Åland 2007, Part 1

Rivö - Grisslehamn, Mon 2/7 - 3 km in kayaks and over 60 mil in the car
We woke up at Rivö in Gothenburg, south to the rain drumming on the canvas and decided to wait with breakfast and just paddle to Saltholmen. With wind and rain on the face paddle we. We borrowed the showers, cleaning out the garage packed the car and ate breakfast in the kitchen of GKF. It took a little longer than we thought to get to Grisslehamn and we landed at the camp in Singö, www.singocamping.se , 6km north of Grisslehamn ferry terminal, just after 22 o'clock, we knocked at the house of the owners / drive camping , they closed at 22, but we were kind enough to rent a cottage for 400: -. Some food and then to bed.

Grisslehamn - Sando Sund - Väderskär, Tue 3/7 - 21km
Woke up just before 8, got breakfast cleaned the house and set off towards the boat, www.eckerolinjen.fi , at 9 o'clock.
The time on the boat we spent time sitting in a little sun on the sun deck and gaze out over the ocean, check the duty free shop, and more. Lunch we ate in the A la Carte restaurant, there were too many people in the queue for the buffet. The restaurant are highly recommended! Delicious! I ate smoked salmon m cold caviar sauce, and Erik, a pick beef with chanterelle sauce for the price of 89: - Really worth it!

Sun deck on the ferry

We had gotten some tips on buying in Godby on the mainland, Åland, so we did. Some vegetables and bread, then traveling on to Sando Sound Campings, www.sandocamping.aland.fi . Fine camping, naturally embedded in the forest, not lawn camping as many Swedish, no problems with their cars there, you pay 2 € / day. At 18 o'clock we were finally in the kayaks after taking it easy in a few hours with the packing and eating various goodies from the campground's cafe. Kayaking holiday season can begin!

Soon packed and ready to stand out from the campsite

We walked north towards Sandon, through the strait Simskäla & Eastern insert, and the Krokholmen. On Low Skärets west side, we paddled past two kayak enthusiasts who pitched the tent and sat and beamed in the sun. Also on Mässkär we met paddlers, but of the greater number.

Greger at the head of Norrviken Act 1, or was the team 2?

It was, as they said "youth group" of Friluftsfrämjandet Norrviken . Greger, who was the leader asked if it was Eric o Pia, known from the net? Hihi, it was fun! We pitched camp in the Western The bit at Väderskär. Very nice! We have secured the tent properly when it is predicted to blow 7-11m / s up to 13.

Lunch: Lunch on the boat. Dinner: Fresh tortellini m pesto, mushrooms and tomatoes
Weather: Sun and entirely profit bad, about 25 ° c

Our first campsite

Väderskär - Saggö island, Wed 4/7 - 32 km
Woke up the first time at 6 o'clock, necessity called. The promised wind neither saw nor felt I reached the, also the sun was shining from a clear blue sky. Unfortunately, both me and Erik too tired, so we went to sleep on, and we did a few times ... At 10:30 we crawled from the tent to eat breakfast and then we crawled back in, when it dropped a few drops of rain. Read a bit, listened to the news & weather, sounded like the wind and some rain.
Finally we got anyway thumbs loose and packed the kayaks. When we were about to launch the kayaks came a gang of about 10st, paddling. It was Norrviken thread 2, which was looking lunch spot. Shortly after 13 pm we got away. There was a part, around 8-9 m / s east. But we had it in the back, so with comfortable not too annoying waves we went quickly to the southwest.

We've seen a lot of bird bla Black Guillemot, Black, Eagle, Lab and above all very many Tordmulor! We paddled past their breeding grounds, awesome! They remind some of the puffin, they have their nest under boulders and flying away in quantities to get some food. Again, growling, it was in their sockets. We stopped and tried to get some pictures. Unfortunately it was not the light so much fun.
Now we are on Saggö island in a beautiful cove on the north side sheltered from all directions, except perhaps in the northwest.
The forecast is talking about winds up to 14m / s in the morning from east-northeast. We should be able to take us south without much trouble, as there are some islands to take cover at.

