After a refreshing night's sleep we are ready for the last bit of the river that leads us into Sweden's second largest city of Göteborg (Gothenburg for those outside of Sweden). We are finally on the west coast and looking forward to sailing here and seeing all that it offers.

The final ten nautical miles down the river from Bohus was frankly boring. We have really been spoiled with beautiful, natural scenery since we left home a month ago and the sight of river banks lined with the trappings of "civilisation" was quite a shock. There was mile after mile of derelict docks, unsightly factories and warehouses, sludgy looking brown water and that unmistakable smell of chemicals in the air. The only slightly amusing sight was this boat we saw, painted by someone with a sense of humour.




The weather today is quite changeable, so it is hard to predict what will happen. The sun is shining in patches, but a lot of clouds race across the sky at an incredible speed, so we are alternating between hot, sunny spells and overcast, cool ones. Although the sun is warming, the air temperature still remains cold and the second the sun dives behind a cloud you get a sharp reminder of that. There is a strong westerly wind (right on the nose, yet again!) so we have to go by engine, though I am not totally unhappy about that as we are not sure what to expect in the main harbour. I've looked at the charts and it looks big and scary! Anyway, I am steering so that Lars-Göran can look around and I've told him that we can swap places as soon as I feel I can't handle the traffic.

Very soon we are passing under the historic Älvsborgbron and are in the main commercial harbour of Göteborg. This impressive steel span bridge is known as Göetborg's Golden Gate and links the town with nearby Hisingen, Sweden's fourth largest island. The bridge is about 900 m long, and its height is 45 metres. It was opened in 1966.




We first pass under Göta Älvbron, the older bridge linking these two areas. This is a lower bridge (only 18m high), so it is opened at regular intervals, to allow ships to pass on the river below. The bridge was famously opened during one of Gothenburg's city marathons, much to the consternation of the runners! You have to love the Swedes and their rigid adherence to time schedules. Right under the bridge was a floating restaurant, Something tells me that it is a Chinese restaurant......




Next we passed by Gullbergskajen and the beautiful four masted Barque Viking, now used as a hotel. Lilla Bommen, right next door, used to be an inlet for many of the canals in Gothenburg. Both large and small freighters arrived here. The larger ships couldn't reach Lilla Bommen, because the canal was too shallow, so their cargo was reloaded onto smaller ships called hemförarbåtar. The area was closed at night and a boom extended across the canal to prevent unauthorised visits. Hence the name, Lilla Bommen (The Small Boom). Today, it is a guest harbour and a docking point for sightseeing boats. And it was doing a roaring trade, with boats coming and going at a great rate.




It was at this point that I queried Lars-Göran's blithe remark last night that it would be quiet here today as it was still pre-season! The place was really busy and there was no way I was going to attempt to dock in the guest harbour as the swell from passing ferries was unbelievable. There were also a steady stream of helicopters buzzing around, which was a little distracting. I thought it wiser to head further on and find a less hectic night harbour. Looking back at the ship, the view is dominated by the red-and-white Skanska Skyscraper rising 86 metres above sea level. It is colloquially known as Läppstiftet (the Lipstick) by the locals. I bet the view from the top is wonderful. I hope we get to visit and get a bird's eyes view of this vast harbour.




You can easily see that the harbour is a vital artery for both Göteborg and for Sweden. The entire inlet has been dredged and cleared so that shipping can navigate here safely. It is littered with lighthouses, light buoys, markers and fixed route markers for shipping, so really it is a bit like driving on a major city highway - just choose your course and follow the markers. Hey, even I can do that.




In contrast to the area around Lilla Bommen where the older wharf area has been transformed into hotels and housing, the western side of the harbour still beaqrs the signs of the large scale wharfs that bear witness to the time when Göteborg was one of the world's biggest ship building towns. That is all history now, but some of the enormous dry docks remain in use today.




Göteborg remains the biggest harbour in the Nordic region, handling almost a third of Sweden’s international trade. There is a lot of rivalry between Stockholm and Göteborg, much the same as the inter-city rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne. Each city has its own charm and each of them is very different. While Stockholm is built on a series of islands connected by bridges, Göteborg is constructed around a series of canals. While some of the canals have now been filled in to become streets, those remaining are a reminder that it was the Dutch who built the city, at the request of Gustav II Adolf, in 1621. From the view we have in the harbour, it remains a city that blends the old with the new.




