Blue Water navigation Blog

New blog

2010-11-07T18:41:00.002+01:00

By Lena at Las Palmas

This blog will continue at the new homepage, here. Please enjoy and stay in touch!

Executive Atlantic crossing

2010-11-07T16:38:00.004+01:00

By Lena at Las Palmas

So, just a couple of days before I am crossing the Atlantic, so let me update you on the details.

The boat that I am crewing on is called Executive 73, it's a seventy-three foot multihull that is Australian-registered. It has crossed the Atlantic before, and now coming back to the Caribbean to have some charter weeks. We are heading to St Martin, and may eventually stay on the boat after that, or will buy our own boat there (the prices in the Caribbean are much lower).

Here is some short info and pictures, it's large, luxurous and comfortable - which is what you want for the long Atlantic crossing, and also still a nice change from a 27 ft boat from 1969 that was slowly falling apart. What we will buy in the Carib is still a bit unsure, but it will be a large one, and since we're considering doing some charter or charity work later it might be a catamaran.

The Las Palmas marina is full with boats that are doing the ARC, that will start on 21/11 - but we will not join. Still we are enjoying the athmosphere, there are parties, there are a lot of people, a lot of familiar faces - both Awareness and White Whisper were here, so nice to see them again!

The weather is great, it's warm during daytime and lukewarm during night, short sleeves all the time, but still not bathing because the temperature in the water is 21-22 degrees (I am terrible when it comes to cold water and am looking forward towards Caribbean instead!)

Because of the fact that the marina is overfull, we have to be on anchor in the bay, and the captain is very kind to give us rides to and from the shore in the dinghy - a RIB boat with a steering wheel cockpit, and a 50 HP engine that makes it go FAST - you can actually go waterskiing with it!

Yesterday night we came back very late and everyone was "home" on the boat and sleeping, so no dinghy. We decided to wait on the pier, in case another dinghy would come by, and the first person we met was the captain of "Pour Bon" - Henrik! We had never met, but I have been following their blog since they were sailing a similar boat to Mare Liberum, and the same route too - but always a few days behind us, so the pictures and stories on theit blog resembled ours very much. We will try to meet up for an update before we leave, maybe today. We will have to do some last preparations tomorrow - buy the food needed, some wine to have onboard, the fuel and all other stuff. The hydraulic steering system has been serviced, as well as the electrical winches and the oilcheck for engines, and some minor stuff is still left, but the captain has full control of that!

The rest of the crew on our boat consisted of a Czech couple and a UK couple, and the captain who is from Finland but have lived in Australia almost all of his life. The UK couple will not continue with the boat, so now there is place for another couple - the captain prefers to take couples as crew, I guess it's easier and safer that way - so if anyone wants to have a very nice and luxurous cruise down the Caribbean with a short notice, feel free to send me an SMS ;)

Offshore

2010-11-01T09:36:00.002+01:00

By Lena at Stockholm

In Stockholm now to fix up some stuff again, among other things I passed the Offshore Yachtmaster exam, and also got the Yachtsman diploma category III. Both these are the highest exams you can take in the sailing school in Sweden, and if I were to continue higher, it would either have to be in the US, or by taking a several day complementary course in Stockholm to become a Fartygsbefäl class 8 (like a marine officer or commander). Could be doable, but there is a bit of other stuff to be done right now so I will wait with that :)

Approximately on Sunday, I plan to start the Atlantic crossing. I will post a detailed update of the journey plans etc in a day or two, as soon as I fly back to Las Palmas, so I can upload some pictures etc.

Right now: meeting dear friends, making financial arrangements, visiting family and repacking for the next part of the journey. Also taking some time to just enjoy life! Life quality is essential... Life quality is good!

Land again

2010-10-24T20:09:00.002+02:00

By Lena at Las Palmas

So, after another few days at the Atlantic, I arrived at the tourist island number one, Grand Canaria. We've had head wind, side wind, and finally wind in our backs (that became gusty and strong so we averaged over 9 knots, sometimes over ten - I even remember reading 11,9 on the log... Finally, we took down the gennacker but the force of the wind was ripping hard at the stays so there were some bruises and rope burns. Luckily we had Poncha on board, Madeiras special drink made of rum, honey and fruits (in my case, tangerines) which is used to cure all diseases possible and possible. And tastes quite nice too!

Las Palmas harbour is packed with boats going off with the ARC, but I will not join them for the rally. After all, it's not the last ARC - after buying my own boat I can consider going with the ARC again.

I will be boarding a boat to sail to Caribbean in one week or so, as a crew. Now I've got all my stuff, some bags, a harpoon, a guitar, a box of sparkling wine - everything you cannot sail without (of course ;) and things are falling in place.

Sorry to leave Paloma, the couple onboard are absolutely wonderful people, and you should be lucky if you meet such folks during your life time (and more than happy if you happen to become like them!) Of though I have only been crewing there for two weesk, I will miss them a lot...

Now: a supper consisting of local specialities - a bottle of Lambrusco and some calamares in red sauce. Just days left until everything will be complete. I will be releasing a new epic site. And, 7/11 at the latest, I will f*ck off across the Atlantic!!

Leaving Madeira

2010-10-21T22:39:00.003+02:00

By Lena at Madeira

So, the last night before heading off. The RIDS Rally start has been postponed, due to foul weather (the airport and the roads also had to be closed, and the capital city was partly evacuated according to what I've heard). The marina is unmanned today, the bar/restaurant too. One could think it's because of the party yesterday, but I guess it's because of the rainstorm and it's only me who's been sleeping the whole day trying to become human again.

The dinner was fun, with the Madeira dancing and a lot of wine. The grilled sardines did not fall into my taste, they were grilled whole and ungutted and that's a bit too much fish taste when you've been living off the sea for almost half a year. The desert was fruit and nuts, and I amused myself by sitting there and breaking walnuts just in the palm of my hand (not only because of the superpowers you get when you make a Pop-Eye tatoo.... you also get quite strong from sailing).

Have met a lot of great people, a female skipper who's both beautiful and charming, sailing with her husband and kids, a crew of four French gentelmen with butterfly ties that invited me for a glass of Madeira today, and a lot more. The music got very bad later at night just when everyone started dancing, so I took over the song list and DJed, so great to make people dance and smile and have a great time - now I see why DJs get hooked on it, it's really a kick.

There is a Swedish boat in the harbour, Alva - a sailing college three-masted 150+ ft schooner. There are 30 or 40 hands onboard, and it's more like a youth hostel than a boat, the galley is more like a school restaurant, etc... Very nice young people though, I got a tour around the ship and got a bit of perspective on sailing.

So tomorrow, at 9 in the morning, we will start off, boat fully dressed in flags, and hope to get to Canary Islands in about two-three days. There, I will meet up with Mark and get my last stuff from Mare Liberum, and will board a new boat to sail off to Caribbean. It'an Executive yacht, more about it and the crew later. Just before that, I will fly off to Stockholm for a couple of days, and also celebrate Halloween there (and get a lot of things done, considering taking Ocean Yachtmaster but we'll see how much timer I'll have left).

Cheers for now!

The pot of gold

2010-10-18T19:47:00.001+02:00

By Lena at Quinto do Lorde

Sitting in the boat, it's mixed rain and sun outside. I look out of the window and see a bright rainbow, all the way over the harbour, like a bridge, from the pub to the bottom of the huge rock just beside the pontoon.

And what do they say about the end of the rainbow? It's a pot of gold there!

So I run out of the boat, barefoot in the rain. The warm pavement is splashed with rain under my naked feet, I run over to the wall in front of the rock. I leap up, trying to see behind the wall. A lizzard hurries away, scared by the sudden movement. I get my Russian stripey sailing shirt wet on the funschia flowers. I see nothing there, just a lot of red and black volcanic soil and lushy plants.

There is no pot of gold there... But I realise I don't need one. Being on this sunny island, with a thousand adventures behind me and many thousands ahead of me, is worth more than any gold in the world. I just hope that more people will realise their possibilities in life, and enjoy the moment.

I come back to the boat, the warm rain caressing my shoulders....

(but I will not give up! there is another end of the rainbow, at the pub, and the pot of gold MUST be there... I will definitely investigate it thoroughly later tonight ;)

Atlantic to Madeira

2010-10-18T14:56:00.007+02:00

By Lena at Madeira

We set off to Madeira on Monday morning, maneuvered past a lot of cargo ships in the Strait of Gibraltar, and entered the ocean. The Atlantic was very calm. Barely any waves, light winds and a lot of sun. Unbelievable - it was almost too hot to sleep, and it's the middle of October! We even had to motor for some time due to the lack of wind.

Passing West of Africas cost and North of Canary islands, we approached Madeira. Because of the calm weather situation, we had a lot of time to relax and enjoy life - have nice meals, solve sudoku, play guitar, do some creative writing, sew a guest flag or two, fish (we got a baby Mahi-Mahi that was 65 cm) and read books. The First Mate got a bit of seaskickness, but it was kept under control by Scopoderm, and after consulting ApoEx it showed that it's OK to have a moderate glass of wine while using it, which made the meals even more enjoyable. Good stuff!

The last day was a bit more shakey - on my watch at night, the wind grew from Force 2 (just a light breeze) to Force 5, then Force 6, and up to Force 7, all in less than an hour. We reefed the mainsail, and continued on, the speed being up to 9 knots. There were very heavy rain showers, and the viibility dropped considerably. The barometer kept falling, and we arrived to Madeira just when the low was passing by the island. The sight of the land after a few days at sea is always wonderful, but with a rainbow appearing from the clouds (look to the right on the picture) it was absolutely tremendous.

Quita Do Lorde is a small harbour on the very Eastern South coast of the island. It's beautiful but very quiet, so we rented a car to explore the island a bit more before the start of the rally.

Madeira is a volcanic island with very dramatic landscape and lushy tropical vegetation. It's very beautiful, and the climate is very mild - it's like being indoors all the time, the temperature being around 24 degrees more or less day and night. The towns are like on a postcard - small, clean and cute. In Gibraltar, I walked over the airplane landing lane, but in Madeira, I passed under - it's built on pillars like a bridge, the only possible solution on this rocky island.

It's hard to understand how isolated it is, when you're used to be traveling by plane, train or car. A few hundred km to the Canary islands - so what? That's just a few hours' drive. But when travelling by boat, it's a few days left for the mercy of the sea and weather, a few days of work on deck, fighting the waves, catching the wind, sleeping under the stars and carefully navigating. Of course it's easier in a good modern boat, but still the world gets so much larger when sailing.

Gibraltar

2010-10-18T13:46:00.004+02:00

By Lena at Madeira

Gibraltar is a small piece of UK on the very Western part of the Mediterranean. Previously, I had been very bad in geography, but sailing around the world really improves such skills - however, I still knew little about Gibraltar and even thought it was Spanish.

It is, however, Brittish, and you have to enter by passing the border by foot, showing your passport and everything. After that, one has to cross the landing stripe of the Gibraltar airport, yes by foot too - and stop and wait if there are any airplanes landing or lifting off.

It's a small tax paradise (not the long-dog-with-short-legs paradise, it's the your-money-that-government-wants-for-themself paradise). There are more companies registered than actual residents in there. Everyone speaks English, which is a nice change from all the countries around where you have to do pictionary or charades in case you don't know Spanish, French or Italian. The word "gibberish" is actually originating in Gibraltar, because of the locals mixing Spanish and English words = thus speaking Gibberish which is uncomprehensible for Englishmen.

There are two marinas, both very high class, having everything an Englishman would wish for - like Texmex pubs, KFC, sports bars and extensive shopping. The old ladies wear lipstick, hats, handbags and dresses á la Queen of England, the school kids wear uniform, and the police wear hats like in UK, which is completely mad, since the surroundings and the climate are as far from London as you can get. The sun is hot, the palms are green, the sea water is glittering and reflecting the bright neon signs of the marina, the architecture is Mediterranean and the huge Giraltar rock is a home to legions of monkeys.

We left in the morning of the 11th, and had a pleasant trip acsorr to madeira - more posts will follow!

Paloma

2010-10-17T16:11:00.000+02:00

A bit more info on what's a modern boat anno 2010, with some random pictures

Paloma, a 40 foot (although practically a bit more) multihull is a Gibraltar-registered sailing yacht of the brand Lagoon, from 2009.

It has four cabins with double beds, three heads (that's what's toilets are called at sea) with hot-water showers, two large saloons, double diesel engines, a raised cockpit, a galley (kitchen at sea) and loads of stowage space. Everything is designed to be ergonomical but elegant.

The foresail is furling, mainsail has three reefs, and a gennaker complements the rig.

There is a generator, two large solar panels, a diesel-fueled watermaker that gives 100 liters of water per hour, a holding tank for the toilets to use when in harbour.

There is a fridge and freezer, an ice machine, a gas-fueled cooking stove with three units, a gas-fueled oven with lower and upper heater, a lot of appliances including washing, heating, air conditioning, and making anything from soda water to fresh bread.

The dashboard includes built-in navigation computer screens x 2, autopilot, GPS, AIS sender and receiver, satellite phone, radar, multiple VHF units, Internet antenna, stereo, eletrical log and windex as well as current and driftoff reader, and a flat screen TV. And a lot more extras that I cannot recall right now...

The boat is tastefully decorated and polished, and kept in mint condition.

RIDS and Paloma

2010-10-16T21:34:00.003+02:00

By Lena at Quinta do Lorde, Madeira

Starting in Madeira, there will be a transatlantic rally, RIDS (Iles du Soleil Rally). I am very happy to have the possibility to join it (most probably just a short bit, and anyway not further than down to Brazil, after which I will go further along the coast), but for the nearest future, it's that route that is planned.

I am crew on a beautiful Lagoon 400. It's a modern and exclusive boat - an exhibition piece from 2009, including everything you can (and cannot) think of. Above all, it's a perfect example of how much the boat building technology and the technical progress have improved during the past two generations. Sailing a 27 ft boat from 1969 is very charming in a way; everything is manual and spartan, everything can be done with manpower, everything breaks all the time but you can easily fix it (if it sits tight but needs loosening, use 5-56; if it's loose but needs to sit tight, use duct tape ;) It's like living in a tent in the middle of the sea.

On a Lagoon 400, it's more like living in a five-star hotel in the middle of the sea compared to that. Today's technologies allow for quiet and fuel-efficient motors, all kinds of navigation extras and electrical equipment, and so much integrated features that you will not miss your home at all. Of course it's harder to fix things that break, but the good side of it is that they don't break. So call it cheating or whatever, but reading off real-time current and driftoff direction and speed, having a spacious, well-ventilated cabin with a personal toilet and a hotwater shower, and having freshly baked croissants for breakfast is something that I do enjoy very much after sailing over 2000 nm without even knowing it was possible. And the dinghy is a RIB...

The captain is a no-nonsense Norwegian in his best years, just like a captain should be - decisive and competent yet fair and warm-hearted, charmingly relaxed in his unbuttoned shirt and a perpetual cigar in his mouth. The Spanish first mate is alert, elegant and strong, always with a sparkle in the eye, and has an endurance to really envy. And a grand cook, too! Both of them were living in Switzerland prior to sailing off, so the official language onboard is French. Both are very agreeable, youthful people with big hearts, which is so rare in today's Western world.

I will shortly write some posts about the trip here and about the island, also a new homepage is on its way. Sea you!

The harbour at the end of the world

2010-10-16T00:10:00.004+02:00

By Lena at Madeira

4 days and 3 hours to cross 600+ nm, not bad. The last day the winds were picking up because of the low that was right over Madeira, and with heavy rain came wind of Force 6 up to Force 7 and very playful waves; we found a squid fish washed up on the deck.

Sailing really makes you understand how big the world is. The nearest civilisation here is 500 km South. Or 600-700 km East. More than 1000 km to the Azores (NW), if you will go straight North then you will eventually reach Iceland (about 4000 km?), and all the way to the West there is ocean, ocean, ocean. It would be easy to get claustrofobic living here for too long time... But it's definitely a very special feeling coming here by sea to this nice small harbour. It's like being at the end of the world.

More posts will come tomorrow, and probably some pictures... I will go to sleep now since I'm completely exhausted. Cheers to all o'you!

...And we're on the road again

2010-10-11T08:33:00.006+02:00

By Lena at Gibraltar Marina

This is the last post for a while, I am leaving the pretty Gibraltar harbour with the neon lights, design shops and all restaurants an Englishman would need and not need, and I am going to sail from the Mediterranian to the Atlantic and southwards. The Rock of Gibraltar is supposed to be one of Hercules' pillars, so according to the Romans, I will probably fall off the edge of the world after only a few nautical miles.

I doubt that ;) but nevertheless the journey will be exciting enough. It will be several days before I see land again, and there is a small(ish) Atlantic low approaching from the North so there are reasons to be cautious. However it will most probably miss us, and anyway there will be plenty of time to reach our target before it hits.

The new boat is like a fairy-tale. It's a 40+ foot from 2009, and sailing will probably never be the same again; here, the quality of life is in focus, not just survival and spartanism. A very different experience! May be some would say that having too much equipment onboard is cheating, but I say I deserve a bit of luxury after these four months.

Will of course be keeping a good look out for whales - as I know how frequent they are in the Strait, and what incredible creatures they are. I would here like to thank Pauline and Philip from CIRCE, great and helpful hosts, and just really wonderful people! I had met Pauline at KGB in Stockholm, one of the trip's sponsors, and now we were meeting up at the completely other end of Europe, the world is very small after all... :)

The satellite phone is still functional, but my cell phone will not be accessible starting this afternoon. I will keep you posted!

