Baltic memories

I have put together a video of our wonderful trip this summer to the Baltic. Whilst my main photographic interest is still photography, and I am very pleased with a number of images I made in Sweden, I decided that video conveys something extra. Throughout the trip I took video clips on my iPhone- I decided to stick to 10 seconds for each clip. I’m not much of a videographer and I think I’ve shot too many sweeping pans really. I have had lots of fun editing the movie- I used Pinnacle Studio on my iPad to make it and have been very pleased with the results- so much more portable than using a desktop or laptop. The software is surprisingly powerful, given the platform it runs on, but the main benefit is being able to edit on the go. The quality of the rendered video is quite pleasing, but YouTube has degraded the quality a little- looks best if you can watch the HD version.

Baltic Blog: Threading The Needles

Friday
 
 I had expected the long trip to the Svenska Högarna to take at least two nights, but we had skimmed across in just three hours. Having had a good look around the main island again after passing a peaceful night tucked in the sheltered little harbour, it seemed a shame to waste the SW breeze and not reach back towards Svartlöga. The main routes are either North or West into the main channels, and this is the way that all the other yachts went. The disadvantages for us would be much further than a direct NW route and would also involve a beat for at least part of the journey.
 
 Why were we hesitating to take the direct route? Well, that would be because of the several island groups with their associated skerries in between! We have been using Navionics on the ipad as our main navigation aid and I had noticed how accurate the charts were; once can zoom in to a scale of a hundred feet and pick an accurate course through the rocks. The best advice the local sailors ha e given me on this trip was “stay in the white parts of the chart” and this works well, as it’s very unlikely to encounter an uncharted rock in those bits.
 
 So, the strategy we decided on was to sail right through the island groups in our path, altering course as needed to avoid the rocks. This strategy worked a treat, and we seldom dropped below 5kts, even though we had only staysail and main all through the islands. Being on a reach, it was easy to harden up or bear away when required and so shape a course to thread through the numerous rocks and shoals.
 

The journey first covered the 5nm of open sea to the first island group, Fredlarna, and we wove our way between the islands. These small and rather remote islands nevertheless had a smattering of summer houses and a sheltered little harbour. After a brief anchor stop for lunch, we passed away from the northern end of this group and were soon passing through the In-Fredel group. So far, this was along a recommended track, but after In-Fredel, the track turned North. We maintained our reach and had an exciting high-speed reach through the Ängskär group.
 
 Once we were clear of this last group of islands, we unfurled the Yankee and I pointed Aurora’s bowsprit directly towards the harbour. We made fantastic time again, covering the 17.5nm in a little over four hours.
 

Baltic Blog: The Longest Reach

Thursday
 
 When I was planning this trip, the Svenska Högarna was a place I had definitely wanted to go. It is the most Easterly outpost of the Stockholm archipelago and with its attractive 19th century lighthouse and a 5-mile gap between it and the rest of the inner islands seemed like an excellent target.
 
 However, the wind had conspired to prevent us from setting out on several occasions. It is to the SE of Svartlöga, and much of the wind had been from that direction so far. Being so far out, it also needs settled weather to make the journey. In addition, the direct route is not in a main channel and passes through many groups of small rocks, which look pretty off-putting on the chart.
 
 However, now I have gained confidence in the accuracy of the electronic charts, with settled weather and most of all, a nice sou’westerly breeze, today seemed the day for this trip. Sadly, Trevor and I could not interest any of the children in this adventure, so just the two of us set out with enough provisions for a two-night trip.
 
 The brisk breeze whisked us along on a lovely three-sail reach and we quickly passed between Ängskär and Kalskär, shortening sail to main and staysail only. The wind gradually shifted to put us on a training run and we contemplated reefing, but Aurora seemed happy to fly- we did not dip below 5kt on the whole run.
 
 It was interesting passing beyond the penultimate island group, Fredlana, into open sea. For the first time, I felt the sea swell and we had an empty horizon ahead of us. I could make out a couple of masts poking above the horizon and, as we drew closer, the islands themselves rose up out of the sea. I don’t know if its because it was windy, but this place had more of an outpost feel as we arrived at Storön- the name means “big island”.
 
 The anchorage was very snug, with a narrow and well sheltered channel between the main island and it’s neighbour. The channel was only about 20m wide and was crammed with boats. Not for the first time, we were glad that Aurora finds herself suited to a different type of mooring than most local boats; we found a nice low-lying section over which her bow sip can hang; being much shallower draught gives us access to spots most yachts cannot use.

 There were many offers of help, but we were soon secured to convenient rings in the rock, though I was not so happy with the holding of the stern anchor. Still, it was very easy to get on and off Aurora here. The topology is so different to what I am used to, with such steep rock that a boat may anchor close enough to the shore to simply step off.
 
 
 
The landmark feature (literally!) is the lighthouse. It was completed in 1875, is made of cast iron and is of an interesting design, different to any I had seen before. To my amazement, one may just climb up to the top to admire the view. Trev and I reached the top to find a family drinking wine and enjoying the amazing view. It turned out that they knew the neighbours on Svartlöga well.

The lamp for the lighthouse is only a 40W filament bulb and yet it casts its warning across many miles of sea. At first it seems quite dim, as the lamp turns on just after sunset. However, when the sky darkens, the light seems very bright. The views are staggering- to the South, East and North almost all sea, but to the west, the island groups of the archipelago are all laid out.

There were also two “labyrinths”- mazes made of stones laid out on a flat rock. These are 3000 years old, or made by the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, depending on whom you listen to! The maze itself consists of just one branch- one leads quickly to the middle and the other winds tortuously to the middle. Perhaps this is a metaphor for choosing a path and sticking to it, or perhaps that all paths eventually lead to the same end…?

The final act of the day was to admire the sun set into the sea, leaving a lovely texture to the darkening sky. As night fell, many toads came swaggering out of their daytime hideyholes. At times, care was needed not to tread on them! Like many of the islands, one can see wildlife at close quarters.