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The 5,000-acre (2,000 hectare) Moja nature reserve is a busy boating destination in the summer season, with complex channels ideal for exploration by tender or kayak and many sheltered anchorages. After departing Sandhamn, we spent two nights at Moja while a weather system passed through, catching up on some boat projects and taking a tour…

The Royal Swedish Yacht Club, formed in 1830, is one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world and an active competitive sailing organization. Represented by Artemis Racing, they competed in the 2013 and 2017 America’s Cup events. The club has had an outpost at Sandhamn for more than a century and currently maintains several…

Biskopson and Namdo, in the south-central Stockholm Archipelago, are nature reserves managed by the Archipelago Foundation and are popular boating destinations. The lookout tower on Namdo is a particular draw, with its sweeping views of the area. From Fjardlang we made two short hops first to Biskopson and then to Namdo, spending one night at…

Fjardlang is one of forty nature reserves the Archipelago Foundation manages in the Stockholm Archipelago. The island has excellent trails throughout and several sheltered anchorages. The weather continued to be clear and calm as we proceeded north from Huvudskar. From near-freezing a few days earlier, the temperature had risen to 53°F (11.7°C) when we reached…

Huvudskar is a fabulous anchorage on the outer edge of the Stockholm Archipelago. We’d so far seen only one pleasure craft underway since arriving in Sweden, let alone shared an anchorage, and had the place to ourselves for the first two nights. But despite its remoteness, Huvudskar is popular enough that as the weekend arrived,…

During the Cold War, Sweden invested heavily in defense against a possible Soviet attack. One of the more ambitious projects was the Musko Naval Base, an underground base and shipyards on the island of Musko with docks designed for submarines and destroyers. To reach the island from the mainland, the navy built the 1.9-mile (3…

The island of Nattaro was our first anchorage in the famed Stockholm Archipelago cruising ground after our trip to Visby. The island is full of walking trials and beaches, particularly Storsand, the largest beach in the Stockholm archipelago and one of the nicest places to swim. With raw water freezing on the deck that mid-April…

We went cruising before we were sufficiently financially comfortable to retire because we know that unexpected medical surprises can stop things quickly and we knew we could always go back to work when we’re older. We’d seen close family and friends miss out on goals and dreams due to unexpected medical issues. Jeremy Chow, the…

Visby, on the island of Gotland, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995 for it’s well-preserved medieval structures, include a mostly intact 2.1m (3.4 km) 12th-century wall and a number of church ruins, the majority dating to the 12th century. Walking around the main town, packed on steep, narrow and winding streets within…