Sailing the Swedish Archipelago (We Meet Navika's Sister)

So, first shot on the new camera. I think we may have already mentioned this, but our old camera, our trusty Canon M50, which we love, was sat right here on passage, which is usually a safe place. But then for the first time ever on Navica, we got a wave that broke over the stern and it soaked the camera and everything else that was here and actually went down below and everything. And the camera was like instant death, even after all our rinsing and rice and all the stuff we tried. So, it died. So, we've upgraded. Look at this bad boy. It's huge. Tentacles are quite small though. He's a beast and he's beautiful. Look at that. More sheep. I don't even know, are there sexes under the fish? So, today is our anniversary and we're celebrating 14 years, which is pretty mad. That's pretty bad. And so, we're going to go out for dinner, treat ourselves. Before starting the journey across the Atlantic, we made a final trip to see some family and friends up in Sweden. We spent the day getting ready to leave the boat for the next 10 days and packed our bags, swapping the sun for some saunas, lakes and forest. First stop, Gothenburg. So, we've just landed in Sweden and it's really weird because no one's wearing a mask or anything, but there you go, free world. Hashtag Sweden. So, the first thing Lars has done as soon as we've landed has been get a hot dog, a vegan hot dog. It reminds me of being in Norway big time. We used to have these every Friday. So, we've come to the Fika district, which is where basically it's just having a coffee and a cake. They have like a street basically that says it's for cozy shopping in Fika since 1648. Wow, so sweet. So, first impressions of Gothenburg? Cold. Colder, yeah, that's for sure. So far, we kind of like it. I think it's like a cross between Manchester and Stockholm. I don't think that's so, I don't think Manchester is in justice, isn't it? It's just because of the cold, you know? Yeah. It's just like the only place I know that it feels cold. Everyone's outside just enjoying a drink, Friday afternoon. Okay, so should we find somewhere for a drink? Yeah, let's go find that pub that Dan mentioned, yeah. He said it's called Seven. Seven. What did you get? Drink up, warm up. We got some IPAs. Me too. Yeah. I don't think I like IPA, do I? I asked you if you want an IPA. I shook my head. I was like, nah. You said whatever. That means no. We met up with our friends, Aurelie and Dan, who some of you might remember from our time together in Menorca, and the next day we were off for the day visiting Navica's little sister, Solvind. Find a guest spot. We could try a Scandi Moor. Oh yeah, what you mean like when you anchor, you come into the rock? Yeah. Yeah, we should try that. I've got a harbour guide which tells you where the hooks are. This is so much worse than I thought it would be. Oh no. What? It's really flooded. This is like obscene. Well, let's see it. Wait, how did that happen? Oh, it's them terraces there. Is this, is it rain? Yeah, well I hope. Do you want to take that bucket and help? Yeah, let's do it. This is the worst it's been. The weather was so bad in August. See, it doesn't inspire confidence, does it? It's just not done it yet. The new one, the wiring. We managed to successfully bail out most of the water and we're on our way. This was our first time sailing in Sweden and sailing around the Gothenburg archipelago. The archipelago is made up of over 30 islands, all dotting the coastline, and it's like an actual playground for boats around here. There are a thousand places you could tie up. Some of the islands are pretty big and have towns on them, while others are just bare rock with a hook you can tie along to. It's like attempting a Scandi mooring, where you come bows to the rock and you tie off, yeah, you tie off the bow. So we're trying it for the first time. That thing there. Dan, can you get the ladder ready for the front? What's the plan? So there's a rod and to the right there's also a hook. You're getting close. You're about two meters away. Perfect. So close, so close. Nice. Sweet. We sailed to this tiny island and attempted our first Scandi mooring. There's probably a really polished way of doing this, but for a first time, I think we did an okay job. This is Fika. Fika game is strong. Essentials. Yeah, that'll definitely still take you. What a jellyfish thing. So there's jellyfish tentacles stuck in the line. It's from that huge pink jellyfish we found. Is it off now, Lars? It's the wrong