Memas first sail
to "Norrland"

Sten and Märta Brycker in Nyköping are well-known by all OE-sailors. They sail an OE 36 called”Mema IV”.
   In 1992 they went together with their friend Sven-Erik Andersson sailing along Norrland (the north east coast of Sweden) up to the Ulvö islands at the “High Coast”. Here you can read Sten’s diary of that sailing trip.

We have sailed in Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Mediterranean and in The West Indies, but never along our own Swedish north coast. Now in June we at last decided to do it. At that time of the year it would be light, there would be no mosquitoes and the harbours would be empty. But above all we had Sven-Erik Andersson – our constant companion – who was able to swap his job as a captain on SAS to be a co-pilot in ”Mema” in June.

Necessary planning
The unknown waters needed planning. We obtained harbour books and borrowed the sea charts from an OE 33 sailor, Anders Lind, who had also experiences to share. All of the harbours with at least 2 metres (6ft 5in) of free water depth were marked. Emergency harbours in case of extreme weather were carefully noted – especially around the Gävle bay – a frightening stretch of water for many sailors.

Now we are off – to the OE meeting
June 5   We left on our trip from our home in Nyköping. How would we reach the OE meeting in the Nämdö bay by June 6th? It was at least 70 nautical miles from Nyköping and the engine wouldn’t start. The electronic piece of equipment in the instrument panel had short circuited. Unbelievable – but a new piece would be coming from Stockholm in the afternoon. Märta carried provisions onboard but first of all our warm clothes – after all, we were going to Norrland. I stowed the sail bunk full as though we were racing. You must have alternatives. On the couchhouse we lashed three dismantled bicycles under a tarpaulin. But when would I be able to get the engine going? It wasn’t until 6pm that I could first do a test start. It purred like a cat, but oh were we sweaty. A dip in the already 23°C (73°F) water restored our body temperature and it felt great to cast off.
   The wind had dropped so we used the engine and continued stowing. We reached Ankarudden near Herrhamraleden on the inside of Landsort and put in at 10.30pm after 25 nautical miles.

June 6   The Swedish National Day began with sunshine and fair wind. We furled out the light wind genoa and we glided pleasantly northwards along Mysingen. Around 5.30pm we were welcomed by a happy “OE-squadron”. Majbritt and Biörn invited us for a drink in their beautiful OE 32 ”Otium”. We had a barbecue on the rocks. Pleasant atmosphere! Glorious evening!

On to the KSSS meeting at Lagnö
June 7   The morning began with a visit to each other’s boats. It was great to meet so many satisfied and proud boat owners. Since we were delayed we had to use the engine in order to reach the island of Bullandö and the 75th birthday of naval officer and sailor Göran Nordling. (His son Lars had worked at the OE wharf). The homebuilt birdhouse of varnished parquet was presented to the birthday person and not without emotion. At 2pm we again cast off.
   The following winds and gybes took us quickly through the Husarö route up to the northern side of the island of Lagnös. KSSS (The Royal Swedish Yacht Club) had a “Whitsunday squadron” moored there for a final party at the tavern ”Roslagens pärla”. At. 5.30pm we surprised everyone, except the head of the group who knew that we were coming. We squeezed in between the boats and moored next to an OE 36 called ”Carolina”. Drink, dinner, dancing! The summer had got off to a really great start. Two sailing parties in a row!

On to Furusund and Öregrund
June 8   A dramatic departure! The onshore wind assaulted us. The anchor slipped. We drifted towards ”Carolina”. All hands on deck. I ran to the bow with the anchor line. We turned ”Mema” and eased her out. Phew! We then went by engine to Furusund where Sven-Erik awaited us.

June 9   Sven-Erik ”signed on” at about 10am. So, at last, now we felt ready to take on the sea and a gale. We rounded Kapellskär at 12 noon and furled out the genoa. We got a broad reach wind and made seven knots outside of Väddö.