Adventures on the coast

2010-10-04T15:24:00.006+02:00

By Lena, in Spain

So, a bit more about my current adventures. I will be changing boat to go from Gibraltar to Canaries and then further on over the Atlantic to the Caribbean. The trip will continue through Panama down to Galapagos and South Pacific, as planned, and there I will buy a boat for continuing the global circumnavigation trip. It is much cheaper than buying a boat in Europe. I have been offered to buy Mare Liberum but declined at last, since I know that I will be able to buy a much bigger and newer boat for the same money (and most importantly, with an engine that works). So I will be waiting with the purchase until the South Pacific (Tahiti at the latest). I will shortly post some info on where I am crewing until then, the trip is going to start a bit sooner than previously planned, but it's not a problem - more time at South Pacific for me!

On the Atlantic coast, the sailing culture is very strong. The sailing history's unerasable footprints are seen everywhere. One of the biggest metro stations in Lisbon has, for instance, a fantasticly detailed and very huge tiled wall with comic-like pictures of various sea monsters, superhero women, pirates, ancient sea gods and what not - honouring the epic adventures of Vasco da Gama - here is just a tiny fragment of it.

Epic steps often lead to several practical issues to solve (especially after enough of them have been taken). My shoes, for instance, finally gave in after four months so I hade to throw them away... The sole was loose, and after a lot of hiking, climbing, getting them wet in the dingy or on the beach, and all other adventures, they are ready for the garbage bin. Shoe shopping is going to be a frequent pleasure if I should continue in this pace, luckily it's barefoot-friendly weather most of the time!

The barefoot-walking will however not continue in Tarifa. Finding things like this on the pavement do make you cautious... Ray Mears would probably think that it looks yummy, but as much as I enjoy extreme survival, I instead went to Europe's Southernmost restaurant and enjoyed some absolutely delicious couscous with a great company of my friends who are whale researchers (and will be on Spanish radio and TV in the days to come, on the topic of boat collisions in the Gibraltar, keep watch if you're around!)

Portuguese pearls

2010-10-04T14:38:00.008+02:00

By Lena, at Tarifa.

Here's some catcing up for you. During sailing the Portugal's cost, I have encountered some places which I definitely wanted to explore more, but did not have time because we were in a hurry Southwards. So I came back for a couple of days to see these places, one of them being the city of Porto - the small cozy restaurants, the beautiful river, the tiny streets with pulsating nightlife, the marketplace, beautiful buildings, friendly people, fortified wine, and also the famous Human Body exhibition, out of sheer curiousity.

Then there was another place. Figueira da Foz, a town south of Porto that we had stopped at previously. A small restaurant/bar near the harbour had free internet access, so I had gone there to surf - to discover the wonderful live piano music that is played there every night, and the most welcoming people - the owners, the pianist, and a producer of the local wines. I was invited to dine with them, and now I wanted to pay a visit back. I also wanted to visit the local wineyards that I was told of, and invited to.

The wineyards are called Quinta dos Cozinheiros, and Graca, whom I met earlier, agreed to give a full tour around the actual vineyards, and also the winery itself. It's harvest time now, and the women from the village are reaping the grapes by hand, and later the wines are crafted according to the traditional style (except maybe for stomping the grapes with your feet, but that's not so popular at the EU, unfortunately). Graca told a lot about the earth, the blends, and the climate affecting the wine, and also showed her house, a heritage of tradition and beauty. Walking around there is truly magical, and I got very inspired from this living off the land - drinking your own wines, having milk and chees from your own cows, they also have some olive trees, orange trees (ripe oranges in the grass like autumn apples in Sweden!) and kiwis. Everything is of course organic, you can pick snails on the plants and on the walls and cook them. They also have salt marinas, making their own salt, there is a salt spa nearby that she has been telling about.

On the way there, Graca also drove over to an abandoned monastry to show it - truly a surreal sight; a beautiful temple all in ruins, trees growing on the top, the monastery yard so full of dense and lush plants of double man's length that it looked like a huge tropical aquarium, a huge round stork's nest crowning the chimney for the monks' kitchen (how symbolic), and holes and cracks everywhere in the majestic structure. What a sight! A small chapel some hundred meters from it was raised because of the miracles that happened here during the war with the moors. It was round, quite small and very secluded - but as we approached it we heard ritual chanting. Graca looked extremely surprised - it turned out that she had never seen anyone in there, it had been closed at all times. We looked inside. Some men and women were in there, separated to opposite sides of the chapel. They were singing, and later chanting prayers in a choir, a well-rehersed rite, perhaps a mass, creating a mystical athmosphere of divinity.

It's definitely worth to visit the vinyard, on vacation or just by passing. It's a jewel among the unthreaded non-turistic paths. And Donna Graca herself was a most delightful aquaintance, a lady full of charisma and positive energy.

Southernmost Europe

2010-10-01T10:43:00.002+02:00

By Lena at Tarifa

We had reached Lagos safely, finding the other boats that have become our aquaintances earlier. From here on, we have different routes. I will continue the trip from Gibraltar over to Canaries and across the Atlantic, and Mark will go to Morocco, and cross the Atlantic from there, but we will stay in touch during the trip.

Right now I am at the Southernmost city in Europe, Morocco being just 14 km away over the straight of Gibraltar. Before leaving, I will go out and watch the whales in the straight together with the research unit of the town of Tarifa. Looking forward to it!

Mark will update the site as soon as possible, watch fri.caty.no until then!

You asked for pictures?

2010-09-18T16:27:00.022+02:00

By Lena at Figuera do Foz, Portugal

So, almost 100 days at sea. Time for a small conslusion of the trip - not everyone reads the whole blog :)

The North Sea and the Bay of Biscay were supposed to be the hardest parts of the trip.

Here on the left side you can see what they would be described as... Winds, waves, gales and storms and sea monsters and what not. Or at least that was what I was expecting.

But they were really a piece of cake. On the right: how it really was; cruising by daytime in the middle of North Sea with sunshine and no waves at all, and last the sunset in the bay of Biscay, for a whole day also still and windless.

Some really beautiful stuff we've seen was also in the bay of Biscay; bioluminescence and dolphins and whales. And upon arriving to A Coruña, there were fireworks over the night sky. Just beautiful.

The boat itself requires continuous maintenance, everything from the engines to wiping off the mold and refitting loose parts. However it's just to get used to, it's a very old boat. The lack of fridge, microwave and hot water is also a matter of habit.

Scopoderm, the anti-seasickness plaster, is one of the best things that has happened to sailors (Thanks ApoEx!) Marinas with free showers and internet are also great, although infrequent.

The countries have been very different. Norway was barely worth staying in - very beautiful but too expensive. Scotland was rainy and cold, and Caledonian Canal was nice but a lot of hassle with all the sea locks. Jura and Islay were great. Ireland was also chilly, but the sailing was better due to constant Western winds - no waves and good speed.

Spain was splendid! Hot sun, blue sea, cheap wine, nice fruits, great food - the supermarkets were filled with Spanish specialities for laughable prices, the two pictures were taken at a local store - a cured ham, the whole pig leg, can be purchased from 25 euro and up, incredble.

And Portugal is even better - it's cheaper, the people are a bit more sophisticated, speak more English and are extremely generous and friendly. A glass of wine costs a half a euro, the architecture and the palms remind of Goa, which has been a Portuguese colony. And the beaches in Portugal are sandy, warm, and reach out for miles and miles... Perfect for surfing or just walking around and enjoying the summer weather.

The best stuff with sailing must be all the wonderful people you meet. Most of them are also heading South, so there is a community of boats which we meet all the time - very nice to have friends away from home. Everyone's helping everyone else, no matter if it's an engine that needs fixing or a sea chart that is missing. It's a great sailor spirit here.

My favourite city this far is Porto. A lot of new, old, and ancient buildings everywhere, colourful and diverse, with thousands of small restaurants that come alive at the evening. An absolutiely beautiful city; here are some photos, including the view from our boat at night.
The fishing has been great; mackerel is still frequent, but we are starting to get some fish that is like a mixture of mackerel and blue marlin. Also, the menue is diversified by all kinds of other fish, mussels and octopus.

But new things are learned every day. There are new concepts; like "good-morning flies", the flies that wake up when the sun goes up and buzz and disturb your sleep better than any alarm clock. Or the differens between the word "rolig" in Swedish (fun) and in Norwegian (calm), so we have to specify (Vi ska ha en rolig kväll. - Svensk-rolig eller Norsk-rolig?) And lots more :)

In the next hundred days, I should have crossed the Atlantic and arrived to St Lucia. So, a lot to look forward to!

North Porto and Douro River

2010-09-14T21:10:00.002+02:00

By Lena, at Porto

We spent more days in north Porto than expected. The inboard engine was to be fixed; John from Awareness did help me to adjust the timing and to lock the screw that had loosened so the distributor was turning around thus messing up the timing. I also removed corrosion from the wires, sandpapered all contacts and the engine was running happily. For ten minutes or so, and then it started making strange noises and died again.

So this time, two Irish guys from White Whisper, a boat next to ours, came along and took the engine in pieces and back again. There was a bearing that had too much friction and it was fixed. We tried the engine, it worked again. Of course, we celebrated by a pub round, and had a great time with the lads! But just on the way out from the harbour the engine started making trouble again. The outboard did not want to cooperate either; the killchord had rusted and had to be replaced on the fly with a temporary cable solution while we were bobbing on the waves near the harbour entrance, creating an obstruction for the ships of various sizes that were coming in and out. We were almost turning back at one point, but since we could go by the outboard, we continued to Porto. (There was no wind at all, so sailing was not an option).

Porto is absolutely beautiful, and even more so when coming from the sea and into the Douro River. It's a fantastic city, and everyone is very nice and humble. We are morred by the stone wall near a bridge, and the whole of the old city is just out here. I went for a shopping and sight-seeing round, could spend several days here, but we need to get moving since Mark had promised to meet the norwegians from Fri Inspirasjon on Saturday.

Here, the food is cheap and you can find exotic stuff in the stores. I got some quail eggs (vaktelägg) for less than a euro for a dozen, and make a delicacy dish with beluga lenses, cured Spanish jamon and quail eggs. It's very warm here, and the view is astonishing. I will try to upload some pictures soon...

Viana do Castelo harbour

2010-09-10T21:56:00.003+02:00

By Lena in Porto

Viana do Castelo was a nice little city with calm athmosphere. A glas of wine costs half a euro, and after you're done, the regular guests at the bar ask the waitress to fill it up for you, it's the Portuguese generosity.

It was a sunny day yesterday, and I have been tinkering with the engine all day. John from s/y Awareness was so kind to be a competent and helpful coach, and the inboard was functioning again to our delight. We left the harbour at the low water and run slightly aground. All in all, the harbour was a bit dangerous - the river outside runs at up to 4 knots, and the entrance to the harbour is blocked off by a tiny walking bridge that is opened from the harbour office (not always manned though). If you arrive at night and are tired or not paying attention to the bridge, you could get serious damage on the boat.

Now: sitting in the harbour in Porto. My back is sunburned, it was a sunny warm day today, and spinnacker sailing for 30 nautical miles. The yacht harbour is just beside a fishing harbour and a cargo harbour, so there are containers everywhere and it's anything but beautiful in here, but a bunch of Swedish, Norwegian and other long-sailing boats are here, and several familiar faces met us on the pontoon. We'll try to figure out whether to go up the Porto river tomorrow. Good night for now!

Portugal: philosophy

2010-09-08T17:58:00.005+02:00

By Lena, in Portugal.

Sitting in a café at Viana do Castelo. A very beautiful city, I had a fast walk around it last night when we arrived, but haven't seen it by daytime... Because today I spent all day in a café, intensivelly enjoying the fast Internet connection. I have three online courses I have to keep up with, and all of them require Internet, so I have a lot to do while I'm here. By the late Autumn, I will know all that's worth to know about classic astronomy, intercultural communications, and philosophy. The phylosophy course is the most interesting;for example, the first module is all about happiness as according to the ancients (hedonism, epicurism and stoicism) and the first essay to write is "Feelings vs reason, what is best and why". Incredible. This must be the only science that is best researched while having some good wine and some great company to talk to.

The sea outside has been choppy on the way here, a lot of fishing gear everywhere, the Danish boat Awareness that were neighbour to us in the last harbour needed to be rescued after getting fishing gear in their engine, and the French boat from the same harbour had to get back because of the strong winds. The advice is a good lookout, and a good weather report page, like windguru.cz which is absolutely great.

The Portuguese, unlike Spanish, don't have Siesta, are opened on Sundays, and everyone speaks English. Everything is also cheaper. I don't understand why they call it a lesser country... It's great here!

Back home

2010-09-04T17:35:00.003+02:00

By Lena in Baiona, Spain

So I'm back home on Mare Liberum. I had to leave for Stockholm to fix some papers, and took the chance to pass the Coastal Yachtmaster diploma (skepparexamen) as well as SRC and CEVNI certificates, all in one go which meant a lot of studying the days before.

I think it's good to get some contrast and perspective sometimes, coming back to Spain I was delighted by the wondeful weather, the blue sea and hot sun, cheap fruits, wine and delicacies, the beautiful mountain landscape, the sandy beaches and the awesome athmosphere, while all other longsailors were used to it and were not as intensively happy. I think it's always wise to take a moment and have a reality check, to understand and appreciate what you have, not to take it for granted.

Boats from all of the Scandinavia are grouping up; right now we have a Norwegian boat and a Danish one beside ours. At Isla Cíes, where we spent a couple of splendid days enjoying the mountains and the beach with sugar-like sand, there were several more Norwegian boats.

All in all, sailing in Spain is wonderful, and if I want to live in Europe some day again, I want to live in this country.

Viva España!

2010-08-19T17:18:00.003+02:00

By Lena in La Coruña

On Friday we were ready to leave Cork to cross the bay of Biscay. However, as you remember, it's bad luck to start a sailing trip on a Friday. And I guess it's especially true on Friday the 13th...

Superstition aside, I also wanted to get a chance to feel land under my feet, and pay a visit to an Irish pub in Cork harbour. Had a great time, and met some wonderful local people, a lot of laughs, songs and a wonderful atmosphere. I was still asleep in the morning when the captain started off the journey.

I admit having been excited about the bay of Biscay; it is known for its high waves and violent gales. There was an apparent gale warning for NW Spain, just where we were heading. Yeay! Blood, sweat, tears and Kraken!

It turned out to be nothing like that. To be honest, the first day or two in Biscay were the most beautiful sailing days I've experienced. We had wind in our back, the waves were very slight, there were dolphins following our boat, playing around in front of us, sometimes together with their babies (sweet enough to melt any hard and salty sailor's heart) and at night there was the magic glitter of biolumiscence in the water, and the sky was cloudless, with millions of constellations, the great Milky Way, tiny satellites passing by, and a lot of beatiful shooting stars. It was a real pleasure to have the night watch, lie on the back in the cockpit and look at the universe spreading endlessly just above the slightly rocking mast top.

But the next day welcomed us with the complete abscence of wind. What gale warning, where?? It seemed unbelievable that there could be wind or waves somewhere in this bay. The water was like milk; white and completely still, apart from the microscopic wavelets that our engine was making. Yes, we ran the inboard 14 hours in a row. We knew the wind would turn SW (thanks to my dear parents that were so kind to sent weather reports to the satellite phone) so we were in a hurry; SW wind in Biscay means bad weather on the way. Also, it's good to pass the continental shelf as soon as possible as things can get ugly there when the weather is bad, the waves break too easily.

But no. No bad weather, no freak waves, no nothing. The inboard gave up after that day, but we got wind again, and could go on. On the continental shelf there were lots of dolphins too, and now something completely new: whales! A huge distant fountain of water would stretch several meters above the surface, and then came the long, dark body slowly diving up and disappearing again in the same move.

We crossed Bay of Biscay the long way, in less than 5 days, which is shorter time than we counted on (which was 5 to 10 days). Approaching La Coruña, Spain, took us half a night, in the dark, with a lot of boats around and the intensive traffic being typically Spanish. The night breeze from the land smelled of spice and humid warm stone, an exotic smell that instantly makes you aware of that you are not in Northern Sweden anymore. At four in the morning, we opened a bottle of KGB champagne, and finally had Spanish ground under our feet.

Right now, we are in the first and largest Coruña yacht harbour, may be moving to the one that is a nautical mile to the South, not as exclusive and new but cheaper. There are quite a few Scandinavian long distance sailors here, so we have already met some.

Now, off to have a cerveza, and maybe some tapas tonight. Finally!!!

Ups and annoys

2010-08-12T14:37:00.004+02:00

By Lena, at Dungarvan, Ireland

As you may have noticed, sailing is not just great going and laughs all the time, it's a series of ups and downs. Or "annoys". One of the reasons is just practical. Hurting yourself is the first stage to get through; and especially on such a small boat. The most common word on the boat is "AJ!" several times an hour for the first weeks, before you get used to it. But: you only get used to it by making enough mistakes. For example, first time you jump out on deck in an urgent situation barefoot will teach you a lesson or two. Then, you learn the annoying ceiling bend just before the toilet, and the very sharp edges of the solar cell, and not to leave anything valuable on the cockpit floor, and exactly the diameter where the fishing hooks are swaying, and to duck instinctively when the main sail is luffing, and approximately how much hot tea you can comfortably have in a cup when it's moderate to fresh breeze.

