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A Short Detour to Sweden |
By Thomas Hillebrand
(Part 3 of an multi-part travelogue)
Sunday, August 14, 2005
 | | Blaesinge: More than a harbour of refuge |
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Having spent nearly two days and two nights at sea and finally coming to a harbour, it is nice - without exception. But Blaesinge at the east coast of Oeland is really a dream. We went to this little fishery port because it is the only one within 50 nautical miles with enough draught coming in from the open Baltic. And already during the approach it we see that is much more than a harbour of refuge.
First we went to sleep. Spending two nights at sea Claudia did not sleep at all, my maximum sleeping time was about two hours. And we recovered without any trouble until the early afternoon.
 | | Coat care: The amount of belongings that can get wet is amazing... |
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After waking up we started what Claudia calls "coat care". The day before we had a lot of breaking waves coming over the boat. Looking back, it seems that each wave brought a bathtub of water over the deck and the helmsman. Even wearing quite good sailing clothes - everything was completely drenched. And a few liters of water always find their way into the boat. Water mainly prefers to land on the logbook, the sea charts and the cushions. However, this day - a Sunday - is literally a sun day since sun is back for the first time after a long period of bad weather. We put a lot of things outside for drying.
And then we had to solve the question of the personal hygiene. The Pionierski port did not have a shower, we now are in real distress, just to make an insinuation what it means to be without a shower for more than one week! I said to Claudia: "I will go and find out where the showers are". She answers with a pessimistic face "I do not think that they have a shower here". I argued - sure of victory - "That would be the first Swedish port without a good looking and fully functioning shower room" and went to look for it. I asked the few people in the harbour in English (in Scandinavia nearly everybody is able to communicate in English) and got the same answer every time. "A shower? We do not have one." But one man recommended asking the president of the local fishery co-operative who is puttering on his cutter a few meters away.
There I suddenly saw an open door in the building of the co-operative. A lady of prime age was working with a cleaning mop, a bucket and a wipe in a smart and neat shower room. I immediately turned to her and asked when I could take my shower here. But she answered, that this shower is only dedicated to the fishermen. And - as if she would only intensify may pain - she added: "The demurrage for your boat is 100 Crowns". I murmured something like "...forgot my money" and went back to the boat.
Having been forced to spend ten days without a shower and having been rejected one meter from the place of desire - my last reserves got released. I had an idea! Back on the boat I took 100 Crowns from our currency purse. When I walked back to the building, the cleaning action was over, a fact which met exactly my plan. The door to the shower was closed, the lady had disappeared.
I then went to visit the president of the fishery co-operative on his cutter and I found him in his hut at the pier. I first pretended to pay the demurrage and gave him 100 crowns. I casually asked "where can we take a shower?" And - as usual - he answers "We do not have a shower". His eyes carved into his workbench. I now played my trump card and said: "And what about the nice shower room which has just been cleaned on the other side of the pier?" His answer was without words: Like a pupil having been caught red-handed copying from his neighbour he smiles, takes the shower key from a hook on the wall and gave it to me. It is more than a saying: Scandinavians cannot lie, anyway not in a consequent way. That’s why they are really sympathetic and it helps a lot when you are in distress.
 | | Marsh areas near Blaesinge |
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After having had the shower and having distributed a few bottles of German beer in the harbour we were treated like old friends. They even sold us a fresh wild salmon caught in the Baltic which they kept in their cold store. Our dinner was therefore state of the art for a homecoming offshore sailor.
 | | Scandinavian evening light is really something special |
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Monday, August 15, 2005
After a restorative sleep we cast off at 06:30 a.m. The wind was hardly noticeable today so we decided to go a long distance by motor in order to meet our travel plan. We definitely would have to be back at work in seven days and we still were 230 nautical miles from home.
 | | Sunrise in Blaesinge |
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However, about 8 a.m. we ran into a fog bank dispersing from land on the water. This is quite normal after a few rainy days when an anticyclone is approaching, however, it was annoying. Shouldn’t we deserve better weather conditions? Fortunately the visibility remained so that any other ship could be detected in time and the evasion manoeuvre could be done. A few years ago on Kalmarsund, the other side of Oeland, we had a fog with only 10 meters visibility. And then - we could only hear it - a ship appeared suddenly next to us. Regarding 17 years of sailing I would say that this was one of the most frightening experiences on the water.
 | | Only fog ahead |
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At 11:50 a.m. we passed the most southerly point of Oeland, called Soedra Udde, which we only could guess due to the thick fog. A few nautical miles northerly from here is Groenhoegen, where we originally intended to go. We had already been there several times. When doing long distance trips over the Baltic, also Groenhoegen is strategically well situated, however, it is not as nice as Blaesinge. Nevertheless a special attraction of Groenhoegen has to be cited: Right northerly from the harbour the Kalmarsund beach consists of lose limestone. Going on an excursion with a hammer, even beginners easily find ammonites and other fossilised prehistoric creatures. I already have found a geode there, a hollow stone filled with crystals.
The fog only disappeared in the early afternoon after we had passed the highly frequented Kalmar fairway.
At 6:40 p.m. we entered the port of the Karlskrona skerries. One hour later we moored in the marina of the city. This day we made 70 nautical miles.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
 | | Karlskrona: The city offer a lot of sidewalk cafes |
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We met our time plan again and spend a day in Karlskrona, the city which is surrounded by water.
Karlskrona is situated in the most southerly sailing ground of the Swedish skerries in the Hanoe-Bay and has been built on 33 islands. Only the northerly parts of the city have meanwhile spread to the mainland. The centre of town is situated on the island Trossoe.
The city was built by the Swedish King Karl XI (*1655, +1697) in order to have a well protected, ice free harbour for his naval force. Karlskrona grew quickly and was the second largest city of Sweden after Stockholm for a very long time.
 | | Monument of Karlskrona’s originator, Karl XI |
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On the Stortorget, the big square in the city centre, you will find a monument to Karlskrona’s originator, Karl XI, in front of the Fredriskyrke.
A must is the marine museum. It is dedicated to the military importance from the time of Karl XI until today. This museum hosts a recent event which is meticulously documented and which impressed us a lot. In 1981 a soviet submarine got stuck during a spy trip in the Karlskrona skerries and needed Swedish support to get free again. The Swedish played for time. They wanted to find out the maximum about the intruders. They finally succeeded: The Swedish secret service could prove by secret measurements with a Geiger counter that the U137 even was equipped with atomic weapons during its spy trip.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Weather was perfect and we started at 8:30 a.m., leaving Sweden towards Denmark. Our destination was the island of Christiansoe, north of Bornholm. Close-hauled we toiled toward the island for 13 long hours. When we finally arrived there, night had fallen and the visit to the restaurant would be omitted because it was too late. Anyhow, we experienced a breathtaking moonrise.
 | | Moonrise |
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Next: Part 4 - Bornholm: Far East of the Danish Empire
If you want to supplement this article with hints or own experiences, please click here.
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