charter sailing in Sweden

[dar]

Hellow,

I a'm considering charter sailing next year in Sweden,
Let me know if i can get recommendations the following topics:
1. yacht charter sailing company recommanded
2.Best itenerary for one week
3. what is the best mounth to sail includes swimming option and most comfortable sea conditions
4. Additional tips are welcome and thanks
Best regards
Ami

[ottow]

Hi,


This is a pretty big subject, but here goes a few basic answers:
1. Sorry, no recommendation here.
2. First you need to decide where you want to cruise. West coast (Skagerack, Kattegat, and the archipelago up from Gothenburg to Oslo), South coast (South Baltic and the Danish islands) or the East coast (Baltic and the immense archipelago from Kalmar up to Öregrund). Or maybe the Göta Kanal and the lakes. Do you prefer open sea sailing, or island hoping between the rocks and tiny islands in the archipelago?
3. July/August generally offers the best conditions. Be aware though that there may be a lot of boats out, the Swedes all take their vacation at this time so in some marinas (especially on the West coast) you need to be in at around 3-4pm to be sure of a spot. On the other hand, this means that come the 3rd week of August, everyone is gone back to work and there are much less boats out.
4. Some links: https://www.sxk.se/english. https://www.yachtingworld.com/featur...e-sweden-60188. Drömresan | English (+ A Guide to Sailing in Sweden). https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/crui...lderness-32654


There is a _massive_ amounts of rocks and shoals in the archipelagoes. Charts are generally very good and accurate but you need to be paying attention all the time when sailing there. IMHO, it is what makes it all fun :-)
Possibly you can have a look at the charts here (not sure if this works from outside Sweden): https://kartor.eniro.se/m/kN9ri

[dar]

Hi,

Thank you so much for your quick reference,
Question:
Which of the cruise area you have specified is the most beautiful sailing area and with swimming option ?
I would love to get a detailed sailing itenerary for one week to the area you would recommand
(take into account concerning flights that i am coming from Israel )
Thanks
Ami

[ottow]

That would be either the west or the east coast.

They are very different though, west is more barren with bare rock and low vegetation on the islands, and is a little more unprotected in general.

East is very protected, there are trees on almost all islands and in general the archipelago has much more depth and width.
Algae bloom can be a problem in the east sometimes though, so swimming may be inadvisable in some areas. The warmer, calmer summer, the more risk of algae bloom.


For itinerary, I think you would be better off contacting a charter company. They would be much more suited to provide you with this. Below is some links to get you started.

https://www.nautilusyachting.com/swe...t-charter.html
https://navigare-yachting.com/en/destinations/sweden
https://www.boatcharter-sweden.com/

[dar]

Hellow Ottow,
I went to the rental company webside- "Nautilus yachting" , they offer two itenerary:
1. Start from Stockholm
2. Start from Gothenburg
What do you think ?

[bobmcd625]

Flip a coin. Either starting point would lead to a great trip.
I have not done either but did survey the west coast a few years ago and found it to be charming beyond belief. More "nature" there whereas starting from Stockholm would be somewhat more "urban" (sub-urban really) with more habitation along the way. Just study the maps and charts. Both are wonderful.

[Flemming Torp]

Being a Dane, I have been sailing in several different Swedish waters.
In the Early days: Along the west coast of Sweden - the archipelago around Gothenburg. Our boat is a sail boat.
Many beautiful islands, anchorages, and small towns with cosy marinas.
Not a lot of vegetation, and the wind from west can be pretty strong, but most of the time you can sail well protected from wind and waves.
Many, many leisure boats - sail and motor - from Norway, Denmark, Germany and Sweden during late June, July and early August.
Later we explored the waters around Stockholm, which consists of many "green" islands - many of them populated with small many small cottages and lots of trees and vegetation and many very nice anchorages. Well protected from wind and waves. In a hot summer, the Baltic waters may have toxic algae growth.

Both waters are well marked, and the charts are of high quality.
In many places - also on the small islands - you can buy gasoline and daily necessities from small kiosks.

It is not for me to recommend the west coast or the east coast.
Both waters offer wonderful sailing experience. Fair winds.

See for yourself: https://www.yachtico.com/sailing-sweden.

[Juho]

This far north the best sailing season is the hottest months of the year. If you want to swim in warm water, late July could be the best time, and still the water in the sea might be colder than you would like it to be. Shallow lakes will be warmer.

