I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but it has again been an ultra hectic week, so we are looking forward to sailing away for a rest this weekend. As the weather has again blessed us with sunny warm conditions, it's perfect to be out at sea. The winds this time are sweeping across from the east, so a sail to and wander around the pretty town of Trosa seemed like a pleasant way to pass the weekend. We all enjoy being on the boat and some of us are so relaxed that they treat the humans on board like some kind of dog shelf to be walked all over.




Even though the outside route along Järflotta is quite wavy in strong easterly winds, we decided to sail that way in preference to the inner route along Draget's Kanal as we wanted to sail rather than simply motor along - it was the wind and the silence that we craved.

As expected, it was a somewhat bouncy ride for the first few nautical miles and Lambi was overjoyed when we finally rounded the peninsula and turned eastwards, so we could sail downwind along Krabbfjärden. Our favourite little island community of Krokskär passed by in a flash as we coasted through the rocky gap at Galthålet at a brisk 6 knots - always a bit hairy, even though we are quite familiar with these waters.




It is so great to see life returning to the area, with birds nesting, trees and flowers wildly shooting forth and people out on the water in their boats or enjoying time in their summerhouses. As we passed one of the islands on our way up to the Trosa channel, a large birthday party was in progress and people were gathered around a table set out in the garden overlooking the water. They all waved happily at us as we sailed by and we smiled and returned their friendly greetings while thinking that it feels like summer is already here. If only we could just continue sailing for weeks on end and not face a return to the fray on Monday morning. Impatient, aren't I?




The 21NM trip took us just four hours, so we were delighted with that and we had time to relax and sun ourselves enjoying a glass of Aussie wine and good conversation. We have been able to tie up to a Swedish Cruising Club buoy just outside of the town, so we could sleep in peace without being disturbed by noise from the town itself. Increasingly we are noticing that towns are encouraging harbourside restaurants to set up in former fishing warehouses. While this is all well and good, it doesn't help those of us moored to the pier to get any sleep as disco music blares into the early hours and drunk revellers yell and shout just a couple of feet away from where we are sleeping. And for this, they charge us! As a rule, we avoid town piers on a weekend for just that reason.

After a lovely, restful and much needed night's sleep, we awoke to a glorious sunny morning and discovered that we were right in the middle of a sailing school.




Young children were being taught the basics of sailing and I was once again impressed by the skill they displayed in handling their boats. We had a leisurely breakfast in the cockpit watching the kids and also looking at the nesting herons on a nearby island. It must be the year of the heron as I can't recall ever seeing so many of these birds. We usually count ourselves lucky if we spot one or tow of them in a season, but already this year we have seen literally dozens of these beautiful birds.




The colony on the island near where we were moored contained a large number of birds and we enjoyed watching them raise up and gracefully fly around. One thing that surprised me was that they nest in trees. Yes, I know that birds often nest in trees - I'm not THAT stupid. But I associate water birds with nesting in rocks or among the reeds, so I never thought that such a large waterbird would nest in a tree.

Trosa looked very inviting, so we took out the dinghy and headed up to the small canal/river which runs alongside the town.




I really love the atmosphere of this small town. It is a pleasant mix of a fully functioning community as well as a tourist town. You can see genuine archipelago working boats and fishermen (easily distinguished by the telltale trail of scavenging seabirds following the boats). In a day and age where there is a move to tizzy up the towns and sanitise everything, it is a welcome change to find a place that appears to be getting the balance right.

We have often wanted to take a dinghy along this little canal. Last year we walked along the banks and admired the autumn trees, so it was fun to revisit it and see it in summer and from the water. Those gorgeous flowering horse chestnut trees framing the main bridge look just as impressive in their summer finery as they did in their vibrant autumn colours.




A little further upstream the commercial area of the town makes way for the living areas. It is quiet, green and very pretty with red wooden homes lining the shore and small boats gently bobbing in the stream.




We moored the dinghy back in town near the fish smokery and spent the afternoon walking around, eating icecream and enjoying the sight of the pretty wooden houses, the calm timeless ambience, the narrow winding streets, the happy people siting outside and enjoying an early summer fika at at one of the many tiny cafés and one very happy little boy playing pirates on a statue in the main town square - kids are kids absolutely everywhere!




Mum was none too pleased as she swooped in and ordered him off, but I thought it was quite charming and I'm sure that the sculptor would have been pleased to see it used in such a way. We then wandered down towards the harbour area where we could see Fiona out in the bay tugging at her buoy in the sunshine.




We noticed on returning to the boat that the dinghy is leaking rather badly. We'll have to haul her onto land and take a closer look when we get home. It is generally looking rather worn too, so we may have to think about buying a replacement as it is so invaluable to have along with us. Hopefully iy is something that can be fixed with a bit of detective work and some waterproof sealer.

We had another peaceful evening and in the morning made our way homewards to face the challenge of a new working week. There is so much to organise this week that it feels somewhat overwhelming at times. I feel very fortunate to have the boat and to be able to take the time to get away, even if it is only for a day or two. Sights like the sea, the bare rocks, nesting seabirds and silence really helps to keep me on an even keel at this busy time of the year.




What can I say but "Roll on summer!" I can't wait until June 19th when we can sail away for over two whole months without coming to land unless we really want to. I'm counting the hours until then.