Gothenburg to Smögen,

 and back

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 Långedrag, which is to the south of Gothenburg and connected to it by tram. We also had a look at Donsö 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 Långedrag for convenience.

Långedrag 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 cylcle away. (Although we were told, just before we left that there was one closer!) Fuel is available in the next door marina.

Leaving Långedrag, 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.

Marina at Donso

Having decided that Långedrag 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 Björkö and up its west coast and then past Rörö.

When we reached our proposed anchorage, Utkäften, on the island of Klåverön 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 here at Utkäften

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!

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 Skärhamn, on the west coast of Tjörn. 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 Skärhamn, and stopped here on the way back too.

Another shot of Skärhamn 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 Hallbery 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!

Smögen

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 Smögen 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 Skärhamn. 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 Utkäften. 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 Långedrag. 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 Långedrag 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

Statues at the edge of the harbour, Donsö

Start of the Albrektssunds kanal

Skärhamn

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

Harbour wall, Smögen

Another view from Smögen

Seals basking on the rocks near Utkäften

Next: Back to Augustenborg

©2007 - 2011 Jonathan & Annabel Hoseason