Day 41, June 29.

From: Stora Kalholmen
To: Gräddö
Distance: 43 km
Total distance: 1408,5 km
Wind: S-SE 2-7 m/s
Weather: Sunny all day, 20 C
Today was once again a day with a fixed destination, I was aiming for my colleague Christel's summer house in Gräddö where my family was also going to join us.
Started off with a nice breakfast in the sun while a little family of swans passed by, stuffed the kayak with all gear and headed off.

Started with going through a little channel and under a bridge:

The paddling up until noon was in what I consider as perfect conditions, sun, a very light tail wind and beautiful surroundings. The area around Finnhamn has lots of islands with great cliffs and windswept pines, my favourite! There is also a special scent from these island when the sun is out that smells like summer for me.

After lunch at Blidö the wind picked up and was turning over to southeast so no more perfect tailwind this day since I was going northeast 😢.
Had a really close encounter with a ferry just before passing Kapellskär (I did not use zoom for this picture...). I think I need to stop trying to cross the fare ways before all these big ships or I will end up under one. But I always think I have plenty of time and also underestimate the distance over to the other side of the fare way, if it's even possible to see where it ends and what course the ship will take...

When approaching Gräddö, Christel was there waving from the jetty and showing me where to go. Great to see her again after 6 weeks off work!

When walking up to the house with all the gear we almost got run over by my family arriving by car, my husband didn't get a position for the address I gave him so he used the "find my friends" function on the iPhone (that is how he keeps track of me while I'm paddling since I don't use a Spot or any other form of GPS with positioning), perfect timing!!!
Spent a great evening with delicious food and fantastic company at Christel's place and ended the evening with going down for a swim for those who wanted (I was not one of the brave ones😁)!

Today's route:

Day 40, June 28. Making good progress

From: Kalk-kobben
To: Stora Kalholmen
Distance: 61 km
Total distance: 1365,5 km
Wind: S-SW 3-8 m/s
Weather: Sunny all day, 19 C
Another 61 km today in beatiful tail wind! And this tail wind seems to continue for days to come, let's just hope the forecast is right this time, fingers crossed.
Fell asleep last night while trying to complete yesterdays blog post, several nights of bad sleep was taking its toll but this night the conditions were perfect, found a completely flat surface under a tree so the sun wouldn't make the tent stinking hot in the morning and no wind to make the canvas flap during the night. Slept like a log and didn't wake up until 7:30! That and the not yet completed post made my take off somewhat tardy this morning and it was closer to 10 am before I left.
Plan today was to paddle passed Sandhamn and then continue north from there for another hour or two. Most of today's route was through great archipelago.

During the morning I passed an old very interesting looking yacht with lots of people on board. I think I heard someone calling out instructions so it might have been some sort of school ship.

When arriving in Sandhamn I met up with friends from our neighbourhood and got invited for a late lunch and coffee, perfect! Thanks Ulf, Edwin and Elliot!

Sandhamn

Since the break in Sandhamn ended up being close to 3 hours I paddled late this evening again, passed Möja and a little bit further before calling it a night at a nice little spot where the rock was still warm after today's sunshine.

Today's route:

Day 39, June 27. Just another ordinary day for a HBB-paddler

From: Isskären
To: Kalk-kobben
Distance: 61 km
Total distance: 1304,5 km
Wind: S-SW 2-8 m/s
Weather: Sunny all day, 18 C
Today was my first day with nothing but tail wind, not one single meter paddled in head wind! How awesome is that! Started out heading east and wind from SW and then as I was going more northeast and north the wind turned slightly over to S 😀.
If the wind didn't offer any variation today the paddling did; a couple of longer crossings, sea open all the way to the horizon, great archipelago, a long narrow strait, big waves and completely calm sea.

Stopped for dinner at Utö and also had a walk around the island, very nice place!

