Just 3.7 seconds separates Toyotas of Evans and Katsuta heading into powerstage Words by Elfyn Evans has responded to Takamoto Katsuta’s Sunday morning challenge grabbing back the lead of Rally Sweden with just one stage to go however turned the screw on the second pass to win the stage by a massive 6.7s over Thierry Neuville “I didn’t know how it went,” Evans admitted at the stop-line “It felt better [than the first pass] but Neuville holds a 3.3s advantage over team-mate Tänak in the battle for third Katsuta looked dejected to learn he had lost so much to Evans Neuville meanwhile beat his Hyundai team-mate Ott Tänak by 1.5s to strengthen his grip on third place Just 3.3s splits the two heading onto the powerstage Neuville and Kalle Rovanperä completing the top five Sign up today and be the first to know about special offers British shooting star Tom Brennan is determined to help Vastervik end a 20-year wait for Swedish gold as he heads to the coastal club for 2025 which saw him win his second FIM Speedway of Nations gold medal ride as FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff wild card and help British Cab Direct Championship side Poole to a league He also enjoyed a solid season with Indianerna in Sweden but Brennan makes the move to Vastervik for 2025 and is determined to play his part in helping the team land its first league title since 2005 He said: “I am really looking forward to starting this journey with Västervik Speedway I spend a lot of time and energy on being as professional and committed as possible to my team “I know that I will be part of a good team where I can hopefully both develop and contribute and this season will be no exception.  “The fact that it has been 20 years since the club last won gold naturally only gives us extra motivation and we are ready to do everything to reach the goal “I only have one season in Sweden behind me and therefore I am determined to get started and show the supporters and management in Västervik what Tom Brennan Racing is all about.  “My goal is clear: it is to win the league and I will give 110 percent to bring home the trophy to Västervik I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone and building on a great 2024 and going into 2025 even stronger.” Vastervik boss Morgan Andersson hopes Brennan’s starting average of 1.000 points per race will make him a bargain signing He said: “We have chosen to bring Tom into that position as he has developed well during the year.  he represented the Indians and had eight matches which gave him some experience on the tracks of the Bauhaus League.  “Now that we have a maximum combined team average for the line-ups of 11.000 Tom will have an important place in the squad and we both believe and hope that he can continue his development in 2025 He surrounds himself with a professional team leaves nothing to chance and lives for speedway 24 hours a day he fits in very well at Västervik Speedway.” champions Lejonen have added Swedish young gun Sammy van Dyck to their squad EKSTRALIGA | VACULIK LEADS GORZOW TO DERBY DELIGHT ZMARZLIK LANDS MAXIMUM POINTS IN LANDSHUT AFTER SPEEDWAY GP & SPRINT DOUBLE ZMARZLIK TAKES SPEEDWAY GP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AFTER WINNING LANDSHUT SPRINT RACE Slottsholmen in Västervik was acquired by Björn Ulvaeus and a new investment for the building began Slottsholmen is surrounded by idyllic views where an expansion of the restaurant has taken place Now guests can quietly look to sea and almost feel the breeze through the large glass sections Slottsholmen has managed to become self-sufficient through energy and water and they also bring in locally grown ingredients from farms to create a sustainable cycle SAPA's folding door AMBIAL blurs the line between outside and inside and makes the restaurant become one with its fantastic outdoor environment Slottsholmen was first completed in 1913 as a restaurant but had to be rebuilt again after a tragic fire in 1950 a new restaurant was in place and was inaugurated in the summer of 1952 The building was later demolished and then got its new face in 2014 the doors were opened to what is now not only a restaurant but also a hotel and event venue Slottsholmen was acquired by Björn Ulvaeus and the renovation process took off again a new outdoor/indoor room is in place in the restaurant and what was previously only intended as a patio has now become a year-round room with the help of SAPA's transparent folding door AMBIAL Slottsholmen is located in a beautiful and idyllic setting where the place is surrounded by the sea from all angles SAPA's folding door AMBIAL has created a unique feeling and quite the experience for guests where the lines between inside and outside really blur We had the opportunity to chat with Anna Ulvaeus We asked her what her thoughts were when they expanded the restaurant into a more modern outdoor/indoor space - The drawing process went relatively quickly and the collaboration between the various parties worked well and was local which gave the project a more solid feel to it The new outdoor/indoor room has created a place suitable all year round where beautiful environments are reflected around the room a cozy environment is created where lit candles give a warm vibe while you quietly look out at the harbor it will not be a boring auditorium environment that easily can become in larger spaces the room can be opened completely and the proximity to the sea creates a tingling feeling The entire building has various special solutions which emphasizes how unique Slottsholmen is which means that the guests do not have to raise their voices when they are sitting and eating their dinner The ideas around the target group were also somewhat of a back and forth discussion they concluded that Slottsholmen is a gathering place where people of all ages can meet and spend time with each other birthday celebrations with relatives and so much more The city of Västervik is growing and Anna explains that they are happy that they have somehow been able to contribute to the growth and with consideration for the next generation and the idea was there from the beginning of the process the place has been specially designed after the solar panels that supply the facility They take all the water from the sea and convert it into drinking water via a desalination plant which means that the hotel generates its own water supply The electricity from the solar panels produces energy for the desalination plant which in turn provides "solar water" to the hotel guests When it comes to the choice of raw materials locally grown and organic options are always chosen in the first