We put into port at Öregrund (pictured above) on the inside of the outer pontoon pier at around 7pm. We had dinner in the cockpit in sunshine between 8pm and 9.30pm. Afterwards a romantic wander around the town before it became dark. It already felt like we were well on our way to the Norrland.

Bunkering at Öregrund
June 10   Now the adventure began! As early as 7am Märta left and went to the back door of the local bakery to buy freshly baked bread. The bakery smell led her to the door, but there she was stopped. The morning tired baker met her request with a “No”. ”How would I get anything done if every sailor knocked on my back door before opening time?” It didn’t help when she explained that “all of the sailors”– were only us, as we were the only boat in the guest harbour. Märta was not very happy when she came back onboard.

The Gävle bay challenge
Provisioning and filling the tanks took a long time. It was already after 9.30am before we cast off from Öregrund for the 60 nautical mile sail over the Gävle bay
   When we set our course for NNW, we discovered that the wind was in the no-go zone and at a minimum of 8 m/s (16 knots) and not the 6 m/s (12 knots) easterly winds that we had been promised. We were not in the mood for 12 hours of hard cruising, so we cranked up the “iron spinnaker” and hoping that Pohlman (a well-known Swedish weather presenter) would eventually be proved right. At 12 noon it finally happened. ”Turn off the iron! Out with the genoa! Ease out a bit!” – ”Mema” raced through the water like a javelin towards the Söderhamn area. Wonderful!
   We had planned to use Gävle only as an emergency harbour. All of the marked emergency harbours around the Gävle bay were tricky if we wanted to put into port in bad visibility. The dark blue water and many stones and reefs made it a windy route. We felt confident when we used our new GPS, Raystar 390, which functioned perfectly, particularly as sea navigating demanded course changes in order to avoid dangerous reefs. Without the GPS the navigation would have demanded mental exertion even in clear weather.

Storjungfrun – an unforgettable memory
At around 6pm the island of Storjungfrun emerged like a wonderful mirage. We moored at around 7.30pm and we noted that the harbour was even more beautiful and more protected than we had heard. The sun was still high, so we took a dip in the 17°C (63°F), crystal clear water.

The island of Storjungfrun (pictured above) is an old fishing harbour with picturesque wooden cottages and boathouses, which were now uninhabited and waiting for the summer guests. Our evening walk took us to the old chapel from the early 19th century. Confirmation candidates from the mainland came out in a tour boat for evening devotions. It was as though we had travelled back in time 100 years. It was soothing after thoroughly trying out our sea legs earlier in the day.

Emergency harbour in pleasant Söderhamn
June 11   It was still sunny but the wind was strong. We set out on the stretch to Söderhamn. I changed to working jib and took in a reef. When we were well out along out course, we met rough seas and the winds right on the nose at 10 m/s (20 knots). Why not go sightseeing at Söderhamn instead? After all, this was a holiday! We set a course to the south, safer approach.
   We’d have to be zigzagging along dark blue water on the chart. See special chart! It wasn’t on the chart. We were missing that special chart. A huge blunder in planning. Besides, the water was at least half a metre (1ft 6in) lower than normal. Driving with the engine at three knots saved us. Closer in at Söderhamn we thought that we should fill up at the service station. We got caught by low water 100 metres (330ft) before the service station. So, instead we managed to dock at Blomstertorget (“The Flower Square”) a little further out, even though we felt the bottom scraping along the keel strongly. Märta had a flowerpot she kept onboard ”Mema” so we got diesel with the help of the can and out bicycles. We got Märta a flowerpot to take care of onboard, and Mema got diesel with the help of cans and our bikes. Afterwards, we cycled around and went to the sweets shop and and also bought that special chart. For Gävle bay demands specials. The sailing home has to be secured).

"Mema" leaks
Back onboard, we discovered that we had a lot of water under the cabin sole. A big investigation was necessary. First after running the engine with all of the floor removed we discovered the problem: through the grease nipple on the rudderstock tube, the water was spraying in. The ball in the nipple had rusted away. We were able to purchase a new nipple at a nice old workshop up in the town.