Kept on going for another 2 hours after that. Evening paddling is for sure a nice way to end the day, the colours get more intense when the sun is setting, the wind and waves have usually settled a bit and there are very few other boats out. Seeing the Facebook posts this evening I think it was more quiet then normal, it seems everybody is inside watching the England - Iceland game on telly.

Today's route:

Day 38, June 26. Back in the kayak

From: Romholmen
To: Isskären
Distance: 35 km
Total distance: 1243,5 km
Wind: E 1-5 m/s
Weather: Cloudy, foggy and a little, little bit of sun
So it was time to once again to say good bye to the family and get back to paddling (this time only for a couple of days since we will get together again at a colleague's summer house north of Stockholm probably on Wednesday). I've had a fantastic "rest" week (but stressful...) and a great Midsummer with family, friends, good food, sun and my first real swim in the sea this year (being wet all day, every day in the kayak has not exactly made me want to jump in at night when touching dry land). The week in Stockholm was spent driving my kids around to the two different sports camps they were attending, making/buying improvements to my gear (I now have a waterproof case to my phone for example...) and making up for the time I been away around the house.
Took some time during the morning to get all the gear sorted and packed and had a house full of guests that were also packing getting ready to drive home so I didn't start paddling until 12:30.

In light head wind I took off having a first break planned when arriving at Stendörren Naturereserve where my parents and good friends of theirs were with their boats, time for coffee and cinnamon rolls!

Stendörren 

Leaving Stendörren the fog started rolling in and when being in the middle of the straight Yttre Hållsfjärden I couldn't see land in any direction. For a about 5 minutes the sun came out but just at the particular spot I was at and a couple of hundred meters in every direction, the rest still hidden in the fog, very strange but fascinating conditions.

Temporary sunshine in the mist.

Being away from paddling for just one week left me with a little bit of sore hands after today's leg but the rest of my body seems to be handling it better.
Today's route:

Day 37, June 25. Romholmen

Distance: 0 km
Total distance: 1208,5 km

Day 36, June 24. Romholmen

Distance: 0 km
Total distance: 1208,5 km

Day 35, June 23. Back to Romholmen

Distance: 0 km
Total distance: 1208,5 km

Day 34, June 22. Stockholm

Distance: 0 km
Total distance: 1208,5 km

Day 33, June 21. Stockholm

Distance: 0 km
Total distance: 1208,5 km

Day 32, June 20. Stockholm

Distance: 0 km

Total distance: 1208,5 km

Day 31, June 19. Vacation time!

From: Stora Trässö
To: Romholmen
Distance: 5,5 km
Total distance: 1208,5 km
Wind: W 5-8 m/s
Weather: Cloudy
Today was the shortest leg so far (ridiculously short even), destination: our summer house! Only reason I did not complete these 5,5 kilometres yesterday was so that my family had time to get down there to greet me when I arrived (my husband had a Triathlon race in Uppsala yesterday (won his age group, congrats!!! Well done!) and they did not get there until midnight).
This morning they actually took the motorboat out and surprised me while I was in my little paddling bubble very focused on where I was heading. I heard a boat coming from behind thinking what kind of freak is out this early on such a grey day, turned around and there they were!!! This was at half past seven in the morning so getting the kids out of bed for this was a true mission according to my husband. (Everybody apparently too tired to remember to take the fenders off when heading out😂)

Then there was a second greeting wave from the jetty when finally getting to the house!!!

Fantastic to get together again!!! I must say though that using Face Time every night to talk to them and also see them has made being away much easier than I thought.

The day has thereafter been spent sorting out all my stuff and hanging with the family!
Before I started this whole trip I had an interim goal set and that was to reach this place for Midsummer celebrations with family and friends. Thinking this might be aiming a bit too high I thought I had a 50/50 chance of making it. Then everything has just been going so well, doing 40+ kilometres per day has not been that hard and here I am with 6 days left until the Midsummer weekend even starts! So I decided to keep my promise to spend Midsummer here with my family and I will take this entire week off from kayaking! Going up to Stockholm this afternoon to live my ordinary life with running water, showers, clean and dry clothes and unlimited electricity for a couple of days (except I won't be working 😄) before I´m back paddling again on Sunday or Monday. (So all updates during the upcoming week will just be "Distance: 0 km" and no more info :-))
Today´s route:

Day 30, June 18. Halfway.

