We were the first visitors of the season when we made Swedish landfall at Utklippan on March 27th. We were excited to finally reach Sweden and were looking forward to some fabulous cruising. Utklippan itself is an incredibly beautiful island full of migrating shorebirds, lots of history to see, and a lighthouse. It’s a wild place at the southeast extreme of the country and we had it all to ourselves.

Below are trip highlights from March 27th, 2019 en route from Bornholm, DE to Utklippan, SE. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps

Hammershus Castle Position: 55°15.59’N, 14°42.19’E Hammershus Castle, just barely visible in the mist, as we pass along the west coast of Bornholm en route to Sweden.

Ara Liverpool Position: 55°22.96’N, 14°50.82’E The 462 ft (141m) Gibraltar-flagged container ship Ara Liverpool heading south of Bornholm Island.

Traffic Position: 55°25.22’N, 14°54.13’E Lots of traffic as we cross the lanes north of Bornholm Island.

Genca Position: 55°31.43’N, 15°3.57’E The Netherlands-registered RO/RO cargo ship Genca.

Danish Flag Position: 55°31.74’N, 15°4.02’E Lowering our Danish courtesy flag. We won’t have that one up again until we pass through the Copenhagen area this fall.

Swedish Flag Position: 55°31.74’N, 15°4.02’E Raising a Swedish courtesy flag for the first time. We’re really looking forward to cruising Sweden.

Swedish Customs Position: 55°41.18’N, 15°18.71’E On the phone with Swedish Customs to report our arrival with our cat Spitfire. Sweden requires that any animals brought into the country be declared to customs.

Utklippan Position: 55°56.69’N, 15°41.07’E Approaching Utklippan, the most southeasterly islands in Sweden and our first Swedish port.

Cannon Position: 55°56.88’N, 15°41.32’E Lone cannon standing guard at Utklippan.

Utklippan Lighthouse Position: 55°56.88’N, 15°41.32’E A light at Utklippan was first lit in 1789. The current tower was built in 1870, replacing an older one built in 1840 on top of a fortress. The light was automated in 1972 and deactivated in 2008.

Sweden Arrival Position: 55°57.26’N, 15°42.10’E Olof Hernmarck, the harbourmaster at Utklippan, sent us this image from their web cam of Dirona arriving into our first Swedish port. Utklippan is an incredibly beautiful island full of migrating shorebirds, lots of history to see, and a lighthouse. It’s a wild place at the southeast extreme of the country and we have it all to ourselves. We’re excited to reach Sweden and are looking forward to some fabulous cruising.

Welcome to Utklippan Position: 55°57.31’N, 15°42.26’E We’re so excited to finally arrive in Sweden as the first guests of the season at Utklippan.

Utklippan Harbour Position: 55°57.28’N, 15°42.17’E The harbour we’re in was originally built as an emergency shelter for local fisherman, with an east and a west entrance to allow protected entry depending on the sea conditions. It’s now a popular guest harbour.

Web Cam View Position: 55°57.31’N, 15°42.25’E The view to our moorage at Utklippan from the island web cam.

Sodraskar Position: 55°57.22’N, 15°42.16’E Utklippan is made up of two islands, Norraskar where we are moored, and Sodraskar, where the lighthouse is. The islands aren’t connected, so we dropped the tender in to walk around Sodraskar. We wore our Mustang suits, not because it was particularly cold at 45°F (7.2°C), but to take the tender around the outside of the island.

Lighthouse Position: 55°57.15’N, 15°41.99’E To help defend the Swedish Navy base in nearby Karlskrona, a lighthouse was built on Sodraskar in 1842 with a quadratic defense tower. It is one of the few fortified lighthouses in the world.

Cannon Position: 55°57.15’N, 15°41.99’E In times of war, twenty men would be based on Sodraskar to defend the island with four cannons.

Sauna Position: 55°57.19’N, 15°42.10’E The wooden buildings around the original lighthouse structure are a guest hostel, complete with sauna.

Swans Position: 55°57.17’N, 15°42.03’E We usually see swans only in sheltered waters, but have seen several “surf swans” over the past few days.

Foundation Position: 55°57.31’N, 15°42.12’E Several foundations like this are present on Utklippan, likely the remain of fishermen’s huts dating from at least the 17th century.

Breakwater Position: 55°57.29’N, 15°42.10’E Jennifer walking along the northwest breakwater at Utklippan, towards the entry we came through earlier. A ship is just visible in the distance to the south.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.