Segelvik – a magnificent sailing harbour
We said a fond farewell to Söderhamn and proceeded out to the sailing club’s outer harbour at Segelvik. As the only guest boat, we were welcomed by the former club president and the flight engineer at F-15 (a Swedish airforce unit), Yngve Unosson. The evening was mostly devoted to old flying reminiscences.

Wedding anniversary at Mellanfjärden
June 12   We encountered clear weather and a gentle breezes as we wended our way out through the stony skerries. It was nice to have that special chart until we got out into open water. We went by engine 27 nautical miles to the idyllic fishing village of Hölick outside of the town of Hudiksvall. We bought smoked Baltic herring that we enjoyed with a bottle of white wine in the cockpit. After all, it was Märta and my 44th wedding anniversary.
   The winds were still non existent so we again motored to the possibly even more idyllic Mellanfjärden (pictured below). In the first class tavern ”Sjömärket”, we enjoyed an anniversary dinner: pickled herring pie and an old-fashioned salmon pudding. The tavern offered us complimentary strawberries and ice cream, decorated toffee. What a day!

Towards Härnösand and a cathedral concert
In weak winds we struck out north alternating between the engine and a light wind genoa towards the fishing villages of Lörudden and Brämö, which, unfortunately were too shallow for us at low water. We also bypassed Sundsvall and later we glided through Härnösand’s southern entrance. The newly completed, luxury villas that we saw along the shore made us understand that Norrland had to be as affluent as the rest of Sweden
   Inside Härnösand we had to wait an hour for bridge openings. We enjoyed a drink, while looking at the mirror-like water and the beautiful parks along the beaches and the sight of an excellent slalom slope above the city. A “Mistress” (also an Olle Enderlein designed boat) kept us company by the bridge with the comment: ”unfortunately I didn’t have the means to afford to buy an OE 36”.
   Our evening walk through the pretty town took us past the county governors house area, the nostalgic tavern, St Peterslogen and on to the cathedral. In the church we enjoyed (as the only audience) a rehearsal of an organ recital.

The High Coast
We could certainly have stayed longer at Härnösand, but we were aiming for the Ulvö islands off the coast of Örnsköldsvik, before we completely ran out of time and were forced to return. We continued heading north – now for the first time through the inner skerries. The renowned area, The High Coast offers impressive natural scenery with sparse settlements. We passed inside of the lighthouse at Högbonden. The highly situated former lighthouse keeper’s house is nowadays a youth hostel and is worth a visit for those who want to enjoy a sea view. For lunch we turned the boat towards Bönhamn (pictured below) – as idyllic and picturesque as all of the other fishing villages.

Nearing our destination – the Ulvö islands
Now we had only 15 nautical miles left until the Ulvö islands. We stretched out nicely with the working jib and headed towards our goal, but after sailing only 5 nautical miles we found ourselves in thick fog. It rolled in quickly from the sea. It felt safe to be able to turn on our little Apelcoradar, that led us all the way to the pier by the Ulvöarnas hotel.
   The approach in thick fog was not as beautiful as we had hoped for. Nevertheless, the reception was so much the better. Outside of the hotel a big band was playing, with the famous guitarist Varenius (pictured below).

A long table full of barbecued food was laid out nearby. The entire population of the island were invited to celebrate the hotel’s renovation and the new huge pool. As the only guest boat, the restaurateur, Norlinder, invited us to join in. What a party!

June 15   We had now covered 220 nautical miles in five days. We resolved to set back immediately so as not to waste a single spare day. Surely, we must be meeting some gale anyway? After a dip in the pool we left the Ulvö islands in sunny conditions (pictured below) and had a pleasant free wind sailing down to just outside of Högbonden and Härnö.

Outside of Härnö masses of people were bathing along the beaches as though they were in the Mediterranean. The wind increased in the afternoon and the boat’s leaning went up to 25°. I took on the challenge of baking a sponge cake to have with coffee. It was better than I expected.

