SWEDEN

[richgiddens]

Hi All,
I'm thinking of a weeks charter in the Stockholm islands at the start of Sept. I'd be looking for anchorages mostly but am somewhat concerned by the locals method of nosing up to rocks and someone jumping off with a line after laying a kedge astern.
Has anyone done this and a) are there lots of locations where this is possible b) is it as fraught as it sounds!
All info most welcome

 

[johnalison]

I have done it, but not often. There are many rings ashore and the positions available in some books, and tying to these makes things easier. One refinement is to locate your boat better by tying to two rings, and this may be necessary when the area is crowded. I can't give any good advice about the technique except that it is clearly not the skipper's job to do the shore bit.

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

Swedish Archipelagos, and Norwegian inner leads, are covered by fantastic pilot books with aerial photos and details of rocks, depths etc, at a much larger scale than official charts etc. ( which are works of art and very clear, bur pricey of course..)

I would advise clearly and firmly asking the charter co to provide them if possible, as such publications would be expensive for a couple of weeks holiday. Or try and find something 2ndhand, folk are swapping them all the time.
Join the CA would be a usual answer, the Baltic section is their best bit, but not for one holiday!

Tying on to rocks is often covered in pilot books as stated above, there's no magic to it just being careful.

All local charter yachts will have already had many contacts with Mother Earth, if you are not 100% sure then **slow down**! and no harm results, not even to your pride..

Once you get into the unfamiliar pilotage, skirting rocks becomes habit-forming.. gentle bumps at walking speed are seen as inevitable, it's a magical cruising ground, and the memories will last for years, have a great time!

 

[dunedin]

Don’t know about the Stockholm area, but I would have thought it would be very quite by September time. Swedes seem to go mad for a few weeks from mid-sommer, but deserted before and after then.
The paper books that Ohlin refers to are great but indeed very expensive. However all the information is available online for a fraction of the price at https://www.harbourguide.com/en/harbour-guide-online/
We used this and took screenshots of relevant places before going there.

Whilst the swedes love going bows to the rocks, often this leaves a perfect space in the middle free of other boats where can anchor conventionally. We did this almost the entire time - with benefits of more peaceful, away from insects and often get sunlight later away from shore.

 

[Genoa]

Us 2 nights ago....
It is relatively easy if you have the right sea bottom, 3-5 metres right up to edge which is common. And a nice bow platform to get off from. Clambering over the anchor is not much fun!
This is the West coast archipelago by the way...

 

[Genoa]

BUY this... for your area. The content for various websites needs to come from somewhere and these guys do it forSweden. Photo the pages and use google translate. Contents excellent and very detailed show where fixed mooring rings are etc....

 

[richgiddens]

Hi All,
many thanks for the replies, all really useful stuff. I guess it's what keeps sailing interesting, just when you think you've got a handle on it, along comes, 'skirting rocks' and 'the occasional bump'!
Having said that, if we never tested ourselves, we'd spend all our time in overpriced marinas listening to drum and bass (look it up!) blaring out of next door's deck speakers.

 

[Glisferox]

Pick a place with a good tree or mooring ring that looks easy for the person on the bow to get ashore. Line up and approach slowly. At about 3 to 4 boat lengths off chuck the anchor over the stern and trickle up to the rock. The Bow Crew, who should be ready with a coiled mooring line, calls the distance to go as well as reporting the depth. If all goes well they will leap off scamper up to the tree and secure the bow. If it looks like it's going awry stop, reel in the anchor and find a better place. You will also get a set of rock wedges which you can use on treeless and ringless rocks once you have mastered the basics.

Do give bows-to mooring a go as soon as possible, once you have broken your duck it'll all seem much easier. In September there will be no midges and very few boats competing for moorings, so mooring to rocks will be less hassle compared to anchoring and pumping up the dinghy.

The latest we've been is late August and things were starting to wind down on the Islands, cafes closing for the season and the like, however we've never really needed much when out in the Archipeligo. September should be lovely and quiet (fewer mobos which is a real blessing).

You will probably get a copy of the Arhloma to Landsort pilot, I think most charter companies have the English version though this has been out of print for a while and may be a bit dog eared. If you can find one, buy it. Ours cost £40 new and was worth every penny.

 

[Genoa]

Mind the trees! Very shallow routed and your anchwinch can easily dislodge them if you are not very careful. At night slip the bows out 4 foot and tension anchor, to get a good night not worrying about your bows.

 

[richgiddens]

Once again, many thanks for all this invaluable info. I feel much more confident (in theory at least!)