Leaving Landskrona

Position: 57°21’23.5”N 11°58’32.4”E

For the fourth time in two hours Carol said, “Have I told you how happy I am to be leaving Landskrona?” I nodded in agreement, to both her explicit and implicit comments. Having waited a week for the deepest of lows to move off the highlands of Norway and the weather to clear up, we finally woke last Tuesday to calm waters.

It was 6:30AM and the sun had been up for three hours already. We dashed about hoisting the jib on our rickety rig, cast off and went round the corner to fill Aleta with non-biodiesel. The biological stuff is like a petri dish for bacteria. Diesel after all is a natural substance and some critters love it. They proliferate and clog your fuel jets if you’re not careful. Biodiesel is worse and best avoided altogether. For the technically minded, Aleta’s fuel is filtered down to two (count ‘em, 2!) microns. The manual calls for 10 microns, but we’re happier clogging replaceable filters than precious engines.

Snagging

The forecast for the next couple of days was mixed. Nothing on Tuesday and insanity on Thursday, with something in between on Wednesday. That meant we could stop at a favourite anchorage Tuesday night and enjoy our first night swinging gently to the sounds of ducks and gannets without stress.

We motored all the way to Kalvskärslid Island and dropped the anchor in 10m, just outside the nature reserve. Not on top of the power line running along the seabed behind us. Snagging such a thing would lead to complications on an international scale.

Wednesday began slowly and slowed further as the wind picked up to 25 knots and the seas to two metres. Our engine, as hearty as she is, struggled at four knots in the slosh. Time to throw caution to the wind and fly the jib! I reckoned it might add a knot or two, if the rig didn’t collapse.

With no mainsail to deploy, there was no confusion about reefing or balancing the sails. Close hauled with a wind angle of 50^o Aleta shot forward at six, then seven knots. The engine became redundant, burning money to no effect. I switched it off. Aleta sprang forward through the swell reaching eight knots surfing down the backside of the waves.

Happy

Rain lashed the dodger as the wind thrummed on the jib’s leech and sheet. My pulse quicken as Aleta rolled in the beam seas, and we closed the wind angle to minimize the risk of broaching. (Although, as I write that it is purely for effect. The chances of Aleta rolling over in those conditions under jib alone are zero to none.) Still she plowed ahead, light on her helm. She was a happy girl, with a happy crew.

In my excitement I sent a text with photos to several friends with the goal of making them jealous. A couple commented on our cockpit enclosure and how useful it looks. This thing is a godsend!

Smug

When we bought Aleta, we knew her previous owners had sailed to Alaska. Sensibly, they installed a Dickinson diesel heater in the salon, and made a full enclosure to keep the crew protected when outside. Pulling every cupboard apart when we first bought her, we discovered a big yellow dry bag secreted at the back of the pantry. In it was the enclosure. Almost brand new. In fall we sail in short sleeves while others are in foul weather gear. We are smug in our comfort.

Making up for a slow couple of hours, we eventually covered 60 miles before 17:00 hours. A couple of failed anchoring attempts put us into the middle of a well protected bay in 8m of water on 50m of rode. The sun came out and then the wind howled at 22knots, rocking us gently to sleep.

Having made such good progress we took today off for a few chores and catch-up, and to let the foul weather blow out. Tomorrow will be an early start, but with hot coffee and a warm engine, we should be ready for anything! Did Carol mention how happy she is to have left Landskrona? She did.

Photos

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