Åland from Korpo via Rödhamn to Sweden – summer 2024

🧭 Factsheet

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📍 Our route & legs

Leg 1: Korpoström → Sotunga

We leave the Finnish archipelago and sail back over the Skiftet to Åland. In August, peak season seems to be over. Most pontoons are noticeably emptier. We’re still a bit ill, but sailing is honestly the best remedy. We sail around 30 miles with fantastic NW wind and sunshine. Then, out of nowhere, there’s a loud bang. Something has hit the hull. A north mark had very unnecessarily positioned itself right in front of us and rammed us. A very clear case: we were the stand-on vessel. Luckily it was plastic, and not, well…

Sotunga was, in my opinion, one of the prettiest Åland islands. The harbour was well maintained, the sanitary facilities absolutely perfect, and everything nicely laid out. The restaurant, famous for good schnitzels, unfortunately not for us. So we had oat-schnitzel in the cockpit instead.

Leg 2: Sotunga → Degerby

We have to hurry a bit, because persistent westerlies are forecast later on and we still need to reach the Swedish mainland before that. We’ve also booked our Göta Canal passage by now. Where we normally have all the time in the world, we suddenly hear the clock ticking.

Contrary to what we expected, we have light winds—enough to carry us the 12 miles to Degerby. Glorious summer sailing in a dress and barefoot. Degerby was a cute little spot. We decide on the harbour right next to the supermarket, stock up once more, and return our Finnish deposit bottles.

Leg 3: Degerby → Rödhamn

We say goodbye to Åland at the same place where we arrived. We enjoy one more afternoon on the beach and the calm that has settled in now that all the breeding terns have gone. At the end of July they were still very annoyed that we were walking about on their beach. To make the farewell a little sweeter, we order bread in the café for the next morning.

Leg 4: Rödhamn →Tjockö (Grännäsviken)

In the morning there’s a bag of fresh, fragrant bread on our bowsprit. We pack it away, because we want to have breakfast underway. As always, we’re a bit later than planned. Lots of boats are heading towards Sweden. For many, the holiday is coming to an end. The wind conditions in the coming days aren’t ideal. A small flotilla sets off westwards.

From Rödhamn to our anchorage it’s 33 miles. We set off at around 10 knots and put the first reef in straight away. The wind is meant to increase over the day, especially on the exposed stretch between Åland and Sweden. Before we reach the sheltered Stockholm archipelago, we’ve got a solid 20 knots from the south. We’ve also reefed the genoa once already. Between the skerries the wind disappears and we motor to the anchorage. Unfortunately there’s already a Swedish boat tied to the rock and the buoy is taken too. We drop the anchor, enjoy the sun with a coffee, and think back on our lovely time in Åland and Finland.

🗺️ Special experiences & learnings

• Experienced buoy magnetism live
• Sailed barefoot

⚓ Our favourite place on this trip

• Sottunga

💡 Practical tips for anyone sailing this route

• In Rödhamn, absolutely order fresh bread. It’s a bit expensive, but it’s so, so good.
• In the bookshop in Mariehamn there’s a good, spiral-bound harbour and anchoring guide (also in German). With that you’ve got all the info you need for about 40 €.
• The small free brochure “Sail Åland” is enough in an emergency. Download here.

🖼️ Gallery