Leaving Smygehuk we paddled East in rolling seas, passing Ystad and stopping at the small harbour of Kåseberga for very good fish and chips before paddling into the sunset to come ashore on a sandy beach at dusk. Heading North and East over the next few days we faced a frustrating and pace limiting North-Easterly wind. Just to rub it in high pressure over the Baltic resulted in a Southerly stream on all headlands and exposed coastlines too. We were thinking at times that we had chosen to go round Sweden the wrong way!
We found a great little beach for lunch and a swim just West of Simrishamn then passed Kivik and and camped on sand on the eternal bay of Österlen. We woke the next day to fog and had an eerie few hours paddling to Åhus, famous for ice-cream. On a flat calm sea we then took a bearing and crossed the bay to land by a red lighthouse. Red ants bit us on the bum here and seemed to get into everything for days. We ended that day in Härvik, camped just to the East of the harbour and watched a spectacular sunsert unfold with Eider mums and chicks scurrying across the water.
Paddling on a bearing for three hours the next morning we managed to make the technology work and play Spotify through a waterproof speaker on the deck. We struggled on this week of the trip with the balance of putting in a good distance each day and stopping to swim and enjoy the best places. A few great rocky landings and remote swims made up for many long unbroken days paddling.
When we landed at 11pm on Tärnö, next to a very military area opposite Karlskrona, Kevin was unwell and felt hot and feverish. A slow start the following morning into an Easterly Force 5 became a short dash to pick up water then we settled for shelter and rest near the restored windmill (now a great little cafe) on Sturkö. In the afternoon we faced the Easterly wind and weaved through pretty islands, past some very smart houses to arrive in Torhamn. There was live music in the harbour bar and a party atmosphere as the following day was Torhamn fair. We were lucky to find a cabin for the night and enjoyed a few simple luxuries and a bit of recovery time. In the evening of the next day we slipped round Torhamns Udde and camped near the harbour in Sandhamn.