Blog 15 Figeholm, Idö, Loftahammar The last few days weather had got into a pattern of low wind with early sun then at 3 pm on the dot thunderclouds with all the trimmings dampening everything until evening. This discouraged our first attempts at using a nature harbour - which are effectively sheltered spots at the back of a pile of rocks where nobody in their right mind would normally take a boat and where you tie to a tree, a stone - or anything you can fin...

Blog 14 Kalmar, Mönsterås, Sandvik A well earned rest day at Kalmar having battled high winds to get here, however the sun was shining for most of the time making it bearable but difficult to photograph many spectacular flocks of eider duck as they all took off up wind ( spray on the lens ) and into the sun, meanwhile an eagle with wings like barn doors had passed across our stern before I had the camera out and ready - too late, just imagine it. This city w...

Blog 12 Sweden- well, the first bit which includes a lot of stops on the way after leaving Christianso and arriving at Sandhamn beyond Karlskrona. One of the things that sailors wish they didn't have to do is get up very early to "catch the tide" or something similar to do with the sea. Now wouldn't you think that in the Baltic where there are no tides that need would disappear - not a bit of it - for some reason many yachts leave at anything from 6 am onwards a...

Blog 11 Christiansø It was my intention to lump Christiansø in with the Bornholm blog even though it is 30 odd miles away I think it is considered to be part of the package - but it is very special. On arriving at this small rocky fragment of Denmark you enter a world as it existed well over 100 years ago - the harbour fills a rock crevice between Fredericksø island and the larger Christiansø where no more than 100 souls scrape a living from fishing and humo...

Ronne, Bornholm Leaving Poland we had a blitz sail to Sassnitz, a German half way house en route to Bornholm, the wind was perfect for low flying on an absolutely flat Baltic sea and the sky hazy blue on the horizon graduating to deep ink blue overhead, you wish the boat could always go this fast so easily. It had been Whit Monday in Sassnitz - a big thing in Germany - charter yachts were everywhere and wonder or wonders, even the Fischbroetchen stalls were Gesc...