Stockholm Archipelago, the Åland Islands and Finland's Archipelago National Park

As of Thursday, August 13, we only had 26 days left on our Schengen visas. So many places still to visit and so little time! We plan to move quickly and see as much as possible before we must exit the EU on September 7.

Although one could spend days or even weeks in Stockholm, we did not linger but cast off the dock at Wasahamnen on the lovely island of Djurgården in central Stockholm at 11:30 on the morning of August 13 with Peter's first cousin Desmond and his girlfriend Cindy on board and motored past shoreside mansions and castles near the city and out among the thousands of islands of the Stockholm Archipelago.

Vaxholms Kastell

Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde on the left

The town of Långstranden

The brilliant sunlight highlighted the colors and contrasts of the cerulean sky, the teal tones of the Baltic Sea, the deep pine green of the trees on the islands, the lime green reeds along the shores, and the buff and gray granite and gneiss of the rocks and skerries. Unassuming cabins of unpainted wood or garnet-colored siding blended in to the scenery of the larger, inhabitable islands. 

The smooth if engine-noise-filled ride allowed us lots of time to chat and to play a game of Farkle, a dice game that usually reveals if a player is cautious--satisfied with possibly a lower score, willing to stop rolling rather than risk losing all the points for that turn--or prone to gambling for a higher score and risking losing accumulated points. 

Navigation through the passages went well until we were almost to the place we planned to anchor to the north of Svartsö. The way between two islands was narrow and Peter, suspecting without evidence that there were rocks off the starboard bow, deviated off course to port. Thump, thump, thump! Mantra bumped over rocks that were shown on the chart. Fortunately, only the front of the keel hit ground and we were able to back off before the rudder and prop collided with the unforgiving seabed. With me providing instructions on the course ordered, we made is safely to a nice spot surrounded by islands, totally protected from waves and wind (though this was not necessary since it was only blowing 4 to 5 knots) and dropped anchor at 4 p.m.

The water looked inviting, but a chill had creeped up mid-afternoon, so we waited for the next day. Instead, we enjoyed dinner, conversation and a game of Take 5 before going to bed for the night in the quiet and stillness of the anchorage.

The next morning (Friday, August 14), we found dozens of blue and black dragonflies hovering and landing on the edge of the swim platform on the stern and were delighted when they landed on us. 

Dragonflies at the stern of Mantra

Just after 11 a.m., after morning drinks and breakfast in the pilot house, we pulled up anchor and continued norths. Within an hour, we were sailing wing-and-wing on a port tack, making 5 knots. By 3 p.m., we were doing 7 knots downwind. Peter was constantly looking at the water and the charts for rocks. In a small cove, we dropped anchor at 4:20 p.m. but decided there was not enough swing room. With the anchor back on board, we motored a short distance among the same group of islands to a larger place, where we stopped for the night just before 5 p.m. at Störskärs.

Another charming place we passed in the archipelago

Peter, Desmond and Cindy by the wheel

Birds on a skerry

Rocky island

Narrow passage

Desmond on the bow

The air temperature was warmer than the day before. It was time for a swim and a shower on the back of the boat. Peter and I dove in from the stern and Des jumped from the top of the pilot house. Despite relentless prodding from Desmond, Cindy preferred not to sample the brackish water of the Baltic. The three of us found it refreshing, and it is always enjoyable (as long as the air temperature is above 60 degrees Fahrenheit) to shower outside, which Cindy did choose to do.

Desmond taking a plunge

Having put the dinghy in the water, we considered hiking on shore, but a cold wind had picked up and we decided to postpone the exploration until the morning. Once again, the evening was passed with a good dinner, conversation and a card game of Hearts, another new one for Des and Cindy. The long-lasting sunset painted the western sky yellow and pink beyond the low-lying bluish-gray cumulonimbus clouds.

Sunset from Mantra, Störskärs

The next morning (Saturday, August 15), we had breakfast and took the dinghy to a rocky shore, where three kayakers who had camped on the island for the night told us about the trails. Following their directions, we walked over bare rock and on paths through low-lying vegetation and some trees on fracture lines to the top. The heather and grasses grew along the fissures in the rock where moisture and thin soil collected. The foliage on some of the trees had already begun to turn to autumn colors. The scenery was stunning. This island had a house or two on the far side, but we did not disturb the owners' privacy. We then explored one of the other nearby islands where the terrain required some scrambling up short slopes to reach the top. 

