6-10 August 2022
Tobias with Barbara and children arrived at Brandholmen on Saturday, August 6th. It was evening before we got all people and bags settled. Still, we didn’t want to stay overnight in Brandholmen, as this harbour is not meant for visitors, so we sailed to the guest harbour of Nyköping. This way, our friends could begin their sailing adventure with a comfortable harbour that has modern sanitation and sauna, as well as access to restaurants in the town’s centre.
Sunday morning, after a longer sleeping, we sailed between the skerries of Nyköping to the close-by Broken island. These 8 nautical miles were practically the shake-down for our friends. The club harbour of Broken was a different kind of experience for them, less comfort but more flair. We spent the evening with grill, guitar, and among other sailors.
A beautiful weather allowed for having so many people onboard without stress. Most of the time, everybody was on the deck or in cockpit. It was even possible to sleep the whole night in the cockpit.
My secret plan is to sail longer legs every day and to spend every night in a different way. On Monday, August 8th, we sail towards Södertälje on the waters I already know, along the coast of Ringsön, a trail that leads towards Trosa and then to Stockholm through its “backdoor”. But when the youngest child Matilda says she has enough sailing for today, we enter a bay on Ringsön and find a natural harbour, which is yet another experience for our guests. And we have made 20 miles today. This works according to my plan.
We spend a delightful evening at a fireplace and close to the nature. We bathed in the clean water. At night, we were being eaten by mosquitoes.
In the morning, we sail on. Our guests are thrilled by the peaceful sailing among skerries. I am thrilled by fine weather and favourable wind that pushes us quickly towards the strait of Södertälje. While in the strait, we allow ourselves a little craziness: pulling people on a rope behind the sailing boat.
Today, nobody is fed up with sailing. But the day nears its end and we approach the commercial marina of Södertälje city. We do some shopping (even find a Polish grocery in the city) and we spend the evening in the cockpit.
The next day, Wednesday August 10th, is a whole day motoring through the locks of Södertälje and the rest of the strait, and then we finally approach the city of Stockholm from the side of Lake Mälaren. Our guests enjoy the views of the suburbs. We enter the marina of Västerbro (where we stayed previously). We will stay there for the next days.
The next couple of days is our guests sightseeing Stockholm, we spend the time on a very pleasant way. Afterwards, I go with them by train to Nyköping, where their car remained. Our friends drive on to continue their holidays. I visit my Mother in Nyköping and then return by train to Stockholm and to Agnieszka and to the boat.
Leave a Reply