The wind was very light this morning; light enough that it verged on non-existent and as we left Borgholm there wasn’t even enough to justify putting the main up. The water took on that oily, glassy calm that comes with zero breeze and so, wanting to at least arrive the same day, we motored all the way to Byxelkrok. The total distance was just over 30 miles and, having left at 0740, we moored in Byxelkrok just after 1pm. It took a little while to moor once we got there because there was just too much choice. Not only were there the northern jetties which I expected but there were also two new southern jetties with stern buoys and various places to go alongside. So, after a couple of minutes of indecision, we went alongside in the southern end of the harbour on the jetty on the newly built southern mole.
The trip took us past the lovely island of Blå Jungfrun – which literally translates as Blue Maiden island. This name is thought to have been given by the sailors who didn’t want to provoke the evil spirits on the island. For the same reason we went straight past ….
The island is now a national park, but in the early 20th century it was used as a quarry for the red granite found on the island. This was mainly exported to Germany as a decorative stone. However, thanks to a donation from a Swedish industrialist – Torsten Kreuger – the government were able to purchase the island and create it as a national park. It is now possible to visit, but not to stay overnight and there are only limited anchorages available. On the island is a stone labyrinth. No-one really knows the purpose of the labyrinths, but they were quite common on the archipelago. Walking them may have been a ritual – perhaps for good fishing, calm seas, fertility or ……