Kayakers departing and our boat at anchor

A range of colors among the rocks

Desmond and Cindy

Lichen and quartz outcrops

Heather growing along a fissure

View from the top of the second island we explored

After a couple hours on land, we returned to Mantra, hauled the dingy on the foredeck and secured Peter's paddle board to the port beam stanchions and pulled up anchor at 12:30 p.m. as clouds accumulated overhead and to the circular horizon. We sailed on a beam reach for 3 hours, cruising along at 7 knots before anchoring by Gyltan at 3:30 p.m.

Striped lighthouse on an island

White lighthouse on a different island

Throughout the archipelago, we had seen bevies of mute swans in the water, sometimes dozens in a group. Along the shore where we were anchored, there was a family close to the reeds, including the parents and four gray cygnets. 

Family of swans

It was more food conversation after settling in to a place we had all to ourselves. Around 8:00, the prolonged sunset began. Without a doubt, it was one of the most stunning eventide display I have ever seen anywhere. Subtly and constantly changing, the brilliant warm hues highlighted various forms of clouds. The most dramatic colors and changes revealed themselves within a period of a half hour, but the twilight in more muted tones continued for a couple hours.

Just before sunset

The view eastward

Just after sunset

Low sunlight on rain

We played Hearts again after the amazing display of light and moisture in nature as Desmond, an early-to-bed type of guy, struggled to stay awake .

Sunday morning (August 16), we motored up a fjord to Gräddö on the mainland so that Cindy and Des could take an Uber to Arlanda airport and return home to Switzerland. It was such a pleasure having us on board with us for a few days.

Peter, Sherri, Desmond and Cindy on a warm August day (NOT!)

Just after noon, back in the archipelago, Peter and I anchored at Harkranken and spent the rest of the day there, doing laundry and other tasks as the chilliness of the air and wind kept us mostly down below. 

Beautiful anchorage at Harkranken

After breakfast and another load of laundry, we pulled up anchor on Monday, August 17, at 9 a.m. and headed for the Åland Islands. This archipelago of nearly 300 habitable islands (of which about 70 are inhabited) is at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia to the north and between Sweden and Finland. Since 1920, it has been an autonomous and demilitarized region of Finland. Despite being part of Finland, 85% of the population speak Swedish and only 5% speak Finnish. 

In terms of geology, biota and climate, Åland is the same as the Stockholm and Finnish archipelagos. Except for the chilliness of the summer weather, it is a wonderful place to cruise and explore.

We docked at the small town of Degerby on the island of Föglö. People come and fo from the mainland and other islands via ferry several times a day. The marina ,which includes the town grocery and other facilities, appears to be the economic center of the community. There is one restaurant, and an apartment complex is being constructed complete with swimming pool and sauna. The advertisement indicated that residency was not required for purchase.

Approaching Degerby

We stopped there to take on water, pump out, get rid of trash and recycling, buy a few provisions and get tax-free diesel. But the best part of the marina experience was the sauna facility, which we were told is quite common in Åland and in Finland. There are separate times for women and men. I got to use it first and had it all to myself. What luxury! I went in wearing a fleece jacket but did not leave it when I left.

This morning, as a cold wind blew, Peter maneuvered our boat from our dock to the fueling and pump out dock with such finesse and skill that the Germans on other boats came by to compliment us. Then we departed around 10 a.m. and headed east, motoring for hours. It was sunny and a bit warmer when we left Degerby, but the clouds gathered and hung in connected gray blobs over us, although we could see blue sky on the horizon in most directions. I stayed below for a few hours, using the small space heater to warm myself and finally dry the last of the damp laundry. 

A small inhabited island

Final effort to dry laundry when the breeze, sunshine and damp air does not suffice

With our visa limitations, we had only one day allocated for the beautiful Åland Islands. We are now in Finland, by the island of Krokan in Archipelago National Park. It does not seem possible, but the scenery is even more stunning here. Although the skies cleared just as we anchored around 6 p.m., it is still chilly. It is probably more warm on the land. Tomorrow morning (because the mornings are usually clear with the lightest winds), we will take the dinghy to shore and explore. There is a small lake in the middle of the island where we plan to swim.

Peter has just paddled over to the island on his paddle board and climbed to a ridge as the sun sets. Sometimes I wish we still had our kayak on board as I am not stable on a paddle board.