Sundsvall in a sandstorm
At around 7pm we put into the port at Sundsvall along the inner harbour at the E4 (a major freeway in Sweden). We didn’t expect that we when we woke up the next morning, we would be in a sandstorm. The sand crossed the E4 with the force of a gale in the increasingly strong westerly wind.

I’d rather be in a gale at sea
than in a sandstorm on land
First provisioning – then a ship counsel meeting. The wind had turned to NNW and increased to a gale. The sand storm felt worse, so we resolved to leave. Even with only a reefed jib we danced along, doing 7 knots towards the island of Brämö, where, under heavy heeling, we steered towards Galtström. Once there, we found our first inhospitable harbour. The pier – constructed for earlier iron ore shipping – was too high for our fenders. We went out again and travelled under heavy heeling to the Mellanfjärd – out favourite harbour. The wind had further increased, so that it would have been enough to have sailed with only a bare rig. That drink before bed felt good.

June 17   We are moored at Hölick again. We knew that the fish restaurant had now opened for the season. The fishing boat had been removed, the floor put in place, the chairs and tables were in place and there was a smörgåsbord laid out with the sea’s delicacies. Genuine, nice and cosy and good for a really reasonable sum. In the afternoon we sailed into Hudiksvall. We docked at a larger marina close inside the city. The evening tour around town didn’t eventuate because we watched the World Cup soccer game Sweden-England on our tv.)

Midsummer with sailors
Midsummer approaches. From phone calls we knew that we were welcome to the sailing party for Söderhamn boat club in Segelvik. We left Hudiksvall after a pleasant “pier chatting” with the happy “Hudiks” (people living in Hudiksvall). We sailed with free wind past Kråkö and Agön. The wind increased to 9 m/s (18 knots). Even the speed increased, so that we were able to moor in Segelvik at around 4pm. No people were visible. Good! We could clean up in peace.
   Midsummer eve began with sunshine, shelter and a morning dip. Later, we decorated Mema with birch leaves and branches and put up the flagstaff and a special silk flag. Söderhamn’s residents poured in and decorated the club area above the pier. White pants, dresses., drink, salmon, cakes, coffee, with, community stories and dancing. What more can one ask for!

The Gävle bay is conquered again
June 20   Early rousing. We were aiming for Öregrund. We prepared sandwiches in case of a gale. The rubber dinghy was lashed to the fore deck. After checking the weather report at. 8am we cast off. Thankyou Segelvik for a fabulous midsummer!
   We sailed directly into the wind. Engine – engine – engine – strong, thank heavens! For the first time, at around 12 noon the wind turned to the SW 8 m/s (16 knots). We set full sails and struck out from the Björn lighthouse towards Öregrund. At around 7pm we glided into harbour after 72 nautical miles. We felt as though we were back in home waters.

The follow up chat shows that our appetite is whet
After dinner we summarised our north coast trip: The hardships were insignificant, but we also had exceptional luck with the weather. We didn’t need to use wet weather gear or any of the warm clothes we had brought with us. There were no mosquitoes, no sailing boats to race against, no crowds and no bellowing in the harbours except for just now in Öregrund, but glorious, light evenings.
   The fishing villages were like small gems, that one couldn’t get enough of. The people we met were happy and friendly. They had time for us
   The sailing felt more rich in memories than any other trip had for a long time. Next time, we must allow more time – and there will certainly be a next time!

Sten Brycker

More information:

The Swedish High Coast
This is one of the 12 designated UNESCO World Heritage sites here in Sweden. A World Heritage site is a place of natural or cultural interest which is so valuable that it is important for the whole of humanity. You can view more about this area at http://whc.unesco.org/sites/898.htm

The Stockholm Archipelago
Other islands visited by the Brycker’s can be seen at the site for The Archipelago Foundation at www.skargardsstiftelsen.se You can view this in Swedish, English , German or Finnish.

KSSS
The Royal Swedish Yacht Club, KSSS, is Sweden´s largest and oldest yacht racing society. You can read about it (in English ) at www.ksss.se

 

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Updated April 18, 2004 webmaster