Author: captain

Goooooooooooooooood going! We are doing well.
Friday 22 May, 2009 sailing from Abbekas to Simrishamn
Position 0730 UTC 55*23.6 N 13*36.3 E

Near gale winds warning on the radio. But it is from the west, right in our
back. We tank some diesel and get out of the tiny harbour through the small opening between the piers.

Windy alright. We bust out of the shallows with the engine at
half-speed ahead. Then roll out a piece of the foresail and are off toward Simrishamn.
The logg clocks 7.5 knots, sometimes we surf down the wave crests with a
top speed of 9 knots SOG. Average speed is 6.4 knots with about one third
of the genua up. At 1228 UTC we have passed the southeastern tip of
Scania and move up North, in leeward of the land. Reach Simrishamn at
1500 UTC (position 55* 33.6 N 14* 21.0 E) and get a warm welcome from
the Dutch couple on the Blackwater, who have stayed in port due to the
weather, and the many German boats lying in port, also waiting for better weather. We go downtown and
wait for my son and daughter to arrive by train. They are joining us for the last leg of this
trip. During the evening a heavy thunderstorm whips across the bay. We
sleep well in spite of the crackling of thunder and whipping rain on the deck above us. Goodnight!

Thursday 21 May, sailing from Falsterbo to Ystad and Abbekas
Position 0730 UTC 55*24.8 N 12* 55.8 E

Ronja’s birthday! The Danish radio is warning for near gale winds in
Kattegatt and Skagerack, but not for the southern Baltic Sea, where we
are. We have some clouds and windy weather this morning. On land it is
sunny and warm. Christina and I find a grocery shop and buy some fresh
foods. Then we pack and want to cross under the Falsterbo bridge at 1100
UTC. Just missed the bridge opening as I called in on channel 73 to the
bridge control tower. We have to wait another hour. Break out the
coffee and some goodies and enjoy the sunrays. When it is time to go
through the bridge we are called on VHF and told to steam up to the
bridge. There is a German boat behind us waiting. When the bridge is
half open, the tower calls “Full steam ahead in the middle!” and we run
through at 7.5 knots 🙂

After the short Falsterbo canal we get out into
the Baltic Sea. Feels great to have passed three different seas on the
way to Karlskrona. Out on the sea we have the wind straight against (10
msec NE to E) and have to run on engine at half-speed the whole time.
The wind picks up in the afternoon and it starts raining. The German
boat that accompanied us since Falsterbo takes a sharp turn and heads
back into the port of Smygehamn. We continue, but the wind picks up to
14-15 msec and we head in for Abbekaas harbour instead of for Ystad. We
get into the very small harbour at 1700 UTC behind a small fishing boat
that just returned from the sea. Thanks to their guidance we find our
way in safely across the shallows in the now heaving sea. The habour is
not very protected and we have to secure all things inside Isabell even
while in port. A good nights sleep is all we need, and possibly some
diesel…

Wednesday 20 May, 2009 sailing from Barseback to Falsterbo
Position 0730 UTC 55* 45.4 N 12* 54.2 E

Our best sailing day! Winds are even and from the southwest. Air
temperature is 18 degrees C and feels warm halfway into the month of May. Christina feels better. This
morning Joakim went ashore to get back to city-life. We miss him on board.

Small dolphins follow Isabell for short while…
After having helped Joakim to the busstop in this small town, we head
out to sea at 0930 UTC. Sailing toward Malmoe gives us a fair speed, but
the wind died completely after one hour. We get out the coffee and
goodies and after having “fikat” we start the diesel and motor toward
Malmoe. The turning torso tower is well visible from a distance, as is
the Bridge across the Oresund. After 45 minutes on the engine, the wind
comes back stronger and we hoist all the sail we have and get an average
speed of 6.5 knots on the logger. Crossing under the huge bridge at
1521 UTC. What a feeling! The wind turn more westerly and we cruise down
to Falsterbo canal at a stride pace. Wind between 8 and 10 msec gives
us a speed across ground at 7.3 knots. We get to Falsterbo port at 1805
UTC and find a place to stay. Nice large harbour, backpoles at different
widths and very well protected from the sea. Good night.

On 2 May 2009 the mast went on Isabell and the next day we fitted the sails,
lazyjacks, and stackpacks. The wind instrument went missing, but was
later recovered by Lena and put on top of the mast before the trip to
Karlskrona. All the other instruments were installed. Food and other
necessities were brought on board.

