Södertörnspokalen 2011 cancelled

It's not an easy decision for any race committee but to cancel Södertörnspokalen in light of the weather forecast for last Saturday was the right one. Some forecasts said 10-15 m/s whereas others indicated 17-20 m/s (with gusts of +20 m/s) and in such conditions it's not very clever to race with family boats. "Josefin" was signed up and ready to race with her crew of three but we actually took the decision to cancel even before the race committe did and saved ourselves an unnecessary transport of the boat to Morarnas on Friday evening.

Several boats ran aground during the gale in Stockholm on Saturday and one sailor was found lifeless next to his boat outside Solsidan in Saltsjöbaden. It's easy to get disappointed when a race is cancelled but when you read about casualties and boats aground it definitely puts things in perspective and all of a sudden the race becomes completely irrelevant. The decision to cancel the race was the right one and let us all be careful in the coming months as the somewhat erratic autumn weather gets a grip on the archipelago. ALWAYS check the weather forecast, consider the fact that the daylight in August-October is not what it is in May-July - adding a time factor to any course planning - and ask yourself if your boat is adequately equipped (VHF, cell phones, nav lights, distress signal-rockets, lifelines etc). Even with that covered we could of course all end up in trouble so last but not least - think ahead and make sure you always have "a way out" when the course of events starts to take a disconcerting turn. As a pilot friend once told me - It's much better to be down here wishing you were up there, than to be up there wishing you were down here. I guess something similiar would qualify for us sailors.

Dehler 29 spotting

"It's all about timing" they say and I can only agree. Had we passed Stavsnäs five minutes later we'd met this Dehler 29 up close. But instead I could only spot it from long distance. The sail number 334 reveals in a quick Google search that it was Fredrik Mården from SSSv (Segelsällskapet Svearna, Eskilstuna) - a Dehler 29 MKII - who had found his way to more salty waters. I was asked by a friend earlier this summer if boats of the same kind wave more at eachother than at other boats. Although I cannot say that I have any research behind this whatsoever I do find that other Dehler boats wave somewhat more cheerfully at "Josefin" and I for sure do the same. And on the few occassions I've met another Dehler 29 it has definitely been a "head-turner". Bells, whistles, flag waving and the whole nine yards. Well, almost anyway.

Eagles...

During the 70s and 80s I cannot recall having seen a single eagle in the Stockholm archipelago. Nowadays though - I'm told thanks to support feeding stations during the winter - eagles can be spotted quite regularly. This season I've seen at least five of them and this "little" fellow was spotted just north of Stavsnäs. They do have an impressive wing span... (apologies for the poor photage).

A week on dry land. Well, almost anyway...

Just because "Josefin" has had a week off doesn't mean that this past week has been spent entirely on dry land. As a matter of fact - several light houses have been spotted these past few days and more than one guest harbor as well. Also a bit of sailing. For those of you who have already seen the better part of the Stockholm archipelago (and also that of St Anna's) I can really recommend to head up north. Although we have only done some random reconnaisance from the car since last Sunday it proves to be a very beautiful coastline, very few boats out and about and it's much ligther this time of the year than further down south. The evenings now in early August compare with what we experience here in Stockholm during Midsummer. There are obviously much fewer islands than in Stockholm - which has to be taken into account when planning for a day's sailing. It's quite clear that islands offer protection and that protection is simply not there to the same extent. But if you like to hang out in small guest harbors there appears to be plenty of space at least from what we could see. So for next year - why not consider a couple of weeks up north? At least I will.

Harbor fee: 90 SEK per night. How do you like them apples..?

Axmara's delicious fish restaurant. It also hosts a guest harbor.

Great view for dinner.

The stunning view from the lighthouse "Högbonden".

The coastline of Ångermanland ("Höga Kusten") is very similar to that in Maine, US. In other words it's quite mountainous and increadibly beautiful.

The "Högbonden" lighthouse.

The island with its lighthouse can only be reached by boat. Easy access though by ferry from Barsta and Bönhamn. The old lighthouse is today a hostel and is very often fully booked so be sure to make a reservation several weeks in advance.