The annoys today have been mainly the sores and the bugs. Here at the Irish shore, we have repeatedly run into swarms with hundreds (thousands?) of insects, mostly harmless but very annoying if you want to have a meal without a fly in the soup (or, to be more true, twenty-five flies). Finally I decided to go down below because I was sick and tired of them, where I realised I could read while IN the boat, which I never could before (I could hardly read while on deck), which means one of the annoys is mostly gone - the ever-proximate sea-sickness (of though the waves have been low for the past weeks! We have been lucky with the sea conditions compared to, say, Sweden or Norway). The other annoy is the presence of the small sores on my hands. It's been a bother since we have been working on the boat; now it has come back with full force. A part of my finger is totally missing skin because I sliced it on the oar getting onshore after the walk to Sheep Island, and beside that there are a couple of deep cuts from the fishing knife, and if you call me clumsy, then you should freaking try cleaning a fish while riding a rollercoaster without a safety harness, that's how it is to prepare food in here.

On the topic of cleaning fish - it's actually one of the ups today. Getting tired of the mackerel, we did not fish for it. Instead, Mark put in two huge wobbler plugs on each fishing rod (we have two rods out, one on each side of the aft), of though we were quite close to the coast with the chance of fish big enough to get a 20 cm bait being close to nil. I wondered if it was not just waste of plugs (they'd certainly just hook the sea bottom, what a waste), but to my surprise, after a while it freaking worked. Big fish!! While Mark fought the catch, I put down the sails in urgent fashion to slow down and make it easier to pull in the fish, and prepared the Killer Fish Hook; an almost two meter long pole with a large wicked round ultrasharp hook on it, a ~€75 thing we bought at El-Ge's just for the large fish, to get it up in the boat.

And so Mark pulled the fish to the surface and I got the fish in the boat with the hook. Oh the splatter! Oh the blood! Oh the huge mouth and the strenght of the tail! Ah, it was "only" a 70+cm Pollock (Lyrtorsk) fighting for its life, nothing dramatic at all. We killed him and cooked him, a great lot of great-tasting fish, first steaming fresh poached with white wine and black pepper and butter, and then in a hearty creamy stew for dinner.

Another definite "up" was the welcoming into the Cork harbour. Having a bit of a hard time with the engine (out of fuel, how unbelievably badly planned, having to start the outboard), suddenly I saw small fountains on the surface of the small waves.

I studied the direction, hoping I did not see wrong.

And there it came - a dark blue back fin after the fountain.

And at first nothing else. I kept on watching the spot, a few meters ahead.

And then there were fountains again! Two beside each other! And two back fins beside each other, and two curved beautiful dolphin bodies elegantly making a full round to above the surface - and slowly back again into the water.

Watching... waiting......

And again! Three fountains, and three fins at the time, and the fourth behind them, diving up all simultaniously to the surface and circling down again, and it feels like they know EXACTLY what they are doing, that they know that you are watching, and they know exactly what sight you are really going to find stunningly beautiful, and they give you just that.

And they have waited to do it at the sunset, just because they know how beautiful it will be.

To Cork and Kerry mountains

2010-08-11T14:30:00.001+02:00

By Lena, at Irish Sea

Sailing south-west down the coast of Ireland to our jump-off point, Cork. Yes, sort of the same place as mentioned in Whisky In The Jar (here, the old Irish song is marvellously covered by my favourite band). Got no pistol or rapier to produce, but I can definitely hold up a pair of dirty socks with an authorital "stand and deliver", which could most possibly work.

The weather is predominantly sunny, and it feels like summer for the first time for ages, the smell of warm soil and dry hay coming with the wind from the coast in the evenings. It's not only the humidity (rain and clouds and abscence of sun) that makes it so cold all the time, it's the constant wind at sea. My arms are still almost as white as they were after the Swedish winter, but the hands are brown as gingerbread; it's jacket on all the time. And of course, the "racoon tan" is clearer for every day, due to constantly wearing sunglases.

The fishing is splendid, of though it is mackerel all the time, nice large fat mackerels that are not even exciting to catch anymore since they are so plentiful that as soon as you start getting them, you barely have time to throw the hooks back in the water before the next one bites. You get tired of the taste quite fast. I'm constantly coming up with more ways to make mackerel taste less like mackerel. For those interested; recommended is fish soup with fresh cream and white wine, and definitely not recommended is ceviche :-/

We are not in a hurry; strong winds over Fitzroy (area on the way to Spain) give us a lot of time to take it easy. We stopped at Sheep Island to have a stroll, and looked at fabulous cliffs and caves, for example. Hope for the weather to get better soon, which would be no SW winds (sign of a coming bad weather in Biscay bay) and no gales, and we'll be fine to go after Saturday.

Iridium phone functional now!

2010-08-08T18:49:00.003+02:00

By Lena at Ireland

We have got the satellite phone to work!

My number is +8816 32534328 and you can send FREE SMS to us from this link. Remember to sign them so we know from whom they are ;)

It's OK also to send usual SMS to the satellite, or to my regular mobile. Do not call though because it gets too expensive. Mail also works!

Bathing in stars

2010-08-08T18:29:00.001+02:00

By Lena at Carne, Ireland

We rowed the dinghy down to the sandy beach and slowly managed to collect enough wood for a small fire to grill the evening meal. I haven't grilled on the beach since outside Lysekil, I think, so it was about time.

On the way back, it was dark, and for a change it was a beautiful, warm starry night. Mark went into the boat, but I wanted to go for a swim in the night sea, so I quickly got into the water by the ladder in the stern.

I started swimming - and there was luminescence all around me! I swam once around the boat, small glittering stars around me in the water wherever I touched the surface, firing up and fading as I passed. Then I stopped in the water and looked at the shimmering night sky, as dark as the sea. A star fell down. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Mark shouted: "Did you see that?!!"

And then another fell.

And I made a wish.

And there were still stars in the water, with every splash of the waves. Bioluminescence, or "mareld" in Swedish, it truly should be seen...

Or bathed in.

The Hateful Wexford Harbour

2010-08-08T18:06:00.002+02:00

By Lena at Carne, Ireland

I've heard that there is an Indian proverb: "you are not a real doctor until you've killed one or two patients".

I don't know if it's a real proverb or if it comes from India, but generally I am inclined to agree. How can you become an expert if you haven't made any mistakes? Being profound in anything, might that be fishing, martial arts or IT, is only about making those mistakes first of everyone, thus being able to find a correct solution and use these skills later. The same goes for sailing. You gotta rip one or two sails, run agound a few times, have engine malfunctions and water leaks and misread the broadcast and end up in devilish weather, in order to become good at what you want to do. Simply reading manuals doesn't work.

Wexford, a city by the sea, does not have a mantained harbour. It's a mess. Fortunately, we could moor beside two huge fishing boats, in the very city center, and that did not cost us one penny. However, the experience could be nearest compared to having a nice motorcycle parked at Gothenburgs main Avenue. Daytime, every single person passing would stop and stare at it, as he had never seen a motorcycle before. Some would take pictures. It's flattering at first. First five minutes or so. Then you start wondering who those people are and why the hell they are so interested in my property. A lot would stop for a chat, so many in fact that if you are doing anything important you better have a taser gun ready to be able to get some privacy. At night, drunks would lose all respect and start climbing it, and probably will break it.

I'd had two nightmare nights at Wexford, being unable to sleep. When I managed to slumber, I was awakened by unwelcome sounds. Ropes beating against the mast in the wind, boat beating against the harbour wall in the tide, anchor chain making noise agains the deck. And of course, the noises from the bars and nightclubs, with tasteless hits. Drunkards coming down to the pier to take a leak, talking loudly - Irishmen, Russians, you name it, some stayed by the pier and talked endless drunken rants, thinking no-one could hear them. And more music, and more drunks. I thought that the drunk girl in the boat (a humorous answer to the captain's prayers, I think ;) was yesterday's business, but the next night too, I woke up when a guy was trying to pull a mooring line, probably to try to get in, so I chased him away, coming back shaking with rage. If I'd see anyone near the boat again they would be keelhauled without a trial. Not much sleep that night, as mentioned.

We were to leave Wexford early in the morning, at 5 am or so, when the water was high, as the tide diff is about one meter or more. I finally managed to slumber just before that, but climbed on deck to assist. I knew that the way out was tricky, because of the multiple sand banks moving around and making the navigation unpredictible. I also wanted to see that the inboard would be doing OK.

Mark told me to get back to sleep, that it'll be OK. Have you heard of an expression "famous last words"?...

The inboard started coughing after just a short while. I decreased gas to make it go more smoothly, checked the GPS for speed diff, but suddenly we were losing speed despite engine being run!

We had run a-ground, and things were getting ugly quickly. The inboard wouldn't back. We had to act fast because the tide would turn soon. We ran around as if to Benny Hill sountrack, got the dinghy out, inflated it, put the anchor in it, Mark rowed it to the side, put the anchor down and I started pulling like a madman. It didn't help, no matter which side we pulled on, or winched, or how we shifted weight or rocked it, the boat just seemed to sit tighter and tighter on the bottom. In the end, we had no choice than to wait for the high water. This would mean that Mare Liberum would lay on her side in the mud for 6 hours or so.

We secured all lose items, filled a termos with hot water, ate a fast breakfast and went to sleep. I was so tired I could not even care to get up when a boat came by to check if we were OK. Sleeping on a 45 degree berth is actually quite OK given that you are exhausted enough.

The high water came and we finally came out with almost no effort at all, hands still swollen and burning from pulling the anchor rope like animals. Continuing in the bay, we managed to get stuck one more time, but two passing fishermen in a boat gave us a pull, while me and Mark were hanging on the boom swayed to the side, just like pirated in old movies, to heel Mare.

The inboard works some 20 minutes at a time, so we alternated it with the outboard and finally got out from the hateful harbour. Even being caught between two huge passenger ferries going in opposite directions in a small channel outside Rosslair was refreshing, now we were in deep water!

We are in a small bay near Carne south of Rosslair now, it's been suprisingly sunny the last two days, I had a good sleep this night, and I am never going to Wexford, ever ever again.

Wexford boat maintenance

2010-08-06T21:27:00.003+02:00

By Lena at Wexford.

A good tradition in the UK and Ireland is to have WiFi at the pubs. So "teh internets" is for free as long as you buy a pint. I feel I deserve one, after working on the boat the whole day, and provisioning for the Biscay crossing. So here I am.

I finally got the onboard engine to work today, and increadible feeling ;) and the outboard has received a lot of TLC (tender loving care) so it is working very well now. In order to reach the inner guts of the inboard, I needed to remove the floor in the cockpit. When I took off the wooden outer floor, the volumes of shit under it were enormous. All the food crumbs, the bird crap, the mackerel innards, and the spilled red wine stays there and that is gooey enough to grow flowers, vegetables, mushrooms and chili plants in. May be we soon can stop provisioning at the shops and become self-sufficient. I couldn't help removing it this time though. I hope that when we reach the sunny shores of Spain, the mold problem will disappear. Up until then, I am fighting it together with all the dirt, and it's becoming highly personal as my favourite leather racing gloves, which are lovely for sailing too, have got the familiar green dots on. Dammit! I'll have to bring them to the pub and secretly wash in the bathroom in free hot water with free soap, harr harr.

Tomorrow, we will leave with the early tide, at about 4 am. Hope for a night that is calmer than the last one, finding drunken people in the boat is just a bit too much after having a hard time falling asleep and dreaming nightmares... We will make a small stop in Kilmore Quay and visit their chandlery, and then continue southwards to Spain as long as the weather is good.

I'll try to upload some pictures soon, have patience!

The White Hart hotel

2010-07-25T20:02:00.005+02:00

By Lena at Port Ellen, Islay.

When looking for a room, I stumbled across the hotel called White Hart. I don't think it's included in the tourist listings, that cover the two or three streets of glorious but small Port Ellen, but it's worth looking for. On the ground floor, there is a lounge (the weapon fetishist might squeal with joy), a dining room, a lively front bar, and a back bar with an open fireplace. You can have Scotch specialities for breakfast, and there is a great choice of local whisky to try. And for those who are not into whisky, there is raspberry sambucca!!

Having trouble getting into Port Ellen, I phoned the hotel up for a correct phone number to the taxi service. The man answering the phone said he'd pick us up. Mr Gordon did not just pick us up, he showed us the most ancient Scottish cross, told us a lot about history of Scotland and Lord of the Isles (fascinating story about a Viking becoming king of Scotland!), made a pit stop at a distillery, and actually drove us all the way to Port Askaig with a detour to Lord of the Isles Castle! A very interesting tour, and a service that would be unheard of in Sweden. Would definitely recommend a stay in the hotel, the whisky season starting in the Autumn! It's very close to the marina, the ferry and virtually everything. Here is a link.

Now: waiting for Mark at Port Ellen. Still extremely sick with cold. Westerly winds, so hoping to head off southwards soon!

Port Ellen

2010-07-25T20:02:00.002+02:00

By Lena at port Ellen

The road on the sea chart turned out to be a narrow path enough to fit one car. The nature was beautiful, and several siamesecat-coloured sheep were trying to figure out whether to attack us, with a followed cowardly retreat to the green hills. We walked on, 20 km or so to go. We were tired and wet, hungry and thirsty.

Of course, we were hitchhiking. The second car stopped, and it was a very nice couple with lovely kids. Unfortunately, they did not have any place in the car, and told us it's a long way left. I wished them a nice day... unless they had room for three wet sailors in the trunk of the car.

I really love the kind of people who say "why not". They opened the trunk, so we sat in a row, dangling our feet over the asphalt and looking at Islay landscape fly by; hills, seal beaches, small houses, deer and distelleries, unfortunately closed for the day. Arriving to Port Ellen, we had some food and then the boys were sent off to a bar while I ran around doing magic, which was finding a ride back or accomodation.

It was Sports Day in Port Ellen. Boat races and all kinds of stuff were taking place, which meant that everyone got drunk at ten in the morning and things were not any better. I was reluctant to come in to the pubs, and that does not happen often, I tells you. The Sports day also meant that the accomodaion was extremely hard to find, all of the B&B were full, but in the end I had some luck.

The morning brough even more luck, when two gentlemen offered us a ride to the beach. I rowed back again, got the boys' bags, and rowed to the beach again, which felt something like rowing from Stockholm to Finland anbd back again, and then we tried to get a taxi. However, the taxi number we got from the hotel was incorrect, and the taxi company listed in the tourist papers was not able to help us. The bus for Port Askaig was to go in an hour, and the boys could not miss the ferry (and consequently the flight). We were prepared to hitchhike, no cars came.

Jura - the adventure escalates

2010-07-25T20:01:00.001+02:00

By Lena at Scotland

The boys would be let off at Islay and Mare Liberum would continue further south. We made a stop at a mooring in Jura, just outside of the distillery, the pub was alive, and the whiskey was great. However, the shop was closed, there would be no food at the bar, and there was some rowing distance to the pier and back (very beautiful at night though, with sea gleaming of fluoricent plancton that drifted by after every stroke of the oars like tiny starfalls).

In the morning, I sent the boys off to get some petrol. Myself, I was sleeping extra since I got a cold and was feeling quite miserable - but the captain cannot get a sick leave so I needed to get well, the sooner the better. The boys seemed to really take their time, I had slept well and had breakfast but they were still not back. I smsed them asking how it went but I guessed they were discovering the distillery... Suddenly, reading down below, I heard some voices, and came cheerfully up to meet the boys, just to hear an engine of a big boat just beside ours, bumping into our side. I threw myself up the deck to fight off the intruders, but that was the Jura passenger ferry, droipping off the boys and the dinghy they went with. The boat turned and went away - before Daniel got onboard, leaving him hanging over one of the sides, risking his pride and his mobile phone. We pulled him in.

It turned out that the dinghy has been run over while being parked at the petrol station, probably by that same passenger ferry. One of the oars was so badly damaged that there was no use for it. Luckily, the dinghy itself was fine and the petrol containers too. We set off and the boys got a breakfast.

Our plan was to get to Port Ellen, or to Lagavullin Bay, where there are visitor berths and the distilleries are lined up: Lagavullin, Laphroaig and Ardmore. The boys would get off, and get a ferry from Port Ellen, and Mark would come back and continue with the boat that now will be sailed southwards, to Ireland. We never got that far.

Past the Sound of Jura, the fog was rushing in. The head wind was fresh and we were making way by engine instead. The waves were tricky, some tide meeting zones outside of Islay's south-east coast were making them sharp, uneven and quite high. The engine was complaining, being too far up from water and revving up, or down, almost covered by the waves, stopping completely. Daniel made several attempts of restarting it, but we were making way for the shore, with underwater rocks and sharp cliffs. A fishing boat came by to ask if we needed assistance. I told Daniel to give up the engine and stand by steering, and Jocke would help with the sails. Main up - immediate fail. The halyard had got caught by the radar reflector. After some struggling, I saw that it could not be fixed easily, so I let it go and went for head sail instead. We managed to get it up in great speed, however speaking of speed I should mention the crash course that Jocke got on managing the headsail, drifting about in a boat thrown sideways, never having sailed headsail before. The boys did brilliantly, and Daniel even managed to get the engine to run on the way back, so we returned. We made two attempts and failed, I called for a course alteration northwards, since making way was neither possible (nor safe). We put anchor in Claiggan Bay, a calm protected harbour, populated with curious seals. Luckily, we had a spare oar so I could row the dinghy to the shore. It was longer than I thought from the safe anchorage area to the beach, so it took a good while. Two swans were watching us from the beach, and a seal stalked us, amusing the boys.

Craobh Haven adventures

2010-07-25T19:42:00.000+02:00

By Lena in Scotland.

The harbour of Craobh Haven, my friends, is a great place. Situated in a protected bay and secured by piers made of natural stone, it's a joy to enter, calling them at VHF channel 80 and getting a berth with complete parking directions. Unlike most of the harbours in Northern Scotland, there is no locked iron grid door at the marina entrance, and no barbed wire in between the boats and the very well-kept facilities, which means that you can reach them without visiting the harbour office which makes it easy to skip paying. In this harbour however, you would not want to skip paying since they are so kind and helpful that you would probably be reincarnated as a seacockel if you would try.