place A large part of Slottsholmen's ingredients is bought from local farms and the menu changes according to the season environmental and sustainability thinking is bubbling over the entire building Slottsholmen has received an outstanding award from Swedish Solar Energy where the overall impression of solar energy and water supply was highlighted Slottsholmen does not only have a distinctive sustainability approach in energy but also in the materials that have been used for the construction SAPA has delivered the folding door AMBIAL which is the furthest part of the restaurant's extension AMBIAL is made from Hydro CIRCAL aluminium which is at least 75% recycled aluminum from previous windows doors or facades that have been dismantled from previous buildings and recycled The melting process of aluminum for reuse requires only 5% of the energy required for primary aluminum production The higher the proportion that is recycled the better it is for our cities and the environment which is really something that can be associated with Slottsholmen Together with Slottsholmen's self-sufficient part as well as local raw materials and SAPA's sustainable materials a unique and future-oriented construction is created that can inspire other projects to create more sustainable cycles A folding door with optimal future visions SAPA's folding door AMBIAL can create much more surface area and space in a room which was precisely the need that existed around this project The entire beautiful sea view can be highlighted in all angles where only minimal profiles are visible when you open the sections AMBIAL also contributes with the tightness that is needed when you are close to the sea where the details make a difference in how good the folding door is If we talk about the future vision for AMBIAL we see the need to integrate outside with inside SAPA is happy to have been involved in this project In the previous redevelopment of Slottsholmen that took place in 2017 SAPA also supplied doors and windows to the hotel SAPA Production Center: Ostkustens Glas och Montage AB Project manager & designer: TH-Facades ‘We thought our songs would last a couple of years at most’ Björn Ulvaeus, one quarter of the pop phenomenon, Abba, is sitting smartly dressed in a light grey suit, ready for breakfast at his hotel in Västervik. It’s a small city in southern Sweden A beautiful early morning light streams through the window onto the traditional Swedish spread – smoked fish For one half of the songwriting duo responsible for some of the biggest from his time co-producing the hit musical Mamma Mia on the Greek island of Skopelos; and a throwback to his Swedish childhood – rosehip ice-cream From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox happy to talk about his childhood spent foraging for mushrooms and berries (he stopped cooking after meeting his present wife because he was too “intimidated” by her cooking) and his favourite place on the planet (“an archipelago just off Stockholm too.”) And yet despite this tranquil retreat he has created keeping Ulvaeus firmly in the global spotlight Earlier this year it was announced that after 35 years the quartet had recorded new music together for which they would appear as digital avatars Ulvaeus explains that in order to create these “digital twins” the band was told to make all sorts of facial expressions; to grimace in order to capture every single face muscle The project’s been delayed and will now be released at the beginning of next summer but he explains part of the appeal of a digital touring band: “No one will have to deal with divas demanding their own private jets,” he jokes It’s hard to imagine the bandmates as divas – Ulvaeus doesn’t drink and they all live private lives for the most part and Ulvaeus says that he hopes to get the others to visit Västerviksomeday then gradually it became more mature.” As a result he likes different songs from different periods of the band’s career: S.O.S and Mamma Mia in the early days and finally the poignant The Winner Takes It All – the ultimate breakup song released shortly after Ulvaeus and fellow bandmate Every single song was a painstaking labour of love: “There wasn’t anything that we hadn’t worked on for months” “It’s amazing and I don’t know how it happened We thought our songs would last a couple of years at most and wonder why people are still listening to Abba and is also a big fan of Beethoven’s symphonies the million dollar question: Who really was the dancing queen and she really becomes the dancing queen at the end of the week It’s a celebration of all those young women.” A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Former FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion Bartosz Smektala has extended his stay with Swedish side Vastervik into 2025 Smektala first joined the coastal club for the 2018 season and has become a big crowd favourite at the Hejla Arena He joins Speedway GP duo Robert Lambert and Fredrik Lindgren in the squad along with double Swedish champion Jacob Thorssell and Danish star Mads Hansen Smektala told the club’s official website: “I am extremely happy to be able to continue my journey with Västervik next season.  “The upcoming season means some significant changes for me at home in Poland which are necessary for me to get back to my top level That's why it feels extra good to stay in Västervik a place that after all these years has become like a second home to me.  “Last season I didn't live up to expectations but my team and I have a clear plan for how to work forward and I am determined to once again become a leading rider for Västervik I am convinced that we will win the long-awaited gold medal next season.” Vastervik boss Morgan Andersson believes there is more to come from Smektala next season He said: “It feels fantastic to have Bartosz with us again in 2025 especially as he has been with us all the way since his return in 2018.  he is not only incredibly popular at the club but also a huge crowd favourite among our fans.  Bartosz will make some changes within his team and it is also clear that he will be stepping down a division in Poland to represent Poznan I think this is a wise move for Bartosz after a couple of seasons where the points yield has been somewhat lower.  