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 of the area by tender.
Below are trip highlights from April 24th and 25th at Moja, Sweden. 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.
Sandhamn
Position: 59°17.35’N, 18°55.22’E
A last view to the iconic Sandhamn Seglarhotell, formerly the Royal Swedish Yacht Club clubhouse, as we depart the area.
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Sunrise
Position: 59°17.50’N, 18°54.56’E
Another beautiful Swedish sunrise as we’re underway from Sandhamn to Moja.
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Stairs to Light
Position: 59°18.02’N, 18°52.46’E
Stairs leading up the rock to the light on Getholmen.
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Princess Anastasia
Position: 59°18.71’N, 18°49.30’E
The 581 ft (177 m) ferry Princess Anastasia coming up behind us. We’re on the main route into Stockholm.
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St. Peter Line
Position: 59°18.98’N, 18°49.21’E
The colorful paint scheme on the side of the ferry Princess Anastasia. The ship name seemed familiar and when we could see the side we realized it was the St. Peter Line ferry that runs to St. Petersburg from Stockholm, Helsinki and Tallin. We’ll be taking this ship to visit St. Petersburg from Helsinki in a few week’s time.
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Stairs to Water
Position: 59°19.00’N, 18°49.22’E
Complex set of stairs leading down to the water from the houses above on the island of Ekno.
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Moja Sunset
Position: 59°22.57’N, 18°54.45’E
Sunset from our anchorage at Moja. Sweden seems to have cornered the market on exceptional sunrises and sunsets.
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Steering Noise
Position: 59°22.55’N, 18°54.44’E
One of the new autopilot pumps is quite loud. It sounds like it’s pushing a bit more fluid over the bypass valve than either the old one it replaced or it redundant partner. We found that some insulation on the the center bleed pipe would quiet it greatly in the pilot house. The bleed pipe is actually not flowing any fluid in the normal case (it’s only used to bleed the system), but the pipe seems to be setting up a harmonic vibration in tune with the vibration coming from the auto pilot steering pump bypass valve. We’ve tried to more rigidly mount the bleed pipe with additional mount points, but wrapping it in noise-deadening neoprene was more effective.
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Water Heater
Position: 59°22.56’N, 18°54.44’E
Since we had the neoprene insulation out to quiet the steering pump, we replaced the worn insulation on the hot water pipes at the hot water heater.
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Smoke Alarm
Position: 59°22.56’N, 18°54.44’E
We have smoke alarms in both staterooms, the pilot house, two in the engine room and two in the Laz. Steve D’Antonio also recommended installing one inside the electrical cabinet. This approach ensures very early warning on any electrical problems. Hopefully we’ll catch any issues well before this by doing IR scans every 6 months but this is one more layer of protection against fire, one of the more serious things that can go wrong on a boat.
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Tender Tour
Position: 59°23.65’N, 18°54.30’E
Bundled up for a tour of the Moja Bjorndalen nature reserve by tender. The temperature is getting a little warmer now—we don’t need to wear hats. :)
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Sauna
Position: 59°24.01’N, 18°54.39’E
Saunas are extremely popular in Sweden. We’ve seen many that follow this barrel design.
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Nesting Swan
Position: 59°24.14’N, 18°54.21’E
Nesting swan in the Moja Bjorndalen nature reserve.
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Cinderella I
Position: 59°24.37’N, 18°53.34’E
The ferry Cinderella I pulling away from the dock at Berg. The boat had arrived and departed within ten minutes and another ferry did the same soon after.
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Cannon
Position: 59°24.38’N, 18°53.38’E
Cannon on a bluff above Borg.
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Birdhouses
Position: 59°23.53’N, 18°53.52’E
Birdhouses mounted to the cliffs on Ostholmen. We wondered how they managed to install them.
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Royal Motorboat Club
Position: 59°23.32’N, 18°53.62’E
One of the two Royal Motorboat Club ports (the other is in Stockholm). The club was founded in 1915 from the Royal Automobile Club and currently has 1950 members with 825 registered boats. None are here now, but we expect it will be packed in the summer.
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Marsh
Position: 59°22.97’N, 18°55.44’E
Marshy shoreline along Hemo in the Moja Bjorndalen nature reserve
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Uprooted Trees
Position: 59°22.59’N, 18°54.25’E
More uprooted trees, possibly from the same storm that caused the damage we saw in Sandhamn.
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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. |
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