We arrived into our berth at Wasahamnen in Stockholm, our home for the next few weeks, after a 10-mile run from Vaxholm. Except for a US Navy vessel, we’d not seen single other US-flagged vessel the entire time we’d been in the Baltic. But when we arrived at Wasahamnen, we were only one of many boats flying the US flag. It turns out we’d arrived at the start of a Cruising Club of America (CCA) two-week Stockholm Archipelago cruise. In retrospect, we were very lucky to have secured a berth here—when we booked back in January we got the last berth for a vessel of our size.
Below are trip highlights from June 28th, 2019 en route to and in Stockholm, 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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Approaching Stockholm
Position: 59°22.03’N, 18°18.55’E
Longtime blog reader Torbjorn Curtsson captured this web camera image of Dirona nearing Stockholm.
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Coast Magica
Position: 59°19.96’N, 18°11.73’E
The 889ft (270m) 3,470-passenger cruise ship Coast Magica moored at Stockholm.
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Speed Limits
Position: 59°19.24’N, 18°9.54’E
The speed limits in the approaches to Stockholm are 7 knots for vessels over 400 gross tonnes and 12 knots otherwise.
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Ships
Position: 59°19.13’N, 18°6.67’E
The 962 ft (293.2 m ) 2,790 passenger cruise ship Mein Schiff on the left, with the Viking cruise ferry Gabriella on the right.
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Kastellet
Position: 59°19.33’N, 18°5.67’E
The small citadel Kastellet was originally built in 1667, but exploded in 1845 and was rebuilt in 1846-1848. The Military Ensign of Sweden flies from the top, indicating the nation is at peace.
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Grona Lund
Position: 59°19.33’N, 18°5.67’E
The amusement park Grona Lund packs a lot into a small space.
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Wasahamnen
Position: 59°19.58’N, 18°5.56’E
Moored at Wasahamnen, our home for the next few weeks.
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Maverick
Position: 59°19.58’N, 18°5.56’E
Except for a US Navy vessel, we’ve not seen single other US-flagged vessel the entire time we’ve been in the Baltic. But when we arrived at Wasahamnen, we were one of many pleasure craft flying the Stars and Stripes, including Maverick, a beautiful Hanse 505 sloop. Owners Steve McInnis and Nancy Jamison are blog readers who had seen us in Newport, RI and were on hand to welcome us as we arrived.
All the US-flagged vessels were owned by Cruising Club of America (CCA) members. It turns out we’d arrived at the start of their two-week Stockholm Archipelago cruise. In retrospect, we were very lucky to have secured a berth here—when we booked back in January we got the last spot for a vessel of our size. |
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Prop Damage
Position: 59°19.58’N, 18°5.55’E
We managed to take a chunk off the tender prop while maneuvering in Vaxholm, so we’ll replace it with a spare.
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Ulla Winbladh
Position: 59°19.69’N, 18°5.98’E
An excellent lunch at Ulla Winbladh with Marc and Sally Onetto. James met Marc when he was working at Amazon, and he’s now retired and cruises the Pacific Northwest in a beautiful Marlow Explorer 61E, Laperouse. Marc and Sally happened to be in town when we arrived and we were able to get together for lunch. They are wonderful company and it was a real treat to see them.
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On the Dock
Position: 59°19.57’N, 18°5.56’E
A picture of Dirona from Marc Onetto taken on a passing ferry.
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Don and Sharry Stabbert
Position: 59°19.57’N, 18°5.56’E
Our friends Don and Sharry Stabbert (beside James and third from left) were in town for the CCA (Cruising Club of America) cruise and stopped by for a drink with a few other CCA members. They’ve cruised the world in their 77′ Steve Seaton trawler, Starr, and gave us some excellent advice when we set off from Seattle for our round the world cruise back in 2012. They also helped secure us a fabulous berth at the Waikiki Yacht club later that year.
We knew they’d be in Stockholm and had arranged to meet up, but didn’t realize they were here for the CCA cruise until we arrived. The CCA community is an amazing one, where almost every member has vast cruising experience and it was fun to share experiences from cruises all over the world. This is a community that really does cruise. |
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Dinner
Position: 59°19.85’N, 18°5.60’E
Our first Stockholm dinner at Sjocafeet overlooking the waterway
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Golden Light
Position: 59°19.58’N, 18°5.55’E
The evening sun casting a golden glow over Wasahamnen and the amusement park Grona Lund on our first evening in Stockholm.
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Sodermalm
Position: 59°19.58’N, 18°5.55’E
The view south in the evening sun from our berth at Wasahamnen in Stockholm to the steep cliffs on the north side of the island of Sodermalm. The island is one of 14 in the city, with 57 bridges connecting them all.
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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. |
Hi, I found one of your movies on youtube and realized then that I was in the Wasaharbor at the same time as you. Too bad we didn’t meet, because I could hade shown you Stockholm’s unique archipelago. It is something completely different to come to islands such as Stora nassa, Hallskär, Möja and many more.
Sorry we missed you. We did spend 3 weeks in the Stockholm Archipelago before visiting Aland, Helsinki, and into the Lake Saimaa lake system in south central Finland. We really enjoyed the Archipelago especially early in the year when few boats are our exploring.