The second week of Eugene Kovalevsky and Stanislav Beryozkin’s circumnavigation of the globe has ended. Like the first, it was full of events and meetings. The second country, which was visited by the travellers, was Sweden and its capital — Stockholm.
Утром 6 июля экипаж отчалил от берегов Финляндии по направлению к Швеции. Первый день в пути оказался очень солнечным и позволил наслаждаться On the morning of 6 July the crew set sail from Finland towards Sweden. The first day on the voyage proved to be very sunny and allowed them to enjoy the opening views of the forested stone islands, but the captain had to maneuver through the skerries in a headwind. The crew reported that they were travelling at 4-6 nautical knots accompanied by a south-easterly wind.
The shores of Sweden appeared in the early hours of 9 July. After several hours of wandering around the winding skerries, at 4am the crew docked at the remote, picturesque harbour of Stavsnas Winterhamn, 32km from Stockholm. The harbour was almost empty, with boats and yachts crowding the area.»There’s coniferous forest all around and not a soul in sight. Suddenly we saw a roe deer. We decided to walk around and found a few piers, many yachts and cars. We are surrounded by nature and we like it a lot, so we decided to stay in this harbour even though we had originally planned to go to another one», the crew members shared their first impressions of Sweden.
Immediately after their arrival, Eugene and Stanislav travelled to Stockholm, Sweden’s capital, to buy more food and petrol, as well as missing parts for the trimaran and equipment. Compatriots Gennady Martynov and Ekaterina helped them in this. As travelers have noted, in Sweden, in comparison with Finland, there are practically no covid restrictions, but all inhabitants observe the social distance of two meters established in shops. After replenishing various resources, preparations began for the presentation of the expedition to the local population. The crew proceeded to fix minor defects on the trimaran: the men changed rivets for bolts, put stronger locking rings, and re-tightened the ropes. They decided to spend the night in the boat in the marina.
On the next day, July 10, starting from noon, the crew of the trimaran hospitably welcomed the Swedes and compatriots. Eugene and Stanislav told about their mission and showed the route of the expedition «Along the Way of Russian Round-the-World Navigators» and gave the Swedes a tour of the ship. The meetings continued on 11 July. In total there were 12 excursions visited by Swedish yachtsmen, Russian-Swedish families, representatives of Russian-Swedish communities, the Russian Embassy in Sweden. The guests did not leave without gifts from the team: everyone received a bandana and a calendar with the expedition’s logo.»We talked about our journey, interviewed the Swedes about how much they know about Russia and, in particular, about Siberia. Many of them had been to St. Petersburg and spoke only positively about Russia.
The Swedes know either nothing about Siberia, or that it is cold, freezing, and icy. We told the local population about the circumnavigations of Krusenstern and other Russian seafarers. A total of about 200 people visited us, it was not easy», said expedition leader Evgeny Kovalevsky.
After three days in Sweden, the crew admitted that not everything they wanted to see and visit around Stockholm had been possible. The travellers had a positive impression of the country, especially of Swedish nature: «There’s so much greenery you can’t even look around without drowning in it. Deciduous and coniferous trees, wild and ornamental flowers, bays and lakes — everything is a pleasure to look at», said the travellers.On July 11 a three-member trimaran crew set sail for Copenhagen. Photographer Ruslan Badykov joined Evgeny and Stanislav. The planned journey time to Denmark is five days.
ВAfter three days in Sweden, the crew admitted that not everything they wanted to see and visit around Stockholm had been possible. The travellers had a positive impression of the country, especially of Swedish nature: «There’s so much greenery you can’t even look around without drowning in it. Deciduous and coniferous trees, wild and ornamental flowers, bays and lakes — everything is a pleasure to look at», said the travellers.On July 11 a three-member trimaran crew set sail for Copenhagen. Photographer Ruslan Badykov joined Evgeny and Stanislav. The planned journey time to Denmark is five days.
Elizaveta Shaimbaeva