he is undoubtedly one of the fastest riders and he has also improved his performances on the away tracks I both believe and hope that we will get a lot out of Bartosz during the 2025 season.” Indianerna has announced the capture of former Polish international Krzysztof Buczkowski He teams up with FIM North America champion Luke Becker and Swedish youngster Jonatan Grahn This section of the website is exclusively reserved for members of the FIM Family: CONUs members and honorary members of the commissions You are a member of the FIM Family and do not have your access? Do not hesitate to contact us Sign in The FIM is also involved in non-sport activities - tourism or sport-related activities such as women in motorcycling sustainability is linked to both sporting and non-sporting areas as is the educational side we are developing to get the new generation on 2 wheels We inform you about all aspects of the motorcycling world The Swedish city of Västervik on the shores of the Baltic Sea will echo to the sound of highly tuned 250cc race engines on Wednesday (12 July) when it hosts both Semi-Finals of the 2023 FIM Speedway Youth World Championship (SGP3) Previously known as the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship the series underwent a highly successful relaunch as SGP3 last season by promoter Discovery Sports and gives riders aged under sixteen the opportunity to showcase their skills to Speedway fans around the world so it is very fitting that Wednesday will be a truly international event   The competition is divided into two eighteen-rider fields who between them will be representing fourteen different nationalities spread across three continents as they bid to win a place in the 2023 FIM Speedway Youth World Championship Final scheduled for two days later on 14 July at the Skrotfrag Arena in nearby Malilla the night before the FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden they will have to negotiate this year’s Semi-Finals Denmark’s Mikkel Andersen will be back to defend the title he won in front of two-and-a-half-thousand fans on a famous night almost eleven months ago in the iconic Olympic Stadium in Wroclaw the fifteen-year-old son of 1997 British Speedway GP winner Brian Andersen will contest the second Semi-Final in Västervik He won his Semi-Final last year and must surely start among the favourites on Wednesday although as we all know there is no such thing as a done deal in a sport as unpredictable as Speedway   With the age limit helping to ensure a new intake of fresh faces with many of last year’s competitors now being over sixteen years old Andersen will be the only rider who made the 2022 Final in action in the second Semi-Final but in the first Semi-Final there will be two familiar faces   The winner of three Heat races in Wroclaw Poland’s Kacper Mania was very unlucky to end the night in fourth – just one point behind Andersen – after losing out in a three-way tie-break for second You can guarantee he will be going all-out to improve on this position he must first fight his way through Wednesday’s Heats   He will be joined on the Västervik start line by Denmark’s Patrick Kruse who was eighth in the 2022 Final   The first Semi-Final will also see Villads Pedersen in action The thirteen-year-old from Denmark is in the form of his young life as we saw just a few days ago when he raced to the 2023 FIM Speedway Youth Gold Trophy with a dominant unbeaten performance on home soil at Holsted Pedersen’s five wins from five starts came on an 85cc machine and we will not know until the tapes go up in Västervik whether he can carry his speed across to the bigger-capacity machine   All in all both Semi-Finals are poised to deliver some great racing amongst these rising stars >FULL Start List At UKC/UKH we are all experienced internet users and as such we understand why some people want to use Ad Block to remove annoying and distracting advertising that proliferates on some web sites We don't feel that UKC/UKH should be considered as such a site We have developed a site that has subtle and appropriate advertising; we don't use pop-ups we don't force you to read adverts before you can see content and we don't use third party ad servers dishing up totally inappropriate advertising We have worked incredibly hard over the years to make sure that we keep a good balance between advertising and editorial content Please could you consider disabling Adblock when visiting UKC/UKH Ned Feehally has recently returned from a two-week trip to Västervik where he climbed an outrageous amount of hard boulder problems Whilst on the trip it was Ned's 31st birthday and his partner Shauna Coxsey challenged him to climb 31 boulders of 8A in the two weeks – an outrageous amount of hard climbing Ned told UKC: 'I'm always up for a challenge and once the idea had I got under my skin I couldn't shake it It's only 2.2143 boulder problems per day after all.' Västervik is a small town in the south-east of Sweden but it varies a huge amount from crag to crag some steep and crimpy and some water polished and smooth Being coastal there's usually a decent breeze so things tend to dry fast after rain and stay relatively cool on the warmer days.' Whilst the area already has a lot of developed climbs Ned estimated that the current guidebook only covers about 50% of what has been developed: 'there is still a whole lot left to do I found a few good looking projects without really looking but if you spent some time hunting for stuff I'm sure there would be a lifetime of rocks for most people to climb Local developers Stefan Rasmussen and Jim Wasmuth are constantly busy adding new boulder problems to the area.' Ned didn't feel any pressure to 'try really hard in project mode,' as Västervik doesn't have any top end problems (yet) Two weeks can fly by however and Ned suddenly found himself with 24 hours left to climb ten more boulder problems of 8A or above an early start and a bit of complaining later and I managed it As pointless challenges go I really enjoyed this one Being about as far from an endurance athlete (or even an athlete) as it's possible to be I managed to reach a satisfying level of exhaustion by the end of our "holiday" Then it was straight back to work for a nice rest.' managing several problems of 8A or harder whilst recovering from a bad finger injury Ned told us: 'It was great to see her figuring out wild sequences on moves that I could simply span but it's made easier when you can hold onto the footholds.' A post shared by SHAUNA COXSEY (@shaunacoxsey) on May 8 Both Ned and Shauna are no strangers to hard bouldering Ned is one of the few people in the world to have flashed 8B+ and has climbed multiple 8C's Shauna is midway through a world cup season having been the overall champion for the past two seasons Shauna Coxsey has been the figurehead of UK Climbing for over a decade winning multiple IFSC World Cup titles and representing Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics Now transitioning from the high-intensity world of