Day 25, June 13. Me, myself and I

From: Stora Hästeholmen
To: Sörö
Distance: 58,5 km
Total Distance: 997,5 km
Wind: N 0-3 m/s turning SE after lunch 3-6 m/s
Weather: Sunny all day, 18 C (very cold morning, 2 C)
Alarm went off at 4 am this morning to make sure I would get to paddle some of today's distance without strong head wind. (Forecast again promising south easterly winds but I don't trust that forecast one bit at the moment.) Had a fantastic morning in the kayak, very light head wind, sunrise and the sea all to myself.

That was not only in the morning by the way, this entire day I have met/seen the great number of 0 people! I'm serious, I have not seen one single person for the whole day, two boats, yes, at a great distance, but no people. A very strange feeling but luckily I don't have any issues with being on my own so I try to enjoy it.
During a rather lengthy lunch break (needed to catch up on sleep after getting up at 4 am and had a great nap on a beach 😗) I could feel the wind starting to pick up and to my great surprise it was coming from south east! Yay, this will be a super afternoon!
Managed to put a really good distance behind me today, especially in the afternoon the kilometres just flew by, and this while seeing more and more islands. I have a long stretch of absolutely great archipelago ahead of me, I think there are some really good days coming up (despite the fact that it will probably start raining in a couple of days).

Fantastic blue sky and sea today.

Today's route:

Day 24, June 12. Feeling desperate, I must get a new phone

From: Sandvik
To: Stora Hästeholmen
Distance: 29,5 km
Total Distance: 939 km
Wind: NE 2-8 m/s (the #%#+! forecast claims I had SE winds since after lunch, that was NOT the case😡)
Weather: Sunny all day but still cold 16 C
First I must start by just saying, I'm soooo fed up with head wind!!! There, had to get it out, now I can move on.
Day started with a lovely breakfast with Gunnar and Lena, you guys have been taking such good care of me! Thank you!

My major project today was to buy a new phone since my old one was killed yesterday by drowning... First phone ever that I've destroyed, have previously always managed to keep them in perfect shape until they get too old. Well, I was lucky to be close to Kalmar, but being a Sunday there was not much of a choice among stores, only open store was 3. I just wanted to get a new phone but that was not possible so now I'm sitting here with a 24 month subscription and a phone locked in by 3 as the only possible mobile service provider... Desperate times call for desperate measures. At least I can take photos again and have some sort of link to civilization.
Kayaking through Kalmar and the moat around Kalmar castle was awesome, I was out of the wind and the castle is majestic with drawbridge and all. (No photos of this though, it was pre new phone-era). When passing under one of lots of bridges I met two other kayakers and got a tip on where to find a place to put the kayak while running errands in the city. It's not every day you find a jetty equipped with a specific kayak ramp 😀.

The high fence with barbed wire that surrounded the area made me feel like the kayak would be super safe while I was gone, getting me out and then back in was a bit of a mission though...
Thereafter I passed under the bridge to Öland

and struggled on in the head wind a little bit longer until I found this place:

Definitely the closest to the water I've pitched my tent so far, quite handy since it saved me some time not having to carry all the gear from the kayak to the tent (and vice versa tomorrow morning).
Today's route:

Day 23, June 11. Just another day in the kayak.

From: Äspenäsudde
To: Sandvik
Distance: 42 km
Total distance: 909,5 km
Wind: NE 2-9 m/s
Weather: Mostly sunny, 15 C (very cold northern winds)
Absolutely freezing this morning when I woke up, usually I just want to get out of the tent when hit by the first rays of sun since it gets super-hot. This morning when the sun started shining it was wonderful and I didn't want to leave at all. Finally got myself and all the stuff together and started paddling ten sharp. That might not seem so late but then just consider the fact that I had been awake since 6 am...
Had my goal set for the day and that was to reach Sandvik where I could spend the night with Gunnar and Lena, parents of a very good friend of mine. Head wind all day and the paddling was a boring struggle. At least I got to see heaps of seals close to the end of today's lap, there must have been at least 200 and they were quite playful, following the kayak, making big splashes when diving and just sticking their heads up looking at me pass by.
Now I'm lying in a proper bed again (feels like it was only yesterday I was in Kivik) after a great meal (including strawberries for desert👍), thank you Gunnar and Lena for your great hospitality!
Since the distance covered today was rather dull and I've given up photographing the seals there are no photos 😳 (plus also got my phone wet when putting it in the pocket on the spray skirt - result - dead 😢, have to try and resolve that tomorrow). Hope there will be an improvement tomorrow when I pass Kalmar.
Today's route:

Day 22, June 10. Compass now pointing north!

