Once the Rally was over, Annabel and Edward returned home and we were joined by Sam, a friend of Toms’. We fuelled up at Rungsted, and then set off northwards to Helsingør, famed for Kronborg Slot, Hamlet’s Elsinore.

There has been a castle on this site since the 1420’s, but this castle was rebuilt in Renaissance style in 1585, only to be burned down accidentally in 1629. It was rebuilt again in 1639.

We found a place to moor - alongside another CA boat, also heading towards Sweden. The view of the castle from the boat was pretty spectacular! The marina is huge, and it is quite a walk from the outer arm, where we were moored, to the harbourmasters’ office. There are plans to extend it even further.

The following day we set off for Sweden. Although we had touched Sweden when we visited the island of Ven, this was to be the start of the next chapter in our summer cruise. Frustratingly, there was very little wind, and that was on the nose, but at least the rain and strong winds of our earlier journey seemed to have been left behind.

We headed for Mölle on the Kullen peninsular, an eight kilometer tongue of rock sticking out in to the Kattegat, 187 metres above sea level at its highest point. The area is also a nature reserve. The harbour at Mölle is tiny, and we rafted out alongside three other boats, with another on our outside shortly afterwards.

View from Mölle harbour

The only problem with rafting out in the harbour is that it is inevitable that someone wants to leave before you. However, in our experience in the Baltic, it is usually done with grace, and without complaint. So, rather than moor again, we set off towards Torekov.

Kullen peninsular

The wind was a kindly SW 4 and the weather fine, so we had a gentle sail northwards across the Skälderviken bay, and managed to find a box mooring at Torekov.

Torekov is much bigger than Mölle, with regular ferry trips out to Hallands Väderö, a small island to the west of Torekov, very popular with tourists, and yachties and a nature resort for birds and seals.

The town is very pretty with narrow cobbled streets, but when we were there it was very busy with tourists. However, this didn’t detract from the place, and we stayed for a couple of days.

Our next stop was Falkenberg, another 30 miles northwards. Again, we sailed across the western part of a large bay, Laholmsbukten, in winds of up to 20 knots. The sea was fairly rough and uncomfortable but we had a good fast sail, completing the journey in five hours.

Although there is a modern marina at the entrance to Falkenberg, we decided to go to the main harbour. It is an industrial area with large grain silos, but we felt we would be closer to the town itself. The marina is small, but we found space without any difficulty. The facilities were good, but there was quite a walk in to town. The town seems to be full of restuarants and hotels, and we never did find a supermarket! However, there are some very pretty streets.

The marina and grain silos

Still heading gently northwards, we arrived in Varberg the next day. The first thing that you see is the castle, and then the baths next to it. Again, we passed the marina in the entrance, and went in to the inner harbour, mooring against the harbour wall. We arrived in the early afternoon, welcomed with a sharp shower just as we were about to moor up! The harbour filled quite quickly after that, with most boats rafted out two or three abreast.

The harbour wall close to us was very busy, mainly with an almost constant parade of American cars from the 1950’s, cruising up and down with appropriate music coming from the cars. It was rather noisy as a result, but quite entertaining. The shopping in Varberg is excellent.

Varberg Castle

Lerkil was the next stop - a nice marina, which had obviously had a lot of work done to it recently. There is a busy boatyard and a restaurant with a small shop attached. However, the showers and toilets are very basic in mobile units; hopefully the development of the marina will include some better facilities in due course.

Part of the point of cruising to the SW of Sweden was to explore around the islands. The approaches to Lerkil give the first hint of the rocks, and the next day, on our way towards Gothenberg, we began to weave our way through the rocks. This was very different from the long passages in open sea that we had done so far, and required rather more concentration! On this first day we kept inside the islands, enjoying the scenery. Later in the season we would go outside the islands for some easier sailing.

East coast of Donsö

Mid-channel on the approaches to Gothenberg

The barque ‘Viking’ sits close to the entrance of Lilla Bommen marina in the middle of Gothenberg. The marina was extremely busy, and very expensive. However, it is convenient for those heading to, or back from the canals. It is also a good staging point for swapping crews, as the main rail, tram and bus terminal is about ten minutes walk away. Also very close is the excellent Nordstan shopping centre.

We were rafted out on the outside of the marina - not a particularly comfortable place - there is a lot of wash from the several ferries that stop here, and also from tour boats.

We had to say goodbye to Sam here, as he had to get home. We were also waiting for Annabel and Ed to fly in, so we took advantage of the shopping centre to stock up for the next part of our cruise.

Mölle harbour

Sam “crewing”!

Torekov Harbour

A prettier view of Torekov

Bath house next to the castle, Varberg

Lerkil - mooring in finger pontoons

Next: SW Sweden

©2007 - 2011 Jonathan & Annabel Hoseason