Sailing in Arholma Archipelago
Weather forecast was not promising but after only few days of rest at home we decided to move onto the boat.
As with most of our family-sailing events: it’s no use to plan departure early in the day. Our top-score is to be ready for sailing at earliest noon. After all - it supposed to be fun, not military camp.
We packed ourselves and appeared in the NSS harbour around afternoon on Monday. The plan was to sail all the way to Norrtäljeviken’s end, to Flaten. On this NSS club-owned island we usually spend a night before we move further into the Archipelago.
The sky did not look friendly thou so instead we decided to spend the night onboard and cast away early next day. Indeed there was a thunderstorm circling the whole night around us but, as very often before, it never really reached us.
Next day the sky looked almost the same - with rain clouds all around - with the difference that there was almost no wind! Heck, at 11:00 we decided to go anyway so Yanmar-san got to work most of the way. There were few times that we could rise sails and sail a bit but most of the time it was no wind. We reached Flaten at 15:00, not bad for mostly motor-sailing.
There were just a handful of other boats there. I took a dinghy and explored the surrounding shallows with my daughter.
No wind for the rest of the day.
The next day was cloudy and windless. I was eager to sail further but with no wind it would be again slow progress with diesel noise so we waited. Rain showers helped keeping the deck clean.
Playing Monopoly, bathing in ice-cold sea and reading books - lazy time - made me feel eager to move. Late in the afternoon there came wind. Finally!
It took us just a while to decide - we leave!
I wanted to try a new place so we sailed to the small island, close to Arholma. According to the Hamnguiden this nature harbour is good only for Southerly winds - which we had this day and the forecast was same for the whole night. Idskär is the name - it is a small, rocky island, nature park. North part is a small lagoon, too shallow for sailboats to reach the strand but good as an anchorage.
I used my storm anchor - of a fisherman type, heavy bastard. We arrived at dawn, there was already one boat anchoring at the entrance to the lagoon. The skipper guided us into the lagoon but to my taste we were too close to the shallows and rocks - should the anchor drag we would end up on the rocks. It was also the first time I try this anchor so I was at all not sure if all will work.
The place is beautiful and well protected from Southerly wind but it is open to the Baltic sea from North. That means that any swell coming from the open sea is entering the lagoon - causing the boat to rock heavily on this shallow water.
The whole night was sleepless - I was frequently checking if we are not dragging onto the neighbour boat or onto rocks. Around 3 a.m. there was a thunderstorm with heavy wind and showers. Luckily the anchor held but I cannot call this a calm night.
The next morning we took our rubber dinghy and went exploring the lagoon.
We’ve accidentally lost our collapsible aluminium ladder into the sea but it was so ugly that I cannot force myself to regret it.
I’ll make a new one, from wood.
After late breakfast we woke-up Yanmar-san and motored to the nearby Arholma Österhamn. Since it was early afternoon there were still places in the harbour so we didn’t have to stay on anchor this time.
As before with my old Safir “Motoko” - our old “Meritaten”, at her time a big Laurinkoster boat - among modern boats looked like a dwarf!
We were running low on food so we went straight ahead to Norrhamn for lunch and shopping. Lunch was delicious - for our stomachs kept on boat-food it was a king’s meal.
With the view!
The following evening came a boat, Murena-type, just bought by Australian pair who bought her for their son - to be sailed to Island. I helped them to enter the harbour and we had some interesting conversations.
It’s interesting (and quite sad) that Swedish sailors usually do not assist when other boat is entering the harbour. Of course - as we experienced on Idskär - when they see that the skipper is not sure about conditions in the place (like I was) they emerge from their boats and give a hand but in normal conditions, in the marina, they do not. Instead they just continue their stuff, observing from the side. Maybe they assume, as a sea nation, that all is easy and believe that other skipper does not need - or will be offended - by offered help in calm conditions.
Well, that's sad and much in contrary to what I was taught in Poland: we were told to always assist other sailboats. It’s much appreciated by the coming skipper! Even if not needed - and in most cases indeed not needed - at least it is a kind of warm welcome. And conversation starter.
In case of this Australian pair I could clearly see that they needed help - not knowing the rules in this place and being uncertain where to land. And thus, after landing, we exchanged our stories and nobody was “offended” by helping hand.
The next day, on Friday, weather forecast was promising Northerly wind which will give us broad reach through Lidöfjärden and half-wind in Norrtäljeviken. Since our vacations come to the end we took this opportunity to sail all the way back to Norrtälje.
I’ve decided to run only on full genua - to avoid drama of mainsail handling in broad reach. After all - it is family sailing, speed is of not much importance. Even on just genua we were going 4 knots most of the time.
We’ve left around 11:00 and were entering NSS harbour 5 hours later, with perfect weather and moderate wind. Thanks god SMHI weather forecast was not true today - it was supposed to be raining here!
