Kiddeholmen
Two days sail North of Karlskrona, and a thousand miles from Hamble, is a favourite place of ours. Kiddeholmen is a sort of mini archipelago , some 20 miles before the true island paradise begins , but important nevertheless as the first true wild anchorage on this coast. The passage through the rocks is fairly nerve racking , although this year for the first time some fine leading lines had been set up.
Once inside , not only is it beautiful in its own right , it represents the end of the first phase of our trip; no longer are we pushing hard along crowded coasts full of comercial traffic , and always with an eye on our deadline . From now on we could get to Stockholm in one overnight sail , but instead have nearly two weeks to wander through the millions of islands that lie scattered in our path like stars in a clear night sky.
Sitting in the cockpit as the sun fell in Kiddeholmen sound, the view though the skerries was of the magic island of Bla Jungfrun bathed in the last red light of the setting sun. The only sounds were the occasional quack from the ducks pootling around the shallows and the plop of terns diving for a final feast before nightfall.
Festina , Lynda and myself were at last back in our element.