Week 16 15 – 21 April 2019 Marstrand – Dannemark 75 nm

15 April Monday Marstrand – Stenungsund 17 nm
Slow morning and some tidying up before we left Marstrand and motored north.
Just south of Stenungsund Björn called a former college living in Stenungsund who invited us for a visit in the afternoon.
Moored just outside the big shopping mall and shortly after that Anders came and brought us to his house where we had a nice afternoon on their sunny veranda overlooking the fjord all the way south to Carlstens castle in Marstrand. Some places makes you wonder if a house wouldn’t be nice after all!

16 april Tuesday Stenungsund – Svanesund 5 nm
Spent the whole morning until noon shopping. Three turns to the chandlery and then groceries and wine in the close by mall. This is probably the closest we have moored to a mall.
Got some clouds after lunch but no rain. Cast our lines and motored a short trip north to Svanesund to visit friends for dinner.
As usual a pleasant evening and a nice short walk home to Moon under a full moon.

17 April Wednesday Svanesund – Mollösund 16 nm
Another day with clear sky and no wind. Motored west between Orust and Tjörn in almost complete solitude. Early spring and workdays there are almost no boats on the water.
Moored before lunch in Mollösund, an old fishing harbour. Today most houses sadly are occupied by people living here only in summertime.
Elisabeth and Roger, from yacht Bijou, have bought a house here and brought us to their new house. Again amazing views and surroundings.
The house was in final state of rebuilding so the dinner was served in Moon.

18 April Thursday Mollösund – Danholmen 3 nm
We have promised each other to only sail downwind, but with this weather without wind it’s not easy to fulfil that agreement!
After breakfast we moved a few miles north and moored to one of the buoys belonging to the Swedish cruising club. Launched the dinghy and drove around in the neighbouring archipelago. Walked around on two islands and enjoyed the clear and warm weather.
Surprised to learn that the outboard had survived the winter, in spit our neglect. The guy in Canada that fixed it in June did obviously a very good job!
After these tours in the dinghy we finalized the day with an Easter dinner, herring, potatoes and aquavit.

19 April Friday Danholmen – Storön, Gåsöarchipelag 8 nm
Another bright day with no wind. A short trip to a buoy further north.
Took the dinghy rowing in to the shore. Storön (Big Island) allows you to do a long walk with amazing views in all directions overlooking the archipelago.
In spite it is Easter holiday there are still not many bots to compete with when we want to use a buoy.
Our thoughts during the walk were more or less completely with our friends in Yacht Tina Princess, in distress between Cap Verde and Canary Island.
They are on their final leg after five years circum navigation. Have probably hit something in the water beating north in twenty-five knots of wind.

20 April Saturday Storön – Långö close to Smögen 10 nm
Spent the morning on the island next to the one west of us, famous for big kettle holes from the big ice age. Lots of round holes formed by ice rivers and other shaped formations in the red granite. Very nice and interesting to see.
The splendid day was darkened by news about our friends in distress. Late last night they had to abandon their boat, rescued by a cargo vessel.
We can’t imagine the stress this was put on them. They have been living in their boat since many years before they started their trip, so it’s not only the boat, it’s their entire home that disappeared! In six days they will be in northern Spain.

31 April Sunday Långön Valön – Dannemark 10 + 3 nm
We were promised some southerly wind today and for that reason we left our anchorage quite early. But this high pressure have no wind. Again we motored, this time slowly through Soten channel with its swing bridge and took a buoy at Valö, aiming for a long walk after lunch.
But during lunch we discovered that the surroundings are accessible from the mainland, making the trail full of people as it was Sunday.
Left the buoy and after another three miles we took a buoy in Dannemark, dinghy ashore and a long walk wit no people around us and only the ocean west of us. Lots of traces from the old times when there was a stone quarry on more or less every island in northern part of the Swedish west coast.

Annika & Björn