This post is dedicated to the Swedish way of mooring a boat in the archipelago that we have been practicing some times now.
Since we have left Stockholm behind and entered the Skärgård, a new world has opened up to us. Already in the St. Anna Skärgård and in Mälaren we have seen boats moored directly to a rock, but back then there were still many small harbours or simple piers to dock Desiree for the night, so we often preferred these more well known docking types.
But it was clear to us that we have to try out docking to the rocks out of curiosity and the fact that there will be places where this is the only option together with anchoring. Motivated to learn this new skill we left Stockholm and entered the archipelago.
We didn’t have to wait long and took the first opportunity the day after we left Stockholm, mooring to a rock at Träskö.
We had already talked to several sailors to hear their tips and tricks, and this is how we decided to do the maneuver:
Roughly 2 boat lengths away from the selected rock we drop the back anchor which is in fact our main anchor just attached to a long rope. The rock is usually selected on three main critrias: wind direction (ideally from the front), depth in front of the rock (if the 2-meter line is within a meter or two from land we are usually happy) and the accessibility of the stone itself (can we jump off and walk on it or is it too steep?). Then we approach the rock as slowly as possible without drifting to the side with one person at the bow signaling the distance to the hard. When the gap between boat and rock is small enough the person at the bow climbs down and holds the bow in place while the other one is coming to the front and helps to fix the ropes.
Every docking in this fashion is a little different regarding were we can tie the ropes to, sometimes we can use an already existing hook or we get creative and use a tree growing further in on land or metal nails that we hammer into a crack in the rock.
Although docking is always different, the result is always the same: an astonishing view on islands and a bay that we just entered minutes before, combined with a satisfaction that we are moored to a natural harbour which hasn’t been changed to make it suitable for boats. And some tiny worries that the wind could change or pick up during the night so that we would have to leave prematurely.
Then it’s time to cook, swim and sleep.
By now we have docked like this a handful of times and feel more and more confident in this new sailing skill. Saving the harbour fee is also a quite nice side effect, so we are now always on the lookout for the next nice rock to dock at.
Good night from Desiree,
Liv and Paul
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