From: Arkösund camping ground
To: Stora Trässö
Distance: 32 km
Total distance: 1203 km
Wind: NW Turning SW late afternoon 2-9 m/s
Weather: Rain, 17 C
In the rain and wind this afternoon I passed Bråviken! That is supposed to be halfway to Haparanda 😀! Apart from that the day has been rather uneventful. The rain was pouring down all morning and I had planned for a late start since the wind would settle a bit in the afternoon but 11am I was bored crazy of lying in the tent playing Candy Crush on my phone so I packed up all my stuff when the rain eased a little bit and steered the kayak north. Bråviken's north shore is quite scenic with steep rocks dropping into the sea, no photos though, it was raining too much at this time to pick the phone up.
Ended up on an island east of Oxelösund where I unfortunately can see some of the hideous SSAB steelworks area but spent most of the evening in the tent enjoying a movie anyway 😊!

Tomorrow will be a super short day in regards to kilometres to paddle, but I'll get back to why tomorrow.
Today's route:

Day 29, June 17. Glorious tail wind!

From: Olsön
To: Arkösund camping ground
Distance: 46 km
Total distance: 1171 km
Wind: SE 2-6 m/s
Weather: Mostly sunny, cloudy late afternoon
Tail wind!!! I caught myself laughing when crossing the first straight realizing I actually had tail wind today! Excellent fantastic tail wind! Who cares that the tent and most of my clothes are wet, tail wind and sun makes you forget it all and just enjoy every paddle stroke.
Stopping at Fyrudden for coffee, ice cream and candy made an already awesome morning supercalifragilisticexpialidocious 😄!

Lunch break continued in the same spirit and I found time to relax for a while before getting back into the kayak again.

Ended up at the camp ground in Arkösund. I don't particularly fancy these places but I really felt like having a shower and be able to just hang someplace else than just the tent when the next big dump of rain comes late tonight and continues until noon tomorrow. In the tent next to mine (well, these two tents are in fact the only ones...) I found a German couple that are also kayaking but felt they had it with all the rain and were thinking about renting one of the cabins instead.
Writing this I'm having a great dinner at Hotel Arkösund while charging my phone and iPad again. I think the lack of electricity is my biggest worry during this whole trip.
Today's route:

Day 28, June 16. 15 lighthouses and a fish farm

From: Häggskär
To: Olsön
Distance: 35,5 km
Total distance: 1125 km
Wind: N gradually turning to W during the afternoon, 4-8 m/s
Weather: Rain, 15 C
Woke up to the sound of drizzling rain this morning as I expected. Rain makes very hard to get yourself together and into the kayak. First it's just the fact that it is raining and not as pleasant to be outside as when the sun is shining. Second it's trying to get all the gear from the tent and into the kayak without getting everything wet during the packing procedure. Once you are in the kayak it doesn't matter anymore, you stay as warm and dry as you normally do.
After checking the forecast there seemed to be a chance of a pause in all the rain just after lunch and for once it was actually correct! Managed to get all the stuff and me ready just before I felt the first drops again. This was at 1 pm...
Had a gray but ok afternoon paddling, passed the highest number of lighthouses in an afternoon than I have ever before, I counted and got to 15 (might have missed one or two, don't know). Guess that with this kind of archipelago you will need lots of guiding light to make it through in one piece if going by night.

Also passed what I assume was a small fish farm. If anyone knows better please correct me.

Tomorrow the weather is looking ok, it won't start raining until 6 pm but the then it will be heavy rain until Saturday afternoon together with very strong winds! Ugh, not exactly the weather you hope for as a kayaker.
Today's route:

Day 27, June 15. Perfect day!