From:Aspö
To: Äspenäsudde
Distance: 45 km
Total distance: 867,5 km
Wind: NW-N 4-9 m/s
Weather: Crazy, tiny bit of sun in the morning, cloudy, thunder- and hailstorms, rain.
Woke up by the wind shaking the tent canvas this morning, immediately checked the forecast thinking this will be a bad day but the forecast had actually changed since last night and it was now in the morning the wind was bad, it was going to settle late afternoon.
Started paddling really enjoying the tailwind and had a great first hour then I started hearing thunder. Being out on the sea when there are thunderstorms closing in is not a pleasant experience. I know the probability is most certainly tiny but I get a bit worried I will get struck by lightning considering lightning goes for the highest point and even though I'm in a kayak I'm a high point compared to the surface (not by much, but still...). Today I was close to islands all the time so it was not scary in that sense. Well, there I was paddling, feeling pretty pleased, hearing the thunder from afar but after a while there was a new sound coming from behind, a bit like a roar, looked around and just saw this wall of rain closing in on me together with strong winds 😱. Put all gear on that I had, poogies, the hood of the jacket and also my hat on top of that, I was prepared! Let it rain! It did... So much that it hurt on my arms and shoulders where the drops landed, then I looked down on the spray skirt and realised that it was hail, up to a cm in diameter, falling. You can't do anything but laugh when being outside in weather like this, it is so powerful and somewhat comical to be stuck in a kayak when nature demonstrates who's boss. To my unbelievable luck I passed under a bridge just like 500 m after it all started and grabbed one of the poles under it and held on until the worst was over.

Close to two hours later I rounded the head Torhamnsudde which must be considered one of the milestones on this trip - the compass is now pointing north! And will continue to do so until I reach Haparanda! I' m officially on the east coast, hurray!!!

Stopped for lunch in Torhamn and found an open pizza place with this outlet next to the table 👍:

And that's where I'm sitting right now waiting for the rain to stop and some more favourable winds before my journey up along the east coast starts (forecast looks good from 4 pm an onwards 😀).
Later that same day lying in the tent: Well... That weather forecast was correct for the first hour and it was a perfect evening, then the wind picked up from north and I got some really heavy showers, like the ones, when in a car, you'll have to slow down to 20 km/h. My new jacket has now seriously been put to test and I'm loving it, yay!
Here is the lovely start I had after lunch:

And after the showers... "OMG it's a double rainbow!" (If you don't watch YouTube you might not get that reference...)

Today's route:

Day 21, June 9. In the shadow of the military

From: Nastensö
To: Aspö
Distance: 45 km
Total distance: 822,5 km
Wind: NW turning SW early afternoon, 5-15 m/s
Weather: Mostly sunny, 18 C
Last night's phone call home ended with my husband asking me to look out for JAS39 Gripen in the air with a tone of voice indicating that it would be something special, a good thing if I got the opportunity to see them. Well, I did see them, 4 of them to be exact, don't know if I thought it was that special though... It was a bit more of a happening having some sort of military helicopter fly by time after time just a couple of meters above sea level 😀. To top it all off I was hoping to be able to paddle by Torhamnsskär to see the place where the Soviet submarine U137 ran aground about 35 years ago but the wind made it impossible for me to get that far today and also to go on the outside of all the islands where the waves would have been huge. Even though I was only 7 years old when this happened I still remember it vividly, it was both chocking and amusing having that submarine stranded on a tiny island by the Swedish coast! There is in fact a memorial on the spot where it all happened that looks like this:

Guess I will have to go back here another time to see it with my own eyes.
Aside from all the military presence this day started with perfect light tail wind, sunny but still too cool to paddle without a jacket on. Made good progress cruising in between the islands up until early afternoon when the wind turned to SW and was getting stronger by the minute. Now it started getting just a little bit crazy, when I had spot on tail wind I was catching the waves surfing like I never have before, fun but also scary! I need to learn the technique for this so I can enjoy it fully 😁. There were a few places where I had to face the wind head on and I was almost standing still, a few hundred meters took 15 minutes to complete. Late afternoon the wind was too strong to continue, it did not feel safe so I did not get as far as I planned today and tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Fingers crossed hoping for a drastically changed forecast for tomorrow...

