A Viking Saga

[...] . It was such fun choosing ten favourite pieces of music and being interviewed about my sailing life! My ‘Desert Island Discs’ at Karin and Kenneth’s radio station in Gnarp. This sailing [...]

[...] in the UK; so I have chosen my ten favourite pieces of music and will be interviewed about my sailing life. The sea mist creeps into the fjord. Life is beautiful just as it is… Wherever one finds [...]

[...] jigsaw puzzle remains unclear; but is that necessarily a bad thing? My conclusion is that this sailing life is a spiritual practice of sorts, a path of mindfulness involving the surrendering to and [...]

[...] their short holiday, whereas, lack of money tends to motivate a different approach to this sailing life. Since Sundsvall, I have not touched dry land and saved money; also, the sailing has preserved [...]

[...] me to free mooring as well as this delightful little number, modelled by the aforementioned Viking Queen on the after deck of her fine vessel. Note also the pennant of the club in my hands. This is [...]

[...] to be free, huh? Well how about this?” Bish…. “What now?” Replies the Viking Queen, “Haven’t I had enough in the past few years?” (Collisions, defunct [...]

[...] to merge together as one. How fitting, I reflected that all should come together for this Viking Queen and her return to that special little haven that has stolen her heart; her special friend Eva, [...]

[...] to places not previously visited on my own. ‘Fuel for the fire’. Mike’s photo of the Viking Queen pulling winter fuel. The silver birch trees, so familiar to the north of Sweden have [...]

[...] , I must correct an error from the previous entry stating I had covered over five hundred nautical miles since Borka. A mistake… my total is now two hundred and seventy one. Finally crossing the [...]

[...] region. Kjell’s idea was to sail early to the small town of Furuögrund about fifteen nautical miles to the northwest; so we did, and being the faster boat Free soon fell behind until the time [...]

[...] that it is a large fifty seven mile passage to Kokkola. Don’t forget that these are nautical miles, and a sea mile is a tough mile! All of this depends on the weather. Once committed, [...]

[...] to put in a good long sailing stretch in which since leaving Borka, I have covered 212.3 nautical miles (corrected from ridiculous first number, apologies!). This means I am now over half way in my [...]

[...] bay at Hummelviken. Due to the total lack of wind, I decided to tie up to a Svenska Kryssarklubben buoy in Hummelviken, (62º54.6’N, 18°27.1’E) a little bay in the magnificent [...]

[...] of bridges, it is not possible to reach the city of Umeå; so Free is tied up to a Svenska Kryssarklubben buoy, just to the south, at a little place called Obbola (63˚41’N, 20˚18’E), waiting out [...]

[...] Friday afternoon. As usual, I am forever trying to save money and managed to locate a Svenska Kryssarklubben buoy off the Island of Kuggören, just to the north east of Hudiksvall. These buoys are [...]

[...] of August to say farewell to Summer. This is done by decorating the harbours and shores of Northern Sweden with candles. The festival’s origin is Finland but it has been enthusiastically embraced by [...]

[...] . The red granite, deep fjords and dense pine forest are typical of this stunning part of Northern Sweden. To hell with the Caribbean! [...]

[...] So much can happen in a day at sea, especially when the East coast of Northern Sweden has recorded the highest summer temperatures for many years. Needless to say, this level of [...]

[...] number two tackled. Safely in the water. Chatting to the friendly members of the Borka Brygga boat club. The final part of the jigsaw was starting Polly, my faithful old Perkins diesel [...]

[...] of other small anchorages and harbours before returning to the friendly haven of Borka Brygga boat club. However, it’s never over until the fat lady sings, as they say, and there’s a [...]

[...] with the addition of full fuel and water tanks. Once again some the helpful members of Borka Brygga boat club joined me to share the bigger crane which would have cost me dearly, had Bengt come just [...]

[...] the transits and buoys, I felt like I’d passed through a portal into the past. Ahead in the tiny harbour was an old sailing ship from the sixteen hundreds! (Actually, she was a replica!) A beautiful [...]

[...] there for the weekend were more than a little surprised to see me arrive! Finally safe in the tiny harbour of Jävre Sandholmen. The next storm is just about to hit again. How strange is fate? Without [...]

[...] , a tiny shelter from the weather. From Holmsund Patholmsviken, near Umeå I sailed to the tiny harbour of Järnäshamn in a vile, rough sea with nasty, vicious steep waves that took my breath away. [...]

[...] some of you might be curious? We’ll see… Right now it’s time to make a lentil curry and settle down to a good book next to a cosy wood fire. Ah well… some one’s got [...]

[...] , the sound of Swedish children’s laughter reaches me across the water. A carefully cooked lentil curry plus a peaceful night’s sleep await me. Can life really be any better? [...]

[...] to materialise; thus it was a day for Polly to strut her stuff at the expense of my diesel reserves. Ah well, it was bikini and reading weather out on deck, leaving Free to steer herself, [...]

[...] Sundsvall, I have not touched dry land and saved money; also, the sailing has preserved my diesel reserves. After two nights here on a buoy, I hope to enter my first Gasthämn (guest harbour) at [...]

[...] . After two nights here on a buoy, I hope to enter my first Gasthämn (guest harbour) at Holmsund Patholmsviken a few miles down the fjord. My food and water reserves have dwindled somewhat and I am [...]

[...] to make crucial miles south. Järnäshamn, a tiny shelter from the weather. From Holmsund Patholmsviken, near Umeå I sailed to the tiny harbour of Järnäshamn in a vile, rough sea with [...]