Stage 11: Sweden again

Saturday 14 July
All week, the forecast for today had showed heavy rain and squalls starting in the afternoon, but fine weather before that. By Friday those squalls were predicted to start in the evening, but we didn't want to take an chances, so we planned to complete our passage back to Ystad by early afternoon. So we started before 7am, and were able to sail at first with the drifter and full main sail. There was a substantial swell, which we thought would decrease, but it persisted all the way, even after the wind had died down and we had to motor. The ferries passed, as before, and the traffic separation scheme was fine, though there were a few ships to monitor. We got back to Ystad at about 2pm, as planned, found an empty box, and relaxed with some beers. The rain squalls did not materialise. The boat next door went out and reappeared a couple of hours later with a bucket full of fish that they had caught, one of which they gave us - a small cod, I think - we had it for dinner and very nice it was too.

Sunday 15 July
One of the most interesting prehistoric sites in southern Sweden, Kaseberga, is near Ystad. We both measured it as just 9 km away on the bike route map, so were slightly surprised to find a signpost saying 11 km when we were already halfway there. The route was rather dull, along the main road without a separate cycle track for much of the way.

The site itself was very crowded with families. It is a boat-shaped ring of standing stones, right on the top of a steep hill overlooking the sea. The stones (79 of them) are each 1.5-3 m high, and the ship-shape is oriented to the summer solstice, with various other astronomical significances in the spacing of the other stones. It is pretty impressive, but what was more striking in comparison to, say, Stonehenge, was the way the children were climbing all over the stones. We went down the step slope to the tiny harbour below, and bought some smoked fish at the smokery there - judging by the queue, it is well known as a very good source of smoked fish, which is eaten a lot here.

We cycled off to the only round church in southern Sweden, and when we went in, we found a service had just finished, and a social gathering with coffee and cakes was just starting. One of the parishoners showed us round.

It has been altered several times since the 11th century when it was built, so the round bit is only a small, but impressive, part of the church. There were some murals in the round part and a big 1900 extension - almost a separate church which had inherited the 12th century font.

This was superb, carved intricately with a story from Acts, by the same mason who carved pieces in Lund cathedral, and in excellent condition.










One of the things we have been observing is the nationalities of the boats in various harbours and the languages in which instructions are given. In most of Denmark, there were more German boats than any other and everything was in Danish and German. As we have moved east, Swedish boats have become more common, so that in Bornholm, Danes and swedes outnumbered Germans. There are always a few Dutch, norwegians, and Finns, but Brits are very rare. In Sweden, English is the second language, but in Bornholm, Polish was added to the list, and a few Polish boats and one Lithuanian, appeared.

Monday 16 July
It was another day of whistling winds and heavy, but short, showers. We stayed put in Ystad and really did very little. The chandlers close to the harbour is all that a chandlers should be. It smelt right. There was a jumble of second hand and new stuff and some knowledgable staff who knew exactly where to look for any item. We bought a pilot guide to the Swedish coast, in English - the same one that Terry and Gavin had showed us in Ebeltoft, because we expect to be back to explore the Swedish coast in later years. Gordon also bought a thick jumper - this was a bit of a shock, because he hates spending money, particularly on clothes, but he really fell for this jumper! Apart from a wander around Ystad, and some domestic stuff, that was about all for today.

The museum in Ystad

Tuesday 17 July
We moved another step west today. The wind was in the west, so we had to tack a few times, and there was a heavy swell left over from the high winds. When the wind was above about 12 kts, we made good progress, but when it dropped below that, the waves slowed us down to almost nothing, so for some of the way, we motor-sailed. The route to Gisslovs Lage is completely straightforward, and apart from being overtaken by lots of motoring yachts, and a few tacks off shore to avoid the reef off the southern-most point in Sweden, it was uneventful. When we arrived, I ascertained that, as I had remembered it, the use of the washing machine was free, so we now have washed everything. Any cruising family will tell you that making sure one can get washing done at reasonable cost can be a problem, so finding somewhere where they do not charge is a real bonus! Tomorrow, back to Denmark, we hope.