There is also a very nice bar there, called "Lord Of The Isles", and a few houses, and that's about it. Upon arriving, we met Paul, who has been sharing the same route ever since Loch Oich, so we have been double-stalking each other all the way to down there, and we once again had the privelege of having him over for the supper and some drinks. Hope he got his gear box fixed!

We had less luck with fixes though. Waited for the right tide to give us a nice current, we were all set to go off, but the outboard would not start. At all. Even after sweet-talking and Easy-start and spark plug change and fuel system cleaning and 5-56 just about everywhere. Luckily, we had great weather, so I could go around and swear in sunshine instead of rain, for once. Paul got me a cup of coffee, which cheered me up and it was time for action. Talked to the harbour office about the problem - and it did not take more than a half a minute to locate John the Mechanic, a local celebrity it seemed, a Viking-like fellow that took the outbouard on his back not unlike some female captive and briskly proceeded to the cave, I mean the workshop.

The carburator was the problem (damn carburators! Enough already!). He did not work out how to fix it, so I headed for Crinan, determined to get a new carburator or a new outboard engine. Asked a couple of gentlemen on the pontoon whether they had an outboard for sale, just in case, and one of them was going to Crinan so I got a ride there! Dave turned out to be a principle at the Yacht and Sailing school, I got a map and some advise and he had to get back, while the Crinan mechanic still tinkered with my carburator. A plug was missing; he replaced it but did not know if that would do it. Time to get back and try it out, but before that I wanted to visit the second-hand outboard shop in a village nearby, to raise the chances of heading off tomorrow.

There was a decent 6 hp ourboard for 400 pounds, and he'd drive it to Craobh. So, now for heading home. There were no buses since it's summer vacation, and it's a long way to walk, especially with that strong sun. Everyone seems to hitchhike, that's the public transport in Scotland, so after getting that advice a couple of times I went for it.

Unfortunately, there were no cars in my direction for a good while, and those that came later would not stop. I had walked for several hours, in the middle of nowhere, wishing desperately for a shop with some water and lunch, and covered some kilometers, setting sores on my feet. Luckily, later I got two rides in a row delivering me straight to the harbour. The carburator worked. We set off. Finally!

Somalian pirats we!

2010-07-21T20:42:00.004+02:00

By Lena at Southern Scotland

Mark has gone off to a vacation for the week, leaving me as the captain of Mare Liberum, with two friends of mine that came visiting as the crew. Our objective is to reach Islay as soon as possible and indulge in whisky, so today we're about half-way between Oban and Islay.

Oban was a great little town, but they did not have any gasoline (only diesel) in the marina at Kerrera side (very much recommended, there is a free ferry taking you to the city of Oban every hour and a bar where you can wait for it while sipping on a Kilt Lifter IPA). The boys went over to Oban to get som fuel, but it costed about 15 pounds to get the fuel containers transported (a separate ferry had to be booked), but even paying that it turned out that the UK law prohibits filling plastic containers larger than 5 litres with fuel. WTF?

Leaving Kerrera, we were low on fuel and low on GPS batteries, heading to one of the most dngerous areas of the coast. But it's a Yo-ho-ho (etc) and a lot off pirate spirit, very impressed by the boys' crewmanship, so we made it through the fast current, the boat making over 7 knots on just the main, and later on without the sails and just a slight bit of engine power to be able to steer. The winds were to become stronger, with a near gale warning in some parts of Scotland so we decided to put anchor at Easedale. Navigating through the extremely narrow channel we mad plans to moor up at a buoy, when, suddenly, the engine just died. What a great time to stop working - cliffs on one side, shallow water within tens of meters and a current of 2,5 knots! And it would not start again for a while. Now both the inboard and the outboard were dead, great!

Well some andrenaline had never killed anyone! But luck was with us and we got the engine to run, all the way to Craob Haven Marina where we are now warm and dry, free-surfing in a lovely pub called The Lord Of The Isles. There was no gasoline here either, and we're down to one litre to spare or so, but the harbour captain got a 20-liter container to be delivered, just telling me to stick around the pub unttil eight. Wonderful service.

The crew is all right, and we might just reach islay tomorrow. Then you will probably not hear from us for a couple of days...

The end of the Caledonian canal

2010-07-18T16:10:00.003+02:00

By Lena at Fort William

So, here we are at the end of Neptune's Staircase; the Caledonian Canal is finished and we are soon off to the sea again, with Jussi Björlings voice in the background. It has been a few cloudy and rainy days, but the company has been great - two friends from Stockholm joined up at Dumnadrochit to follow along the way.

We have fished for Nessie, bathed in the ice-cold Loch Ness, drunk beer, gone through sluices, and been photographed by tourists a couple of hundred times. Met another Swedish boat yesterday, a big one with a crew of six, and had a pint (or five) with them at the local pub in Bunavie, had a great time. The ginger ale here is great, the label brags about it being both an aphrodisiac and a cure for sea-sickness, don't know about either but the taste was excellent.

Today, we will hopefully proceed southwards via Oban to the islands of Jura and Islay, and spend a day or two there exploring the distilleries before the boys will fly back home and me and Mark will head for Ireland.

The outboard engine decided to give up just before entering a lock, luckily there was a workshop nearby where we could get the tools needed plus some start gas, which together with 5-56 and some Russian swear words did it. I will try the same treatment on the inboard, which is still not cooperating, so wish me luck. It's preferable to have as much engine power as possible at the coast here, because of the strong and very tricky currents. Well, nothing is too tricky with a generous dash of Laphroaig to it, so we hope for the best as always ;)

Coming down to Inverness

2010-07-14T22:05:00.001+02:00

By Lena, at Inverness, Scotland

Well, after waiting off the gale winds in Peterhead, while doing a bit of sightseeing and provisioning (haggis and scones!) we headed off to the Moray Firth. A day's sailing later we made a stop in Whitehills, a small village with a big marina that everyone had talked about. Surely, the marina was good, with a service-minded harbour captain, but heck, we did not count on a fee of £17! Especially considering that the village itself was not so much to look at, not even an ATM machine to find. Oh well, we visited both of the pubs in this metropole, had a couple of pints and headed off early in thah morning.

Had great luck with the tides, but not as lucky with the wind - sometimes the air was completely still, making the scenery surrealistic as the Northern Sea lay in front of us flat and calm, like a giant mirror. Very beautiful, but extremely frustrating since the trip towards Inverness took us 18 hours in total.

Passing the impressive military fort of Port George, I was enjoying a quiet evening moment steering the boat through shallow and calm water, when a splash just beside the port side made me look. A dolphin! Just an arm's length from the boat! It dived down, circled the boat and jumped up on the other side, making sure we have seen the show, and continued jumping and playing around the boat. Suddenly, there were two, simming simultaniously side by side. No, three! No, four! They stayed near the boat, and dived and played around it for a while. Beautiful and smart animals, they are believed to mean good luck. At least, just the sight of them made me very happy...

Now, we have entered the Caledonian Canal, and have passed the first canal locks. They are closed during the evening, some are closed for lunch or during the rush hours, and of course when the tides are extreme, so this will take a while. Anyway, we are just in front of the Loch Ness lake, and soon it's time to fish for Nessie! And may be to bathe and go snorkeling, but we'll see about that - the weather is just like a regular Swedish summer (that is to say about 15 Celsius, and humidity stretching from heavy rain to almost rain or just have been rain). The internet rates here are draconical, I have just spent about a day's budget on 90 minutes of surfing... So, until next time!

Past the North Sea!

2010-07-10T18:50:00.004+02:00

By Lena at Peterhead, Scotland

We finally made it to Peterhead, Scotland at 03:30 this morning, almost three full sailing days after leaving Egersund. More text may follow - right now we prioritize food, beer and sleeping.

The North Sea was not as scary as it sounded... Hard waves met us at the exit from the Egersund fjord, but the rain and waves decreased and during the evening, we found ourselves sailing in a beautiful dusk, with shallow waves and 90 degree wind, making great speed and enjoying the scenery. The sun was going down, leaving the sky and the sea with vivid pastel colours, just as if they were from an italian ice-cream parlour: melon, mango, peach, strawberry with cream, blueberry and blackberry sorbet. Gently rocking in the warm Southern wind, with a cup of hot chocolate in our hands, we were making jokes of how North Sea is a freaking Sunday cruise for beginners and sissies.

Until Mark opend the keel box.

Everything was afloat, the ham, butter, sausage and everything else stored there to be chilled.

The boat's taking in water and it's getting dark fast... What to do?

The answer for Mark was: to go to sleep. The answer for me was: check the leak and the amount of water coming in, bilge every hour and keep on going. It turned out to be a minor leak and we relaxed. The lookout time was about 4-5 hours each, depending on what we felt for, and during the day both were awake and could actually socialise which is very appreciated if you don't want to go completely nuts.

The Northern Sea gave us great weather, stable Southern wind and beatiful scenery. And some cell phone coverage! Right in the middle of the passage, there were oil rig platforms, one of them being so bored that they even called us on the VHF which I thought was marvellous. All in all, a nice ride down to 30 km from Peterhead. We were already half-celebrating. And suddenly..

The wind died out and the tide waters took on the boat. We were drifting at 4 knots past all civilisation, and the outboard engine mounting plate was about to give in. Some three thrilling hours, and we made it anyway, but three hours at black night fighting the sea without sleep are not really three hours at a project meeting with coffee breaks and well-placed jokes from the team and internet access.

Anyways, we made it into the harbour, slept on the wet and cold beds, payed the harbour fee (for the first time since we sailed away, Yaaarrr!), took an endless nice warm wonderful shower each, opened up the longed-after bottle of champagne, and yes, the first serious leg was over. How hard could it be???

Not quite Scotland yet

2010-07-06T15:01:00.003+02:00

By Lena, at Egersund

I have been expecting having to get away from the boat in case something needs to be done, but I was not expecting that it would happen so fast. But what's to be done needs to be done, and there is never a good timing. To get to the funeral in Moscow, it took me one and a half day with several buses and two planes and more buses and trains, at the end of the journey I was quite disoriented, not really knowing what time it was, what day and what country. The trip back took one and a half day too, and I got acquainted to the hotel of Central Station in Kristiansand (no stars).

When I got to Farsund, the weather report was great so we set off to Scotland, which in the best case could take two full days, while five being more realistic. However, a report from a friend, and a VHF ch 16 broadcast warned us of possible gale winds in the middle of Northern Sea so we chose to tack starboard into the little harbour of Egersund, to wait off the winds and get my satellite phone to work. We have been recommended to go here, because of the nature or the lighthouses or the convenience - I do not really remember, but upon arriving I cannot recommend this place to anyone except if they would ever close the fish oil factory down. Oh the stench!!

We might weigh anchor already tomorrow. There's decent cell phone coverage at the North Sea because of the proximity to Norway, Denmark and Scotland, and also near the oil platforms. Fixing the satellite phone isn't my highest priority right now, but getting to land in good shape is. So if we might get a few days of favourable winds, we might go right away, so that the next post will be from Inverness or Petershead. We'll see!

Oh “solo” mio

2010-07-03T22:05:00.002+02:00

By Mark, at Farsund (Norway)

Lena is at a funeral at the moment and I have been solo sailing for the last few days. Its difficult to solo sail sine the engine requires one mate full time and another one is required for the anchor and sails and a third one for the rudder but I manage to pull it of by going reeeeealy slow. In my “old” life I would be stressed to bits by that but now I t d o e s n t m a t t e r! I got all the time in the world and it’s a beautiful thing. I have been sailing around at walking pace but what do I care? The sea is full of fish, the cupboard full of food and the library full of entertainment. If this never ends I wouldn’t mind (Im bound to regret those words at some point). I’m in southern Norway and it’s the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen. the people are friendly and its warm. I could almost consider staying here forever if the Norwegians weren’t such a bunch of good looking, rich, oil-stealing bunch of w*nkers ;)

I'm going to stay here in Farsund and wait for Lena to catch up with me and then if of to Scotland where I promise to scream FREEEDOM as high as Braveheart himself!

Oh I forgot to talk about the fishing. Its awesome, today I decided 2 small macrels would be enough for lunch so I threw the lure in the water and got the first one after 30 seconds. For some reason the second one was reluctant so I waited for 30 minutes more and just when I was ready to give up I hooked not one but three large macrels at the same time. I’m so full of fish (not the other word you were thinking about you nasty person) right now I must look like Moby Dick in the cockpit.

I hope you are enjoying this summer too, all my love for the lot of ye’!

First day+night sailing leg accomplished

2010-06-30T16:29:00.003+02:00

By Lena, in Lyngörfjorden, Norway

So, no internet for a while, and now the motherload of updates comes in.

We have just sailed over to Norway, trying out a 18-hour leg in order to get ourselves ready for the 5-day crossing of the North Sea. It's a hard work, painful, wet and dangerous, the worst is the waves that give sea-sickness and drowsiness, but hell it's great to sit here in a small Norwegian village in the sun, and know that we made it.

I'm looking at flying to Moscow to attend a funeral, a very beloved person has left us and I really want to be there. However it's hard to plan a trip with a very limited budget and extremely limited time. It's very frustrating and sad.

On the way

2010-06-24T16:17:00.001+02:00

By Lena, on an island near Havstenssund.

The islands of the West cost are like a mixture of Valium and Prozac. The nature is grand, the Scottish highland cows solemnly standing around chewing, their red long hair turning them into ZZ Top lookalikes. And of course the sea, the islands, the sea-gulls, the late sunsets, it's all here. There is no internet available, no updates can be made and have to be posted afterwards, not much can be done apart from fixing with the boat, reading, and relaxing, and suddenly days just fly by.

We're still trying to stay on the budget of 50 SEK per person per day when it comes to food, and knowing the prices will shoot right up as we enter the rest of Europe, we're trying to cut down the costs. Nevertheless, the food we can prepare here is just as luxurous as it would have been if we would dine at the best restaurants. It's just a matter of getting out the fishing rods, or the net, or putting on a diving suit (it's still stunningly cold in the water) and snorkeling goggles and go out for a hunt. Or trade with the local fishers, if that makes you tick, but personally I say that the food tastes better if you caught it yourself.

Then it's just your fantasy (and how much time you want to spend on preparing the food when you're dead hungry after chasing it around or pulling up the net...) Freshly caught clams with olive oil, crushed garlic cloves and sea salt, sprinkled with some white wine, are great with pasta or in a creamy soup. A freshly-cooked giant crab claw, that tastes quite like a lobster's, or butter-fried flat fish, just melting in your mouth, an eel, grilled slowly over open fire with a branch of juniper for the flavor... Of course I regret that I never did take that shellfish plate at Wasa Hof but I think this could be better. And some huge Japanese oysters as a precourse maybe? We managed to get two extremely huge ones (pix will follow!), and I couldn't help opening a bottle of KGB champaign, from the box that I got as a present from them. Oh the nights down at KGB, in Stockholm... Lenin's statue illuminated in red. The sweet stuff and all of you who I've met there, all the people that I have got to know and dearly miss, those were the days...

I have been dreaming about this for a long time, and always picturing how we would leave the harbour in Göteborg: a lot of people waving good-bye, some music tracks I'd play in the background (Fastball: The Way, or for some reason "By the Sword" from Slash's latest album), and just sailing into the sunset. But you can just forget that. No planning on earth could be enough to make that click, I mean only the weather is a extreme factor that you cannot count with. The take-off has been gradual, and the largest step I had to take was actually for a long time ago, when I definitely decided to do this. But now - we're on the way.

Progress up the Swedish coast

2010-06-24T16:12:00.002+02:00

By Lena, on an island near Havstenssund.

All of you who turned up to say goodbye, and all of you who supported me, and wished all the best, I think of you back with gratitude and admiration. Everywhere around me there are things that remind me of those back home who gave me strength and support. Thank you.

We've sailed off from Göteborg and reached the small island where captain's father has a summer house - on the West coast of Sweden, just near the Norwegian border, by the town of Tanum. This took two days of sailing with a stop just outside Lysekil. We had a dinner on an island, grilling the two mackerells we caught n the way, with some ash-grilled potatoes and a bottle of wine. Simple life, the way I adore it.

Now, we've been at the island for about a week, doing the last preparations. We've been off to a sailing tour with a friend's boat, a marvellous X-43. My parents were visiting to say goodbye and to look at the boat. A trip to the grocery store to get food to be able to survive for months, to an Indian store to get more spices, lentils, dry milk and all other things you can't live without, like a huge can of Mixed Pickles, and to a building store to get the last tools.

We have got the ApoEx medical kit to have on board, and we're extremely happy about that! Once again, it feels wonderfully safe to have such a back-up, and the contact and service from them has been wonderful.

The life boat, Sea-Safe self-righting raft, has also finally been delivered. This I have to thank my company Ferrologic for, and I remember and miss the last time I saw all my colleagues, on the final day of the Spring conference, around the bar signing my captain's hat I got from them as a good-bye present.

Now, we will celebrate Midsummer and try to sail off to Norway as soon as possible - maybe on Sunday, or at least in the beginning of next week. Our plan is to go south of the coast, and end up at Farsund. I'll try to get some internet on the way, to report of our progress.

The mandatory disaster.

2010-06-17T16:09:00.001+02:00

By Lena, at Lysekil

We got the mast on time, and in the evening the same day, we weighed anchor, and left the huge harbour of Björlanda, where the sailing boats are aligned in many long neat rows with a near German precision, and the water is cooking from activity around the three mast crans.

