$4,000.00 // 10-14 Days

Isbjorn's final passage of the year to return her to the island of Orust and put the boat to bed for the winter.

We'll start the trip on the island of Sandhamn, in the outer Stockholm archipelago and a short ferry ride from the city center. Sandhamn is the summer base for KSSS, the Royal Swedish Yacht Club, and home of the famous 'Gotland Runt' race. It's a popular and beautiful sailing destination on the edge of the Baltic and our starting point for the final voyage of the 2017 season.

This trip is slightly different than our standard offshore passages. It's a delivery trip in September, a notoriously fickle month for weather in the Baltic. The main mission here is to get the boat to the island of Orust to the Vindo Marin boatyard where we'll haul her out, de-rig her, and put her in her winter storage shed where she'll get an extensive refit prior to our Arctic passages in 2018.

The weather will ultimately dictate how large our offshore jumps can be, and how far we'll get in the 10-14 days allotted. Since we'll be traversing the Swedish coast, if you 'run out of time', it's a simple train ride back to any of the major airports in Sweden to get home. We fully expect to make it all the way to Orust with time to spare, but that's the contingency.

We also hope to stop in for a visit to the Hallberg-Rassy boatyard on the same island, and only a few miles away from our final port of call in Henån. We've gotten to know CEO Magnus Rassy over the years and are working on putting together a tour of their remarkable facilities where the venerable cruising boats are built and outfitted.

Once arrived at Vindo, crew are welcome to stay and help put the boat away for the winter, though you'll need to find accommodation ashore once we haul out. There are lots of AirBNB places available nearby, and the local inns will be pretty empty that time of year, so finding a place to crash will be both easy and inexpensive.

This will be a cold weather trip if the sun is not shining, so pack & plan accordingly!

*Late-night sunsets in the west coast archipelago on the island of Orust.*

Passage Route

Note the map shows this as Passage #9 - it's actually #11! AND, it'll end in Orust, not Marstrand, which is slightly farther north...you get the picture!

Travel Logistics

Travel in to Arlanda Airport (Stockholm/ARN).
Travel out of Gothenburg, Oslo or Copenhagen, OR take the train (3-4 hours) back to Stockholm where you started from.
Public transportation is simple, efficient and cheap in Sweden, so it's very easy to get around.
We recommend flying via Iceland for the cheapest flights from the US - WOW Air, Iceland Air and Norwegian are all good, reliable airlines that usually offer cheaper fares.
SAS is the main Scandinavian carrier which offers more amenities and direct flights, at usually a higher cost.
You'll join the boat on the island of Sandhamn, a short (~1 hour), inexpensive ferry ride from downtown Stockholm. The island is located in the outer archipelago and is gorgeous!

What to Expect Onboard

FAQs

Other Important Passage Info

Featured

Chris Kobusch // FALKEN Skipper (GER)

Chris has been working professionally on yachts ever since completing his Yachtmaster in 2009. Having logged more than 165,000 nautical miles since, Chris has sailed and raced all around the world on a variety of yachts from small, modern Cape31s to big classic 50m schooners.

During the 2017-18 Clipper Round The World Race Chris skippered the Chinese entry Qingdao and his team achieved a 3rd overall. After the Clipper Race Chris spent two years in the high latitudes skippering Skip Novak's sailing expedition yacht Pelagic Australis. Chris skippered ICEBEAR in 2022 and is returning in 2023 to skipper FALKEN.

Emma Garschagen // First Mate & Podcast Host (USA)

Emma is 59º North’s Chief Mate. She joined the 59º North team in 2019 after graduating from Kenyon College where she studied environmental science. Emma has logged over 25,000 ocean miles in the past three years. She has crossed the Atlantic twice, and recently sailed up to 80° North on ISBJØRN in Svalbard. Emma has also sailed as a student and deckhand on tall ships, worked on traditional wooden boats, driven launch boats, and recently skippered a Broadreach voyage with high schoolers in the Caribbean.

Alex Laline // FALKEN Chief Mate (ESP)

Alex’ experiences vary from light high performance racing yachts to big heavy expedition yachts. Alex started sailing at the young age of 4 and he's been hooked to the Ocean ever since, either sailing or surfing.

He has accumulated over 115,000 nautical miles over the past years as a professional sailor, racing all over the world as part of a team in the Clipper Round the World race, working on an expedition yacht in the Arctic Circle and doing a variety of deliveries.

Erik Nordborg // Relief Skipper (SWE)

Erik grew up on the west coast of Sweden – never far from boats and sailing. Both sailboat racing and cruising have always been a big part of his life. Being a professional meteorologist Erik has been involved in several major sailing events and races across the globe including the America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendée Globe and many more. As a sailor Erik races and competes in the exciting Figaro Class in France. He joins us in 2023 as a relief skipper on FALKEN.

Jon Amtrup // ISBJØRN Skipper (NOR)

Jon Amtrup is a Norwegian sailor, captain, author, and Arctic explorer. Of his sailing accomplishments, Jon has sailed the entire coast of Norway several times in both winter and summer, circumnavigated Svalbard, crossed the Atlantic, explored Greenland, crossed the North Sea many times, and raced in several national and international double-handed and single-handed regattas. Jon runs his own business consulting with high latitude sailing expeditions on planning, weather, and routing assistance. A member of the The Explorers Club, Jon is the author of several maritime books. Encouraged by Andy, he also hosts his own sailing podcast in Norway. Jon skippered ISBJØRN in the high latitudes in 2022, and returns for more in 2023.

Ben Soofer // Relief Mate (USA)

Ben Soofer is a sailor and an outdoor educator. Ben first joined the 59 North team in 2018 (making him the very first addition to the team!) as the resident "Public Relations & Media Guru" while attending the University of Denver. Ben grew up sailing on the sandy banks of the Neuse River in North Carolina but was convinced that his destiny lay in the professional world. After Andy invited him to step aboard for a passage south, everything changed.

Andy Schell // QUARTERDECK Editor, FALKEN Skipper (USA)

Andy started 59 North with Mia back in 2013 with the idea to share his passion for offshore sailing with like-minded people. He’s sailed 100,000+ miles offshore, crossed the Atlantic 7 times, skippered ISBJORN to 80º North in Svalbard & FALKEN to Greenland & Iceland.

Mia Karlsson // CREW Liasion, FALKEN Mate (SWE/USA)

Mia grew up in the countryside in Sweden a non-sailor until meeting Andy in New Zealand in 2006. Her first sailing trip was aboard SOUTHERN ENDURANCE, a 28-foot charter boat in the Marlboro Sounds on NZ’s South Island. Since then she’s sailed over 50,000 miles offshore, crossed the Atlantic 7 times (on 4 different boats), & sailed ISBJORN to 80º North.

Laura Parent // Shore Support (USA)

Laura grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with an insatiable wanderlust and the influence of the ocean, boats and waterways of her hometown. Her father’s career as a Port Everglades Pilot gave her early exposure to working on the water and a love for the culture of the sea. Her first boat job was on a tourist boat at age 17 when she started to realize that working on boats could be her ticket to see the world.

August Sandberg // QUARTERDECK Editor, ISBJØRN Skipper (NOR)

After serving a year in the army as an Arctic Jaeger on the Norwegian-Russian border, he started film studies in Bergen. While studying film production, August renovated an old Baltic 37, and then proceeded to circumnavigate the Atlantic with her after he got his degree. August became a dad in 2021 and lives with his son Amund and his partner Karolina in the fjords outside of Bergen, Norway.

11. Stockholm-Orust // Isbjorn Delivery // 700 Miles // 1 Available