boat, as we said. We were like, what? But the engine was working. Nice work, Skip. Yeah, I know how to sail a boat. Go for a little trot around Steershoe. It's very quaint, very lovely. Little white houses. Hopefully the gardens will still look nice in September. And then we're going to go to a small restaurant bar and probably have a beer. Our second stop was at an island called Steershoe to grab some lunch. The cool thing about the archipelago is how close all the islands are together, so you can get around pretty quickly. I'll cut it. I might have a little taste. Look at that. That is taste of Sweden right there. That looks insanely good. I've had a great day. I love sailing around the archipelago. That was super fun. They can sort of bend out. Cute little boat. Yeah, I mean, it's such a fun place to sail. I mean, it's pretty technical and really difficult, actually. There's rocks everywhere. A bit of wind and yeah, it was really fun. Having the line ashore and a little coffee and a cardamom cola. It's fun. We're in Sweden for sure. Our friend Dan works at a brewery here in Gothenburg, so we got a private tour and sampled some of the good stuff. It's going to be quite foamy. We've got a pig's tail. I've lost the seal for it. I can't wait to go and look for it. I don't think I've ever seen this many bears in my life. So we've rented a car from Gothenburg and we've gone to an island which is the sixth largest island in Sweden called Tjärn. It's really cute. We're just going for a walk now. Going to find a place to have a picnic and then go on a little explore. We hopped on a ferry which took us to another smaller island called Stora Dyren. And we even saw a porpoise on the way over. We walked around the whole island before a very important booking we had at 6pm. Apparently it's lobster season next week. Just saying how much this place is like a Swedish paradise. Our buddy Oli and Dan have booked us an hour in the sauna out here. So you just walk out and you get the sauna. We're going to be dipping into the sea right behind us. I can't wait. We're about to get in the sauna. Just went for the first one. We're going back to warm up again. I can't feel my fingers. It's um it's a really cool location. New person. So good. Just a deep relaxation in the sauna and then the cold like ah waking up in the water is amazing. I'm addicted. I could do it for a very long time. We've got to leave now though sadly. It's not really something you could put easily inside your boat. Although I have seen a boat sauna. A Sirius 35 where they installed one. From Gothenburg we said goodbye to our friends Oli and Dan and drove up to Lasse's grandmother's house to celebrate her 85th birthday with her. She lives in this little town called Tjärnsund which is a postcard version of your typical Swedish countryside village. We were just looking online and seeing if there were any saunas close by and there aren't any except for a hotel basically right across the street that um that has a sauna. So Lars contacted the guy and uh asked if he would if it's possible to rent it out for a couple of hours and he said yes and so we are going there now. Yeah so her house is there and the sauna's right here. We got pretty lucky in the end. It's perfect. Oh I think the Swedish mosquitoes are still around. Yeah they're pretty vicious. They're huge. So just waiting for the sauna to warm up. I'm getting excited. That looks cold though. Another So we're just waiting for it to warm up in here. It's currently at 42 degrees. That's cool. Yeah I noticed that. It's getting warm now. Welcome back. Awesome. That feeling when you get out you can just feel that rush of energy going through your body. Like you said anything feels possible after that. Yeah final little... Bringing everything in. Wow it's hot in here. Changing. Time to go. Whenever I come out here and into forests like this in Sweden I always get this feeling of I don't know like fairy tales? Like if you ever tell a fairy tale there's like fairies or gnomes or trolls or something. It's definitely in this setting with the moss and the mushrooms and just the pine trees and I love it. These kiddos in Sweden are vicious. Hello my name is Mila. And what are we doing today Mila? Exploring and taking photos on the trees. All right let's go explore Shantid. Yeah. Mila is Lasse's cousin's little girl who is also in town for grandma's birthday celebrations. This is my hand. We said goodbye to our little Swedish adventure and made the journey back to Navika to start preparing for some long distance passages.