We had put on the mast with the help of Janne, a truck driver who had his own boat in the same harbour, and was extremely nice to give us a couple of hours of his time helping with manpower and advice. The rig was new, reinforced and shiny (and expencive as hell), and we were finally ready.

We left the harbour for engine, moving towards the setting sun, the wind blowing in our faces. A splendid sight, and a tickling feeling of that we are finally on our way! The sails were set and the engine turned off; our course lay right towards the wind so we got to tack which didn't bring us far; Albin Vega handles head wind worse than similar boats, of the cost of being more stable. The wind was strong; Mare Liberum was heeling heavily as she fought her way westwards.

An underwater cliff on the way, it's time to change tack, to turn 90 degrees to take a new angle against the wind. I was at the rudder and Mark beside me, looking at the GPS to find the turn point and the new course.

Spewng!

I looked behind Mark.

Swish!

The rig has come loose; the metal cable with a heavy iron attachment device at the end was swishing through the air.

- Watch out! It's come off!!!

Mark makes himself aware of the rig cable; it's now swinging uncontrollably, forced up with the hard wind.

Pang!

It hits something on the deck, and ends up in the water. I turn the boat up towards the wind to give us some time. At the same time I glance at the map on the GPS, in order to locate the underwater cliff, since I now have now idea what is where and which way we're going.

The GPS is off.

- Helvete!

The "pang" before was the rig hitting the GPS, not damaging it but separating it clear of the power chord. At the same time, we hit the wind and jibed with force. More concise swear words, trying to retain the course... Mark looks up...

- OK, now we're losing the mast!

Frankly, I considered crapping my M90 pants, but the mast was not aware of the fact that it was to fall, and it stayed on. Actually, with the powerful rig that we put on, it probably could have standed much more punishment. But how could we know that beforehand? We quickly pulled down the sails and made a school-book example of coming back to the harbour by engine with the tails behind our backs as fast and safe as possible.

So here's what happened. A brace holding the stern rig in place had broken clean in two. It was the one that hasn't been replaced. A spare brace could be found and attached the morning after, and we took a decision to promptly replace all the braces before we'd sail in any harder weather again. We sailed off the morning after, and thus the mandatory First Disaster was over, so we could go on sailing the Mare Liberum for two days in a row, averaging 6-7 knots, sometimes with the job only, top speed up to 8+, and once 9,9 knots - all rigs in place and the mast steady!

Books on sailing

2010-06-13T23:59:00.004+02:00

By Lena, at Björlanda

We've got a lot of books on board, both for reference and fun. The iReader has loads of fiction literature for the bored mind on a windless day in the middle of the sea, but right now I'm feeding myself with all kinds of manuals, reference literature and stories on journeys made, to get inspired (and above all to learn from others' mistakes ;)

The first one I read was "Jorden runt with Coquette" / "Around the world with Coquette", by Gunnel Möller, a story from an older Swedish couple who sold their house and all belongings, quit work and sailed around the world 1990-1993. Of course, the story's 20 years old and a lot has happened since then, especially when it comes to technology, but still the book gives a great overview of what to expect when setting of to a global circumnavigation. Storms, exciting foreign shores, the everyday life on board, all is described with detail and is great to read. I would be surprised if anyone would not dream of sailing away after reading this book...

The second circumnavigation story, actually a must, was "Alla sa vi skulle dö" / "Everyone said we were gonna die", by Danjel Henriksson, Kajsa Björn and Jonatan Bonthron. A Swedish crew of three, with no sailing experience, bought an Albin Vega and went boldly around the world. The boat is the same as ours, and the age of the crew is closer to us too. The trip was also more recent, 2005-2007, and the issues they meet are a lot like we're experiencing. Really good reading, exciting stories, not only from the crew but also from those they met along the way. Highly recommended if you're really considering going, and also very good if you want to know in advance what Mare Liberum's crew are going to go through. There are stories of disasters and victories, personal tension, quarrels, romance and down-to-earth realism like authorities that want to be bribed, seasickness that just won't disappear, and doing number two tied to the stern of the boat.

Prior to sarting the trip, I got a present from a friend and ex-colleague, a book called "Survive the Savage Sea", a tale of survival when a boat carrying a couple of adults, their young kids and an extra crew guy was sunk in moments, and they had to survive in a life raft with vurtually no food or water. This is definitely not a story for the easily frightened or weak-nerved, but a great study in survival - in the 70's, there were no EBIRBs, hand-held waterproof VHF radios etc, there were blunt knives, bad-quality rafts and strong wills. I had a hard time to put the book down after the first few chapters.

Next, I started up "The manual to blue-water sailing", but it is highly race yacht oriented, of though it surely contains a lot of important tips. It is a good-to-have reference book, especially if you have a big crew and are intrested in big-scale pro sailing.

"Handling storms at sea" by Hal Roth, on the other side, is brilliant. A skillful narrator, he talks of the techniques to take on the different weather conditions, mixes with practical tips, psychological remarks, and loads of real-life stories. Very much recommended to all sailors!

"Total loss" by Paul Gelder is definitely not for the easily frightened, either. It deals with 40 stories of yacht losses, some costing lives. Collision, storms, keels falling off, it has it all. Recommended as a check-list reading for a sailor that is tough enough not to dream nightmares afterwards, or may be as a book for a calm, sunny and drowsy day at the beach for those who likes to stare at road kills and read pocket thrillers with detailed accounts of deaths - but got tired and want something a bit more dry, IRL and fact-based.

What's more on board? Some must-haves that I've read time and again, for much-needed reference: "Oskrivna Regler" / "Unwritten rules" by Catharina Forslund, telling of customs and traditions abroad country by country. "Actionhjältinnas handbook" / "The handbook of an action heroine", by Borgenicht/Worick, when you want to know how to do a stoppie on the motorcycle, fight zombies, dance stunning tango, or strangle a man with your thighs. Rock ballades and diverse chords and texts... Some Paulo Coelho for the meditation techniques... Petra Östergren's "Slå Tillbaka" - a great guide in both mental and physical self-defence... Garrett Soden's "Hook Spin Buzz", very much recommended for businessmen and enterpreneurs... And of course, the bible of basic wild life survival and sharp discipline - SoldF, the Swedish Army Soldier handbook which I kept from my service in Berga 2002 :)

A lot of new books to go, above all Bob Bond's "The Handbook of Sailing", which I plan to learn by heart. Also more sailing stories, a sail guide, meteorology and a huge guide to all the world's kinds of fishes, including the cooking recepies. And a big fat book with Pirate stories! It's OK - I'll have plenty of time...

About to set the mast

2010-06-13T23:31:00.000+02:00

By Lena, at Björlanda.

In the evening of the 13th, we went to Björlanda harbour to get our mast. Tobbe was onboard, with a bottle of Amarone raising more and more memories as the wine filled my mouth. I do long back terribly to the wonderful spring sunsets over Vasastan, and it's an undescribable, terribly bitter-sweet feeling.

The wind blew in our faces, we were going against the current, and Albin gave up already at Eriksberg, once again failing to start at all. Very happy to have a spare engine, we we making only 2-3 knots. Soon, the gas ran out and we had to fill it up while riding the waves, a tricky procedure probably best done accompanied with circus music. The motor started and we continued, and just minutes later the coast guards caught up with us. They must have been puzzled by our sudden maneuvre (or maybe they saw a wine glass or two on board and wanted to double-check if we weren't dead drunk all of us) but no matter what the reason was, they were nice and wished us a pleasant journey. We arrived to Björlanda by the time the night fell.

Tobbe went back to Eriksberg and we spent the next day tinkering with the mast and talking to other sailors. While I'm writing this (11 em), Mark is still going on with the mast which had to be driven back to the workshop to make some final preps, and arrived back just some minutes ago. So tomorrow, we will finally weigh anchor and get the hell out of here!

Sea Legs

2010-06-13T18:26:00.002+02:00

By Lena, at Göteborg

Since Mare Liberum has been put to water, it has been harder and harder to stay on land. Nowadays, after one and a half weeks, I almost start to feel sick when I'm not on the water - everything rocks up and down and sideways! Hope this is a sign of that I won't be bothered by sea-sickness later on, but it's still left to tell.

Now - time to make supper. We are making a lot of Indian food, since both of us are great fans of it. Apart from being very tasty, it's cheap to make, very healthy, and the ingredients last for a long time. We're making all kinds of dahl, and aloo and chole curries. But today, we've just been to the shop and bought some food so we'll go for a bit of luxury - after all, last day before we go off from Göteborg. Which means a big home-made shrimp sandwich!

Also, this is probably a good place to give our great thanks to Tobbe, a really great guy that I got to meet through Mark. He's been welcoming and generous and helped us with shower, internet, and also gave me an almost new Sony Ericsson so my phone troubles are fixed!

Round the Hising Island

2010-06-13T15:43:00.004+02:00

By Lena, at Göteborg

Alright - free Internets again, so here I go with an update. A complete carburator and fuel system service later, the motor did not leak gas or go uneasy on the neutral gear, but died after leaving the harbour every time we made a test run. To say it was ennerving is not to say anything.

"Mark", I said. "Are you sure that the fuel tap is opened in the horisontal position?"

"Yes, sure it is".

"Mark... I'm just asking to doublecheck. Are you really really sure that it's opened?"

"Yes, definitely sure".

But since when does the mechanic listen to the simple mortals who do not know anything about gasoline engines? ;) A turn of the lever, a fuel deliverance check, our troubles were over.

So now, with Albin motor purring like a happy cat, we shot for Nordre älv. Passing Kungälv and turning West, we took it easy, were anchored at a couple of places and rounded the Isle of Hisingen. This took several days, thus no Internet, thus no updates. My cell phone is feeling unwell and is not on anymore. What a feeling of detachment and freedom!

During a day at the water, without the TV, Internet, phone or work to stress or delay stuff, it's really relaxing. In a day, I do more than some people do in a week's vacation... Below noted one day's harvest of summer must-do's:

Eat breakfast in bed
Browse all radio stations (yes, from the Kungälv Church Music to some dance bands from Finland and three people discussing children's books and the non-syntactically correct news on the Rock Radio and the Call-Us-And-Whine programme at P1 at 09:20...)
Go around in the inflatable dinghy up and down the river
Walk around an uninhabited island
Go shopping at Willys
Visit the Göteborgs Kex Cake Factory Outlet
Eat cakes!
Prepare food on board the ship
Go fishing and catch the year's first perch (yeay!)
Lose the fishing rod into the water (goddammit to hell!)
Rig fishing rods for pike and daydream about breaking records; of course not get any pike but that's OK
Read, take a nap, watch some movies
Go barbequeing on the beach
Have a chat with friends to visit us in Scotland
And go to bed just as the sun sets, about midnight. And no mosquitoes, that's amazing!

Rounding the Hisingen is not really like rounding the Earth, only 60 km or so, but you gotta start somewhere ;) We lay in Fiskebäck for a couple of days, to get some last fixes - the gas kitchen for example. Now it's Eriksberg again to get some food, gas, shower and surfing, and tonight we'll go for Björlanda, where we'll finally get our mast tomorrow morning. We'll head directly to the North afterwards, more updates may come within the week. Sea you!

Engine work

2010-06-07T13:57:00.004+02:00

By Lena, at Göteborg.

Engine updates: I have cleaned and double-checked all of the engine piping, the gas filter, the tank air valve, fixed new gaskets and drained the tank of the dirt. Nothing leaks gas now, and the fuel supply to the carburator is free and constant.

However the fuel/air mixture seems to be uneven, which causes the engine to rev up too much on neutral gear, and to eventually lose revs and die after being run for a while. This is supposed to be easily adjusted by a control screw, but does not seem to have much effect. Waiting for the Albin workshop mechanic to call me up, he seemed to know exactly what to do. There is light rain outside and everything has turned to gray (just as typical Swedish summer should be), so feels OK to just take it easy and stay moored and indoors. It's the second Monday I do not have to painfully get up in the early moring and be stuck in traffic jams and look forward to the hours in the office, and I still just can't beleive it's true.

Finishing up the practical stuff; have been to a medical check, have looked at sailing/flotation overall suits to order, bought a vice, some rechareable batteries, and a all-weather suit to keep the cold and dampness off my skin in the harsh climate of North Sea. We have been stoving and sorting the stuff on the boat; the current converter has been installed, small fixes are continuously made to make our home better. Mark still has some errands to the bank, and needs to take the last vaccination shot, but the list of things left to fix is shrinking fast.

But all problems are to be solved, and I will continue listing all of the reparations in the blog in order to make them searchable for other Albin owners, someone's gotta be the first one.

Freakin’ out on acid

2010-06-07T12:56:00.001+02:00

By Mark, at Gothenburg

Mare (the boat) have been taking in a small amount of water. I suspected that this wasn’t an external leak but an internal one from the fresh water tank. A good way to test this seems to be to just taste a little of the water in the bilge to see if it was salty or fresh. Said and done. What I didn’t think of is that the batteries (we have 2 car batteries just next to the bilge) also drain into the bilge, so if they for example would be leaking battery acid it would end up in the bilge first and then on my tongue. Oh man what a taste it had, totally far out duuude! The tingling and burning sensation afterward wasn’t as much fun but no damage done except that I will never be impressed by super sour candy again.

The last couple of days have been very busy with lots of small adventures as you can see from Lenas posts. I spend my time fixing and thinking, I’m getting more and more eager to finally start sailing. Hopefully we will be of on Saturday the 12 June if the mast is not delayed. Again.

I have lived in Mare for 35 days now and I’m quite happy with the primitive conditions. The only thing I’m missing is a shower (“and some clean socks for gods sake” Lena says) but that will improve once the water temperature rise.

Double trouble

2010-06-05T19:26:00.002+02:00

By Lena at Göteborg.

The whole day of 4/6 went to fixing with the engine. Not much progress. In the morning of 5/6, we went to Fiskebäck by our spare motor for some help. Beside the sailing shop called Viking, there is an Albin workshop, with Stefan The Boat Doctor who is an incredible person and mechanic. After a consultation, and changing some parts in the motor, it worked fine! I reassembled it, the leakage is gone, we're game! Now, to Eriksberg and maybe Rockbaren next?

Just before we reached Amf4 (Gothenburg's marine regiment), the motor (which is an Albin Vega O-21) started losing revs and finally died. After filling it up with some gas it was cooperative for a while, but then it died again. Bad place to die - just in front of a military area! With a Russian onboard! Actually, I've already been to Amf4 a lot of times, taking several military courses, but still I don't think our emergency landing there would be much appreciated. We started the outboard engine and continued a bit, until it also died. I couldn't find the spare fuel, it turned out that Mark threw the petrol can away because there was a crack in it. So we moored the boat near Nya Varvet, had a quick snack, filled up the engine and hit it.

So now we're in Eriksberg, we're making freaking progress! Just need to fix the engine that's all ;) A friend has a boat place here, so now we're enjoying some nice calm weather, beautiful scenery, a couple of beers, and (most important of all!!) internet, while sitting in the boat.

Tomorrow, I'll start off tinkering with the engine again. now the carburator is OK, after changing the float, the float chamber gasket, throttle gasket, needle valve, rearranging the choke settings. Now, I will continue tuning the rev volume, and above all clean the fuel pipes and filters, which seem to be causing the problems. It's also good to check the fuel tank air vent, could be that simple.

Mark will install a new battery. We have two; but one of them seems to be leaking. I think I'll let Mark tell how he found that out... So hopefully, we'll be all set at the end of tomorrow. Otherwise, we can stay here for a couple of days, since the mast will not come until Friday, and continue fixing and preparing it all. Due to sailor traditions, you do not sail away on Fridays, so we will break the champagne bottle and sail off the day after. Will keep you posted!

Friends, shopping and mast delays

2010-06-05T19:16:00.003+02:00

By Lena, at Göteborg

1/6 finished off with a nice barbeque night on the island of Amundö with an old friend Findus that came over to visit with some warm words and a cake. We sat around the fire, the sunset was wonderful, actually the first time this summer I barbequed out in the wild. A good moment to sit back and enjoy.

2/6 A visit to IKEA. A lot of space-saving storage solutions were bought. Back to the boat, finish up all the last touches, a friend who is planning to visit us later on came in the evening to say hi and look at the boat. Then, I headed to a friend to take a warm shower (finally!!) and eat some home-made food, which was great.

In the morning of 3/6, Mare Liberum was set to sea! She was celebrated by pouring some first-class Russian vodka on it, the captain and the first mate taking a sip each as well, as the tradition calls. She swayed gracefully on the water, man I was proud! We stayed nearby for some preparations and I started tinkering with the engine, while more boats were set to sea. The one after us went well, but the larger boat that went after that resulted in a disaster. It was dropped by the lifting device, so the keel hit the asphalt, and continued slipping with the risk of smashing a couple of people. To get it up straight it had to be pushed upright by a forklift truck and the port side did not look too well after it. It was a complete nightmare for a boat owner. That's one of the moments when you really are thankful this is not you.

I have done some reparations in the carburator but needed to visit a workshop to get some spare parts and advise; sometimes it's not as easy to put things back together than to disassemble them ;) That would have to wait for tomorrow since the workshop was closed. However, we had visited a sailing store, buying a lot of needful stuff, like a new barometer, self-inflatable vests (oh the robbery prices!), foreheadlights, etc.

One of the greatest things with this day was the trip to the fishing store! El-Ge Fishing in Göteborg near Wieselgrensplatsen is Sweden's largest fishing store. They supported our trip, and gave us a generous discount. We got great help by Martin, a charming guy with a lip piercing (we like!) who had fished in most cool places in Central America, Asia etc, and also by Björn - very helpful and nice guide who showed us through a forest of fishing rods, a tingle-tangle of fishing lines and a whole surrealistic zoo of different baits. And all the stuff that comes with it. And all the other stuff you need to fix the stuff that comes with it. And all of the good-to-know stuff, the tips and tricks and the big-game fishing stories. It was a Christmas eve of both me and Mark, who love fishing.

