Saturday 18 August
Suitably refreshed, we set off as the sun rose, towards Västervik. The/another seal popped up to watch us go. The day began well, Mate enjoying 6+ knots under full mainsail and genoa, until 0800 when the wind dropped, so the staysail was added. It continued to back, so to maintain a reasonable speed we came further off our desired course, and put in a couple of tacks. As the wind backed further, but increased slightly, further sail changes were made, until by late afternoon we were down to first reef in the mainsail, and staysail.
After what the log records as “a long, tedious day’s tacking”, in which we averaged only 4 knots over nearly 15 hours, we’d covered 59 Miles, and headed into our chosen anchorage of Kyrkogårdsskär, in the company of swans and more jellyfish. A German-flagged yacht had beaten us to the prime spot, so we tucked further in with the advantage of our variable draft, and enjoyed a comfortable night’s rest.