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We love a loop!  Much preferable to an out-and-back. Be it trail running, cycling, hiking or sailing. So, rather than sail around the south coast of Sweden and up the east coast, just to sail back down, we are charging straight through the middle. So cool! Sweden's Blue Ribbon (Sveriges Blå Band) This is possible by travelling through the canal system that cuts across Sweden, the Trollhätte and Göta Canals, known as Sweden's Blue Ribbon .  Built back in the days before railways, the canal system was one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in Sweden.  And aren't we happy about that! The first canal on our overland journey was the Trollhätte Canal. It was opened in 1800 to run cargo between Gothenburg and Lake Vänern.  It runs the 41nm (82km) from Gothenburg and spills out into Lake Vänern, 44m higher.  We had to pass through six locks and under nine bridges. The majority of the waterway is natural along the Göta River with just a 5...

Woo hoo, we sailed to Sweden! Post-passage mayhem in the cockpit, but we are here! Motoring past the island of Rörö, north of Göteborg Our sail across the Skagerrak was superb!  The seas were flat and the wind had us zipping along at about 7kn, until it didn't.  We popped the engine on a couple of times just to keep us moving and dropped the sails as we approached the series of small rocky islands that guard the entrance to Göta River, on which Gothenburg* sits. We anchored amongst these small islands for a few hours but the wind kept rising and the anchorage was not as protected as we had hoped so we headed up the river to the guest marina in the heart of Gothenburg. ... and the first use of our Swedish courtesy flag. Travelling from the harbour entrance to where we would eventually tie up took several hours.  We passed by miles of industrial docks, filled with container yards, oil and gas facilities and ferry terminals. After passing under a road bridge with a 4...

Kristiansand - rhymes with 'Dry Land' Using the anchor as a step to get on and off over the bow.  Think we will have to get used to a variety of different mooring systems over the next few months. Once we were safely tied up (so glad it wasn't windy!), Susanne and Tobias came to check out the boat.  We had a wander around town and ate lunch at one of their favourite cafes in the middle of town overlooking the cathedral. A lovely place for lunch We usually have a slow day when we arrive after a long passage.  Once we had a good 'first day' visit, we waved Tobias and Susanne goodbye and set about putting Chinook to rest (covers on things on deck, extra lines away, setting up the main cabin for living versus sailing) and then fell into bed to catch up on sleep. The next day, we woke up early and went for a walk. Outside the marina, along the harbour area, the wind blows the waterfall fountain all over the place! You can choose your ride at the bea...

Around the southern most point of Norway Stavanger to Tananger  Because of pending bad weather from the west which would make Deidre and Rob's bay untenable, we reluctantly moved on.  Oh we will miss that endless hot water rain shower, the soft bed and that view.  Thanks Rob and Deirdre for being such wonderful hosts to people you only just met! Rob kindly offered to act as crew on the epic 12 nautical mile voyage.  We motored down the fjord into the wind, past the massive work boats and the Saipem 7000, the world's third largest semi-submersible crane vessel,  before rounding the point.  We were then able to pop up a sail, turn off the engine and enjoyed a lovely sail over a rolly sea. A stowaway!  He looks pretty comfortable onboard, too! Tanager is a tight harbour filled with workboats (we counted 14), ferries and yachts.  We found a space against the breakwater and tied up to the most inconvenient mooring system we have seen to da...