Winds

The most common winds on the Swedish west coast are west or south west. This means more wind and waves in the outer achipelago but protected paddeling along the mainland. In easterly winds the achipelago can seam flat calm but when you head to far out you may have problems coming back. These winds can be strong in spring but are ursually the calmest ones. 

During midsummer one always have to calculate with a seabreeze (Warm winds rising over land and cools down over the ocean and comes rushing into land). In the morning is seems flat calm but after a few hours the wind starts to pick up.

The seabreeze ursually starts at 9AM and peaks at about 2PM after that it gradually calms down. During this period the wind turns from west to North. When the sun goes down the wind ursually dies. These winds can blow with forces from 5 to 10 m/s (10 to 20 knots). The seabreeze affects a 20 km wide space out from the mainland.

We also have something called the landbreeze or afternoonbreeze (opposite of seabreeze. Warm air rises from the ocean and cools down over land creating a wind from the mainland). This breeze is ursually calmer than the seabreeze. 

More information about the area you will find on www.westsweden.com .

Weather

The north westcoast of Sweden is characterized by plenty of sun but with rapid weather changes. During spring from the end of Mars to the end of May the weather is fairley stabil. The spring is a beautiful and relaxed time of the year for paddeling. There is a special silence over the achipelago before all the boat traffic starts, this is the time to be in a kayak. This time a year the coastal animal life also starts to wake up so there is much to see but restrictions to follow.

For an unexperienced seakayaker this is probably the most dangerouse time of the year. In the begining of may we can have temperatures up to 20 degrees celcius but water temperatures never ecceding 15 degrees. So even though it is warm you still nead to dress for an unintended swim.

From June to the end of September is a nice time on the west coast. Everything is open, every town is buzzing with life and lots to do with minimum amount of clothing. The water is at its warmest (+18 to +21 degrees) and the days are long with beautiful bright nights. The boat traffic in this area can somethimes be pretty hectic so if you seek peace and quiet the busiest month is July. If you still want to come in this period you will allways find yourself a nice spot to sunbathe especially with a kayak. 

August and September is made for seakayaking. The busiest period is almost over, long bright days and the water is still fairly warm. The weather is often more stabil in these months than in July - we realy like this time on the coast! 

Oktober can have some beautiful sunny autumn days with cold fresh air and lots of colorfull trees. But one should know that it is the wetest and windiest month of the year, playful but not safe at all times. 

November and December offer excellent scenery for winterpaddleing before the ice takes a firm grip of the archipelgo. The area is now almost completly empty of boats and it lies a total calm in every man and animal. This is the time of the year when we realy get in close contact with birds and seals. They probably wonder why some still want to be out on the water.

Combine a daystrip in a kayak with a visit to one of our excellent coastal taverns or cosy island accommodations. Numerous establishments offer superb christmas dinners with local influences. This really makes it a complete experience. 

During January and February the ice is ursually thick in the hole archipelago. Some winters are mild with no ice but resant years the ice has been laying tick during this period. If paddeling in this season always use drysuit and be aware of the prevailing ice situation.

Here you'll find some usefull weatherforecasts: 

- www.smhi.se If you follow the link you'll come direcly to the coastal forecast: www.smhi.se/vadret/hav-och-kust/kust 

- www.yr.no Norwegian site where you'll be able to search for weather all over the world. To get the forecast for our location, search för Grebbestad.