Now, to the sailing-off date. Unfortunately, all the mast workshops are completely choked a long time ahead. So no other choice than to wait for another week. Hopefully it will be done by then.

But as I said, we don't want to wait - at least on land. So the plan is to go by motor, between the different islands and also up to central Göteborg, and back. It's also a good way to really test out the motor, and take it easy a bit after the last days of high activity.

The mast inspection

2010-06-02T11:15:00.001+02:00

By Lena, at Göteborg.

Our mast has been away for a technical inspection for almost a month now I think, the workshop has had too much to do - it's high season now. Yesterday we finally got to know that it's OK! However, we would like to strenghten up some of the rigs, and that is not possible to do until next Friday.

Not an option! We will look for another workshop that can change those for us. Nothing's wrong with the old stuff, we just want to have heavier rigs before the rough seas. Which means, we have the whole of June to look for another place. So the date still holds; we'll be in the water on Thursday early morning, then we'll put on the mast, Friday will be practicalities and returning the borrowed car to Mark's father, and on early Saturday morning we will sail off!

Crazy sailors, part 1

2010-06-01T11:10:00.001+02:00

By Lena at Göteborg

Great weather in Göteborg, so I finished upo the painting of the bottom of the boat, now she's half white, half black and really beautiful. After a fast lunch I proceded with hand-painting the boat's name. When trying to google info on the internet, I only got advice not to do it by hand, and to order sticker letters. But being an artist, it was more attractive to do it by myself. It's a piece of cake if you're steady at hand, and have sketched the letters before. It takes a few hours too, but the result is beautiful and very satisfying.

What's left now is to put ApoEx logotype on the boat. ApoEx is a newly founded pharmacy in Sweden, that recently engaged in a sponsor-based cooperation with us, and will provide us with basic medical supplies. Since they are specialized in Internet-based ordes and remote delivery, they will be able to fill up our medical supplies when we are away. This is something we could only dream of, and are very thankful for the cooperation. The guys that run the company are adorable, and what are the odds of that they also are sailors? Incredible. A very appreciated cooperation indeed, I hope they will come over and sail a bit with us.

While I was painting, a man came walking by and said hello. He was 60+, white-haired and white-bearded, had blue short pants, white shirt, red suspenders, and suntanned legs. He had talked with Mark before, and was curious about our boat. We invited him into the boat for a cup of coffee.

His name was Björn and he had a boat quite near to ours. He had just come back from New Foundland, sailing by Faroe Islands, Island and Greenland. He was quiet and humble, but the stuff he talked of over the coffee cup was completely insane. He had sailed off with a crew, but they had to leave the ship since they wouldn't handle storms - they were too scared. Oh, were you struck by a storm, we asked. Two storms actually, and an orcano, he answered. The boat capsized twice; once he was thrown over so badly he broke his rib. Wasn't that quite rough to sail with a broken rib, I asked. No, not at all as bad as it was when he had ripped off a tendon in his arm so he couldn't use it all.

He doesn't have so much equipment on the boat, and he sleeps 7-8 hours a day even when sailing alone. He actually collided with another boat when he was inside, making coffee. But it was OK. The ice was not either a problem. Once, he anchored to an iceberg and floated along with it over the night - of course after making his weapons ready, for the ice bears. When he woke up, he was caught in the ice so it took him a good day or two to break loose. He talked about the women in Greenland that got into a fight over him, and how he'd like to sail more but he can't because of lack of money and threat of divorce. Suddenly, our little trip sounded like a hike with the scouts. And that was only one of the many, many long-distance sailors we are going to meet...

The Omniscient Scott Adams

2010-05-31T16:29:00.004+02:00

By Lena, at Göteborg.

Trying to unsubscribe from all newsletters and infospam since I do not have possibility to daily clean the inbox.

Dilberts Daily Strip has an unsubscribe button, which leads to a page asking for confirmation and the reason to unsubscribe.

You may choose one of the following options:

I really think you are sending me too many emails. Not unlike a phone bill, I would rather only get one a month or so.
Can't you just send one email with everything in it each week?
Okay, that's it! I need a break from email. I'm flying off to live on an island in the South Pacific and only communicate via bottles with notes in them. Talk to ya at high tide!

How the hell did he know about the South Pacific stuff??

Cutting loose

2010-05-31T14:59:00.003+02:00

By Lena, at Göteborg.

Still have a cold, my head is swollen, my throat is aching, can hardly breathe but who has ever promised that life would be easy?

Good-bye parties in Göteborg, Lund and Stockholm are over. The people that came are dear to me for different reasons, and it's comforting to see them. A lot of loving presents, and merry donations were received, I am endlessly thankful for that. Mias pärleria helped us with jewellery for an auction, which brought in 80€ only by selling three pieces! Friends talked, drank and rediscovered old aquaintances. Now, it's quiet and empty.

I'm sitting at McDonalds in Frölunda Torg, the place where I used to run around and make trouble as a teenager due to lack of other stuff to do. There is no internet on the boat so to be able to surf for free, you have to stand out with smell of fried oil, and the screams of personnel and small children. I've changed home so often during the past time (moved several times just during the past two years) and have backpacked and commuted so much before, that I can turn any small place into a home. Right now, this is it - two tables, a computer, some orange juice (vitamin C to kill the cold) and a lot of papers is my safety and main camp.Back to the boat in a couple of hours, paint the bottom and prepare for setting it to sea, which is booked to Thursday morning. There, my new permanent home, vehicle and universe.

The ultimate freedom is not always something you appreciate straight away. Right now, worn and sick, I'd want to have a cozy home, a soft bed, a cup of tea and a caring hand on my forehead, instead of a hard chair and a bunch spoilt hyperactive kids who throw potato chips all around and scream. Life is not supposed to be easy though.

That's for freedom. Cutting loose is also harder than you think. Some of the ties are cut abruptly, as you would chop off the ropes when it's urgent, instead of undoing the knots. Some ties disappear by themselves, as you realize that the friendship was long gone without you realising it, and there is not much left to untie. And then there's the ones that are like cutting off your own atria with a blunt saw.

We're to sail off in the end of the week. Hopefully, it all will get better by then.

Two days left

2010-05-27T14:15:00.001+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Two days left.

Tonight, a big afterwork with my colleagues - beer in a bathtub filled with ice, and Swedish traditional picnic food - roastbeef and potatoe sallad. Ferrologic is sponsoring the AW, great company with great, professional and talented people, who I definitely going to miss.

Tomorrow, a good-bye party at KGB, and early on Saturday morning I will be rolling towards Göteborg in an overfull Saab. Jeez, I have So Much stuff... I'll probably throw away half of it within a month.

A lot of people ask how it feels. For a couple of weeks ago, I just wanted to be in the boat, in the water, on my way. But right now, it just feels extremely strange. Surrealistic. Hard to beleive and grasp. And there is of course the whole range of other feelings, from cheerful excitement to sadness and grief.

If I would do this again, I'd take a week off work before departure. That would definitely save me a lot of stress.

Now - off to get 40 kg ice (it feels terrible to pay for ice after this terrible winter), and off to the afterwork in the inner yard, to start off with one of the last warm spring evenings in Stockholm.

Choosing a boat?

2010-05-24T13:23:00.003+02:00

By Lena at Stockholm.

When buying the boat, Mark checked the instruments.

Both the clock and the barometer weren't functioning properly.

The barometer was stuck on "fair weather" and the clock was stuck on 16:30, exactly the time when he used to stop working.

It was a natural choice :)

Break-up with business

2010-05-24T12:45:00.004+02:00

By Lena at Stockholm.

When I flew to Gothenborg, I couldn't help noticing the difference in my attitude towards my co-passengers. I have been working in IT for almost five years, and have travelled a lot, often more than two flights a week. I've valued the power of business suit, focusing on work and carreer and prioritizing it without compromises....

Now, I felt a bit sorry for some of the people I once would identify with. I saw it so clear now when I'm almost "on the other side". A lot of people do not have the passion for business, and just try to adapt to what the society labels as "success". The man in front of me with the expensive suit that does not match his expensive shirt. The corners of his mouth are chronically pointing down. He's clenching his briefcase so his knuckles go white, and I could bet he suffers from headaches, heartburn and insomnia due to severe stress. He's talking on his expensive cell phone and is deliberately extra loud so that everyone can hear the well-picked key IT-management words and phrases. He thinks it makes him happy. Fair enough.

He probably has an expensive car, and a large beautiful house in a prestigeous area. He's proud of it. May be he even has a boat. But he needs to work non-stop and overtime in order to pay off everything, and afford the lifestyle that comes with that. So he never enjoys a lunch on his veranda with a view, he doesn't take the long way home to enjoy the car (rather, he's stuck in the rush hour traffic jam with more heartburn), and does not sail the boat more than a couple of times every summer, only if it's good weather and if he goes to familiar places, and all that under more stress. All of his status stuff is a burden that needs to be maintained, and I think he's quite tired of it all but just doesn't admit it to himself.

I think there are at least three of those per every talented and passionate business man or woman. That makes me a bit depressed.

For two years ago I wouldn't dream of going away for years and not continuing the carreer. I still like my work, but somehow right now it's too natural to do this, there has not been any alternative since I made the decision. It's quite hard to explain why I find it more meaningful with white knuckles on the rudder than on a briefcase. I really wish that more people would live their dreams and I assure you it's worth it.

It's all about balance in life; I believe that chasing dreams, living life and working hard is possible to combine. It's just not the case for me, for the time being...

Work and play

2010-05-24T12:14:00.011+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Got a cold last week but not even that would stop me from preparing for the trip.

Thursday and Friday were spent in Amundö Marina, I was scraping paint from the bottom of the boat in order to be able to repaint it. The paint was black, toxic and impossible to wash off once it got stuck to your skin (despite all protective equipment). When Karina came to get me with her beautiful sport cab, she must have been in shock. I somewhat felt I look like this guy... But as Russians say: "This is not dirt! This is tan!"

I bought some paint to paint the name on Mare Liberum, but did not get to do it due to frequent thunderstorms with lots of rain in Gothenburg, that would destroy the paint immediately. Otherwise, it seems that the boat is going to be ready and set until the first of June. We will sail off on that day or within some short time. In the evening, another old friend came by the boat; Henrik or Yoghurt as he is called. We shared a good bottle of Captain Morgan and talked about the past and the future.

On Saturday and Sunday, a good-bye party in Lund was held, and a lot of people that are very dear to me showed up. I've lived in Malmö and Helsingborg for a few years, and haven't seen some of them for ages! Other friends were newly acquired, but still much appreciated. It was an incredibly warm and cozy feeling to be surrounded by people that I care about and that care about me, for the last time for years to come. Thank you - you know who you are!

Now, I've promised to post some
pictures of the boat - here you are!

She's newly painted in blinding Mediterranian White, and is the whitest boat around at the marina. She's still on land to facilitate the work, but soon the mast will be on and she will be set to water, with a bottle of champagne as the tradition calls.

Inside, she's all polished and varnished, and quite comfortable to sleep in. Tis of course always a to-do list, and much improvement space, but she will do just fine to be honest.

Race against time

2010-05-19T18:02:00.003+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Twelve days left, everything is moving really fast - and I'm strating to feel extremely stressed out. Mark said that the days before departure were extremely slow - for me, it feels like everything is going in triple speed.

Trying to fix the details in a smart way without being a perfectionist, because that never works. Still, too much to do. And no, it's not only the packing, a lot more needs to be done, some things more important than others. A new set of passports and credit cards are nice to have, otherwise it's too expensive and complicated if the old ones expire when I'm on the other end of the world. But that means queueing in the banks and police during their (very uncomfortable) opening hours. The life raft hasn't been delivered yet - a reminder mail to the shop. Just talked with one of our sponsors, we need to get the logo before we paint the boat. And yes, I've done a lot of sketching of the boat painting (I think it's going to be fabulously crazy, we'll see!) A fun sideproject has been to fix a "honeypot" in the boat - an old mobile phone, a "Lorex" watch, etc, which is always smart to have! What else? Return any stuff that I have borrowed from friends. Dye my hair back to the natural color, since maintaining any kind of hairdo is an unnecessary cost and hussle. Sell the car - and make some small fixing on it prior to that. Fix practical stuff for the good-bye parties. Do the paperwork that I should have done for ages ago... Change the phone subscription to pre-paid. Arrange for some extra income on the way - online courses, freelance journalism etc. And yes, I have just changed appartment, and all that stuff with changing and signing contracts etc surely takes a lot of time!

Also, in the same time I need to make time to see people that are dear to me, and have some quality time.

Twelve days left... If I'm still alive after this race :)

Trip down memory lane

2010-05-19T09:23:00.002+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

I am trying to minimize the amount of stuff I own; I have been selling some junk on eBay, throwing away stuff, and giving things to my family and friends. Yesterday, I was doing some packing at my parents' storage room. I've had a lot of boxes with junk there, with all things that wouldn't fit into my small-second-hand-appartment-contracts-moving-around-life. I needed to repack them, compile, sort, and start packing for the trip. So I went through the stuff deciding what goes, what stays, and what gets to follow around the world (which would have to fit into a backpack, good luck with that....)

Sometimes, it was like opening a time capsule. Suddenly there are pictures, memories, letters. Things that give me a punch in the face and remind me who I am. Child drawings. Love letters. My first purchase for my first salary, when I was 12 - a piggybank and a pair of motorcycle sunglasses. Very symbolic. A diary from that time, where I wrote and highlighted a Russian proverb: "He who does not take risks, he doesn't get to drink champagne". I listed all my wishes in that diary, and I'm proud to say that I have fulfilled all of them.

It's very hard right now. I have to leave a lot behind me, family, friends and love. A little comfort in this hell is the realization that this is what I've always been like - reckless, stubborn, passionate and alive, and that always calls for sacrifices. I'm not less sorry, I'm just a bit more at peace.

Report from the weekend

2010-05-18T12:45:00.010+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

This Saturday, I landed in rainy cold Gothenburg and got picked up by a black SAAB with Mark at the steering wheel.

First to Hornbach to buy some tools and paint. They have this ad on the radio, that goes like "Hornbach - how crazy is your project?" Hm, I think it's crazy allright...

Then off to Amundö Marina - and finally I got to see what is to become my home for a time ahead. The boat is small and in need of rebuilding and reparations, but she will do.

I had a bit of a trouble climbing up to the deck (I'm not 195 cm tall like Mark is, and definitely not a circus artist or a climbing monkey) but we borrowed a ladder and soon I was up and working as a peon too.

So, the task was to abrade (scrub) the boat's coating. At first, it was loads of fun, I went berzerk with an abrader shaped as an ironing device. It felt somewhat like polishing a giant tooth that never ended - the yellowish outer layer with the cracks disappeared, and the nice white color under it started to show, it also buzzed like at the dentist's (but much louder of course). However, the device could only be used on surfaces that were flat and large. So when it comes to small smart drainage paths, all the gear that sits on the decks, and the bent areas - there, I had to scrub by hand. Or by finger. With tiny bits of sandpaper, which is about the same feeling as trying to clean your entire kitchen with a toothbrush.

At the end, my knees were dead, all my clothes were covered with a thick layer of white dust, and the fingers looked like dried salted beer sausages - wrinkled and white. But most importantly, I was done with the decks - all the rest is a piece of cake, and can probably be done in no time.

Unfortunately, my camera died just moments after I started taking pictures, but I will attach some here. As you see, the roof hatch garage is so dirty you can write foul words in it, which is the definite symptom that it needs to be cleaned. All of that is done, cleaned and scraped and polished.

The rest of the week would be rainy, so I left for Stockholm on Sunday night. On Thursday, I'll go to Gothenburg again - and this time it will be time to do the painting, hope for good weather!

Work, work - I'm a peon

2010-05-17T21:51:00.002+02:00

By Mark, at Gothenburg

Sanding, cleaning, painting, varnishing again and again. Plumbing for freshwater, salt water and bilge pumps. Rebuilding interior. Wiring vhf radio, second radio, batteries. Reinforcing hatches, restoring rudder, repairing machines, shopping and work work work work. I have been so busy the last 2 weeks, most of the tasks are new to me (more or less) and so its interesting, challenging and generally fun. No disasters yet, I'm getting suspicious by now something should have happened! Just wait until the boat is in the water :D (its still on land). The original estimation to start sailing the 1 of June seems OK, I might even be ready before that. As long as the rigging is OK...

I'm writing this sitting on top of the boat and looking at the sunset but now my fingers are starting to get so cold its hard to write. Goodnight everyone, I miss you all!

To boldly go

2010-05-06T16:38:00.005+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

One of the best things that you can do to yourself is to allow yourself to dream, boundlessly. A lot of people never do; they chase the things that the society and media dictate, and end their lifes in unsatisfaction, instead of chasing (and achieving) their own dreams.

Just having a defined dream brings you half-way to having it come true! Remember what you have been dreaming about as a child? Never ever betray that! And never ever stop having new dreams, and actually living them instead of just saying "I wish I could..." Trust me - if I can, then you definitely will!

A dream is not "Oh I wish I'd win the lottery". Money will not give you happiness if you do not have a clear vision of why you want it. So your dream is an expensive car? Think about that again. What is your true wish - the social status, the feeling of freedom, the speed and andrenalin? May be it's not at all a car you need, may be you need to change the rest of your life? Of course it's harder than just buying a car, but remember - you only have one life, you can't throw it away just being scared of changes.

One of the people I know that has been chasing her dream bravely is Maria, a former colleague. Always fascinated by France and French culture, she finally made a bold decision - she sold her home in central Stockholm, and bought a charming appartment in a calm secluded village in Southern France. Check out her site, she actually rents it out! So if your dream is waking up in the morning with a smile, rays of warm summer sun carressing your cheek, and instead of stressing off to work - to just sit at the balcony for a couple of hours having a coffee and a croissant, looking over the mountains under the blue sky, eating tasty French food later in the evening and taking a stroll in the peach tree forest, having no worries at all - well, you should definitely contact her.

If you want more still, and would like to get off to the end of the world and experience what paradise feels like - then go to Eden, an all-inclusive resort in Southern Cebu, on the Philippines, owned and operated by a family (the host is Swedish). It's hard to imagine what heaven is - until you actually have been there. Go, go, go!

Another dreamer and doer I would like to mention is Marie Fröberg, the grounder of Tarwa Onarouz (Children of Hope). Her passion in life is helping people in need. Once, during a trip to Marocco, she visited an orphanage - and seeing the awful conditions, she decided to not just go home and forget all about it, but actually help! Together with her husband, she started a huge project helping out the orphans in Northern Africa, see more on their site. Support them - all help goes directly to the kids.

Life's too short for waiting with doing what you think is important. Do it now! And never forget to dream :)

Side project: exotic jewellery

2010-05-06T16:25:00.005+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

When I will go further over the Atlantic and Pacific, I will be visiting a lot of secluded paradise-like islands, with indigenous people living off nature and handcraft (on the photo: French Polynesia). A lot of them are profound in hand work, and I will try to ship a little bit of that experience to Sweden!

Coal Creek will take care of the selling and marketing of the jewellery, most probably made of coconut shells, horn, shells, tree, stones and other natural materials. This is as organic, fair-trade and environmentally friendly peircing jewellery as it can get! And also, extremely exotic and original. It will never be mass-produced!

So stay updated, and check out Coal Creaks choice of other exciting and personal piercing jewellery while waiting for the project to commence! The prices are great and the service is excellent.

Full forward

2010-05-05T10:24:00.001+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Full activity in Stockholm now...

Selling the car, getting a new passport, ordering boat equipment, booking good-bye parties, changing phone subscription, choosing a satellite phone (thanks Mom and Dad!!!), analysing investment strategies, contacting media and sponsors, trying to raise more money for the trip, and masses of paper work that drives me mad. Also, I'm still working full time, and trying to have a social life. I have a lot of concurrent projects and suddenly all have to be finalized. And of course everything is done in the last moment...

Anyone who wants to be my personal assistant during the coming weeks? :)

It's a man's world

2010-05-05T09:20:00.000+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Living in Sweden, I am very used to the relatively high equality between men and women. Most are used to men taking paternity leave or at least picking up kids from the nursery school. The hosehold chores are usually shared, most men enjoy cooking food, nobody looks twice at a female driver (unless she's driving like an idiot), there are female politicians, CEOs, IT nerds, soldiers and truck drivers. As long as you're good at it - you're (mostly) welcome.

The rest of the world looks nothing like that, and in Sweden it's easy to forget that and live in our privileged bubble. When I tell my female friends in Russia about Swedish men making nice meals and doing household work, they either think I'm telling fairy tales, or start screaming and want to go to Sweden right away. In the same way, when I tell them how I assembled the IKEA shelves, they look puzzled and ask me why didn't I ask a guy to do it for me. Why should I? I can manage it and it's fun! They look even more puzzled. When I hammered a nail in the wall at a friend's place in Moscow to help her hang a picture, she was amazed, as I were the superman or something.

As soon as you leave Sweden and put your foot on, say, the boat to Poland, you see the difference right away. Females there have tons of makeup, very high heels, uncomfortable clothes showing off naked skin, and a humble and pathetic attitude of a beta-being. And I'm not talking about some kind of hookers - this is the personnel on the boat, the mothers of the families going on vacation, and so on.

Some may find that attractive, but the attitude and the attributes close all doors to normal life - such a woman cannot do much more than just stand around looking pretty, and dumbly hoping that someone will come along and help her. No proper stable carreer has ever been made just pouting around having too much lipstick, so of course they are dependent on men economically and mentally. Which in turn blocks all possibilities to equal rights and lifestyle. Don't misinterpret me - I myself like lipstick and high heels, but I also value being independent, earning as much money as the guys, and having human rights and respect.

The situation is worse the further you travel. Once I flew to Morocco, and almost got into a fight with the passenger beside me - it was a businessman who wouldn't stop talking on the cell phone, despite that the plane was soon to start off. So what did I do? I just asked him to stop using the phone. Quite politely at first, but since he didn't react, I went for the "school teacher tone". Jeez, I never heard as many swear words towards myself, I was stunned! I was told that I should know my place and shut up, and I saw that if I didn't do it then he was going to give me a beating or something. That's what he was used to - females shouldn't speak unless spoken to, and should definitely not tell him what to do! And if they misbehave they should be beaten! Fortunately, a male flight attendant solved the situation, the businessman listened to him cause he was a guy. And myself, I am so used to being respected that his words made me completely stunned (which was good, since it could be a bad idea to kick his ass, I didn't want to be late to my friend's wedding). So different...

I wonder how many more such cultural clashes I will experience - now also being a sailor, which is definitely not a traditional female occupation. It would be nice to change the world and open people's minds, even just a little bit, but I will definitely pick my fights - you cannot change it all overnight, especially by empty arguing or aggressive behaviour.

Until then I can recommend something that also can change the world just that little bit. I've got some shower products from Spastugan, that really make you start thinking when you're standing there half asleep under pouring hot water. It's suitable for both guys and chicks (yeay! equality!) but is made by an all-female group in India. If you ever have been to India and travelled outside bigger cities, you know that you never see women around there. Few women have an education, even fewer have a job, so they all get to stay at home and do the housework and rely entirely on the men, who in many cases use this to their winning. Women are often not allowed to go outside of the home alone. Female babies are illegally aborted because they are otherwise a burden to the family until the day they are married away. It's sickening, but there is hope, and obviously someone is doing something about it. There are more reasons to get the Holy Lama products - they are handmade, organic, do not contain any unnatural stuff or mineral oils, and of course not tested on animals. And have an absolutely great scent, too!

Im free

2010-05-03T18:46:00.003+02:00

By Mark, at Göteborg

I'm back in Sweden living on Mare. The magnitude of the project is still sinking in. I constantly find myself thinking about small issues at my old job and realizing that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter in such a fundamental way. I have never felt this free. Ever. Everything I do is for myself, no one cares if its good or bad - I'm the only one that will be impacted and I'm the only one who cares. It's a new and good feeling to be my own judge and the lord of my own destiny.

Today I have been installing myself in the boat and the coming month i will set everything up for the navigation. I was happy to note that some important structural reinforcements have already been done by the previous owner. However the gelcoat (paint) is in an awful state, the length of all the hairline cracks is probably from hear to the moon and back, the only cheap solution is to repaint the whole boat - the finish wont be the same but at least it will be better then the spiderweb it's now.

I'm also happy to note some kind soul who lives nearby haven't password protected their wireless connection so free internet here I come!

The dinghy's maiden voyage

2010-05-03T14:05:00.004+02:00

By Lena at Stockholm.

This weekend, I tried out the inflatable dinghy and the extra outboard motor (a long-shaft Mercury, 5.0 hp, which is also to serve as an extra boat engine).

We dragged out the dinghy in the grass near the beach and inflated it, and attached the motor after inspecting it for storing damage. I drained the gas tank for old gasoline (having 5-10% oil mixture which is much too high for running engine - it should be 2%, but just enough for conserving it for winter storage), and then filled it with nice new fuel from my car's extra gas tank (yes I forget to fill it up sometimes, so I have an extra gas tank with emergency fuel). I only had synthetic car engine oil though, so Tomas drove to the gas station and fixed a red, foul-smelling thick boat motor oil that could be mixed in.

And now it was time, after hiding in Nettans storage room for the whole winter, it would finally have its maiden voyage. We decided to put it into shallow water first to be on the safe side (wise decision). Yeay! It's in the water! It hasn't sunk! But why does the self-bailing device let the water in, and not out...? Hm, let me enter the dinghy, may be there is not enough weight in it? Now the water gushed in, drowning my sneakers and touching on the M90-pants. May be if the boat is moved forward, it would help? I grabbed an oar and rowed it ahead, but that made no difference, it was pouring ánd pouring. A liter water in each of my shoes, I jumped out of the boat, made a bailing device from a plastic water bottle cut with scissors, and started bailing.

A phone call to a sailor friend later, I found out that it was a usual problem, and you'd sometimes need a plug to make it stop. I did not have a plug, but I would not give up! A McGyver solution with soft plastic, hard plastic and a spray can lid that fit just perfectly fixed it! We made some stress tests and it held well. The motor agreed to start and was functioning properly, and moments afterwards we could go fishing for some pike, since pike soup was on the menue for that night. The pike was apparently not aware of that fact, so we got none, but we have stated that the dinghy was somewhat functional - and also managed to spill beer in it, which was promptly converted into a naming ceremony, and solemnly christened her to Anna.

The spilled beer was also a good reason to rinse the floor from the dirt and sand. Left to itself for 1,5 days, Anna lost some air, so there will be some reparation ahead. One or two of the ribs have to be replaced, but that won't be too much of a problem. All in all, the motor is in a very good state but the dinghy is less new that I thought. Unfortunately, it's hard to estimate the quality of the used stuff you buy, but at least there is nothing serious. I'll look at it during the coming week.

It goes on and on

2010-04-30T10:44:00.003+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Have you ever noticed that so many great songs, tales and movies tell stories of people giving up their everything to chase their dreams?

Just as in Marks previous post, I'm going to quote a song - being a bit more alternative in my music taste I will feed you with a great piece by Pain: "On and on", listen to it here on Spotify or here on Youtube. The lyrics are of course awesomely striking.

Giving up is easy, just to throw away your life,
If you want to take control you can't give in without a fight!
It goes on and on...

You change your passion for glory

2010-04-30T10:01:00.006+02:00

By Mark, in Dublin.

Today is my last day at Salesforce. After 2 years and 3 months I’m now heading out into the great unknown. It‘s been an interesting time in many ways and I have met some of the most skilled and ambitious people ever. I wish all my colleagues a bright happy future and don’t loose sight of your goals!

Tomorrow is my last day in Ireland. I have lived here for 5 years and grown from a boy to a young man ;) If I had the chance I would do it all again, leaving Sweden and all my friends, the familiar culture and university and throw myself wholeheartedly into a new life and lifestyle that changed me and my perception of the world in significant ways. If I had stayed in the same town with the same friends and same job my whole life I’m sure I would have felt more at peace and maybe happier but I wouldn’t have know half the things I know now. We all do inner and outer journeys throughout our lives. We don’t have to travel to grow as persons but it seems to work for me. Yet another reason to go sailing!

This reminds me of the iconic Rocky theme song “Eye of the Tiger”. Where the refrain goes:
So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive
YEAH!

Are you experienced?

2010-04-29T16:24:00.005+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

"Are you experienced?"

The tattoo in sanskrit that looks like a decorative footlink around my ankle says exactly that. "Are you experienced?" I got an ancient indian old lady in the outskirts of Bangalore to translate the good old Jimi Hendrix quote (and a book title) for me, and made the design myself. The indian guys at work make fun of it and tell me it says "Are you good in bed?", but by their giggling I might guess it's not entirely true. It would be very entertaining otherwise, almost even better. Anyway, almost nobody knows sanskrit so I can translate it just as I want when people ask what that means. "I love webMethods" or "Live fast die young" or "I kill people that ask stupid questions".

Experience is something that has been touched on very much lately, concerning the sailing trip. Yes, I have experience of sailing! I was race-sailing one afternoon with the colleagues in Helsingborg, and I also went for a sailing trip of two days last summer, we sailed in Stockholm archipelago.

So of course people wonder and get nervous when they hear that I'm going off to a trip around the world having sailed that little. Let me tell you what I think about it. It's not that terrible.

There are people that never do anything new, just because they... "can't". I've for instance known people who have been stuck with a boring and physically destructive job that they passionately hate, and when I ask them why they won't change job they answer "because that's the only thing I can do". Ridiculous, says I! If you can lift boxes or drive a pallet truck, you can most probably answer a phone or ride a bike or type letters on a keyboard. At the least. People do not see possibilities... Others do, but they are just so afraid of failing, they won't even try. But how will a bird know it can fly, if it won't jump out of the nest and spread its wings? More people should get out of their comfort bubbles and try new things. If you fail - well, try again. Everyone fails sometimes - the people that are called "experts" are not more than the first ones to make all the possible mistakes.

Now this doesn't mean that I will sail with a trial and error approach, that would be plain stupid. I am of course preparing carefully - both by exercising sailing as much as I can, and by getting the theory done. There are a lot of books, tutorials, and also experienced people that can help out.

Now I know that not everyone feels comfortable with this kind of preparations, some people would prefer a two-year hands-on training course before even entering the ship. But all of us are different... I am a fast learner, and proved myself to complete stuff that others have considered hard or impossible. Never had trouble with learning anything from languages to disassembling a machine gun, so this will go just fine.

And of course I will not go for crossing the Atlantic right away. I will start off the sailing on the West Coast of Sweden on a sunny day, and take it nice and easy and raise the difficulty level in a comfortable pace until I am profound at navigating and maneuvering the boat. The complexity of the tasks will gradually rise, sailing up to Norway will pose new challenges, and the trip from Norway to Inverness will be a test to what I have learned up until then. But already when we are in Norway, I will have more experience in sailing than most of the leisure boat owners in Sweden. By the time we have sailed down to Spain, my experience at sea will beat most of those who call themselves a profound sailor (but only having cruised around in inner archipelago when the weather is fair, one week a year).

As I have heard from experienced sailors, when there is a dangerous situation at sea, most of the people are in it for the first time, regardless of experience. You can never learn all such stuff, you can never prepare in any other way than doing it. We will experience these situations more often, thus getting better in handling them. However, I'm doing my homework and reading books and blogs written by circumnavigators for circumnavigators, telling exactly what to watch out for and how to act in case of emergencies or dangers. (Also, it's a fact in all sailing manuals that experienced sailors are prone to some accidents more often, as they are more nonchalant than beginners, and bypass the safety recommendations.)

Then, there are always loads of negative people that won't listen to these arguments. These people are called "världsmästare" by the authors of the book "Everyone said we were gonna die" (Three Swedish young people, with NO sailing experience WHATSOEVER, successfully completing the same circumnavigation route in the same boat as we have). I've proven to myself and the world that most of the people, who tell you that something is impossible, have actually little or no knowledge of the issue. They'd sit back and shake their head and tell you it's impossible - but you should never let them prevent you from what you're doing! Usually, that's the kind of people who would just complain and chicken out all the time, and call that "experience", and never completing anything worth mentioning. All my life, I've beaten "impossible" deadlines, have done things that are "not realistic", and things that are "too hard to ever be worth trying" without bigger problems. I think those that are adventurers, enterpreneurs, the brave and bold pioneers and discoverers, and the good businessmen, will recognize this mind set. Of course, a risk analysis has to be made, but as the Russian proverb says - "The one who doesn't take any risks, he won't drink any champaigne".

Are you one of the negative people that whine and shake their heads? Or can you accept that a fast learner that is as stubborn as a deadly sin will (as usual) meet all her targets planned? Ladies and gentlemen - place your bets, we're sailing off in a month :)

Boat hopping

2010-04-27T10:43:00.008+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

One month left before my last day at work. For Mark, it's only four days until he leaves for Göteborg and devil knows I wish I could trade places with him right now.

I'll be in the verve for a week in the middle of May, and try to get things done. The boat is to be painted (I am considering rock'n'roll flames, so I won't miss my motorcycle too much), a lot of stuff has to be fixed, and I'm really looking forward to the work.

I have spent this weekend in another verve in Stockholm, helping a friend out with his Magnificent Midget, a decent way to ease your mind a little bit, and listening to a rock radio channel on an old MARK stereo, Mare Liberum captain thus being with us and singing ballades with James Hetfield's voice, not too bad. Done some engine work (mostly standing there with a manual upside-down trying to decode electrical diagrams) and polishing, also learned a bit about how an acho sounding system works, using a rusty knife and a hammer to dissimilate the old one and prepare for installation of a new one using a water-level app in my iPhone.

I'll try out the inflatable dinghy and the extra engine this weekend, it's tempting to do it in central Stockholm where there is plenty of water. If anything goes wrong then the entertainment factor will be quite high. But if I'm lucky (and the Stockholmers are not), I'll be in Norrtälje forests doing this in the privacy of my own.

Another boat I will be visiting shortly (tonight actually) is Kronprincessan Märtha, or the place Seaside Söder, a new restaurant that has opened just yesterday on a beautiful boat in central Stockholm, at Kajplats 16, Södermälarstrand. Looking forward to take a coctail drink in their Sunset bar, should be an experience. The days are getting warmer, so hanging out on the deck should be fantastic.

Finally, I just go to know that a trip with schooner Norðlýsið is booked for the spring conference arranged by my company! As always, it'll be a full-pace activity weekend in an exciting place, Faroe Islands this time. It will be a great possibility for me to meet all of my colleagues for the last time - will definitely be sad to leave Ferrologic which is an absolutely great company to work in, with talented and warm people, but who knows - may I will be back sooner than I think.

It makes the world larger

2010-04-21T16:23:00.003+02:00

By Mark, in Dublin.