Isabell will sail to Karlskrona from the port of Hinsholmkilen,
Gothenburg. Weather permitted we will start on May 17. See our
preliminary route on the map below.

We decided that we need to do a
U-turn if we start hearing Spanish or French on the radio 🙂 See the
daily reports later… The trip was great fun!

Tuesday 19 May, 2009 sailing from Råå (pronounced as “raw”) to Barsebäck
Position 0730 UTC 56* 17.9 N 12* 26.3 E

In the morning we go visit the museum to see Golden Lady, Kurt B’s Monsun. We can only look at it through the windows, since the museum is closed today. Grrrr…

Christina is not feeling well today and is taking it easy aboard. Joakim and I walk around the cozy little town and find the library, outside of which Kurt B got a cobble stone set with his name engraved in it. We find the stone and walk back to Isabell. Then it is time to leave at 1300 UTC. Sailing for Lomma, we end up at Barseback harbour instead. We sailed with full genua and main sails up. In the evening the wind dies down and we have to start the engine once more. Icebreaker Oden is in the drydock at Landskrona. We try and call her on the VHF, but no answer. Too bad. Had been fun to talk to the crew again. Then a heavy thunderstorm is closing in on us from across to Denmark. We seek shelter in the nearest harbour, Barseback. While turning into the port entrance, which is very poorly marked out, we run aground lightly. Get loose by backing the engine in reverse and inch into the harbour. Here we tie in with a single other guestboat, a Danish S/Y called Moray. Two other HR monsun boats are spotted in this small harbour. Both are not masted yet, but in the water. During the night heavy thunder and hard rain pass over us. The Danes haven’t closed their hatches and their boat is swamped during the night. Strange habit, to leave portholes open when it is raining! We are well and dry. Greatful for another day at sea.

Monday 18 May, 2009 sailing from Träslövsläge to Råå (pronounced as “raw”)
Position 0730 UTC 57* 3.8 N 12* 13.2 E

An early start. Low winds, good visibility. We have to run the engine most of the time, since the sea is dead calm and winds vary between 0 and 3 msec. We pass Hallands Väderö around 1450 UTC and see one seal in the distance with binoculars, hardly any traffic, nice. Several tumlare, small dolphins, cross through our wake behind the boat. Fun to see some life. In the vicinity of Helsingborg we see many more ships. But we are clear of the shipping lane, so no collision courses at all. As we approach Helsingborg, a heavy thunderstorm crosses land right near us, and the winds turn very high and ghusty for a spell. Isabell has no problem with that, especially as we run on the engine. It gets dark before we get to port at Råå, but we have all the nav aids up and running and get into port without any problems. Find a box to park in in
the dark, and now we have good use of the bright deck light in the front of the mast. Unusual to use that during summers in Sweden, since it is light most of the time then. Another day on the sea behind us, we are glad to have found this pearl of the Oresund.

Sunday 17 May, 2009 sailing from Gothenburg to Varberg
Position 0730 UTC 57* 39.6 N 11* 51.03 E

Hoisted aboard the dinghy. Leave port running on the engine in light
drizzle and little wind. On board we have the crew; Christina, Joakim,
and Johannes, all excited about being on our way. At 1000 UTC we cut the
engine and run on sails, little wind, so we do not get far. After 3
hours we start the engine again and move southwards. The scenery is
nice, many small stony islands in the Gothenburg archipelago. Land looks
like stony desert here, unable as we are to see the forested inlands.
We arrive at Varbergs southern harbour (Träslövsläge) at 1730 UTC. Very
cozy place indeed. Well sheltered and easy to get in and out of by boat.
On the radio we hear a near gale warning for the northern Skagerack.
That may mean we will have wind to sail tomorrow? Here, the wind is only
2-3 msec. Not much at all. During the evening in port it drizzled
lightly. Good to have a roof over our heads. Good night!

This is 2011 seasons last sailing trip. 4 degrees outside, sunny and icy winds. The bridge between Stockholm seaside and the lake Malaren (inside) was closed for repairs, so Monica and the skipper had to sail a 3 day around the corner trip to get to the winter-harbour. Only 97 NM… But we had some pretty nice sailing on the way!!! : )

In the end of October Isabell was lifted out of the water. The hull in spite of not having used antifouling paint had only a few barnacles just around the rudder blade and the propeller shaft. Amazing that she kept so clean. Now it is too cold to do any work on the ship. Have to wait until it gets a bit warmer again. In the meantime, some work can be done at home. A short list of things-to-do is sitting on the kitchen table. Later!