competition climbing to th.. Shauna Coxsey has just returned from a fruitful trip to La Pedriza Shauna Coxsey has made the first female ascent of Arthur's Bulge With the 2023 Kendal Mountain Festival on the horizon The outspoken founder of the music-sharing site on life behind bars and whether jail time has made him reconsider his views The Västervik prison is as ugly as its surroundings are beautiful Located a stone’s throw from the water in Gertrudsvik its pale concrete walls rise high above the summer homes and wooden jetties dotting the coastline topped with heavy loops of razor-sharp barbed wire After emptying our pockets and passing through the metal detectors a guard escorts us through a maze of dark corridors leading up to a visitor’s room Peter Sunde rises hurriedly from his chair He is dressed in standard-issue prison clothes - a faded grey cotton tracksuit His cheeks are stubbled and there are dark circles under his eyes impish provocateur that has spent the past decade building his reputation as the entertainment industry’s enemy number one But his face lights up when we shake hands His Adam’s apple bobs visibly up and down when he tells us about his weight loss the world’s most notorious file-sharing site were found guilty of copyright offences in Sweden After being internationally wanted for two years Sunde was arrested and transported to jail who is expected to be released in November a few paper cups and a crumpled plastic bag with homemade chocolate muffins Sunde was relaxing at his girlfriend’s house just outside Malmö in southern Sweden Around lunchtime someone knocked on the door Sunde was alone in the house so he opened up He was greeted by a man in civilian clothing Sunde suspected that the visit wasn’t friendly and did his best not to confirm his identity The phone sent out a signal over the internet to all his computers at home and at work: “Shut down immediately.” Then he quickly switched off his cellphone “Everything was encrypted,” Sunde tells us I guess he’d been looking forward to arresting this mastermind hacker and then he misses a thing like that.” Peter “brokep” Sunde’s arrest made headlines all over the world Now only one of the three founders of The Pirate Bay - Fredrik “TiAMO” Neij - remained at large Gottfrid “anakata” Svartholm Warg had beeen arrested in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in August 2012 When the story reached the papers the next morning The police first brought him to prison in Malmö then transferred him to his current whereabouts Many of its inmates have commited violent or drug-related offences Sunde is serving time for aiding and abetting copyright crimes “He’s the guy I hang out with most,” Sunde says Inmates at Västervik prison Photograph: KriminalvårdenThe hour he is allowed to spend outdoors each day is a highlight Sunde points out of the barred window behind us towards a fenced-in gravel field a few yards away Behind the barbed wire is a patch of green grass and a volleyball net Sunde has only his television set and the books in his cell to entertain him He hasn’t been online since he was arrested Some of the guards have asked me what kind of computer they should buy I’ve been distilled to this computer nerd,” he says He receives letters from all over the world Some people send him 50 pages of conspiracy theories Others are content with a short note to say good luck “Some guy wrote and thanked me for all the porn he’d downloaded,” says Sunde that means he is pursuing studies while in jail money that he is free to spend on phone credit which greatly limits what he can eat from the sparse menu on offer he is given medication to counteract iron and vitamin deficiencies I’ve been nagging them for a bottle of olive oil but once I got them to stock some avocadoes in the kiosk,” he says Västervik prison Photograph: KriminalvårdenWhen talking about how he is treated in prison His tone is reminiscent of how he sounded when we interviewed him several years ago when the debate on online piracy was white hot and The Pirate Bay was at its most influential Sunde took every opportunity to rail against online censorship and the methods used by the film and music industries in their fight against filesharers He was the figurehead for a rebellious movement that feared neither Hollywood lawyers nor Swedish prosecutors one of the most visited websites in the world It’s also plastered with ads that someone presumably is paying good money for But the fact is that nobody has been able to find any money to speak of only claimed a total of about SEK 1.2m in court considering the traffic volume that pours through The Pirate Bay each day In the eyes of his opposition, Sunde was nothing but a simple thief. Piracy was a result of stinginess on the part of the filesharers and the men running The Pirate Bay were only in it for the money All such accusations were met with cocky and profane retorts from Sunde and his co-founders “It is the opinion of us and our lawyers that you are fucking morons and that you should please go sodomise yourself with retractable batons,” Warg once wrote in response to a takedown notice from Dreamworks SKG wrote a long Facebook post about his brother’s life at Västervik His post went viral and was picked up by major newspaper he tells of enforced urine samples and humiliating body searches How inmates are routinely locked up too early in the evening (so that guards won’t have to work overtime) are denied parole and subject to derisive comments from prison staff Many of the claims are impossible to confirm the Swedish prison authorities won’t comment on individual inmates Prison inmates are “deprived of their humanity,” he says He was told that it had been granted on the same day 15 minutes before the guards were due to pick him up “I wanted to meet my family to talk about the future They can’t get to Västervik in 15 minutes.” The authorities at Västervik declined to comment on Sunde’s claims but tell us that it isn’t improbable that an inmate has “a decision announced on the day requested” What is most difficult to cope with is the boredom “A guy who has been here a long time said it best: what I miss most are new memories.” Sunde has stopped trying to get his sentence truncated he worked hard for permission to serve the last months at home He wrote letters demanding a response from the authorities he has decided he may as well remain at Västervik The reason I wanted to get out was to spend time with my father Almost 11 years have passed since The Pirate Bay when Swedish police stormed into the hosting firm in southern Stockholm where The Pirate Bay servers were The raid marked the beginning