TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Since Ellos, we have stayed in Marstrand, Goteborg, and a quiet achorage in Ockerosund. We left Ockerosund on the Swedish coast 30 miles south of Goteborg yesterday morning with a 4-12kt Easterly wind forecast but the wind dropped after two hours and we ended up motoring in a 2-5kt NE wind five more hours to Anholt, an island in the middle of the Kattegat. I think this was the first time either of us had ever set off into a land-less sea horizon trusting that our destination would rise up out of the sea if we just maintained course and speed. It was exciting. Lots of shipping along the Swedish-Danish maritime border and a Swedish Coast Guard cutter patrolling the invisible line.

Anholt island is little more than a well-developed sand bar with 2-5m depths all around it for a mile or two offshore. We anchored in the lee of the packed harbor (see photo) with dozens of other boats last night and then the wind shifted 90 degrees so we had one of those rolly, windy, will-our-anchor-hold, up-til-2am watching and worrying, wondering what-am-I-doing-here-anyway, nights.

I gues lots of boats dragged anchor because there was alot of after midnight lights and motors on with boats maneuvering around after the windshifted leaving the anchorage and cramming into the tiny already overfull harbor (glad I missed that scene!) or re-anchoring (one guy right up wind of us) but despite the windshift and more swell than I have ever had at anchor and the boat bucking around our anchor stayed planted in the sandy bottom. Anholt looks nice but it is packed with yachts and the usual drunken loud harbor ‘parteh’ was audible last night featuring the finest American ‘80s vintage music (QUEEN: ‘WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!’) so we are leaving in the next couple of hours for Grena about 25 miles SE on the mainland in a few hours.  At least there is good wifi here. The weather is summer nice now and the East wind this morning promises a nice sail today.

I’ll write more when we get someplace quiet and after getting a good sleep.