Peter atop a ridge on the island

Back in Sweden

Here is a quick overview of our travels while not cruising on Mantra. Along with our kids, Katya and Matthew, we went on the annual Rodgers Family Beach Vacation, a tradition started about 65 years ago. All 35 members of the clan gathered in Ocean City, Maryland, from July 18-25, to relax, play games, eat too much food and enjoy the beach and the ocean.

Sherri, Matthew, Peter and Katya at the beach

The Rodgers family in Ocean City, Maryland

Sherri and Lori together 

My friend Lori was the only one of her family able to be with us (She and her family have been part of the tradition for a couple decades) and she only had the weekend because she and her husband have just bought a condo in Boca Raton, Florida. 

This was not planned far in advance, and we expected to spend time with her in Washington, D.C. after a pleasant, sun-filled vacation on the shore. Even though she was not home in D.C., we went to stay at her place for a week, enjoying time with her two adult children and the museums and sights of Washington. 

Sherri on a sculpture by Gillie and Marc in the "Wild Race Against Time" installation

Peter enjoying a jazz performance in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

On August 2, we flew to Brussels, where we were picked up by our former exchange student Sam who, with his wife Emi, recently became proud parents of Marius. They live near Lìege. We spent a couple days visiting with the three of them as well as Sam's family and Emi's family, whom we have become friends with over the years.

Peter with Bigo and Marius

Peter, Emi, Sam, Marius and Sherri

Next, it was off to London on August 5, where we stayed with our friend Liz and had dinner with Matthew at her place in Wapping. Liz, Peter and I flew the next day to Gibraltar for a weekend of celebration of the marriage of our niece Immie and Miguel. The ceremony on Saturday was lovely, and the meals and parties before and after were amazing. It was nice to be able to spend time with Peter's brothers and sisters-in-law as well as British friends, Immie's family on Susie's side, and Miguel's Spanish family and friends. 

Peter's brother Mike and Peter on the Windsor Bridge, Rock of Gibraltar

Miguel and Immie

Monday, August 10, we returned to London, spent another night with Liz and then flew to Stockholm the next morning. Arriving at our boat at 3 p.m., we just had time to clean, fire up systems and make a run for provisions before 7 p.m., when a new local friend, Johan, stopped by for drinks and conversation.

On the morning of August 11, we motored into the city of Stockholm and docked at Wasahamnen on the island of Djurgården, where we were met on the dock by Peter's cousin Desmond and his partner Cindy, who were with us until noon today. After settling them in on board, the four of us walked the short distance to the Vasa Museum, a place we were told we must visit by nearly everyone we met in Europe when we mentioned we were going to be in Stockholm. The museum houses the recovered warship Vasa, which sunk 1,300 meters (1,400 yards) into her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. After spending 333 years on the seabed in Stockholm Harbor, she was salvaged in 1961. She has been displayed in the museum since 1990 along with artifacts, reproductions of carvings, preserved skeletons and clothing of some of the people on board who could not escape and other displays. The size of the ship is almost overwhelming; the hull is 156 feet in length and the beam is 38 feet, and her mainmast is estimated to have been 172 feet in height from the keel. Almost 98% of the ship, including the the hull, the four decks, rigging, cabins, and elaborate decorations, is intact.

One of the main features of the Vasa is the customary decorations with sculptures meant to glorify the authority, wisdom and martial prowess of the monarch and deride, taunt and intimidate the enemy. Imagery reflects Greek and Roman mythology as idealized during the Renaissance and Biblical stories and characters. Many of the figures are in Dutch grotesque style, including fantastic and frightening creatures, mermaids, wild men, sea monsters and tritons. All the decorations were painted in vivid, guady colors and accented in gold leaf.

The Vasa was built on the orders of the King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus, who wanted total control of the Baltic, during a war with Poland-Lithuania (1621-29). Designed by the Dutch master shipbuilder Henrik Hybertsson, and built in Stockholm by private contractors in 1626-28, primarily by Dutch shipbuilders, she was armed with 58 bronze cannons and 6 howitzers cast specifically for the ship and richly decorated to show the power and ambition of the Swedish monarch and the nation. A great deal of attention was given to details, but, unfortunately, not as much scrutiny was placed on the seaworthiness of the vessel. She was dangerously unstable, with too much weight in the upper structure and insufficient ballast in the keel, causing her to list and then sink when hit by a light breeze. Contributing to the disaster was the fact that the gun ports were open to allow for a salute to be fired. Two mild gusts caused the ship to heel to port. Righting herself after the first one, she began to take on water through the lower gun ports when the second hit. The incoming, gushing water quickly exceeded the Vasa's minimal righting ability and she sank with up to 30 people perishing on board.

The king was impatient to have her launched and stationed as the flagship of the Swedish navy in the Stockholm Archipelago, and the king's subordinates lacked the political courage to inform him of the instability of the ship and ask for a postponement. With great fanfare and people lining the waterfronts of the islands of Stockholm to see her, the Vasa set off with the only wind being a light breeze from the southwest. She departed from the Royal Palace and sunk 20 minutes later near the bluffs of Tegelviken across from the island Beckholmen, coming to rest in 32 meters of water.

Early efforts to raise the Vasa were unsuccessful. In 1663-65, a team of Swedish and Finnish divers retrieved more than 50 of the guns. Further attempts at salvage were minimal until in 1956, an amateur archaeologist, Anders Franzén, using a home-made, gravity-powered coring probe, located a large wooden object off Beckholmen, leading to the recovery of the ship in 1961. Although thousands of iron bolts  decomposed within a few years of sinking, much of the organic material was preserved in the anaerobic conditions of the Baltic Sea, including wood, cloth, leather and human bones held together by clothing. Many of the sculptures still retain areas of paint and gilding. The preserved materials offer much detail about life in the early 17th century in Sweden. 

Stern decorations

Model of the ship as she would have looked when launched

Model and the actual Vasa

Vasa with only partial mast height

The history of the Vasa and of Sweden at the time is fascinating, and the museum is one of the best we have ever visited. There is much more that I could write about, but it's very late for dinner, so I will add a few photos and write more about our time in the Stockholm Archipelago tomorrow.

Near Saltsjö-Duvnas

On Sunday, June 12, we pulled up anchor at 11:20 a.m. in Varnöfladen. The weather was lovely but the wind was only briefly above 10 knots, so we only sailed a short distance before resorting to the engine. 

Our next destination was Napoleonviken. Surprise! We discovered that it was the destination of dozens of other boats when we steered into the long entrance to the well-protected harbor. We had already determined that the Scandinavian way of dropping a stern anchor and then maneuvering up to the rocks and taking a line to shore would not work for us since we have a plumb bow and a bowsprit. Without really going into the large anchorage area (which, as we found out later while on the paddle board, had lots of space), Peter decided to stop and try Med mooring with modifications. We dropped the bow anchor, then Peter hauled the stern anchor, chain and rode up from the forepeak and back to the swim platform. He attached the line at the beam of the boat and dropped the anchor of the starboard side of the stern. Then he took his paddle board and carried a line to shore and tied it to a tree. The whole process took an hour; just dropping the main anchor would have taken less than 10 minutes!

Although the sun was shining brightly, he had chosen to place us to the east of a tree-covered ridge, so we were in the shade, and I missed the warmth of the sun. He went out to explore on his paddle board while I chose to read a book. When he returned, he suggested we both go on land. I sat on the front of the paddle board while he took us to a tiny cove. We were able to get out on the weed-choked shore and climb up a short distance to see Mantra in her shadowed spot. 

Peter off on his paddle board

Mantra backed into the rocky shore

Sunset glow on the ridge on the opposite shore

This morning, Peter continued splicing a loop into a long line and I cleaned all the fenders. Around noon, we started to free ourselves from out three-point anchoring system. Untying the line to the shore was simple. The stern anchor, which was actually off the starboard side, was more of a challenge. While Peter let out chain on the bow anchor to created slack in the stern anchor line, I labored to pull the line in and free the anchor. A couple times, Peter came to the cockpit and used the winch handle while I tailed the line; finally, the tension eased and he returned to the bow. Still, the anchor would not budge. Peter returned and we struggled together until we could see the anchor--embedded in a 15-20 meter decaying tree trunk! Well, that explained the difficulty we were having. Finally, with me at the wheel, Peter raised the bow anchor and we were off. It only took 45 minutes!

Peter going to the bow to raise the anchor

We then headed north, meandering around the numerous islands and rocks to get to Saltsjö-Duvnas, where I had arranged to leave the boat for four weeks while we make a few journeys by air and car. However, the yacht haven by that name where we stopped was a private marina. We were in the wrong place! And the man with whom I had spoken just the previous day was not answering his phone! And I had not eaten a meal for about 7 hours. It was a desperate situation. Peter remained calm as we cast off and turned back to a small marina we had passed while I made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

We were surveying it and wondering where we might berth if this was the correct place when the owner, Pers, returned my anxious calls and directed us into the marina. Peter steered us in and we tied up to a beautiful, brand-new dock at a marina in a relatively remote place. Pers, a very friendly and helpful man, arrived about a half hour later, welcomed us and told us we were on the wrong dock! (Once again, a private dock) But we were in the right marina at least. The wind was up, and we agreed that it would be best to wait for it to diminish before moving to our designated place.

I was starting to lay out clothes and gifts to pack when Peter called down to tell me a man to whom we had been referred by an English expat living along the Göta Canal was coming to visit. He had waved to us as they passed us at the last anchorage. Only a short time later, Johan and his wife Elizabeth arrived. They live nearby and have a large powerboat. They brought us rhubarb pie and we chatted. With their help, and that of Pers, who happened to return to the marina at that time, we brought the bow of Mantra into a Y-dock and tied up alongside a pier. Peter is now working to secure her for four weeks. Pers will return in the morning to review the weekly checks we have requested.

So, we are almost set to fly to the U.S. on July 15. We are staying at a hotel at the Stockholm airport tomorrow night because our flight is at 7:30 a.m. First we will go to Rochester, New York, where our daughter Katya is now living. After a couple days there, the three of us will drive to Ocean City, Maryland, for the annual Rodgers family beach vacation. Matthew is flying on Friday from London to Washington, D.C., and he and our good friend Lori will drive to the beach on Saturday. 

Matthew, Katya, Peter and I will stay at Lori's house in Washington for a couple days after the week's holiday at the beach. Peter and I return to Europe on August 2 and will go to Lìege to see Sam and Emi and their new baby boy Marius as well as there families. Then, we fly to London to meet up with Liz and all fly to Gibraltar for the wedding of our niece Immie (Liz's god-daughter) and her fiancé Miguel. 

On August 11, we return to Mantra, and the blog posts will resume then.

Varnöfladen

It's mid-morning on Sunday, July 12. We are still anchored in the middle of Varnöfladen, having enjoyed a relaxing day here all day yesterday. Peter worked on splicing and repairing lines and on other tasks. For breakfast, I made bread pudding with the sweet bilberries we picked and stale bread, enough to last the two of us a couple days. I also created an colorful and attractive salad for lunch and a couscous with fried vegetables for dinner. We only have a couple more days before we fly to the U.S., so my challenge is to use all the fresh food in the refrigerator and all the fruit, most of which we bought a few days ago in Söderköping.

Fat dragonfly on my shoulder on Friday evening

I also spent some time dangling my feet in the warm water while sitting on the swim platform, fascinated by the slim blue and black dragonflies that darted and danced all around me and sometimes landed on my skin. It was a lovely place for reading a book; it was true vacation mode.

Two dragonflies on my leg

Dragonflies exploring my feet

We blew up the stand-up paddle board later in the day and Peter, like a gondolier, paddled me around this bay. We stopped to say hi to a boat moored Scandinavian style on the shore and invited the man and his two teenage children over to see our boat and talk about the archipelago after dinner. They arrived about 8:30 p.m. First, we showed them around the boat; the man and his 17-year-old son were fascinated by her size, electronics and engine room. Then we looked at some of the charts he had brought over. The archipelago is well-charted and literally offers endless opportunities for exploring, with over 24,000 islands or skerries, few of them inhabited. 

Mantra from the paddle board

There was no breeze yesterday evening which meant that the mosquitoes were everywhere. After our new friends left, we closed ourselves in and spent the next 45 minutes getting ready to go to bed and killing dozens of mosquitoes. Our level of success was so great that we were not annoyed by them at all when our heads sunk into our pillows around 11:30. Once again, it was a late bedtime, which meant that we slept in until around 9 a.m., although Peter woke up around 6 and was reviewing stocks on his phone in bed before succumbing to sleep with the gentle rocking of the boat, like being in a cradle. 

We are off to another anchorage now and will get to our berth in a couple days, where we will leave Mantra for four weeks. We are sad that our schedules did not match up and that we missed seeing Aunt Helen from Cape Town a couple days ago.