can see the relief on their faces after their hike that they don't have to walk for more hours. We strike up a conversation and learn that they are from Switzerland and are traveling from north to south, just like us, but are already on their way back. They drove here and then booked Airbnbs spontaneously - just in case, they also had a tent with them, which they never had to use. They appreciate the vastness of Sweden and wanted to see a different nature than what’s right outside their door. A pleasant encounter :)

The parking lot is pleasantly quiet, allowing us to sleep well, and the next morning we head straight into the park after breakfast. We extend the loop to the lake with detours to a cave and an island. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t great; it’s cloudy and cool. We don’t make it to the lake. However, on the way back, we spot a familiar face; it’s 'Andreas'. Since there’s only one road north, it’s not really surprising to run into each other again. During our further journey, we don't run into Andreas again, but we do recognize some vans.

After our hiking days, we desperately need a shower, so we look for a campsite and end up in Rödviken at a family-friendly place.

Unfortunately, while there are plenty of sheltered anchorages in this section of the journey, suitable harbors are in short supply.

The choice falls on the harbor of Sikeå, which is only about 25 nautical miles away.
There are no supply options here, but there is a washroom and clean toilets.

We weigh anchor around 09:00 and set off with light following winds and sunshine.

We reach the harbor around 15:00 and dock at the guest pier.

At around 7:20 PM, we reached Holmön and were able to anchor here well protected.

The obligatory look at the weather report then surprised me greatly.
Suddenly, the expected light to moderate winds from the south for the coming days were exchanged for a strong storm from the north.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we will have no choice but to find a sheltered harbor where we can ride out the storm on Sunday and possibly Monday.

It's quite remarkable how quickly forecasts can change in this part of the Baltic Sea.

06/13 (Museum Mannamine near Nordingrå)

We are still at the parking lot of the recreational area and discover a climbing park. I am torn between climbing among the trees and my original plan to continue driving and stop at a quirky museum (?). While I ponder, Henry decorates the van and makes breakfast. We don't have to make the decision ourselves, as the next available slot at the climbing park is in 2 hours. I am too impatient for that, and I also want to keep going. So we drive over the Högakusten Bridge and have another coffee at the viewpoint. I am still struggling with my decision; somehow, celebrating birthdays becomes more difficult as an adult, especially while on vacation...

After the viewpoint, I drive the remaining distance, which takes us along a long gravel road through Bullerbü. Individual small colorful houses stand on even more colorful wide meadows full of wildflowers. It doesn't matter that we can only go about 30 km/h. In the middle of nowhere, the houses of the museum appear, and we can park right in front of it.

I still don't understand the concept of the museum even after the visit; there are simply a vast number of old and less old rarities displayed somewhat thematically together in one place. There is little additional information, but we have a fantastic conversation by showing each other the individual exhibits.

The following topics are covered:

• Transport: ships, trains, vintage cars including Trabants and tanks, as well as a separately displayed Draken J-35 fighter jet.
• Agriculture with all sorts of old tools gathered in an old barn (Nightmare fuel)
• Everything that types: typewriters, keyboards, and calculators
• A house in the sign of the accordion, shaped like a ship and including 3D wood carvings from Marburg (??)
• The 'Norway House' that only deals with fishing and the fight against the Nazis
• A chapel - I wonder if it is used?
• A 'China Pavilion' built in Swedish wooden architecture
• A house filled with a large DIY globe that is constantly rotated by a bicycle tire

We each buy a Swedish ice cream to celebrate the day. The goal is to try something that is not available at home. I choose a Pippi Longstocking ice cream that tastes quite similar to cactus ice cream. And Henry opts for a large soft serve ice cream covered in chocolate. To finish, we want to visit the coffee roastery, but it is closed, just like the in-house hotel. Overall, I get the impression that financially things are not going well... All the more I am glad that we could still experience this absurd attraction.

We also stop by the local supermarket so I can have a small feast cooked – Halloumi burgers :)
Luckily, Halloumi seems to be very popular and therefore inexpensive here. There is even a local version - 'Norrloumi' that tastes good too. For birthday cake, we go with the very cliché option of cinnamon rolls.
Fortunately, we find a parking spot nearby with a panoramic view over the lake. To conclude the day, we are treated to a breathtaking sunset that just doesn't want to end.

(11.06.) The wind has eased, and we can continue our journey in light wind and sunshine.

The destination remains Holmsund, where we can replenish our fuel, food, and water supplies.

The weather is shifting for the worse again. Tonight and tomorrow morning, it is expected to rain heavily.

(10.06.) The weather report from yesterday evening forecasted for today: Rain until 11:00 AM, then winds from the south at 2-3, gusts at 4.
The weather report this morning states: Rain until 11:00 AM, then winds from the south at 4-5 increasing to 6, gusts at 7-8 (storm strength).

Thus, the plans for today are thrown out the window. With the wind, we cannot sail to Holmsund as planned.
As the wind comes from the open sea, it also brings decent waves, which is too dangerous for us.

Therefore, we need a harbor that is well protected from the south wind and can be reached as soon as possible. The choice falls on Norrbyskär, approximately 12 nautical miles away.

Unfortunately, the option to wait out this day in the bay of Järnäsklubb is not available, as this bay does not provide protection from wind and waves coming from the south.

Hence, we weigh anchor before the rain ends and leave the bay of Järnasklubb. Shortly after leaving the bay, the rain eases and the wind picks up. We only set half of the roller genoa and proceed at an average speed of 5 knots (nautical miles per hour) with a following wind towards Norrbyskär.

After about 3 hours, we reach the guest harbor and dock with the assistance of a Swedish sailor.

The island of Norrbyskär housed the largest sawmill in Europe during the 1920s. A museum tells the story, but unfortunately, it will not open until June 13. For more information about the sawmill, follow this link.

Even out on the open water, there is only a very light wind coming from the north, so we spend the entire day under motor.

In the evening, we enter Järnäsklubb bay and drop anchor.

With no wind and plenty of sunshine, we head back out of the bay. Outside, we find only slightly more wind, so we continue north under engine power. Our destination is the Skuleskogen National Park.

We visited this park on our last trip and were thrilled by the breathtaking nature. However, since the park is officially accessible by public transport only from midsummer (06.21), we want to head to a dock within the park.

Upon arrival at the national park, we discover that the mentioned dock is not available. Either it is also set up only from the season's start, or it has been permanently dismantled.

We continue to Köpmanholmen, where we moor at a guest dock of a restaurant.

Currently, there is also no bus connection to the national park, so the hike in Skuleskogen National Park unfortunately has to be canceled.

When the rain radar announces a longer pause in the rain around 1:00 PM, we release the lines and leave Härnösand. A fresh following wind drives us - only under Genoa - quickly north.

Unfortunately, the announced rain pause is noticeably shorter than expected, so we still get properly wet.

Around 6:00 PM, we reach a sheltered anchorage and look forward to sunshine tomorrow.

At 5:30 AM, the alarm goes off, and I struggle out of the bunk. After completing all necessary preparations, we untie the ropes at 6:15 AM.

With a completely calm sea and fog, we head out of the bay. Outside, the wind gradually increases, allowing us to set the sails. Unfortunately, the wind is coming from the worst direction possible. It comes directly from where we want to go.

After initially tacking against the light wind, we abandon the attempt and push through the choppy waves with the engine, heading straight for Härnösand.

The weather was unfortunately quicker than us, as the rain started again long before we reached the harbor.

After 9 hours and approximately 40 nautical miles, we arrive at Härnösand, drenched.
Heating on and preparing food.