Lunch: Blue band Ground beef with rice. Dinner: Bullens Pilsner Sausage m mashed potatoes
Weather: Rain Village and less than 10m / s, the evening calm

In the Tordmularna Mulholmen

At the tip of the north Saggö island

Campsite at Saggö island

Saggö Isle - Killing Cutting, Thursday 5/7 - 31 km
The expected wind failed to materialize, but they said on the radio that the wind 10m / s We have not noticed reached by! We paddled in bikinis and swim trunks all day, the sun has gassat and we went swimming a few times. The water temperature has been ranging from 17 ° c at the tip to 20 ° c in here, among cutters. We took a walk this morning at Saggö island, how nice stuff! Large rocks with småtallar and mosses, which managed to find some holes to grow, and even a cute little pond full of white lilies.

Nice pond on the island Saggö

On Kalskär as we paddled past yesterday, there were even more impressive slabs, granite quite red! As koolt!
Today we took our lunch on the east harbor, a part being permitted to go ashore. Now we set up camp on the south of Killing Cut and believe we return to the south tomorrow. Even today, we have anchored the tent to northeast winds. The forecast says 15 m / s It burns nice on the hands and back, will be warm in my sleeping bag tonight!

Lunch: Spagetteria Carbonara. Dinner: Taco Minced m rice, tomato, bell pepper mixed
Weather: Sun and a maximum of 4m / s

Camp on the cutting Killing

Hot in the water

Killing Cut - Sharp Cut / Cut Hill, Fri 6/7 - 30 km
Now we are measured and tired, it shows that we have so many paddelmil in the bodies late before. It has sparked quite a bit today, but with wind and waves in the back, it is easy to endure!
Somehow, I am almost tired of paddling downwind, can not resist chasing waves all the time , And the kayak becomes a little harder to handle oxå, as it would like to turn in all directions. Did get big surf as I lived on for several hours. While Erik was playing happily in the waves.
I cut my cooked kayak this morning, so now it looks a little nicer than it rough as it gets with a putty knife ... But there is still some work to grind before it is really little. Now I have also started getting water in the aft bulkhead, at the door, not so much though.

Erik on their way south

We just sat and tried to get on a good run tomorrow. The wind will persist as forecast, and increase to Sunday. N-NO, we'll see what tomorrow offers.

Lunch: Real bags . Dinner: Tortellini, bacon, broccoli, etc.
Weather: Cloudy and windy 8-9m / s N

Sharp Cut - Storskär, Sat 7/7 - 31 km
Today is my niece Ella 2 years old and my parents celebrate 35y.o. in äktenskapensband. I have sent messages to them all.
Now we are soon in Kökar archipelago. It took a long time to get out of my sleeping bag today! It was blowing a bit and it was raining so the tent attracted more
Shortly after 15 pm (!) We were finally in the kayaks, it started to crack up and even the sun peeped out.
The promised gale was not today either, but the direction was right. We are getting a bit skeptical about the weather forecast ...
However, we notice of course if we do not feel comfortable with the weather and make decisions accordingly. When we left Sharp Cut, we crossed the fairway for the BIG boats, Viking Line and Silja Line. We saw them when we went from Bärö to Jemmonklobba, where we also oxå stopped and had a slightly late lunch.

Pia towards Jemmonklobba, stooor ferry in the background

The crossing was no problem, a little bumpy, with a nice tailwind. Was a bit nervous about the waves from the big boats,
I heard some scary stories about. But they hardly noticed among the other waves, nice. It was a bit harder to find a campsite today. We wanted shelter nordvästan, and we were almost. The wind has once again died down at night and it arrived a few drops of very precise. The archipelago has reinvented itself, now it's not at all the red granite cliffs that dominate but rather more rocks and reeds, and more houses and boats. It is also with a lot more mosquitoes!

Lunch: sandwich and tea. Dinner: Spagetteria Bolognese
Weather: Rain all morning and the morning sun, afternoon / evening. 7-8m / s

Lite vassigt in places south of Ulversö