Sailing in the Baltic archipelagos

We arrived in Sweden on June 16, 2009, and in the Stockholm archipelago on July 10, 2009. We sailed there until September 6, with a foray into Finland (the Åland and Tuku archipelagos) for two weeks.

It's time to take stock of what we have seen and learned!
Navigation in the archipelago is organized around several main channels, most of which have been charted for over five centuries! The width of these channels can vary from several nautical miles to just a few meters. Depending on their depth, they may or may not be used by ferries, container ships, and other cruise vessels, which must therefore be navigated around (see article on maritime traffic). Secondary channels are also marked on the charts, and then it's up to each individual to study the chart and plan their own route between the islands and reefs! Note: you must also take into account the bridges (and sometimes cables) spanning the channels, their height (to be compared to that of the mast…), and their ability to open when choosing your navigation route.
Most hydrographic surveys were carried out over a century ago. Their accuracy is therefore not guaranteed, and every opportunity is good to reiterate that even if the GPS readings were perfectly precise, transferring them onto an imperfect map inevitably introduces an error. This error is of the same magnitude when using digital maps, which are created from paper maps…
A few hours' sail involves navigating around at least several dozen islands and just as many reefs, some more visible than others. Since islands tend to look alike in a given region, it's understandable that the main challenge is knowing your precise location at all times. While modern navigation tools aren't infallible, they certainly make things easier! Whereas without GPS and a digital chart, we would likely have been limited to sailing from port to port via the main channels, we were able to travel at our own pace and in relative comfort, even at night when an emergency arose.
We did not note any significant errors between the elements available on our navigation system and reality (position of the beacons…).
Accustomed to the lighthouses of Brittany, we had some difficulty adapting to the concept of a lighthouse within the archipelago: a generally very modest construction, averaging 2 meters in height, and sometimes less! But it's enough…
The buoys are also very discreet, generally "sticks" 2 or 3 meters high. And you shouldn't expect every reef to be marked: they are countless. Even in the middle of a busy anchorage, you must make a point of reading charts and plans precisely.
Generally speaking, sailing conditions are therefore easier (with a modern navigation system) than in Brittany. However, anchoring remains a sensitive issue. Not in perfect weather, of course, but as soon as the wind picks up, anchoring becomes a matter of consideration for the entire day…
Indeed, the islands are not very high, the vegetation is not always dense, the SMHI is more or less accurate in its forecasts, and the wind sometimes changes direction during the night…
The seabed is everywhere made of very soft, sticky mud. Our main anchor (Delta) proved perfectly reliable, but too heavy for stern-to anchoring. Our secondary anchor (FOB Light with a 10m heavy chain, then a 3m light chain, with a "sand" setting and then a "mud" setting) did not perform as expected, and we ended up acquiring a 10kg Swedish anchor (Bruce) which proved perfectly suited to the conditions here.
In so-called "natural" harbors, the aim is to hug the shore, facing the wind, to find the best protection. The bow mooring is made on land with two lines at 120° to each other (tree, rock, piton in the granite), and the stern mooring is on the anchor, which for us is secondary, with little chain and most often a retractable strap rather than a tripping line. Note: plan for "rather long" mooring lines for the bow, and a practical anchoring system for the stern, which does not involve rubbing chain and anchor against the side of the boat, and allows for quick cleaning: the mud is abundant and tenacious… All this works well as long as the wind direction is constant, and its intensity does not allow it to pass over the island by falling back on the shore or to go around the island… a crosswind in these mooring conditions is not comfortable, the boat may tend to flirt with the rocks near which it is moored.
Boarding the boat is usually done from the bow, and is essential when mooring. We therefore also acquired a ladder for this purpose, storing all our main anchoring equipment in the forward locker.
Of course, when the space offered by the anchorage allows it, it is possible to anchor by the bow further from the shore.
A very practical English-language guide to navigating the archipelago has recently become available. It lists all the guest harbours and a number of natural harbors. For the natural harbors, it includes not only a description of the bay and its depth, but also of its shoreline and the possibility of mooring a boat at a particular rock.
Natural harbors are endless, but some are more suitable, better protected… and listed. These natural harbors can also be very busy: “natural” in this context doesn’t mean you’ll be alone in a deserted bay… In July, at the height of the Swedish season, some bays can accommodate dozens, even hundreds of boats! On the other hand, from the end of August onwards, it’s possible to be the king of the manor for a night… The most popular anchorages are equipped with toilets (dry toilets, as water is generally scarce), rubbish bins, and sometimes even a sauna (see below).
The archipelago is a space of freedom. Most of the islands are privately owned; however, the Archipelago Foundation, an association closely linked to the Swedish state, owns a significant number. The "Allemansrätten" law allows anyone to anchor anywhere, even near a private island, to go ashore, to pick berries… provided they respect the owner (not setting up camp on their dock or in their garden) and nature.
Unlike in France, ports are not managed by public bodies. They are most often user associations that decide whether or not to accommodate visiting boats. Anchoring in a port not officially designated as open to visiting vessels can lead to encountering a gate closing the dock… Guest harbors offer highly variable services, and prices reflect this (from approximately €12 to €24 per night, excluding electricity and based on the 2009 exchange rate). Electricity is an additional charge when available (which is most often the case). Water remains a scarce resource on the islands: it is usually impossible to fill water tanks, and often impossible to take a shower (communal showers are available when this service is provided). Depending on its location within the archipelago, a guest harbor may only be open during the summer, or it may be a permanent port reserving a few berths for visiting boats. It can accommodate anywhere from 10 boats to several hundred (near Stockholm only). Mooring is usually done with the bow facing the pontoon and the stern secured to a buoy provided by the port or to the boat's anchor. Mooring to a stern buoy is very comfortable and requires only a short adjustment period (after acquiring a suitable hook). It's also possible to find "booms," similar to our catways, but only half a foot wide: it's not possible to disembark from the side. In short, it's rare to be able to moor alongside a pontoon.
Navigating the archipelago (and anchoring there) therefore also means constantly flirting with the rocks, squeezing through narrow channels, entering anchorages that are sometimes narrow and crowded, and "testing" the rock to which one wishes to moor.
It also involves multiple activities linked to this particular navigation configuration: anchoring whenever you feel like it, discovering a cafe, a smoked fish shop, a restaurant or a service station located on the edge of a busy channel and mooring for the time necessary to make your purchases at the designated pontoon, being able to take refuge in a bay when a storm breaks, admiring the houses on the banks…
Finally, after mooring, you can explore "your" island, find the trails, a viewpoint, pick berries, and keep an eye out for a deer or a fallow deer (moose must be a myth, we didn't see any!), and go for a swim: what a pleasure! And enjoy a sauna set up by the Foundation for the Archipelago! For two euros per person (provided you chop the wood provided to fuel the boiler and go to the nearby fountain to get fresh water to pour on the stones placed on the boiler), you have an hour's use of a wooden house with at least two rooms (the sauna itself, lit by one or more windows overlooking the sea or the forest, and a room to get ready), and a small beach or rocky launching point for diving into the Baltic: fantastic!

