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Monday, August 30, 2021

Karlskrona - Utklippan

After a night well slept, we left the Karlskrona harbour at 10:03 for a shorter hop towards the Utklippan lighthouse island. At 10:15 we hoisted sail in front of the Navy museum. At 11:08 we were out of the Karlskrona fairway, and set the tiller pilot on course. By 12:10 the wind had risen to 30kt, so we set the 2nd reef. The boat was tracking nicely on a beam reach and the tiller pilot had no problems steering despite the big swell. At 12:38 we were approaching the island, and so it was time to stow the tiller pilot and prepare for arrival

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The utklippan harbour entrance is very narrow, and there isn’t much protection from the wind. So our arrival was a hasty dropping of the mainsail in the harbour channel, and almost immediately tying up to the wall. The harbour has rings instead of bollards, so it is nearly impossible to catch those without stepping ashore. Luckily there was a Swiss sailboat to receive us as we arrived “hot” with the wind. At 13:00 we were tied securely. In the summer season the island has a hostel and a pub. This being off-season everything was closed.

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We took one of the harbour rowboats to the lighthouse island to have a look around. Sadly the famous island seals were not visible this time. Rowing back was difficult upwind even inside the semi-protected harbour basin.

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From the logbook

Time Position Course Speed Log Weather Remarks
30.08. 9:03 Z n/a Motoring out of the harbour
30.08. 9:15 Z n/a 183° wind 15kt Sails up in front of the Navy Museum, reef 1 wind 15kt
30.08. 10:08 Z n/a 173° wind 15.6kt Assistant Nissinen on duty, exiting Karlskrona fairway
30.08. 10:25 Z n/a 138° wind 18.8kt sea state 3/10 clouds 2/8 visibility 8/10 baro 1024 hPa Hourly position log
30.08. 11:10 Z n/a 131° wind 25.7kt Reef 2 at gusts 30kt
30.08. 11:38 Z n/a 134° wind 24.5kt sea state 4/10 clouds 2/8 visibility 8/10 Autopilot off
30.08. 12:00 Z n/a Tied up at Utklippan. One Swiss boat, everything closed