of a lengthy legal process against the site’s three founders and their financier Carl Lundström Sunde was the only one who remained in the spotlight speaking at conferences in the US and Latin America which is developing a service for online micropayments In the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations about online mass surveillance an encrypted messaging app that is supposedly impossible to eavesdrop on It had been years since he had anything to do with The Pirate Bay The identity of whoever manages the site today is a closely guarded secret We last met him most recently in the autumn of 2012 Sunde had no fixed place of residence and no official income All his assets were to be seized to pay back the damages he owed the film and music industry but he was never very secretive about his whereabouts Had he received a letter with demands to show up at prison “They haven’t exactly been fair to me this far but I won’t make things worse for myself,” Sunde told us then Pirate Bay co-founders Fredrik Neij (left) Gottfrid Svartholm (centre) and Peter Sunde leave the city court after their copyright trial in Stockholm Photograph: Bob Strong / Reuters/REUTERSToday The spotlight is on a new generation of legal Spotify and others have filled the void once inhabited by illegal filesharing services The Swedish Pirate party managed a paltry 2.2% of the vote in the European parliament elections of 2014 we visit thepiratebay.org and click on the statistics page music and other software through torrents available on the site Sunde is at his most energetic when we talk about how he has been messing with the prison system His applications for parole is a favorite he returns to: The more applications were rejected he sent in 70 separate applications all at once One for each day he would be willing to leave the prison (meaning all the days he had left to serve) Not that he had any great faith that they would be approved He doesn’t seem very interested in software piracy he has wanted to put The Pirate Bay behind him for years “Just set fire to the servers and that’ll be the end of it,” he told us when we met him in 2010 Does that mean he now regrets what he once did Perhaps putting his name and picture to the world’s largest filesharing site wasn’t such a good idea Have the nights and days spent in prison so far made Sunde reconsider and it is as ridiculous today as it was then.” “People ask if I would have done anything different if I could This has been nothing more than five months of wasted time.” Pirate Bay’s first server is displayed at the Technical Museum in Stockholm in 2009 Photograph: Scanpix Sweden/REUTERSTimeline2003 The Pirate Bureau sets up a bittorrent-tracker It grows to become one of the largest file-sharing sites on the internet 2006 Motion Picture Association of America contacts the Swedish Ministry of Justice asking them to take action against The Pirate Bay where ministers are strictly forbidden to directly intervene in how government agencies Police raid the data center where The Pirate Bay is hosted The servers are taken offline and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Fredrik Neij are taken in for questioning Minister for Justice Thomas Bodström is accused of ministerial rule following the raid Neij and Lundström are charged with copyright offenses The police officer responsible for the investigation into the Pirate Bay accepts a new job with Warner Brothers Neij and Lundström to one year in prison and a total of 31m Swedish kronor in damages is accused of bias after it emerges that he is affiliated with a Swedish pro-copyright organisation Other members of the same group are employed by the film and music industries 2010 The royal court gives its verdict in the Pirate Bay case The four defendants see their prison terms shortened but the damages increased to a total of more than $7m 2012 The high court declines to take up the case on appeal Warg is arrested in Cambodia on unrelated hacking charges and transported back to Sweden Neij and Lundström declare personal bankruptcy Lundström serves his prison sentence at home 2014 After being wanted by the Interpol for two years Peter Sunde is arrested in southern Sweden and transported to jail He is currently serving time at Västervik prison until November 2014 Daniel Goldberg (@danielg0ldberg) and Linus Larsson (@linuslarsson) are writers based in Stockholm “Minecraft: The unlikely tale of Markus ‘Notch’ Persson and the game that changed everything” Since it pioneered HVDC technology more than 60 years ago representing a total installed capacity of more than 120,000 megawatts and accounting for about half the global installed base ABB continues to be a market and technology leader in this space and today amongst its increasing number of applications HVDC is playing a key role in integrating renewables evacuating power efficiently and reliable across long distances and interconnecting regions and countries Phil Woollam and his family weave their way through the islands of Sweden’s east coast on their Cornish Shrimper The Shrimper 21's lifting keel meant shallower harbours like Bokö could be explored Credit: Phil Woollam Credit: Phil Woollam Whilst the archipelago between Västervik and Arkösund has become our go-to summer cruising ground for the past four summers I can still remember vividly the first time we left the well-marked and wide fairways to seek a bow-to mooring spot for the night when sailing Sweden Weaving our way between a group of islands and barely submerged rocks towards what appeared to be a small but well-sheltered bay on Aspholmen looked pretty straightforward on the pilot guide it was something entirely different; as we approached the entrance to the bay it looked like an almost impossible gap between two rocky headlands I recall hanging over the bow of our Cornish Shrimper 21 Catelijne nudged Categorical forward at 1 or 2 knots Phil and Catelijne spent two years researching boats before deciding to buy a Cornish Shrimper 21 Fortunately, there were no rocks that weren’t marked on the pilot guide, so we squeezed our way into flat, calm water, dropped a stern anchor and then I hopped off the bow and tied two long mooring lines to a couple of stout pine trees I don’t think there is any greater sense of relief and achievement than navigating your way, for the first time, into a tight but beautiful anchorage Nothing really prepares you for the absolute joy of sailing Sweden’s archipelagos; not the magazine articles the YouTube clips or other sailors’ stories You absolutely have to experience it for yourself to get a true sense of what is one of the most beautiful and best-kept