Thurs 22nd - Sun 25th August - Gällnö, Osterskär, Säck

Thurs 22^nd – We set off from Sandhamn and followed quite a big ship through narrow channels between the islands …

We had a fine sail through some of the 30,000 islands which make up the Stockholm archipelago – the inner ones are mostly forested …

We passed this square-rigger in full sail …

… and carefully found our way in behind these small islands …

… to anchor in a quiet bay called Hemfladen off the island of Gällnö, near a small settlement of typical Swedish summer houses …

Later the moon rose to one side of us …

… while the sun was still setting on the other …

Fri 23^rd – the following day, we meandered through the islands to Osterskär on Tuna Fjärden fjord …

We ‘parked’ our boat on our friends’, Sue and Ulf’s, jetty …

… at the bottom of their garden …

… and all enjoyed a drink on board …

… before going up to their house for dinner …

Sat 24^th – We sailed off through a fleet of racing boats …

… past a large ferry …

… and these traditional wooden sailing craft  …

… to a beautiful little bay on the island of Säck …

… where we dropped the stern anchor and tied up to 3 trees …

We went for a walk around the island …

… and unexpectedly found a volleyball court marked out on a very large flat rock in the middle of the island!

Sun 25^th – It was such a beautiful spot, perfect for swimming, sunbathing, reading – and the weather was absolutely glorious too …

We had visitors who arrived by boat …

Sue, Ulf and their friends Lea and Carl-Erik came for lunch – a most convivial and relaxing afternoon with a lot of fun and laughter …

At the end of the day, the reflections were amazing …

 … and the sun cast a golden hue over the bay …

Tues 20th - Thurs 22nd August - Sandhamn

We had a pleasant sail through the islands to the famous resort of Sandhamn on the island of Sandön (Sand Island).  It has been a sailing centre since the 19^th century and is the Swedish equivalent of Cowes.  The approach is through the narrow channel on the left between the sheer rock and the red stick buoy …

We arrived in the late afternoon and easily found a berth in the marina as it’s now the low season here …

We then had a chance meeting on the pontoon with Anne, Brian, Adrian and Maeve and discovered a mutual acquaintance (PB from the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire).  This led to a few bottles being consumed and great fun swapping Irish stories!

This was the sunset over The Royal Swedish Yacht Club …

The next day was absolutely perfect weather – this is the Royal Swedish Yacht Club by day …

I went for a lovely early morning swim, then sunbathed on these rocks …

The heather seems to grow quite profusely, apparently rooted in nothing but rock …

Here are our Irish friends leaving port on board Oisin Ban …

I went for a cycle ride to the other side of the island, past this quaint little cabin with a grass roof …

… and some rather grander houses with fabulous sea views …

… to a proper beach – with sand rather than rocks.  I swam from this quite sheltered beach …

In the next bay there were also a few hardy souls in the water, but there was quite a fresh wind – it was one of those days when it was warmer in than out!

I cycled back via the town, meandering through the narrow streets with their typical Swedish wooden houses, both large and small.  This one looked as if it only had one room …

The next day we stocked up on delicious bread and cakes from the (very expensive) local bakery – £17 for one loaf of bread and 4 small cakes!

… and had a walk to another lovely beach before setting sail.

Sat 17th August onwards - An 'Indian Summer' in Sweden

What an amazing ‘Indian Summer’ we’ve had during the last couple of weeks of August – it’s been such a lovely and unexpected finale to our trip!  We’ve spent the final 2 weeks cruising around the Stockholm Archipelago, an amazing sailing area of 30,000 islands, islets and rocks!

Sat 17^th– Mon 19^th – Nynäshamn to Gålön and Kymmendö

We sailed from Nynäshamn on a greyish afternoon, goose-winging through the islands …

The cloud as the sun went down was quite beautiful, and gave the impression of snow-covered mountains in the distance …

After some hunting around and with darkness approaching rather too quickly, we found an anchorage in a bay off Gålön, tucked behind the Appelviksud headland, and watched another spectacular sunset – this time the clouds look quite smoky, like a distant forest fire …

Pulling the anchor up the next morning was hard work – and this is why!  You can just see the point of the anchor peeping through the weed.  It needed some effort to get rid of that lot, using a boat hook and hands, and took ages to hose down the decks with clean sea water.

Eventually we were off!  We motored close to Dalarö Skans, an island with a fortress, where Charles spent a fortnight when he was a 16-year-old sea cadet …

… past a typical small settlement of red and white houses …

… and into a little bay on Kymmendö, an island off the larger island of Ornö, where we tied up to a rock, Swedish style …

The next morning was even brighter and sunnier, perfect for a long swim round the bay, and warm enough to put the bimini up …

Then we walked across to the other side of the island, through trees …

… and over rocks, lichen and moss …

… following signs to Strindberg’s writing cabin …

It certainly is a fairly basic cabin, more correctly an 8’ x 6’ shed!

… but it has got an inspiring view …

It’s so quiet here, only rocks, water and trees – the sea is incredibly calm, like a millpond …

Everyone seems to have gone back to work and we’re the only boat here …