Sweden from Malmö into the Baltic Sea – spring 2024

🧭 Factsheet

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📍 Our route & stages

Stage 1: Malmö → Malmö

We are starting the 2024 season not in seven-league boots, but more with baby steps. We cruise along the coast off Malmö, where we went for so many walks and jogs over the winter. We definitely had to clear the growth from our underwater hull. We hadn’t done that for the last two years. So it was high time. For that, we head to Limhamn Marina and book a crane slot there. The prices in Limhamn are unbeatable. For our 11 m boat, we pay around €60 (including pressure-washing it ourselves) and remove a 100-litre rubbish sack full of around 50 kilos of sea creatures from the hull. The anode is also changed and everything gets checked over once.

But we still haven’t decided which antifouling we want to use in future. Before the crane appointment, we had researched different systems, weighed them up and then rejected all of them again. Ideally, we’d go for Coppercoat, but the application is not permitted in Sweden, just as it isn’t in the Netherlands. A silicone-based hard antifouling felt a bit dubious to us. No one could tell us how well it could be removed again if needed. After some thought, we put Tiamat back in the water with the old soft antifouling.

Stage 2: Malmö → Höllviken

Right after being lifted, we carry on. And what a difference. TIAMAT glides along at a full six and a half knots under engine, because once again there’s no wind, towards the Falsterbo Canal. The lift took longer than planned. Two charter yachts had been put back in the water unexpectedly before our slot. We were told that the backstays had to come off, so we did that in the meantime. Then the pressure washer broke as well and first had to be repaired. Since it is already getting dusk, we decide to go into Höllviken marina before the canal. Not a recommendation: grubby communal showers and a grotty pontoon for SEK 330 per night. And that in the pre-season. On the plus side, there are rickety bikes to borrow.

We take them and cycle to Falsterbo. We should have sailed here instead. The marina looks very inviting and sits right by the beautiful sandy beach at Falsterbo. We have a picnic and enjoy the sunshine.

Stage 3: Höllviken → Ystad

The Höllviksbro bridge at the Falsterbo Canal opens every two hours during the season (first opening at 6 am). You don’t need to register, and passage is free of charge. We’re not morning people, so we set off at 10 am.

Just as we come out of the canal and turn towards Trelleborg, we end up in a dense bank of fog. As the wind has disappeared too, we decide not to bother hoisting sails for now and motor towards Ystad. Annoyingly, our AIS starts acting up, which we always display in Navionics via our onboard Wi-Fi. No connection can be established. We still don’t know the cause, but at least we have a fix. The router seems to block the signal, and turning it off and on again helps, as so often. There is something slightly ghostly about travelling in the fog. Suddenly, a boat appears out of the mist just a few metres beside and ahead of us. A German one too. We have a quick radio chat and hear that the other boat had received our AIS and was therefore able to “see” us beforehand. Active AIS really is an absolute game changer.

🗺️ Special experiences & lessons learned

• Sailing in fog: We test our radar and realise that, without practice interpreting the display, it isn’t really useful.

⚓ Our favourite place on this trip

• Sandy beach at Falsterbo

💡 Practical tips for fellow sailors

• The Falsterbo Canal isn’t long and, at around 4 metres, is deep enough too. Here you can find the page with the latest information from Sjöfartsverket.

🖼️ Gallery