Today we were making our last journey with the Laytons, destination Västervik, some 21 miles to the north. There was virtually no wind for most of the passage and it was cold and grey. The journey to our final destination passed without incident but one section of the passage is worthy of note. Basically the route for large vessels goes one way (northwards) round a group of islands but there is another way, suitable for the likes of us, that takes you through a narrow gap between two islands, Spårö and Grönö. There is about 6m of water available to float in and about 20 yards width to make use of, so it was quite fun to navigate. Then, once clear, there is a wide channel and clear buoyage the last couple of miles to Västervik. We were planning on getting fuel which was on the left as you head across the bay to the marina but the weather looked so threatening that we decided to try to make it to harbour before the wind and heavy rain hit – ie the wind that comes with such rain. Sadly, we were just too late and Julie and I got thoroughly soaked trying, not very successfully, ie it took a couple of attempts before we succeeded, to get CW alongside on the downwind pontoon by 13:00. Jeff and Greta, as guests, were allowed to shelter in the cabin, though Jeff, bless him, was dead keen on wanting to help.



Having tied up alongside (very few boats so we didn't have to use the buoys) we dried off and had lunch and then tried to get over to the harbourmaster / chandlery to pay when we discovered that I’d selected the only pontoon that didn’t have direct access to the shore, so we decided to move and whilst we were at it, to go across the bay to get fuel, now that the rain had passed . However, when we got there we discovered that it was closed for refurbishment but fortunately, we still have some 90litres in the tank so there is no real urgency. Upon our return to a different pontoon, we presented ourselves to the harbourmaster to pay the bill. Julie had recalled reading that they had a deal with the Cruising Association here, pay two nights at the full rate and get the rest of the week free or alternatively, pay 50% of the rate of a yacht of 12 -15m, which is what we did initially, agreeing that we could retrospectively change our payment plan if we wanted to stay longer.

Our priority, having done the deal, was to get to the tourist office to firm up on the Layton’s travel arrangements for the morning. The walk from the marina to the town takes you along the waterside and across a lifting bridge to the centre – a very picturesque walk and the town itself looked very promising, with two prominent churches and some art deco buildings. We found the tourist office without difficulty and ascertained that the best way for them was to catch the 10:50 express but into Stockholm then get another bus out to the airport . We’d decided that as it was a bit of a walk into town and the rain had started again,the original idea of going out for a meal looked very unattractive, so a quick shop in the supermarket was called for and there a staff member very kindly issued us with sets of free plastic rain covers (see picture), then Julie & I took the provisions back whilst Jeff & Greta went off to buy their tickets.

Having got back, I decided to investigate the lack of wifi here and the helpful and pleasant harbourmaster / chandler did his very best to help, including trying to get me wireless access to his own company’s router, to no avail, despite spending about 90 minutes trying. Indeed, he crashed his own router and couldn’t get it back but that didn’t seem to faze him, surprisingly. Anyway, he put calls in to Telia (the Swedish equivalent to BT) and they said they would come over in the morning to put things right.

We passed a very pleasant last night with Jeff & Greta and whilst we will miss their company when they’ve gone, our livers won’t!! Seriously, we’d had a good week and we’d enjoyed their company and hopefully they feel the same.