secrets of sailing in Europe It was after reading an article in Yachting Monthly about a family that towed their Cape Cutter 19 to the Stockholm Archipelago that we started dreaming about sailing Sweden; it was a few years before dreams turned to reality and we started to plan our own trip Initially it was the sheer volume of rocks scattered through the archipelagos that were our main source of concern However, after a few days of navigating the fairways between Loftahammar and Västervik, dodging the rocks and finding suitable moorings, the rocks gave less cause for concern and became a source of fun that would test our navigation skills We had lots of preconceived ideas about the challenges, but these quickly disappeared as our confidence grew while we sailed in one of the most sparsely populated sailing areas in northern Europe The most surprising element was the weather After dire warnings of rain and unpredictable summers, we were greeted by long, sun-kissed days and consistent 10-18 knot winds The practice of mooring bow-to against the rocks took a little getting used to but enabled us to avoid marina fees and wake up each morning in a new place The Shrimper’s lifting keel allowed us to get further off the fairway and enter shallower is the norm when sailing Sweden and exploring the islands Our choice of boat took two years of research and saving Catelijne and I had agreed it should be a trailer sailer and we wanted something traditional-looking we moved her to Holland and then drove from our home to Lübeck in Germany to catch the ferry to Malmö After reading through our English language pilot of the east coast of Sweden we decided to tow our new boat to Loftahammar Not even Alex Thompson aboard his Hugo Boss rocket ship can sail to windward at 60 miles an hour Understanding traditional mooring skills like how to tie up alongside a wall or between piles Spikes in wind strength can range from a blustery sail to survival conditions Dag Pike explains how to predict which… Yachting Monthly experts share the problems they have most often faced when anchoring An overnight ferry trip and 16 hours of driving later with Categorical still in her factory wrappings It took a somewhat embarrassing six hours to figure out how all the boat’s pieces fitted together much to the entertainment of the local Swedes but Categorical was finally rigged and ready The sails went up as soon as we cleared Loftahammar Marina and we nudged gently and somewhat cautiously onto the fairway on our way south to Västervik Catelijne and Annabele rowing by the steamship at Vaggo Langholmsviken Nervous about our first bow-to mooring on the rocks we decided to drop anchor in the bay next to Stora Gundleholmen for a swim put off by (harmless) pink jellyfish and then a snake where the next morning we braved the jellyfish and the somewhat chilly Baltic for a morning swim It was here that we decided to change our plans and head north Sailing the narrow fairway of Jungfrusund was unforgettable with its red houses on Hamnholmen and little model boats in the windows the shallow draught of the Shrimper really came into its own as we entered the 1.4m-deep bay threw out a stern anchor and tied off to some pine trees growing between the rocks Leaving the main fairway meant finding deserted islands to explore Dinner and a blissful night’s sleep followed Days of scorching hot weather and light airs followed and we took in Grytsholmen spending the days swimming in the surprisingly warmish clear waters and walking on the islands our only company being a pair of cranes and a couple of noisy mink that took a liking to our mooring lines we faced a prevailing headwind and decided to avoid sailing the long Instead we sailed north to see what greeted us A copy of Landsort-Skanör will provide details of 190 natural harbours while sailing Sweden It turned out to be a squall that came out of nowhere forcing us to take shelter in the marina at Fyrudden The Swedish couple on the neighbouring motorsailer recommended we visit Fångö which is sheltered from all weather conditions but pretty busy this is where the lifting keel came into its own as we didn’t have to raft up against the larger yachts and instead tied up against the rocks in 0.8m Two days later we headed for Smaskarsflagen where we spent five days bobbing around its natural moorings and anchorages before we got the urge to get back onto the fairway and sail further north The family have continued to cruise Sweden over many summers We were still learning the intricacies of Categorical and a change in the weather certainly shook us out of our complacency we decided not to put a reef in and we were soon flying along as the wind hit 22 knots The sky was turning very black and we managed to get a reef in and get to Arkösund marina just before the heavens opened up and emptied a whole summer’s worth of rain in two hours Phil and Catelijne Woollam Phil moved to London from New Zealand in 2008 Categorical in Holland and Sweden with his wife We certainly paid more attention to the conditions on our voyage back to Loftahammar where thankfully it took less than six hours to make Categorical ready for the trip back to the Netherlands we have cruised Categorical around the same archipelago made the comment that the boat was ‘getting a bit small’ which is berthed in Lelystad in the Netherlands with plans to sail her to the west coast of Sweden and Norway this summer Categorical made the trip back to England in the spring of 2021 and the circle was complete when she was sold The Baltic Sea and Approaches by Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation Buy The Baltic Sea and Approaches at Waterstones (UK) Buy The Baltic Sea and Approaches at Foyles (UK) Buy The Baltic Sea and Approaches at Google Play Visit the Yachting Monthly Book Club for more of the best sailing books released this year A subscription to Yachting Monthly magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals YM is packed with information to help you get the most from your time on the water Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The June 2025 issue of Yachting Monthly is out now is situated by the beautiful Slottsholmen and is the largest floating hotel platform in the Nordic region The Ulvaeus family hopes that the breathtaking views in all directions and the outstanding central location on a small island next to the town's ruined castle will make Slottsholmen one of the top tourist destinations this summer which I hope will attract a lot of visitors to Västervik so they can also enjoy my childhood home town I remember being an errand boy during the summer on Gränsö the cherry trees