ADVENTURE DODGING THE ROCKS

hilst the archipelago between Västervik and Arkösund has become our go-to summer cruising ground for the past four summers, I can still remember vividly the first time we left the wellmarked and wide fairways to seek a bow-to mooring spot for the night. Weaving our way between a group of islands and barely submerged rocks, towards what appeared to be a small but well-sheltered bay on Aspholmen, looked pretty straightforward on the pilot guide. In reality, it was something entirely different; as we approached the entrance to the bay, it looked like an almost impossible gap between two rocky headlands. At the time, I recall hanging over the bow of our Cornish Shrimper 21, gripping the bowsprit as my wife, Catelijne nudged forward at 1 or 2 knots, waiting for me to yell ‘Rock!’. Fortunately, there were no rocks that weren’t marked on the pilot guide, so we squeezed our