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This is Pålnäsviken where you find the yacht club "Saltsjöbadens Båtklubb".
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This is one of numerous inlets on the Swedish Baltic coast. In the Baltic there is no tidal difference.
Therefore in protected waterways like this we have lots of piers, but here within the "club area"
we also have some floating docks.
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In the fall the yachts are hauled out of the sea for the winter season.
This job is done by the club members themselves. Here the car with a boat is hauled up the rail track.
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The boat lies on a big sleigh which can slide on greasy wooden tracks.
A winch with a hand crank is used to draw the boat aside. The winch is placed on a cart which has
to be anchored in some way before it can be used. When I was a kid, club members used six feet steel
levers to pry the sleigh away along the wooden tracks. This was very tough and heavy work.
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In the fall of 1999 the club bought a "Slamkrypare" (which means a "mud creeper"), a vehicle which
is used as the new system to haul the boats out of the sea.
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The pipes sticking out of the water are air intake and exhaust pipes connected to the
motor of the "Mud Creeper". The motor itself is placed in a case which is closed and waterproof upwards
but is open downwards like a diving bell.
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The "Mud Creeper" is controlled from a hand-held panel at the end of a cable.
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Many of the bigger boats are still lifted out of the sea with a mobile crane.
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When the main haul-out-of-sea-weekend is over the water front looks a little vacant.
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On "Kolbryggan" (the coal pier) you can see quite pretty storage sheds.
Here the members can store things they do not want to bring home or leave in the boat.
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At the seaward side of each shed is a seat (not seen on the photo) where people like to enjoy the sun
and perhaps also take a cup of coffee.
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The sailing boats have to be downrigged before hauling for winter storage.
Here the downrigging is completed.
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This picture is taken from the big mast shed in the direction of the water "Baggensfjärden"
outside this small inlet.
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Along the lane "Pålnäsvägen" the road side is used for storing sailing boats which
were brought here with the mobile crane.
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On the other side of the inlet at "Ringvägshamnen" there is another club pontoon
used for mooring. (Barely visible on the photo.)
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Eventually it looks quite lonely ...
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... but a few boats are still in use when the first snow comes in October or November.
But ropes joined by ice usually make most people give up. (The photo is taken in late fall of 1988.)
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Then comes the dark period when the sun is low and the days are short. I took this photo
at Christmas-time about 2 o'clock p.m. in 1961. The sun sets at 2.45 p.m.
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In the beginning of February the light is slowly coming back. But the really heavy sunlight
- as shown on the photo - is not back until the beginning of April.
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At last, after preparing the boat for the new season, it is time to launch it again. 2 April 1999.
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Bengt Wettervik is launching the boat. His "Napoleon-gesture" towards his breast-pocket is because
he has his remote control in that pocket. A little fiddling on the pocket and the boat is in the sea.
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Time to lift out... , October 9 2004
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