2 July – 16 July 2025
Now we are getting close to the end of our circumnavigation. If we were to sail straight to Henån, where Saphir will be stored and looked after over the winter, we would have around 500 nautical miles ahead of us. But we would really like to finish and celebrate our voyage with our family and friends, so instead we have decided to sail all the way up to Stockholm and then back down to Henån, which is around 1,000 extra nautical miles.
But what is that compared to the 42,000 nautical miles we have sailed over the last three years?
On July 2nd, we finally got a good weather window to cross the North Sea and get closer to home. We set off early in the morning, passing through the last locks of the Caledonian Canal, enjoying the Scottish coastline before heading out into the North Sea on our way to Skagen.
The weather varies. We start by motor-sailing and enjoy beautiful weather, a stunning sunset, and the sight of the enormous oil platforms, glowing like small cities in the middle of the night, far out at sea. It is such a strange sight when there is nothing but water all around us.
On the second day, I took over the watch from Edgar at 4 a.m. The sailing is calm and pleasant, although the weather is not nearly as nice as the day before. Grey, grey and grey. It is cold, even though we are very comfortable in our cockpit.
Edgar is finally sleeping well, and although after my four-hour watch I feel extremely tired, I keep going. It is not often that Edgar sleeps for more than two or three hours at a time. He finally woke up at 10:30 a.m., giving him a little more than six hours of sleep. He really needed it.
The wind starts to pick up a little, but more importantly, the waves are getting higher and are coming from different directions. The North Sea is showing us its true self. Not a cosy sail at all.
We rock and roll, the bow dips into the waves, the rain comes and goes, the wind shifts and dies away. One moment we have all the sails out, and the next we are reefing, with the engine going on and off. In other words, there is no real moment of peace.
And on top of everything else, things are flying around down below despite having been properly stowed away. We move the bread machine before it ends up on the floor. It has happened a couple of times before!
Things calm down a little once we have rounded Denmark’s northernmost point, although there is considerably more traffic at sea. We finally arrive in Skagen in the late afternoon after three days at sea.
Skagen is one of our favourite places, and over the years we have often ended our summer sailing trips here. This time there are no excursions, apart from a walk around town and dinner at our favourite restaurant, where we enjoy some delicious seafood.
After two days, we are ready for the next leg across the Kattegat and down to Torekov to meet our friends Helena and Magnus.
We leave Skagen at 4 p.m. and are greeted by a perfectly calm, mirror-like sea and no wind at all, so the “iron genoa” gets to do all the work.
I go to bed around midnight but have trouble falling asleep, as I still haven’t got used to the light Scandinavian nights. By the time it is my turn to take over at 4 a.m., I am very tired.
It is a fantastic morning, with a completely calm sea, and we are only sailing at just 1.5 knots. That is perfectly fine, though, as we are well ahead of our planned arrival time.
When we arrive in Torekov, Helena and Magnus are waiting for us on the dock with a bottle of bubbly. It is such a lovely feeling to be welcomed home like that. This is Saphirs first landfall in Sweden since we left Henån in July 2022 and ours since we wear home last time.
We head over to their summer house, where we get an unexpected very joyful visit from Chatarina and Anders, who have driven down from Halmstad to surprise us and welcome us home. I was truly happy that they came.
After two days of rest, we continue our journey south towards the Falsterbo Canal, where Annika and Bernt come to visit us.
We end up staying here for another four days, waiting for better weather to cross Hanö Bay. Luckily, Micke and Mia are in Falsterbo, so we get to spend a few wonderful days with them and also meet some of their children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of that!
Finally, we get a reasonably good weather window, so we set off early in the morning through the Falsterbo Canal in the fog. The fog never really lifts throughout the day, but towards evening it finally clears and we are rewarded with a beautiful sunset.
There had been reports of GPS disruptions in the southern part of Sweden, and they turned out to be true. We were lucky and managed without any problems, but we heard boats on the VHF radio reporting that they had lost their GPS signal and needed help figuring out where they were.
Early in the morning on July 16th, we arrive in Kalmar and tie up.
We have two days to catch up on sleep, stock up on supplies and get the boat ready before Ella, Filip, Nellie and Novalie come aboard to sail with us north towards Stockholm.
The rest of the sailing will be out soon
Hugs Eva
