Yep, sailing again this weekend after yet another busy, hectic week. This weekend we have a guest onboard - Lars-Göran's eldest daughter Madde, who was keen to come out for a couple of days sailing before going away. In two weeks time she is off to Enkokidongoi in Kenya for the next seven months investigating the setting up of health clinics in one of the Masai villages. This means that she will be away from Sweden for Midsummer, her granny's 80th birthday as well as Christmas, so she wanted to get a taste of Swedish summer with us before she goes away. And what could be more of a Swedish summer experience than sailing to a pretty bay and grilling on the cliffs. Luckily the weather opted to co-operate with a glorious Saturday morning.




As with last weekend, the winds again favoured a northerly route, so we consulted the charts and chose a pretty, sheltered bay that lies at the end of a long sound between the islands of Ålö and Rånö where they meet at the southern tip of Utö.




This is called Ryssviken (the Russian Bay), so named as it was here that many of the Russian naval troops were based during the raids on the region. In 1719 the Russians had crossed the Baltic on the orders of Peter the Great. Their mission was to burn and destroy as much as they could, in revenge for the fact that Sweden was unwilling to sign a peace treaty after the Swedish King Karl XII lost a war against Russia. It was a grim time and many islands never recovered.

That was all far from our minds today as we set off. One crew member (the decorative rather than useful crew member) was absolutely beside herself with joy as Madde stepped onboard.




We again had brisk winds and Fiona coasted along easily at close to seven knots, making short work of the crossing to the northern tip of Nåttarö, where we eased eastwards carefully through a rocky, narrow, shallow channel and turned northwards again to negotiate the sound between Rånö and Ålö. The sun was shining and everyone on board was relaxed and soaking up the ambience.




This area is accessible from Nynäshamn using one of the normal Waxholmsbolaget archipelago passenger boats. These islands are very popular in summer as they have camping grounds, cottages to hire, fine, sandy, sunny beaches and a couple of well-known restaurants which serve freshly-caught fish from the area. As we made our way along the channel we watched the Waxholms boat criss cross in front of us, dropping off guests at the Ålö fish smokery and restaurant.




We anchored in a scenic bay enclosed by a pasture, woodland and skerries. Again the birds were out in force and we saw more of the graceful herons flying through the air and grebes swimming close to the boat.




On the small rocky islets, white swans sunbathed, tiny terns sat and waited impatiently for the fish to swim by, gulls whirled in the breeze and those lovely, shy little coots were busy in their nests. It really is a quiet oasis of peace here.




To the south of Ryssviken, at the northern end of the island of Nåttarö, is a very popular bay called Östermarsfladen. In this bay on a fine summer's weekend, you regularly get between 70-100 boats mooring. We are far happier to be here where there are no other boats, no people and no kids in motorised dunghies tearing around night and day. The birds are perfect company.

In the late afternoon it was gin and tonic time, so Lars-Göran and Madde relaxed in the cockpit enjoying their drinks and nibbles.




After cocktails, we took out the dinghy and went for a tour around another narrow channel between Ålö and Utö, stopping to wander along a trail which led through the forest.




Everything was cool, damp and green with the sun dappling the ground through tiny shafts of light. We saw lingons and blueberries starting to bud and a little way along we came to an area of open meadows and pastureland, with a pretty farmhouse nestled in the trees overlooking the water. The fields were dotted with wandering flocks of sheep and lambs happily grazing. We stopped to look at them and they in turn seemed to be fascinated by Lambi.




As soon as we started to leave, the sheep followed us, bleating at Lambi as though she really belonged there with them. Hmmm.....now that's a tempting thought....

The walk had really whetted our appetites so we set about preparing the grill. It is a very Swedish thing to take one of these disposable grills and cook out on a cliff in the archipelago - no matter the weather. Lars-Göran heartily hates this and I confess to being a little puzzled as to its apparent joys. In Australia, a barbeque is a very social thing, with the men gathered around the barbie, beer in hand, supervising the cooking and simultaneously solving all of the world's problems in a rare display of multitasking and mateship.

A Swedish bbq on the other hand, is quite another beast. You see the men up on the cliffs all alone, tending their little bbq, while the women and children remain onboard the boats. Even if there are a group of men there, they don't seem to talk to one another or even stay close, preferring to keep their distance and look after their own little bbq upon which there are generally a few hot dog type snags (think Footy Franks) cooking. It all looks rather lonely and a bit pointless, but funnily enough Swedes look forward to the time of the year when they can cook on an outside grill. Whatever rocks your boat, I guess.

Anyway, we chose a site on the shore offering a view across the little bay and out to the boat which was moored in the middle.




As Madde is vegetarian, we had a grill with a difference - everything on it was meat-free. I made marinated haloumi slices, kebabs of vegetables threaded on skewers, little "meatballs" made from quorn and corn cobs which happily cooked away on our little disposable bbq and looked both colourful and appetising.




The smell was lovely and we all kept a close eye on the cooking while I set up the salads (tabouli, chickpea/red onion/pesto salad, rice salad and a Greek peasant salad) along with fresh crusty French bread, eating utensils and drinks. We were all waiting anxiously for it to all be ready.




Soon enought I declared that the hot food was cooked through and we all loaded up our plates, while I put on "seconds" to cook and we sat on the steps of an old boat shed in the gentle evening snshine to enjoy our food. It was delicious and the more so for eating outside in the fresh air.




After eating some of us were too full to move, so they relaxed and soaked up the last of the sun's rays while they digested dinner - a bit like a reptile on a rock. Not everyone approved of this blatant attempt to avoid cleaning up, especially when he muttered things about not wanting to get involved in "secret women's business".




The evening disappeared as we discussed Madde's upcoming trip to Africa and her feelings about the work she is setting out to do as well as her future ambitions. It's great when you see someone so dedicated to helping out others. I hope she enjoys her experiences.

Sunday mporning was the epitome of a perfect Swedish summer day and Madde was able to have breakfast outside and relax and read in the glorious sunshine. I hope this is a portent for the rest of summer. If so, I can hardly wait!




Around lunchtime we headed back to civilasion as it is Mother's Day in Sweden today and we all went up to Stockholm to visit Lars-Göran's mum and ate dinner out at a local Italian restaurant with the rest of the family. It was a great end to a lovely weekend.