Really strong winds are very good for drying wet clothes! 👍

Back to yesterday's notes and the second thing that keeps my body working like it should; it's my kayak! Bought it new for this trip since I didn't think the old one I have was suitable or in shape to make it all around the coast. Took all in all 5 different kayaks for a try out paddle before I decided on this one, the World of Kayaks 500. What made the choice rather easy was that it was very comfortable to sit in. I have had problems with my legs going numb in other kayaks but this one comes with a racing seat that is slightly elevated and flat which makes possible to use my legs when I paddle to get more force out of every stroke but with less strain on arms and shoulders. This together with the fact that it seems to be quite fast made it my perfect choice! So far it has done its job perfectly!

Here it is! Waiting for where tomorrow will bring us!

Today's route:

Day 20, June 8. Finally, Blekinge Archipelago!

From: Rakö
To: Nastensö
Distance: 52,5 km
Total distance: 777,5
Wind: SE in the morning turning over to NW around 10 am, 2-8 m/s
Weather: mostly sunny, 20 C
Very early start this morning, sat in the kayak ready to go 04:40 and headed almost straight east over Möllefjorden, another 10 km of open sea while the sun was rising.

View from my breakfast spot, the coast of Listerlandet, full of rocks.

When stopping for breakfast 3 hours later to prepare myself for the next crossing, the one over Pukaviksbukten, I realized I just had it with these crossings! I'm doing this whole trip to enjoy it and paddling straight over the bays, it's just not fun, so I decided to go up along the south coast of Pukaviksbukten in the headwind to paddle over it at a much more narrow spot. Had great fun after getting over to the other side now having tailwind passed Karlshamn and to the island where I'm camping tonight.

Stopped paddling already at 3 pm having time for some proper prehab streches and trigger point massages. So far during this trip the only problem I've had is sore hands and that was all in my first week, since then my body has served me well. I think there are two reasons for this and the first one is my prehab gadgets that I brought along, trigger balls and a thick exercise rubber band. Using the trigger balls can be extremely painful while doing it but the feeling is great afterwards 😀.

My instruments of self torture 😉.

The second one I will get back to tomorrow...

Pancakes for dinner tonight, it was absolutely delicious!

Tomorrow will be a great day paddling through the archipelago in Blekinge, it is fantastic to have something more than just a beach to the left to look at during the day!
Today's route:

Day 19, June 7. I see islands!

From: Kivik
To: Rakö
Distance: 41 km
Total distance: 725 km
Wind: S-SE 2-10 m/s
Weather: Sunny, 15 C
Started the day with a nice breakfast at Karin and Torbjörn's and headed back down to the harbour around 8 am to have plenty of time to pass Ravlunda before the shooting started (I did hear a lot of kabooms in the afternoon, felt good to be on a safe distance from it). It was a tight fit getting all the gear into the dry compartments after last night's visit to the grocery store and filled up water bags.
Here are my excellent hosts Karin and Torbjörn:

By the way, the rudders folding mechanism is working like a charm again after last night's improvements! Thanks!

Then it was time for more of the paddling-along-very-long-beaches-routine I know too well by now, the one I passed today must be THE longest one of all beaches passed so far, maybe the longest one in Sweden. It just screamed out "Come here! Lay down in the sand and enjoy the sun for a while". Hmm, that while ended up being close to two hours 😀.

Despite the forecast promising light southerly winds I still had the wind coming in from SE and picking up significantly in the afternoon causing big waves again. Starting to get really sick of these waves 😠!
When getting passed Åhus I saw it! It was like a mirage, yes an island, actually several! There is an end to all these beaches and I'm starting to believe it. I think I will get to see more of it tomorrow.

This is how happy you get when finally camping on an island again!

Bright and early start tomorrow, alarm set at 4 am to hopefully get passed Pukaviksbukten before the wind gets too bad in the afternoon.
Today's route: