Thirty thousand islands of smooth pink granite and pine, no tide, almost no current, and a legal right to anchor off and go…Thirty thousand islands of smooth pink granite and pine, no tide, almost no current, and a legal right to anchor off and go ashore almost anywhere. Sandhamn is the sailing capital, Finnhamn the quiet one, and you can go days moving between rocks without seeing a marina. Allemansrätten, the right of public access, is what makes this cruising ground work, you may anchor, land and camp on almost any shore. The archipelago was Sweden's naval shield for centuries, and the 1719 Russian raids burned most of the outer islands, which is why the buildings are all 19th-century. Anchorage: The classic Swedish method, drop a stern anchor 30-50m off a granite shore and run bow lines to the rock, lying perpendicular with no swinging room. Thousands of natural harbours. Hazards: Thousands of unmarked rocks just below the surface. Swedish charts are excellent but the plotter is not a lookout. Altro