If you subscribe to any social media feed for sailing in and around the archipelago, it won’t be long before you see a post about Biskopson.
Or more specifically, the Koxviken anchorage on the island’s north coast. Strictly speaking Biskopson is a small group of islands on the periphery of the outer archipelago, about 5nm south of Namdo and 10nm east of Orno, but Koxviken is where you MUST go if you are in the neighborhood. It is a just-wide-enough, picture-perfect little bay with about two dozen bows-to mooring spots on the north and south side, with the granite rising quickly all around to about 70ft to provide the best possible shelter. The western end of the bay is shallow with plenty of reeds, but the water is still and warm on most summer days, and this makes for a great spot to spend a night unless there are strong north easterly winds. There are outhouses at both the northern entrance and the southern shore, but they were close to full during my visit so you won’t want to linger…!
We arrived about 2pm Saturday July 9th after a three-hour downwind sail from Dalaro. The bay was barely a quarter full at that time so we picked an empty spot on the north side and were immediately helped with our lines by another family who were already snugged in. After a quick dip in the waters – cool but not frigid – I toured the bay on foot as best I could – the island is a national park so there are no clear trails, but rather plenty of boulder-hopping and double-backing. We suffered a brief rain shower which was followed by the most spectacular rainbow and the water turned glassy. After dinner and a bottle of wine I launched the dinghy and rowed out to the mouth of the bay and for perhaps an hour savored the languid sunset over the western horizon. Just emptying my mind and focusing on the beauty of the scene before me reduced me to a zen-like state of utter calm. It’s fair to say I zoned out, and was only rocked gently back to the real world when the dinghy bumped softly against a small rock, forcing me to come back to reality and, with regret, row slowly back to the mothership. Needless to say, it was an utterly peaceful night in my bunk….
