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 morning we were a long way from beach weather, but we did have a great time exploring the island on a sunny and relatively warm afternoon.

Below are trip highlights from April 15th, 2019 at the island of Nattaro, 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

Narrow Position: 58°53.85’N, 18°8.18’E Approaching the narrow channel at the entry to the anchorage off the north end of the island of Nattaro. Our C-Map charts showed 22 feet in the channel and our Navionics charts showed just under 10, but we saw no less than 30ft passing through.

Ice Position: 58°53.40’N, 18°8.28’E The anchor dragged when we tried to set along the east side of the anchorage, so we tried another location farther west and found our usual excellent holding, hosing down the chain with raw water as it came up covered with soft mud. The temperature is just around freezing and with the low salinity levels in the Baltic Sea our raw water wash spray is actually freezing on the deck.

More Ice Position: 58°53.40’N, 18°8.27’E With the temperatures around freezing, the swimstep was covered with a thick layer of slush from our time underway in the low-salinity Baltic Sea.

Tender Position: 58°53.42’N, 18°8.24’E The tender tied off at one of two docks at the northern Nattaro anchorage. Pleasure craft will tie bow-to the dock with a stern anchor, allowing people to reach the shore directly from the boat.

Power Position: 58°53.41’N, 18°8.24’E An excellent contender for the Guinness Book of World Records for longest serial extension cord. This is one starts at a building several hundred feet inland where 3-phase 16A is delivered through a long series of 25-meter extension cords to this distribution box where a single phase 16A extension cord runs out to the end of the dock.

Nattaro Position: 58°53.41’N, 18°8.24’E A map of the island of Nattaro. We’re in the cove at the northern end. Most of the island is a nature reserve—one of the first marine nature reserves in Sweden.

Storsand Position: 58°52.63’N, 18°8.05’E Storsand is the largest beach in the Stockholm archipelago and one of the nicest places to swim. We’d dressed warmly after seeing the ice on deck this morning, but ended up shedding layers in the warm sun. It’s still a long way from beach weather though. :)

Drottninggrottan Position: 58°52.63’N, 18°7.66’E Drottninggrottan (“The Queen’s Cave”) is named after Queen Maria Eleonora (1599-1655). According to legend, the queen sought shelter in the cave to wait for better sailing conditions to reach Gotland. We were expecting something bigger and a bit more dramatic, but we suppose the cave would be big enough to shelter a slender queen.

View Position: 58°52.62’N, 18°7.61’E A bit of a view across the island of Nattaro from the hill above Drottninggrottan.

Feeder Position: 58°52.76’N, 18°7.58’E A large cylindrical feeder in the woods on the island of Nattaro. We were guessing it might be for horses, but later decided it was more likely for the local deer population.

Carving Position: 58°52.81’N, 18°7.37’E Carving along the road on the island of Nattaro.

Cabins Position: 58°52.81’N, 18°7.30’E Dozens of cabins are on the island of Nattaro. Given we had trouble in January finding availability at a Stockholm cattery for July, we’re guessing people book these a long way in advance.

Deer Position: 58°52.75’N, 18°6.78’E One of several herds of small deer we saw while walking around the island.

Jetty Position: 58°52.84’N, 18°6.69’E The main jetty and ferry landing on the west side of Nattaro.

Snorkeling Trail Position: 58°52.86’N, 18°6.64’E Buoys in the water just north of the Nattaro jetty mark a snorkeling trail, the first in Stockholm when it opened in 2009, complete with underwater information signs describing the sea life there.

Pumpout Position: 58°52.97’N, 18°7.18’E These pumpout stations are common in the Stockholm Archipelago.

Cliffs Position: 58°53.51’N, 18°8.72’E Cliffs above a small boat channel between the island of St Vallringen and Nattaro at the northeast side of the anchorage. St Vallringen is controlled by the Swedish navy and is covered with signs prohibiting anchoring and photography.

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.