24 June: The Return to the Known
Taken through our hatch at Midsummer
Discussions took place already in February and lasted throughout spring. After all, we are four onboard and we all have our individual ideas, wishes and thoughts. Where should we sail during our summer vacation? The Baltic States? Sweden? Norway? France? The Azores? The Mediterranean? Suggestions were many, all more or less practicable candidates.

The commence of our summer vacation was more or less simultaneous with our big consensus: We decided we would sail westbound through the Kiel Canal, out into the North Sea and then to Scotland to finally return to Sweden for the Open House Week-End, where I was to hold the annual talks at the boat show there. Violà! All agreed.
The many discussions had been a good practice for intra-familiar debates, but were of little help when we finally cast off. We had so far ignored the voice having the biggest decisive importance: weather.

On the island of Fehmarn in northern Germany we changed our plans, at least temporarily, we added. Who wants to tack against gale winds on the North Sea, when one can just follow the blow in the opposite direction? We have outgrown fighting the winds and have become wise enough to either stay where we were or to sail with the winds.

From Fehmarn, we hence sailed to Ystad, situated on the southernmost tip of Sweden and continued along the west coast of Sweden northbound. During the few weather gaps we could find, we made good progress covering sometimes as much as 110 nm without any overnight sailing (from Torekov to Mollösund).
Regina in Ystad
Instead of heading out into the North Sea, it became a return to the known world to us; in many ways. Sweden and our home waters on one side and weather wise on the other side. The combination of the two reminded us what sailing in northern latitudes can mean. But we didn’t mind.

Rather to meet the adventure and to see new places, we concentrated on being social. We sailed from one good friend to the other, enjoying the company of well-known people, sailing grounds and traditions.
Gale over Bohuslän
A boat fighting the weather
One of the more appreciated weather gaps was between 14.00 – 00.00 hours on Midsummer’s eve, when enough sun shone to chase out over a thousand happy inhabitants of the island of Gullholmen on the Swedish west coast to jointly celebrate the most traditional Midsummer feast one can think of.

Swedish Midsummer: dancing, light nights, beer and love.
Keeping it slow and simple is, for us, nowadays also part of cruising. I am glad that we have come to this insight. I believe that it is thanks to our sabbatical cruising year that our attitude to sailing has changed. We don’t “need” to make a lot of miles, they are just a consequence of moving.
Late night (22.00 hours) over Gullholmen on Midsummer's night.
Härmanö
Taking shelter one way or the other
As soon as we had moved onboard, the pressure normally called “demand” disappeared together with our high plans to get somewhere in particular. We had already arrived the day we saw Regina again. We had almost forgotten this feeling while living ashore during winter.

If we will ever make it to Scotland this year? Who knows. There is no question about it: we do think this kind of never-ending cold gale winds is tiresome and trying. We have returned to our roots: the known world of Swedish coastal sailing.
Colours of Mollösund
Weather forecast to get used to: severe westerly gale on Skagerak