I forgot to mention that a couple of days ago we passed one of the boats that we "met" on the internet - the British sailing boat Kissen. I had found their blog earlier in the year and while they are moored further south in Loftahammar, it appears that we sail in roughly the same waters, so we had emailed one another to see if we could meet up when they were around in Nynäshamn. As it turned out, we were not there when they were and I thought we'd not see them this summer. I enjoy reading their blog, as does Lars-Göran as it is always interesting to hear what others think of sailing in Swedish waters. And he is a Brit, so he writes with that wonderful dry humour that appeals to me as well.

Anyway, we passed out on the route several nautical miles north of Loftahammar. We were sailing at good speed north towards Arkö and they were powering south towards their home harbour, so we were ships passing in the night (except that it was 11 in the morning...) Still, we waved and shouted a message. Perhaps we can arrange something more concrete next year.

We also had a close encounter with royalty today in the form of Kejsaren (The Emperor). And here he is, complete with crown on his head:



This is a well known sea marker west of the island of Aspöja. I laughed so much the first time I spotted it, complete with its glittering, gold crown. I don't know how it got its name or headwear, but there is a sign attached to it which reads:



This warns that those who damage or steal the crown will be forever cursed. Despite the dire warning, I was still amazed that it hadn't been souvenired by some light fingered sailor. Lars-Göran had to quip that Swedes were not thieves unlike people from some other country, who we all knew were descendents from convicts.

He doesn't want to live long, does he?