{"id":818,"date":"2018-07-22T20:30:04","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T20:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailingarcturus.com\/?p=818"},"modified":"2019-05-26T21:16:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-26T21:16:00","slug":"kokar-sandvik-to-bjorkor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingarcturus.com\/?p=818","title":{"rendered":"K\u00f6kar Sandvik to Bj\u00f6rk\u00f6r"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Bj\u00f6rk\u00f6r. 6am. Peace upon earth…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Saturday June 30th: The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. <\/strong>Nowhere are those words of scripture more keenly felt than on a sailboat. After an idyllic first few days we had been confronted by a very nasty front and decided to cast off our mooring lines shortly after midnight to ensure we didn\u2019t leave on a Friday. We put a single reef in the main and opted for 100% jib to be conservative. Given the sudden Venturi effect that can cause vicious gusts between islands, we figured it was the sensible choice. Sailing in these parts can be quite anxiety-inducing, so I wasn\u2019t crazy about a passage in the dark, but of course we didn\u2019t have one, since at this time of year the sun goes down about 11pm, lingers just below the horizon for about three hours then rises again \u2013 giving us a perpetual twilight in which it is quite easy to see obstacles and adjust accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kokar Sandvik to Bj\u00f6rk\u00f6r. 24.4nm, 4hrs, 52mins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

     Bj\u00f6rk\u00f6r lies almost directly due west of K\u00f6kar but as is always the case here, you can\u2019t follow the rhumbline. Avoiding a large patch of skerries and shoals meant tacking back and forth a couple of times under motor with the main up the entire way to ensure arriving before the winds kicked up. We arrived shortly after 5.30am in a dead calm at what was possibly the best landfall of the summer. The island\u2019s south-facing harbor didn\u2019t look promising at first but as it hove more clearly into view we knew we had a real find on our hands. The harbor is perhaps 300m wide with low water from the center across to starboard. But to port is an old wooden jetty, covered in lichen, with nary another boat to spoil the solitude. Just a falu<\/em> red boat house and an aluminum motorboat for the island\u2019s caretaker (of whom more later). The island is a nature reserve and as we tied we were greeted by the unmistakable sound of bleating goats. Walking to the end of the jetty I found the island to be a mix of marsh and meadow with lichen-covered shore rocks, and as an added bonus for mariners, a clean and capacious vault toilet 90 seconds from the boat. Just down the footpath there is a large observation tower to climb up and view the island. While I explored J got some more terrific drone footage in the still air. In short order I found a large group sauna that looked like it had been there since Victorian times, and just beyond, on the island’s north side, two imposing and well-preserved Victorian houses. It looked like a very promising spot, and one from which we felt we had at least a day’s respite from the winds. Our spirits were great greatly restored. This is sailing, down one day, up the next! Time for a four-hour nap!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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