which my cousins and I climbed and the sailing trips in the Västervik archipelago with my friends Christer and Tony I'm really happy that my youngest daughter Anna and her family have moved to Västervik and now run the Slottsholmen complex - We have big plans for the Slottsholmen complex and are in particular working to implement a sustainable food philosophy in which deliberate choices such as using locally grown and locally produced goods are a given throughout the entire business I am very proud to be able to continue my father's vision American ace Luke Becker has Bauhaus Elitserien gold in his sights after signing for this year’s runners-up Vastervik for 2024 Becker spent this season with rival Swedish side Rospiggarna and is rapidly emerging as the USA’s next great hope on the world stage It has been a sometimes-testing 2023 season for the Californian who suffered a broken leg at the Slovakian Open Championship in Zarnovica on April 2 and then a broken left hand in a Polish First Division match in Bydgoszcz on June 25 He bounced back to become the first American since four-time world champion Greg Hancock to make a Speedway GP appearance at the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on September 30 he starred as Polish club Zielona Gora won the Polish First Division to gain PGE Ekstraliga promotion and helped both British club Wolverhampton and Rospiggarna reach their respective play-off semi-finals former World Under-21 champion Bartosz Smektala Denmark’s Mads Hansen and local young gun Anton Karlsson already alongside Becker in the Vastervik ranks the coastal club is shaping up well for 2024 And the FIM North American champion looks forward to joining a rock-solid Vastervik side bidding to go one better than the silver medal they achieved this season He said: “I'm really looking forward to being part of Västervik in 2024 and it will be really fun to have it as my home arena next season “I have only heard positive things about the club and hopefully I can develop as a rider by being part of such a good team.  “I know that this year Västervik fell just short in the fight for gold I will do my utmost to take the club to the top next year Vastervik boss Morgan Andersson added: “It feels very good to have come to an agreement with Luke as we have been aware for a long time that we have to rearrange the squad a bit after finishing top in the regular season which meant that we drove up our team average “We have followed Luke's development during the season which unfortunately started with an injury but he came back strong both in Poland and in England.  “Luke has a great attitude towards the sport and surrounds himself with a good team so I'm confident he will be well prepared for 2024 It will be very interesting to see if we can get Luke to take another step in his career Triple Australian champion Max Fricke is pleased to finally line up in Vastervik colours as he joins the coastal club for 2024 Next year’s Speedway GP first reserve forms what’s shaping up to be a rock-solid side as he teams up with Speedway GP star Robert Lambert Denmark’s Mads Hansen and local racer Anton Karlsson Fricke is pleased to finally compete on the Vastervik track as a home rider and hopes to help the club improve on the Bauhaus Elitserien silver they won in 2023 He told the club’s website: “I'm really looking forward to being part of Västervik in 2024 It was the first track I raced on in Sweden when I made my debut in 2015 but this time it will be as a home rider instead of an opponent “Västervik is a team with a fine history that has achieved great success Hopefully I can be there and continue to build on that success next year We must work hard and together as a team to achieve the best possible results I think the squad looks strong and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be fighting for the gold at the end of the season.” Vastervik chief Morgan Andersson admits Fricke’s desire to race the entire Swedish season persuaded him to recruit the Victorian ace He said: “We have been out and probed the market for riders who really want to ride for a whole season so there may very well be some extra competitions for him.  “I think that the past season was perhaps his best in Sweden so far but at the same time has been at the top for a very long time.  “Max is a really good guy to have in the team and Västervik already has good experiences with Australians in the team.” A wild raccoon that has been the target of a search outside Västervik in southeastern Sweden has now been captured and put to death Raccoons are not indigenous to this country and there’s concern that their introduction here could have negative effects on human health or cause economic or environmental damage who heads the Swedish Hunting Association’s Raccoon Dag project tells the TT news agency the animal was probably an escaped illegal pet It was originally spotted last month in a photograph taken at a trap for wild boars The raccoon was caught Thursday morning in a badger trap and the carcase will be sent to the National Veterinary Institute for tests For more news from Sweden visit Radio Sweden and website in this browser for the next time I comment Speedway GP star Freddie Lindgren admits he couldn’t ignore a call for help from Swedish side Vastervik as he returns to the Bauhaus Elitserien for their season opener at home to 2022 play-off finalists Lejonen tonight Fast Freddie originally stood down from Sweden’s top flight for this year opting to focus on his Speedway GP and PGE Ekstraliga commitments for Lublin as he steps up his recovery from three years blighted by long Covid But Lindgren’s 2022 side Vastervik found themselves a star short on the eve of the season when Aussie ace Chris Holder suffered spinal injuries in Leszno’s visit to Grudziadz on April 23 When Vastervik and Swedish national boss Morgan Andersson put in a call to Lindgren the Orebro-born racer was only too happy to respond – stepping in for at least their opening three matches I felt early on that if Morgan and Västervik got in touch and needed my help due to Chris Holder's injury for a few occasions I would review that possibility from our side I loved riding for Västervik and the choice to forgo the Swedish league this year had nothing to do with our relationship It was just that the team and I needed to create a schedule with fewer trips for me in 2023 “Now I return ‘home’ to Västervik to try and make as good an effort as I can during their first three meetings I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in Västervik again Lindgren made a strong opening to his SGP season finishing third and collecting 16 championship