Sailing to Visby (with Dolphin Dance I)

Posted on by sydolphindance

Dolphin Dance (I) was sold in early summer, and in the beginning of August I had an opportunity to take part in the first leg of the delivery of our old boat. She will be sailing under a German flag and new name in the future and her new owners are planning to do some extensive cruising in the Mediterranean next year. For me and Minna it was nice to sell our beloved Dolphin Dance to sailors who are planning to sail the boat frequently in the future. All in all, that is what this boat is made for.

We started on Saturday the 4th of August from our homeport in Turku and arrived in Visby on Tuesday afternoon. The total distance was 220 nautical miles, so we were on a quite tight schedule. Fortunately, we were lucky with the wind as it was blowing mostly from northwest, and we could keep a fairly good speed through the most of the passage.

Having sailed with our beloved Dolphin Dance for the past eight years, it was very nice for me to participate in this journey with her new skipper and also perhaps transform some of the information that I have learned with the boat during those years. All in all, after these years I can say, that I am a big fan of Hallberg-Rassy 29. She is a compact cruising boat with exceptional seakeeping qualities for a boat that is under 30 feet long. The boat can handle even high seas gently like a bigger yacht, and also seems to grow in size when at the sea. Hopefully I will have a chance to sail this beauty also in the future. Fair winds!
/Antti

Thunderstorms were passing south of us, when we arrived to 
Björkö anchorage in late Saturday evening. 

From Björkö we continued to Utö, which is one of the southermost islands in the Finnish Archipelago. This is a good place to wait for favourable winds, before heading to open sea.

We left Utö in Sunday evening and took a course towards Gotland. 

We arrived to Gotska Sandön for a Monday evening. This anchorage was a much calmer than during my previous visit in 2013, and we decided to use the opportunity to get some rest. 

Arriving to Visby

Visby was not as crowded as in July, so we found a berth from the inner harbour. 

The Medieval week of Visby takes place in the beginning of August each year. This gives this historical town a nice atmosphere, as the city is full of people dressed in Medieval costumes.