Strängnäs - Södertälje - Ankarudden, 4-6 June 2020

Continuing our journey from the Mälaren to the Baltic sea through Södertälje, we pass the lock and arrive in Ankarudden right in time for getting shelter ahead of a gale warning.

Torö is a top spot for kite surfing in the Stockholm archipelago

Västerås - Strängnäs, 3/4 June 2020

Strängnäs is a city of around 13,000 inhabitants. The city had been an important political centre in the past. In 1523, King Gustav Vasa was elected there! 

Arriving in Strängnäs guest harbour, with the cathedral in the back. Picture by Stéphane Lucchini, June 2020.

Birka to Västerås, 2nd June 2020

Leaving Birka on 2nd June, for a tour of the lake Mälaren, on the way to the Göta kanal. The first segment brings us to Västerås, a city 100 kilometres west of Stockholm. Västerås is one of the oldest cities in Sweden and even in northern Europe.

Västerås does not sound like a touristic attraction. But the city is underrated and has a lot to offer...

A new shaft for Belisama - 29-31 May 2020

For the 2020 sailing season, we decided to sail only in Sweden to avoid being quarantined outside of Sweden. As a matter of fact, Sweden being the country with the world record of mortality by 100,000 population, no neighbouring countries are welcoming Swedish residents or sailors without going through a 14 day quarantine and raising the yellow flag on the mast. 

But in any case, following our propeller rock touching in Utö last summer and the resulting clicking in the transmission, we had to change the propeller shaft of our beloved Belisama. Quite a surgery for a sailor unable to find a mechanic to help in Sweden. The season is so short in the Baltic that you should forget trying finding one to do anything on a visiting boat. So, I decided to do it myself...

ᛒᛅᛚᛁᛋᛅᛘᛅ ᛁᚾ ᚱᚢᚾᛅᛚᛅᚾᛏ, 22 - 24 May 2020

Belisama in Runeland. On the way from Nynäshamn to Stockholm, through the Mälaren, we stopped for three days in Birka and Adelsö, once the centre of the Viking world.

And there, we discovered the Runstensparken...

Start of the season, 8 May 2020

Awakening from a long winter in Wasahamnen. Belisama was ready to sail since Easter, but the weather was particularly cold, with night freezing and besides, the Covid had been keeping us quite busy. The small community of sailors wintering in Wasahamnen have been spared from Covid.

View from the cockpit, Was a museum on the right.

Tomorrow, we go...

Passing the wave? Not yet in Sweden... 19 April 2020

The wave has arrived, and we are passing over it in the European Union as you can see on the coloured lines representing some of the EU country trend for COVID-19 cases, over the Hukosai famous representation of the Great Wave of Kawanaga used by Debussy for the original publication of "La mer". 

By From The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai Katsushika - Public Domain

Well, most of us...