Gothenburg to Smögen and back

Route Miles Crew Gothenburg to Langedrag 4.2 Jon, Annabel, Tom & Ed Langedrag to Donsö 9.2 Donsö to Utkaften 17.9 Utkaften to Skarhamn 16.0 Skarhamn to Ellös 16.4 Ellös to Smögen 11.3 Smögen to Lysekil 17.4 Lysekil to Skarhamn 24.7 Skarhamn to Utkaften 16.0 Utkaften to Langedrag 18.4

Before heading north, we needed to find a marina close to Gothenburg, as  Annabel and the boys would need to fly home in a few weeks time. Lilla  Bommen was far too crowded and expensive to stay the week that Annabel  would be away. Preferably it would have wifi access, although this was  not particularly common in the places we had visited so far. We had a  look at Langedrag, which is to the south of Gothenburg and connected to it by tram. We also had a look at Donso which was connected by ferry and tram. It also had a form of wifi, although even the girls collecting the harbour dues couldn’t  tell us anything about it. In the end, we chose Langedrag for convenience.

Langedrag is a large marina and is the base for the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club.  It was quite an interesting place to stay, as there was racing most days in a large variety of boats. The facilities are quite good, and there  is a restaurant close by, as well as at the Club. There is a supermarket about 10 minutes cycle ride away, and a chandlery about 30 minutes  cycle away. (Although we were told, just before we left that there was one closer!) Fuel is available in the next door marina.

Leaving Langedrag, we went to the island of Donsö, a little further south. There was so much  traffic in the channel to Donsö that we really had to keep our eyes  open: fishing boats, ferries, yachts, dinghies, sports boats, canoes...  we were hoping that this was unusual, but it was not unexpected for the  3rd week in July.  Donsö has a regular ferry to Saltholmen, which has a  tram to Gothenburg. The marina was busy but the facilities good. The  town has a bank and shops.

Donsö marina

Having decided that Langedrag would be the most convenient stop for us, we then headed north in earnest. We had read about a nature harbour near Marstrand, and decided that we  would anchor there for a night or two.

It was a beautiful day but the wind was patchy, and we had the sails in  and out several times. Once we had crossed the main channel to  Gothenburg, the islands started to become very pretty, with houses and  jetties perched on the rocks. We passed to the south of Bjorko and up  its west coast and then past Roro.

When we reached our proposed anchorage, Utkaften, on the island of Klaveron  we could hardly believe there were so many boats there! They were moored to the rocks on both sides of the bay, and anchored throughout the  centre of it. We thought the chances of us finding anywhere were remote. But we wove our way through the anchored boats and found that there was still space towards the north end, quite close to a couple of little  sandy beaches.

This shot doesn’t really convey how many boats were at Utkaften

Marstrand - said to be the Cowes of SW Sweden

We were just passing through Marstrand this time, hoping to stay on our  return. Instead we made for Skarhamn, on the west coast of Tjorn. It was very busy when we arrived and we had to make do with a mooring on the  north side of the harbour against the wall. The road runs very close,  and so it was rather noisy. The next day we found a mooring inside the  main marina. We also met some other CA members in ‘Victrix of Harwich’ - the first Brits we had met since Torekov.

The facilities here are excellent, and the town pretty. There are good  shops in town and a chandlers close by. It was very busy where we moored - we discovered that it was the main barbecue spot for the marina!  Despite this, we liked Skarhamn and stopped here on the way back too.

Another shot of Skarhamn with the church tower in the background

We were due to find an anchorage for our next stop, south of Gullholmen.  In fact there were so many boats going backwards and forwards that we  missed it completely. Rather than go back, we made for Ellös fjord, the  home of Hallberg Rassy yachts. We found a quiet anchorage beneath some  cliffs - a beautiful spot.

From Ellös we made our way out to sea before turning northwards to Smögen   It was  rather disconcerting at first, as the sea was rough and  confused. There were rocks that were just awash so we had to be very  careful. We found the approach to Smögen quite confusing as there are a  number of rocks in the entrance. However, we made it safely in to the  harbour. Again, it was very busy, as expected: this is a very popular  tourist destination. Rather than moor against the harbour wall on the  north side, we found a small marina on the south side with plenty of  room. The wind had steadily risen during the day, and was now around F  6.

The weather forecast wasn’t good so we stayed where we were: F 7 to 8 in the Skagerrak, and F 7 to 9 in the Kattegat!

We were hoping to get further north, perhaps to the Norwegian border and  the Koster islands, but the weather defeated us. On our second night in  Smogen it rained torrentially and blew a F 9. Unfortunately we had another deadline to make because Annabel and the boys were due  to fly back to the UK. Rather than risk being a long way from the  airport in bad weather, we decided to head south again. We started off well, and had a good sail, but came to a halt a few hours  in to the journey with what we assumed was a net around the keel or  rudder. It took us quite a lot of manoeuvring to remove it, and by then  we were exhausted. We decided to head for some shelter, and decided on  Lysekil which was about an hour away. It proved to be a good choice - a  nice town with a good marina, and a chandler not too far away.

Lysekil

Luckily the wind had dropped by the following day, so we had quite a sedate  sail inside the islands and back to Skarhamn. But what a difference!  When we had visited a couple of weeks ago it was packed; now, just out  of the holiday season we had a huge choice of moorings. The next day we decided to stop at Marstrand, but when we arrived the place was packed. There were a lot of empty berths which has been reserved,  and the moorings that were available had boats rafted out on them. The  water was very choppy and the boats were rolling around very  uncomfortably. We assumed there was some sort of race meeting there, and decided to go back to the anchorage at Utkaften. This proved not to be  such a good idea, as the wind was steadily increasing and the anchorage  wasn’t as sheltered as we would have liked. We had a very uncomfortable  night in a very rolly F 7. A text message from Nick in the UK told me  that he was sitting out a F 7 at home! The wind had abated a little by the morning, and so we set off for Langedrag. The early part of the trip was fairly rough, but as we headed south we  found shelter behind the islands, and the trip became more comfortable.  There weren’t a lot of boats around though! We moored at Langedrag in the early afternoon (it rained, of course). Here I was going to stay and put my feet up for a week whilst Annabel and the boys went home.

Part of the marina at Langedrag

Marina at Donso

I counted 75 boats from where I was sitting, so there were probably over a 100 boats here. It didn’t feel crowded though, nor was there much  noise. It was very pleasant, and hot, so we stayed for a few days,  swimming and exploring around the rocks. It was time to move on though - we headed back out and to the east to find the Albrektssunds kanal, which would shorten our journey to Marstrand.  This is a beautiful stretch of water with some delightful houses close  by. There isn€’t a lot of space though!

Start of the Albrektssunds kanal

Skarhamn

The famous church tower, Skarhamn - apparently the smile can be turned downwards too!

Harbour wall, Smögen

Another view from Smögen

Seals basking on the rocks near Utkaften

Next: Back to Augustenborg

Copyright © Jonathan & Annabel Hoseason 2015