From: Stora Berktullen

To: Häggskär

Distance: 46,5 km

Total distance: 1089,5 km

Wind: E-NE, 1-7 m/s

Weather: Cloudy in the morning, sunny from 11 am and onwards, 21 C

Today was one of those days you live for, absolutely beautiful archipelago, light winds and sunny. Had a wonderful happy feeling all day! I'm so grateful to my husband and kids for being ok with me doing this!

Snack break!

When I took off this morning the plan for today was a late lunch at the restaurant at Idö. For me a goal like this is perfect, I have something to really look forward to during the first hours of paddling and won't have to cook in the evening. The contrast from living more or less like a cave man (but in a tent 😄) and then having a great meal at a good restaurant every now and then makes you enjoy the meal and the coffee immensely and for me, a thing like that will keep me happy for the rest of the day.

 

 The view from the restaurant.

 

Leaving Idö I was singing away in the kayak, heading north and having the best of times. Soon I was approaching one of the bigger fairways and glanced in towards Västervik to make sure there were no boats coming. I saw one bigger ship very far away and thought "I'll be miles away before that boat makes over here" so I continued forwards. But just a minute or so later I looked over that way again and the ship was a lot closer so now I started having doubts, the wind was quite strong at that point and I was drifting towards the fairway so I had two choices; one, start paddling like crazy to get over in time or two, stop paddling and risk drifting out into the fairway just as the ship arrives. I chose number one, and with a pulse that started raising before I even started paddling I went. That ship was going extremely fast and got heaps closer every time I looked left but I made it across safe and sound and slowed down on the other side to have a look at it. It was the express ferry to Gotland, a catamaran, going for all it was worth. Just as I thought it was all good I saw the first surge hit the island slightly behind me to the left and had the next shock, it was huge and breaking in the shallow water (looked like a Hawaiian surf wave) and I was pretty sure that now it's time, I'm going to capsize for the first time! Pulse hit 180 again and I started paddling like a maniac to get out on deeper water. I was lucky I got away far enough from that island, the wave didn't break and I stayed upright. Usually those big ships don't leave a big surge behind but it must have been the speed this one was going at that made the difference. My knees were very wobbly for a long time after that incident...

Found the perfect campsite a bit more than 2 hours later with a place in the sun that was out of the wind and with a perfect backrest. And at this very spot is where I spent the last two hours writing this and talking to the family on facetime 😀.

Today's route:

Day 26, June 14. Passed 1000 km

From: Sörö
To: Stora Berktullen
Distance: 45,5 km
Total distance: 1043 km
Wind: N-NE 3-7 m/s (head wind, surprise, surprise...)
Weather: Sunny until noon then cloudy, 18 C
This morning, just after I started, I passed 1000 km paddled since the start under Svinesundsbron! Just about another 1400 km and I'm finished... No seriously, this is going a lot better than I ever thought it would and I do look forward to the rest of the journey up along the coast.
The paddle today has been through some stunning stretches of archipelago, my favourite kind, with smooth rock gently sloping down into the water and lots of pine on the small islands.

What would be a great thing to do to enhance this scenic piece of nature if not build nuclear power plant? When approaching Simpevarp (number 3 of the nuclear power plants passed so far) from the south you're crisscrossing among the islands and the only thing giving away the power plant is a chimney or two, the all of a sudden you round a corner and see this:

A bit of a shocker! Perfectly matching the paper mill outside Mönsterås with the white and blue striped walls (passed that yesterday) by the way. Same "architect"?
I also got an assignment from my kids today and that was to photograph the diving platforms at Gunnarsö. They love the story my husband has told them (over and over on request) about when he, 7 years old, first jumped off the 5 meter platform at this very place and how grandpa was scared out of his mind when he went first to show him how it was done. So kids, here it is:

Today's route: