Nyckelbykilen
Having stayed in marinas in small towns for a bit, we thought it was time to anchor in a more remote setting as we continued on our way north towards Fredrikstad, Norway. We reviewed our sailing guides and found a very well protected anchorage in a fjord-like area where the land/rocks were covered in pine trees. Nyckelbykilen was lovely and the smell of pine surrounded us. It was a reasonable depth for anchoring (5.5 meters) and the mud bottom was good holding.
Fredrikstad, Norway
As noted in earlier posts, we had two objectives in going to Fredrikstad. One was to export the boat by leaving Swedish waters and moving the boat to another country. The second objective was to go to a boatyard, Seilbåtservice, where we had arranged in advance to have our Hydrovane installed. The Hydrovane is a self-steering device that will keep the boat on course to a wind angle. It does not need electricity to work. This will be important when we make long passages (multiple days) and want to avoid running our batteries down. We also have an electric self-steering “auto-pilot.” We were in Fredrikstad for 4 nights.
Stromstad, Sweden
We’ve begun heading back south again and will return to the Hallberg-Rassy boatyard in Ellös, Sweden. We need to submit our boat export documents to Hallberg-Rassy, pick up a couple of packages from Amazon-Sweden that we had delivered there, and have a few “new boat issues” addressed.
In Stromstad we had the pleasure of spending time with new friends, Kate & Mike, from Portland, Oregon who picked up their boat, Vår Ö (“Our Island”), 12 days after we got ours. We enjoyed socializing with them in Ellös, so it was fun to catch up with them again. They also did a little shopping for us while they had a rental car (Ikea!) and this was an opportunity to get our purchases from them.
Grebbestad
Grebbestad is about 24 miles south of Stromstad, and up a little fjord-like area that was really charming. We had mostly light winds during the passage, but also encountered some squalls with gusts up to 32 knots. As we arrived in Grebbestad, the wind was blowing 18-22 knots off the dock as we were trying to dock. MJ was not able to get to the dock under those conditions, even with the use of the bow and stern thrusters. We went to “plan B” and docked on the other side of the dock with the wind blowing us on to the dock. It didn’t feel like the best conditions because the wind was pushing the boat so hard against the dock that it felt like our fenders would pop. Luckily, those conditions subsided after about 45 minutes and now we are resting easy against the dock with about 5-10 knot winds.
Gorgeous Photos. Stay safe
All good! Thanks for following along! xxx
Hello MJ and Adam,
I am finally catching up with your adventures. I am exhausted just sitting at the computer reading it. I would gather that both of you have a high tolerance for motion. I know I couldn’t handle the currents. How long are you two planning to be gone? Still the pictures are showing what a beautiful area it is. Enjoy you two crazy people!
Laura
Actually, we’ve been sitting still for about a week now as we wait out gusty winds and heavy rains.. Also having some work done here. This is that spot that’s inland, up a waterway. It’s far from any stores (25 min. walk to catch a 10-min bus ride) and it’s out in the country. It’s good to sit still for a bit, but now I’m ready to get moving again 🙂