At the end of June people will celebrate midsummer. That's an important local event. Many people consider July to be the best sailing season. There will be still lots of light, even at night. August is fine too. Nights will be a bit darker. I like late Autumn too, but that's too cold for most people.

The algae blooming risk of the Baltic Sea was already mentioned. You may get that at the hottest times (no swimming recommended then). If that occurs, you may try to escape it by sailing a bit further north.

I can't say if west coast or east coast is better for you. Google some pictures. More rocks at west, greener islands at east, and a lot of them. And you can continue to Åland and Finland if the Stockholm archipelago is not enough for you (my usual sailing grounds there ).

[Flod]

I live on the west coast and can recommend it very much. Avoid July and you will have plenty of space. We normally go in July (because of vacation)but then you need to know when to go into port if you want to secure a spot. The navigation is very different from off shore sailing since there are lots of underwater rocks. No problem but be aware of it. You can go from Gothenburg and north to the Norwegian border and back in a week. This can be done almost in calm waters even if there is a gale. There are thousands of sheltered anchorages and islands.

[Dockhead]

Note that July is the universal vacation month in Sweden, like August in France or Italy. Most Swedes sail it seems so there will be a lot of boats out in July. Not necessarily a problem considering the staggering number of "gästhamnar" or "guest harbours", 2000 or something listed in the guest harbour book, and the uncountable anchorages in the archis -- so it never really gets crowded -- but I prefer August as it's quieter. However, it is true that by then the sky does get dark for a few hours at night, so the magical white nights of late June/early July are gone.


You can't go wrong choosing between East and West or South coasts, or up the Gulf of Bothnia. Sweden does not have any uninteresting coast, not a single mile as far as I have experienced. But if forced to choose I would start in Stockholm and work my way North, to the Aland Islands, and back. Or if you feel like a bit of sea time, cross over to Visby in Gotland, a reasonable day sail from Sandhamn. A week is little, like anywhere interesting.

[chrisr]

we visit sweden frequently to spend time with family, and have always found the Stockholm archipelago to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

better than australian barrier reef...better than pacific islands...better than greek islands

of course it get's a bit cooler

cheers,

[Flod]

Dar if you decide to come to Sweden next season drop me a Pm and I’ll help you out with some tips where to go and when

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by chrisr

we . . . have always found the Stockholm archipelago to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

better than australian barrier reef...better than pacific islands...better than greek islands. . .

Before I ever cruised the Baltic, I heard this over and over again from world sailors. What? Better than the Greek islands? Better than the Med? Better than the Great Barrier Reef? Ridiculous. I scoffed the first time I heard this -- no way. And the second. And the third. By the fourth time, I started to pay attention. Then I went there, and I understood everything.



And one of the many enchanting things about the Baltic is that there is so MUCH of it. The number of islands is staggering. Take just 50 miles of the Stockholm archi and I have no doubt that the number of islands exceeds the number of islands in the entire Caribbean.



And that's why there aren't really any useful cruising guides. It's just not possible to meaningfully document all or even a significant sample of all the places to anchor. For harbours, likewise, there are just too many of them. Your best bet is here: https://www.svenskagasthamnar.se/se/. There are 590 guest harbours here which is not a complete list.


This makes it difficult to recommend any itineraries.



Note that Danish and Finnish waters are hardly less interesting. The Stockholm archi is really just a little part of a much bigger archipelago which starts somewhere around Kalmar, continues up the whole East Coast of Sweden, through Aland and the Archipelago Sea in the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia, and continues along the entire South Coast of Finland right up to the Russian border.

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

And that's why there aren't really any useful cruising guides. It's just not possible to meaningfully document all or even a significant sample of all the places to anchor. For harbours, likewise, there are just too many of them. Your best bet is here: https://www.svenskagasthamnar.se/se/. There are 590 guest harbours here which is not a complete list.

These "Hamnguiden" books are terrific! In Swedish, though, but excellent guide books.

https://www.captains.se/hamnguiden-8...-landsort.html

[Flod]

There are very good guides from different sources. I use the ones from the Swedish cruising club www.sxk.se they also have a app that’s great The red anchors are guides like the detail pic above. This is the Swedish west coast and there are as you see hundreds of guides to anchorages and islands.