Bönan

5
Written by Graham

Yesterday we rode our new bikes out to the small fishing village of Bönan north and east of the city.  The ride was about 14km each way and even though the route went through mostly rural areas we were able to stay on bike paths the entire way.

Dedicated bike path
Dedicated bike path

We took our time on the way out and stopped at a few places that overlooked the water.  First we came to Engeltofta which seems to be a hotel and restaurant right on the water with a little beach but I think it’s closed for the winter.

It's not unusal for signs or advertisements to contain lat/long co-ordinates here. Not sure if it's due to the Swedish love of orienteering or if everyone has a GPS in their car.
It's not unusal for signs or advertisements to contain lat/long co-ordinates here. Not sure if it's due to the Swedish love of orienteering or if everyone has a GPS in their car.
The windmill was getting a workout
The windmill was getting a workout
Too cold for swimming
Too cold for swimming

Next we stopped at Engesbergsviken before arriving in Bönan.

The bay at Engesbergsviken
The bay at Engesbergsviken

Bönan itself is somewhat reminiscent of the fishing villages you find in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia but in better shape.  While the houses are similar wooden style they are all very well maintained and look to be quite nice.  It’s hard to tell if there is really that much fishing going on here or if that is more a thing of the past and things are more set up for tourism now.  We did however see some big traps so we know that at least some fishing is still going on, but how much we don’t know.  Either way it was a pretty little town.

Boats tied up in the bay
Boats tied up in the bay
Nice wooden houses can be found all along the shore of the bay
Nice wooden houses can be found all along the shore of the bay which is called Bönaviken
Boat garage; also notice the big trap on the left hand side.
Boat garage; also notice the big trap on the left hand side.
Wooden lighthouse at a naval/coast guard station
Wooden lighthouse at a marine station
Some big rescue boats owned by the Sjöfartsverket (Swedish Maritime Administration)
Some big rescue boats owned by the Sjöfartsverket (Swedish Maritime Administration)
Looking out into the larger Gävlebukten
Looking out towards the larger Gävlebukten

As we were riding out I could see that there were whitecaps on the Gävlebukten even though it was an offshore wind.  I figure that it must get pretty crazy when the wind blows on shore as you’ll get wind chop plus there should be some good swell coming in as well.  My mind starting thinking about how this could be a really good location for a downwind OC/Surfski race.  Of course I don’t have a boat and I don’t think there are any paddlers in the area, but for fun I made up a race course in google maps that looks like it could work.  Just over 17km with around 14km downwind with a little flatwater canal action at the finish just to make it interesting (and some good spectator viewing as well).  It’s probably totally illegal as it runs right through the harbour, but it looks good in theory.  If I somehow magically have a boat here next summer I think I’ll try this run.  Who else is in?

5 Comments

  3. Thanks Ron. Unfortunately with my wordworking skills I would probably end up in the deathly cold water with nothing but a bunch of wood chunks to save me.

  4. Knowing you Katja you’d probably paddle all the way to Germany because the regular race was too short.

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