I was still happily steering the boat while Lars-Göran snapped away with the camera and looked at all of the boats around us. I thought I would feel stressed by the busy harbour, but that wasn't the case and I remained happy to drive the boat and look around. In front of me, I saw a large sailing boat surrounded by smaller craft.




There was something oddly familiar about the boat and I was trying to keep a look out while at the same time wracking my brains to try and remember where I had seen the boat before. Then it hit me - The Volvo Ocean Race! This race, formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race, is a yacht race around the world, held every four years. And now I recall that it was going to end here in Göteborg sometime this summer. Obviously, today is that "sometime this summer"!




Passing the piers near Eriksberg, I saw the rest of the teams arranged at their pontoons, surrounded by masses of spectators.

"Hmm...nice timing, Lars-Göran" I said. "You said it would be quiet and look, we've arrived along with the entire circus surrounding the boats in the biggest ocean race in the world!" At least it partly explained the large number of small boats out in the harbour, the frantic backwards and forwards of ferries, paddan canal boats and the buzzing helicopters.

This is not the first time that his uncanny sense of arriving somewhere at the WRONG time has been in evidence. I swear that on his gravestone, I'm going to write as an epitaph "But I thought...." However, I was prepared to be forgiving when I spotted a familiar flag on one of the boats and almost burst into a rendition of Advance Australia Fair.




Why is it that the sight of one's national flag causes a welling of patriotic feeling when you are overseas? I know I never gave it a glance when I lived in Australia, but now I always react a little emationally at the sight of the southern cross. I watched the team raise sails and go past us back towards the high spans of Älvsborgsbron.




I didn't have time to wax lyrical about Australia as at the same time I looked back, I spotted one of the large ferries pulling out of the harbour and heading out to sea. These enormous catamarans are unbelievably big. Ii looks as though we could sail under them, mast and all and it makes that lovely old sailing ship next to it look like a child's toy. I asked Lars-Göran if I should steer closer to the shore, but he assured me that we were not in it's path.




Hmm.... I'm not so sure about that! When I looked behind again, I saw that it was rapidly bearing down directly on us. Why do I continue to believe him?




Yes, I quickly moved more to the side of the route. By now there was a great deal of small boat traffic around us. This consisted of both small passenger craft as well as motor boats and yachts. I thought it would be best to remain on the far edge of the route where I would not be in the way. The main ferry routes seemed to be behind us and a quick scan of the shore showed me that there was unlikely to be any traffic going to these places. Famous last words! Just as I was finally feeling safe, I noticed a big helicopter come and land in an industrial area to our right. There seemed to be a lot of police around, with two smaller helicopters hovering overhead. Lars-Göran was looking at it all through the binoculars, wondering out loud what it was all about. Was there an accident? Terrorists?

While this was happening, I noticed a ferry behind me, edging over to where I was. I kept glancing back and trying to move further out of its way, but it kept advancing closer and closer. I looked at the shore to see if I could see the ferry stop, but there was none and I wondered where it was going and if I was in the way. I asked Lars-Göran who glanced back and advised me to head more to the centre of the route and let it pass on our right. This I did and it sped past, followed closely by two police launches with armed officers on board. The ferry headed and its escorts headed over to where the helicopter was parked and who should step off the ferry but Crown Princess Victoria.




We later learned on the evening news that she had been in the city that day to open the new Göta Tunnel road project. Lars-Göran and his faultless timing strike again. What a day to choose to quietly slip into Göteborg.

At least the area is less hectic as we head out past Långedrag and he even glimpses the yellow house where the OE club had their AGM earlier this year.




It is now time to try and find a peaceful harbour for the night and we are fortunate to discover the perfect spot off the coast at Hisingen, a little way northwest of the main harbour. There is not a soul around, the bay is still and we can have time to think about how we will proceed from here. I need to get some shopping done before midsummer in a few days time, so I'll have to look at the literature and see where it's most appropriate to go. Everything is an unknown over here, which is both exciting and a little worrying. But I'm happy to be here and anxious to head up to Norway and experience this new environment.

Tonight however, I need a long, alcholic drink.