Two other lighting options

Some observations on "Swedish-style" navigation

• Boats adapted for sailing in the archipelago are longer, sit lower in the water, and carry more sail, with a small headsail rigged on a self-luffing track. It's not uncommon to see 10-meter sailboats with a mast featuring three sets of spreaders…
• Swedes seek to make the most of the light and expose themselves to the sun a lot.
• A few hours of sailing a day is enough to change the environment, possibly with a stop for lunch, since the resource of anchorages is infinite (especially in good weather),
• Open water sailing is an extra: many Swedes prefer to avoid it. Their over-canvassed boats with low freeboard are completely unsuitable for it.
• In July, it is necessary to plan to arrive at an anchorage no later than mid-afternoon to secure a "good" spot.
• The evening barbecue, on the rock to which we are moored, is a must, after the aperitif (which can start as early as 4 pm!)
• On an island, washing is usually done before breakfast, with a dip in the Baltic from the deck, using shower gel!

Archipelagos
As we also experienced sailing in two Finnish archipelagos, here are some differences with the Swedish archipelago.

• The similar points are the size of the archipelagos, the climate… however we observed more low and bare islands in Åland, located between the main lands of Sweden and Finland.
• A significant difference stems from the ongoing dispute between Finland and Russia: hydrographic surveys of the Finnish coast were considered secret. Charts sold today still contain large areas without information. In contrast, the areas that were described seemed accurate to us. Another difference is that Finland does not have an equivalent to the Swedish "Allemansrätten" law. The concept of private property is closer to ours, and anchoring off a private island is therefore not recommended. Furthermore, only "Guest Harbours" are described in the available documentation.
• Ferry and other boat traffic is even more intense there, and the channels these ships use are extensively marked.
• In general, the markers leave a much larger footprint on the landscape: the position of the markers in the water is reinforced by alignments on the ground; large signs allow for alignments…
• The scenery sometimes suffers, but the navigation is very comfortable.

Our navigation blog

The photos are no longer accessible, what a shame.

• https://kerfenmer.blogspot.com/2009/