We returned to Sweden from Uto, Finland six weeks after we’d departed for Aland and Finland, and had an easy crossing of the north Baltic Sea. As with our last stop in Sweden, we anchored for the night on the edge of the archipelago, this time near the island of Fejan. But this time we were just off the busy commercial traffic lane to Stockholm, with great views to the incredibly large number of big Baltic Sea ferries that pass through each day. We liked the anchorage so much we stayed three nights.
Below are trip highlights from June 24th through 26th en route to and at Fejan, 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.
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Uto
Position: 59°47.09’N, 21°22.45’E
Uto aglow in the morning sun as we get underway to cross the northern Baltic for Sweden.
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Lagskar Lighthouse
Position: 59°45.84’N, 19°53.61’E
The Lagskar Lighthouse dominates the tiny island of the same name at the southern end of the Aland Islands. The first lighthouse built here in 1840 of wood was replaced by a masonry tower in 1859 that the Russians bombarded and destroyed in World War I. The current tower has stood since 1920.
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Leaving Finland
Position: 59°46.19’N, 19°39.06’E
Lowering our Finnish courtesy flag as we depart Finland.
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Re-entering Sweden
Position: 59°46.19’N, 19°39.06’E
Raising our Swedish courtesy flag as we return to Sweden. We’ve been asked why we didn’t pass back through the Aland Islands. The reason is they are outside the EU fiscal zone, making an entry into Sweden from Aland a little more complex.
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Swedish Customs
Position: 59°46.16’N, 19°36.71’E
Jennifer on the phone with Swedish Customs to report Spitfire arriving into the country. Most EU countries don’t track the movements of pets, but Sweden requires any pets entering the country to be explicitly declared.
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Galaxy
Position: 59°45.09’N, 19°16.83’E
The 695ft (212m) Silja Line ferry Galaxy en route to Stockholm from Turku, Finland.
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Rosella
Position: 59°44.55’N, 19°11.83’E
After a 67nm 11-hour run, we found a peaceful and sheltered anchorage in the islets just east of Fejan island with a fabulous view to the Baltic ferry traffic. This is the 446ft (136m) Viking Line ferry Rosella en route to Mariehamn, Aland from Stockholm.
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Gabriella
Position: 59°44.55’N, 19°11.82’E
Right after the Rosella passed heading to Aland, the Viking Line ferry Amorella arrived from Turku, Finland via Aland.
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Swedish Coast Guard
Position: 59°44.55’N, 19°11.83’E
About a half-hour after we’d stopped the Swedish Coast Guard arrived and boarded us. We were still in their records from before, so we were a little surprised. It appeared they were only interested in confirming that we’d not been in the Schengen immigration area for longer than 90 days consecutively. When we said we’d been checked back into the Schengen area in Finland after passing through Russia, that seemed to end their concerns.
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Finnswan
Position: 59°44.55’N, 19°11.83’E
The 717ft (218 m) Finnlines ferry Finnswan en route to Stockholm from Turku, Finland via Aland.
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Rosella
Position: 59°44.56’N, 19°11.82’E
The Rosella returning from Aland about four hours after it passed here outbound. Aland is outside the EU fiscal zone and ferries stopping there can sell goods on board duty-free. So many northern Baltic ferries stop there briefly en route between other cities, and some, such as the Rosella, run just between Aland and a major center.
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Gabriella
Position: 59°44.56’N, 19°11.82’E
The ferry Gabriella heading back from Stockholm to Turku via Aland, about five hours after it passed our anchorage heading inbound.
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Birka
Position: 59°44.58’N, 19°11.84’E
The 580 ft (177 m) cruise ship Birka en route to Stockholm around 10am.
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Cinderella
Position: 59°44.58’N, 19°11.83’E
The Viking Line ferry Cinderella heading to Stockholm from the Aland islands. We’re amazed at the frequency of ferry and cruise ship departures and arrivals into Stockholm and are really loving watching them go past from our anchorage. That bit of shoreline visible in the distance protects us from any wakes, so conditions are calm and peaceful.
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Another Boat
Position: 59°44.58’N, 19°11.84’E
We expected to see at least a few other pleasure craft in our anchorage given that we’re into the busy summer season and are only 50 miles from Stockholm. But this boat was the only one, and they opted to anchor one cove over from us.
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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. |
Nice pictures! For us with family in Åland, Rosella is our main means of transportation. As you noticed, it takes only about 2 hours for the overpass. In high-season it makes 3 trips per day and always spends the night in Mariehamn. This ferry rout reduces our traveling time between Stockholm and Åland becuase the big ferries takes about 6 hourse due to the speed restrictions inside the Stockholm Archipelago. The nice thing with the duty free shopping (besides duty free shopping of course) is that it reduces the ticket price for the actual transportation. At time of wrinting this comment, the price for a family of 4 with car both ways is around $37. The larger ferries that goes all the way between mainland Finland and Sweden are a major means of transportation besides pleasure cruises. A lot of people use them on the job if they need to bring their car, but it is also a convenient way of traveling that you can go on board in the evening and arrive next morning. This is what creates demand enough to fill such big ferries at this high frequency. Birka and Cinderella however are more tailored pleasure cruisers.
We loved watching the steady stream of large ferries passing on their way in and out of Stockholm. Thanks for the background on why duty free travel to Aland helps drive so much ferry traffic. I’m amazed a family of 4 can go to Aland for $37. Impressive.