points at the Tehnix FIM Speedway GP of Croatia last Saturday He nearly didn’t make the semi-final cut after scoring eight race points from five rides leaving him deadlocked with Jack Holder and Max Fricke for the last spot in the top eight Lindgren defeated Fricke and Fricke got the better of Holder meaning even their head-to-head record couldn’t separate them purely because he had the best FIM ranking after finishing fourth in 2022 Lindgren had a long and nervous wait before his progression was confirmed “It seemed like no-one could decide,” he said "When it’s equal on countback and we beat each other it’s the highest ranked guy from last year who gets it Lindgren defied the graveyard white gate to overhaul Tai Woffinden for second place in semi-final two and take his place in the final I’d had white two times previously and had prepared a game plan to try and get in the dirt on the first lap I think I rode where no-one else had ridden Lindgren snatches second from Woffy Lindgren may be the only rider to have raced in every FIM Croatian Speedway GP but he insists that doesn’t make him an expert on the Donji Kraljevec track “I had a shocking one here last year,” he said We had the rain and I had gate one for my first ride But I completely missed it and got clamped by Robert got some energy and got into the semi-final.” Vastervik has been confirmed as host club for the 2024 Swedish Championship Final on Tuesday Staged just two and a half weeks before the FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on June 15 the Vastervik showdown could see world No.2 Fredrik Lindgren chase a fourth national crown on his old home track after he won title No.3 in Malilla in 2023 Vastervik rider Jacob Thorssell finished second last year and will be determined to claim his third crown on home shale Vastervik sports manager and Swedish national coach Morgan Andersson is delighted to play host to the Swedish Final which will also take place at the Hejla Arena on a date to be confirmed He said: “We are very honoured to have been awarded these two finals by SVEMO This is completely in line with us organising a competition per year in addition to our league matches offering our loyal audience and sponsors something extra “We will try to raise the status of the individual Swedish Championship Final so that we get back the crowds we used to have and we already have some ideas on how to proceed.” SVEMO track racing sports manager Mikael Karlsson commented: “We are very happy to award Vastervik the individual Swedish Championship Final and the Swedish Youth Final for 250cc riders in 2024 The club has shown over the years that it is a professional organiser of both national and international major competitions and we look forward to another very good event.” Triple Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden insists he is determined to “get back to the level I know I have in me” after confirming a return to Swedish side Vastervik for 2025 Woffinden was part of the coastal club’s squad this year but saw his season wrecked by a broken elbow suffered at the ISS FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow on June 29 Woffinden is not due to spend the full season in Sweden as he will compete for Polish Metalkas 2 Ekstraliga side Rzeszow and looks set for a Rowe Motor Oil Premiership return in the UK But Woffinden is determined to play his part for Vastervik as he bids to bounce back from a tough year that saw his 12-season run in the Speedway GP series come to an end He said: “I'm really looking forward to coming back to Västervik I really enjoy the club and everything around it “You could say that I feel that there is something unfinished considering the injuries I have sustained in recent seasons.  and I'm looking forward to a fresh start where I can get back to the level I know I have in me.  I hope to regain a place in the GP series and be back at the top very soon there is something unfinished in Västervik Vastervik boss Morgan Andersson hopes to see a bit more of Woffinden in 2025 after his injury-hit 2024 campaign He said: “It feels very good to have Tai with us for next season as unfortunately we have not been able to use him in the last two years' play-offs due to injuries.  but we will review the schedule when all leagues are done with theirs.  he will be available in a possible play-off as both he and we feel there is something unfinished there and personally I have no doubt that he will return to his high level after the severe injury he suffered this year.” former Danish champion Rasmus Jensen has been announced as Malilla club Dackarna’s first signing for 2025 The research group will study how the technology shifts that are now leading to significant changes in the labor market affect rural skills needs and skills availability what effects it has on labor demand and how to solve challenges related to this "Based on the structures of different locations we in the research group will investigate the conditions for attracting skills both from the local labor market and a broader geographic labor market The goal is for the project's research results to be used to develop a pilot model at Campus Västervik for strengthened skills availability in small businesses," says Lina Bjerke The project is carried out in collaboration with Campus Västervik Project partners: 400 small and medium sized companies Phone: +46 (0)36 - 10 10 00E-mail: cense@ju.se See more contact information Jönköping International Business SchoolBox 1026SE-551 11 JönköpingSweden Facebook LinkedIn About the website Manage cookies Last winter she focused more on routes as she spent several months in Catalunya where she managed to repeat three 8c's Soon she is going to Switzerland for more bouldering A Swedish man has finally been cleared of the murder of his wife five months ago - after she was found dead with severe wounds in the forest near the southwest town of Västervik The police have finally concluded that the killer was undoubtedly a moose - or European elk Wildife experts say the moose is a large but shy creature – usually running off when people come strolling by But the moose can loose its fear of humans after browsing in suburban gardens after fallen apples - where sometimes fermented fruit gives the animal a good dose of alcohol making him or her intoxicated and aggressive The experts also maintain that the moose rarely tries to gore its way out of danger with its massive horns - perfering to deliver a deadly kick plus weekly summary on Fridays at 4.30pm on P2 (P6 89.6FM in Stockholm) Kontakta gärna Sveriges Radios forum för teknisk support där vi besvarar dina frågor vardagar kl