Me and Lena will be sailing in an Albin Vega (as you probably know by now) and it’s a safe but slow boat. I have always seen this as a disadvantage, the faster the better, right? Now however I’m starting to realize I might now not be entirely right* A salty sailor my father met said that “The world get bigger in a slow boat” and how true that is. When I’m flying the world seems a small place and I want to get away from that and see all the nooks and crannies we miss when we zip by in fast crafts.

Or I’m just trying to be positive about our slow boat ;D

Speaking of slow, it’s now 10 days left until I leave Ireland and go back to Sweden, for me that’s the unofficial start of the sailing and NEVER EVER have time moved so slowly, I swear I will be travelling back in time soon if this trend continues. When my departure date was 6 months away a week passed in a minute. Now a minute is a week, a day is a year. Einstein might have been on the right track when he said time is relative but this is ridiculous!

*One of my favourite sitcoms is The Big Bang Theory where the evil-genius Sheldon Says “I’m so intelligent I know when I’m wrong”

Jammin' on the boat

2010-04-20T16:59:00.006+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Happy happy joy! Two really pretty Eagle flat ukuleles from JAM, including soft cases, are right now residing in my car and are ready to be played!

JAM is the best and largest music instrument outlet in Sweden, with all the good stuff that you might want, everything you can think of - and a lot more. And very experienced, kind staff that help you with just about anything.

Bringing an ukulele on a sailing trip (or any trip for that matter) is just perfect - it does not take much space, is very light, the strings are basically indestructable, and so is the instrument itself - it can take a whole lot of beating in a stormy sea or against a backpack. And when the weather is nice, it's just fantastic to lay back in the shadow of some palm trees and start playing! No wonder the ukuleles are often associated with Hula-hula girls and paradise islands.

Since they are so small, and further on - extra flat, we will bring two ukuleles - and insure that the music jam is always on. Often, or as a matter of fact almost always, there are a lot of interesting people in the harbours, travelling in their boats from all different countries to all possible directions, and music is always a great ice-breaker. Also, I am looking forward to sharing some cultural experiences in terms of music, because it's truly the universal language.

We also got a harmonica, some percussion eggs and some kazoos, can you imagine the jam spirit?! We can easily host a jam for ten or more people!

Wonderful idea from JAM, once again - a really great place to get all things music, highly recommended! JAM also sells and buys used music instruments, so if you want to sell your Gibson and go off and join us on a part of a trip, or go to a trip of your own - go to JAM, they'll give you a fair deal.

Money for nothing and booze for free

2010-04-15T14:08:00.007+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

I will try to update the blog a bit more often, it's soon only a month to go and I want this time to be well-documented, otherwise it's too easy to let it be overshadowed with all the preparation stress. This time, now, will never come back! Even if I would be preparing for another circumnavigation later on, it's only for the first time once. The beginner's mistakes only come once and should be cherished, I've learned that early :)

Most of my time right now goes to working, trying to get sponsporships, fixing all practical things, sorting out and selling junk that I have collected during 10 years of more or less independent life, drinking good red Italian wine in the evenings (it's spring, for devil's sake!) and trying to sleep more than 4 hours a night.

Yes, and the good-bye parties have to be organized... I'll definitely have a lot to do in May. One party has to be in Stockholm, one in Göteborg (just before departure) and one in Skåne, the South of Sweden. I will also have one or two larger gigs before I go, the plan was to sell some records and get the money for the trip - but the rest of the band members are unfortunately too busy with studies and playing rpgs :)

The vaccinations are still not done, somehow it's been extremely easy to repeatedly postpone the visit to the nurse who will be sticking four needles with dead bacteria deep in my muscle. May be next week... ;)

Tattoo traditions

2010-04-13T20:12:00.005+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

So, here comes - a post that describes a bit of the sailor traditions when it comes to wearing tattoos. I'm a fan of following the old school and the original meaning of the pictures, and get a bit grumpy when people go around flashing their tattoos and not knowing what they stand for. In some cases completely sick stuff actually, some tattoos mean that you're a prostitute or a maffia affiliate or whatever...

So, back to the sailor stuff. Samuel O' Reilly, a famous NY tattoo artist, once said,

"A Sailor without a tattoo is like a ship without grog: not seaworthy."

And man do I agree! But what to tattoo to get it right? The traditions are divided to good luck superstition mumbo-jumbo, sailing experiences (a sailor could not bring a suitcase with souvenirs from the travels because of lack of space on the boat, so they carried those on their skin), and also more "practical reminders".

For example, "hold" on the knuckles of one hand and "fast", on the other. This is said to help the sailor to better hold the riggings. However, not so practical with knuckle tattoos. If I would go for a knuckle tattoo it would probably be "Game" + "Over"... But I wouldn't, getting a job might come handy some day and some cultures are still aversive to tattoos.

A black panther or a sitting eagle is usually a cover-up design - so there is a reason to wonder what exactly the person is trying to cover up - the murderer gang tattoo may be? Or may be just the Hello Kitty tattoo that was fixed once upon a time in the teens...

More examples of practical stuff - port & starboard ship lights were tattooed on the left (port) and right (starboard) side of the body. Sounds like a punishment for those who wouldn't remember which one is which...

Nautical stars are a symbol of luck; so are a pig and a rooster on the feet. The pig should be on the top of the left foot and the rooster on the top of the right. This is said to protect the sailor from drowning and to take her quickly to shore. Also, there is a rhyme: "Pig on the left - protects you from theft, cock on the right - never lose a fight".

A swallow was also used as a form of protection; a symbol of the spirit being lifted above the waters. Some people tattooed religious symbols, but again - that's not for me.

Also, as I mentioned before - some of the tattoos depict the experience at sea. An anchor means you have sailed the Atlantic Ocean. A full-rigged ship is for Cape Horn, a turtle id crossing the Equator, a golden dragon is for crossing the International Date Line.

A usual dragon shows that you have sailed in China, a Hula girl means a visit to Honolulu or Hawaii. Palm trees for the Mediterranian.

The sparrow and sometimes swallows were worn for every 5000 nautical miles. It's going to be a LOT of sparrows!

A rope knot means a Four Knot Sailor - having crossed the Equator, International Date Line, Arctic and Antarctic circles. jeez, that'd take some time to get that salty...

Myself, I decided to go for a classical anchor, of though I have not still crossed the Atlantic - but I've always fancied the motif. Also, a banner with the boat's name, and of course a lite superstition while I'm at it - the pig and the rooster, see picks above.

The tatoos were made at Art By Fafnir, at Kungsholmen in Stockholm, and are made in a real old-school fashion, without any grays. I'm extremely happy with the results - wouldn't you be?

An anchor on one arm and a star on the other means "around the world"... So this is the start - looking forward to getting my star!

The Brew for The Crew

2010-04-13T19:53:00.007+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

I was at the Swedish state alcohol monopoly shop, Systembolaget (wonder if the monopoly is going to disappear before we complete the circumnavigation, I bet a beer on "yes") and suddenly, I saw something very nice!

"Sailor Beer" is the name, and the bottle is designed in old-school tattoo style. The bottle is in plastic, so it can bounce around in a boat (or in my car as it is now, together with loads of other junk)! Perfect!

Oh how I wish we could fill the boat with such bottles, but I suspect water and food are going to be the priority; there will be not so much storage space. Oh well...

Just as well that we drink one or two before we go, ain't it?

Picture: Mare Liberums First Mate with a new aquaintance,
Stockholm April 2010

For the people at home

2010-04-05T20:27:00.001+02:00

By Mark, at Dublin

The first man to sail solo, non-stop around the world Robin Knox-Johnston starts of his book about the journey with a comment for about parents: “In many ways theirs was the most difficult task of all”.

Its easy to forget the people at home do the real work. If I worry about storms and pirates how must my father worry about me and my safety? It will be easy for me and Lena, we can affect our own destiny and we will know when we are safe and when we are not. However the folks back home can do very little to affect the outcome of any problem we suffer and maybe worst of all it will be hard for them to know if we are safe or not. Maybe my father won’t be able to sleep while he worry about killer storms while I have a beer on the beach in some tropical paradise. (Although the opposite might occur too ;) it doesn’t seem fair that he have to worry because I realize my dream of sailing but at the same time I have to be able to live my own life.

A tricky problem, do you have any advice on how to make the people at home worry less? Mail me on mareliberum2010@gmail.com

Superstition

2010-04-05T17:01:00.008+02:00

By Lena at Stockholm

A lot of superstition is connected to sailing. Sailors are very sensitive to that kind of stuff, probably because of how non-reliable the sea was in old days befor the weather broadcasts, satellites and GPS. So I have looked at some more or less known traditions for those at sea.

For example, Friday is the worst possible day of starting a journey at sea. This is a Christian thing; Russians for example have another day, Monday as I recall (probably because of hangover). We plan to start on a Tuesday so it's OK either way!

Other stuff is connected with tattoos, actually a lot of it. I have already got a pig on the left foot and a rooster on the right, something that is sure to protect you from drowning according to old sailors' tales. Actually there are a lot more traditions connected with tattoos, but that almost deserves a new blog post, which will be coming up later - togetehr with pics of my brand new tattoos!

What more?

Bananas have no place on a boat.

Neither do black travelling bags or flowers, which are considered as signs of death.

You don't step onto the ship with the right foot first.

All of these might have some kind of half-sane explanation, but here's one I like a lot: "If someone says “good luck” to you, it is most assuredly a bad omen and sure to bring about bad luck. The only way this can be countered is by drawing blood. A swift punch in the nose is usually sufficient to reverse this curse." So no good luck wishes to us, if you don't want your faces refurnished! ;)

Some good omens to balance this up: mortising a stolen piece of wood to the keel, placing a silver coin under the mast head, pouring wine onto the decks. A naked woman onboard is sure to calm the weather. Hm, nekkidness ftw?

The other omens are quite monotonous:

Redheads are not allowed onboard, they can cause a storm.
Flat-footed people onboard cause storms.

Trowing stones into the sea would definitely cause a storm.

Priest onboard is forbidden, with the risk of a storm.

Losing a mop or a bucket overboard would raise a storm.

Cutting your hair or nails will make the sea gods unhappy and they would send a storm.

Whistling is a sure cause of a storm.

So yeay, now I know exactly what to do when we are trapped in some hot windless area near the equator. Getting a red-haired flatfoot onboard could be hard (if Mark will not bring some of his Irish friends of course), but throwing stones, mops, buckets and nail clippings all around while whistling some ancient psalm should probably work better than your usual vague rain dance.

Less than two moths left! Yaaarr!

Two moths left...

2010-04-01T09:47:00.005+02:00

By Lena, at Stockholm.

Only two months left until we sail...

A lot of practical stuff to do, some of which I haven't had time to start on - like getting all the vaccinations, or ordering new credit cards so the old ones won't expire when we're on the opposite side of the globe, or having a chat with CSN so I don't have to pay off my student loan while I'm away.

Also trying to sell most of my stuff. I don't want to have a lot of junk left in Sweden, what purpose should that serve? I have moved about 4 times in the last year and I definitely have too much stuff. Right now most of it is at my parents' storage room, and I'm very thankful that I can keep it there, it wouldn't fit into the apartment I have now. Most of it is larp stuff, and is never going to be used again, so why not convert it to Swedish Kronor before I go? A great way to earn some money. We are also continuously looking for sponsors, if you have a logo we can place on the website or on the boat then mail it to us!

I was going to take the inflatable dinghy and the spare engine for a (somewhat) virgin ride during Easter, and maybe do some fishing, but there is too much ice in the waters around Stockholm, so it could be directly dangerous. On the other hand, I'm just so happy to know that ice and cold will not be a problem for a few years from now... And that I won't have to plan for a two day's trip to go fishing; it will be done straight off the boat. Sweetness!

The contrast

2010-03-24T08:55:00.009+01:00

By Lena, @ Stockholm

I'm walking to the parking lot. Just worked a full work day, received a defect code delivery trying frantically to get it to work before the tight deadline so that the new CRM solution can be integrated before summer vacation. That's probably going to mean overtime, the dedicated tester already working fifty-something hours a week.

The road is covered with wet snow, ice, and rainwater running down in small streams. The small sharp gravel is everywhere; it has been one snowy winter in Stockholm, and the roads need to be gravelled to make sure the traffic chaos is somewhat controlled. The gravel gets in my shoes and I have to take them off one by one and shake out the sharp pieces, balancing on one foot in the middle of the road. I've got summer shoes on; just got two small tatoos on my feet (a sailor superstition thing - a pig and a rooster) so I shouldn't cover them for another week. I am trying not to step into any deeper puddles, but fail miserably. My feet are freezing badly. It's March, and a couple of degrees above zero. Entering the car is as tempting as sitting down on your butt in a freezer.

And then it hits me... Only two months left. After that, this will stop.

No more cold. I hate cold. Just the fact that you come from Russia does not mean that you like cold.

No more work. I like my company and I like what I do, but no more work means something else. No more waking up in early morning, swearing bitterly at the alarm clock, snoozing painfully, and endless, endless traffic jams on the way to Kista (where you have time to put on make up, eat breakfast, listen to the morning news, drink coffee, update facebook status with an acid comment and probably read a book if you had one, before you even start passing the City), and no more time reports.

Not for a couple of years, at least.

Only sea, sun, and complete freedom to do whatever I want.

A summer that doesn't end until I want it to.

An adventure others just dream of.

A lifestyle where my route is dependend on myself, and the nature's way.

A job where all consequences are direct and straightforward to my own deeds.

A choice of my own.

Feelgood for land crabs

2010-03-15T10:22:00.005+01:00

By Lena, @ Stockholm.

For all of you who also have a craving of feeling the ocean wind in your face, but do not have a boat, or time to get out of your cozy house for a few years of rough sailing:

Here's a tip; Spastugan. It's a Swedish Spa boutique, that has a lot of stuff with sea salt, also a great deal of other feel-good treats, that we highly recommend.

OK, you yourself might already be spoilt - what do I know :)

But if you're about to attend some birthday party, wedding, celebrate the Mothers Day, or just give a gift to anyone who needs it - then why run around shops in endless choice angst, go spa-shopping instead! The best thing is that one tenth of all sales made through this link will go directly to Mare Liberum Crew, and we are in a great need of sponsorship - while you will indulge in luxury! Double win!

The land of Laphroaig and mythical monsters

2010-03-04T12:41:00.002+01:00

By Lena @ Stockholm

Met up with Mark in the beginning of this week, got through some details on the trip, among all the route. We will be sailing from Norway to Inverness, through the North Sea which might be a bit shaky, which I do look much forward to. The circumnavigation is not your Sunday afternoon sailing with wining and basking in the sun; it will be a hard struggle sometimes and the earlier we get to experience some hard weather and get to flex our muscles a bit, the better.

Anyway, a sailing through Loch Ness lake will follow, which is very exciting - not only because of the extremely beautiful scenery, but also because I am going to fish for Nessie on all reels!

After Loch Ness, we will be sailing past the yummy islands of Jura and Islay, so all of you Single Malt lovers are welcome to come along - we can provide two places at the boat. We will go down to Spanish coast and then to Portugal.

Less than 100 days left

2010-02-23T13:18:00.001+01:00

By Lena @ Stockholm

Things are happening fast, in less than a hundred days we will be sailing off from Gothenburg! Incredible.

It seems that everything is yet to fix, but in fact we have come very far. I have been helping Mark with purchasing some stuff for the boat: a gasoline-driven power station, an inflatable dighy, an extra engine, and some solar panels. That's more than some circumnavigators have had.... Mark has been busy too, fixing GPS, E-Pirb, maps, and a lot of must-have gadgets to make the trip safe (and hopefully fun).

I have started to contact media about this project, and will be appearing in Mensas member magazine in March where this trip will be featured. More articles hopefully to come! The more media attention we will get, the bigger the chances of acquiring sponsors and partners - check out the link on the menu!

Ahoy me mateys!

2010-02-23T13:07:00.000+01:00

By Lena @ Stockholm

Lena as a pirate - political statement or future carreer choice?

Both actually...

(The pic is from Ardanus Larp 2007)

It's not you... It's me

2010-02-18T13:04:00.001+01:00

By Lena @ Stockholm

Latest on Monday, I will make an appointment with my boss and quit my job. It's so surrealistic I just can't grasp it. Can you imagine yourself in my shoes? I bet you can't because it feels everything but the way it's supposed to feel. I'm nervous; quitting a job you like is like breaking up with a person that you have a relationship with and that is probably counting on continuing doing so. "It's not you, it's me..." Recognize that? It's not going to be easy.

And the Sunday after that, I will have a family dinner and drop the news to my parents. Actually, I wanted to do it as late as possible, preferably just a couple of weeks before departure, but I want to go live with the website and a Facebook group and everything as soon as possible, so I'm forced to tell them now. So why am I reluctant? My parents have never approved of me doing crazy stuff. Even when I'm just travelling to another country, they would worry and question the necessity of the trip. Driving a car, being out in a pub late, even stuff like that can trigger anxiety. When I told them about me getting my first motorcycle, they basically had a funeral for me on the fly. I guess it's normal for parents to wish their children a quiet life, settling down with a good job, house, kids and growing old slowly and quietly.

Unluckily for them, I am not the kind of person who would be happy doing that. I am of course not so keen on making them disappointed, but on the other hand, you'd think they should be used to it by now. I guess they are going to spend three months trying to talk me out of this, and I am so not looking forward to it. I recently gave my mother "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, hoping she would understand the essence of being an adventurer and chasing your dreams, and would have some more insight and some less fear for this project, but I doubt that she has ever opened it.

A difficult time ahead - I know myself what I want, but it's always hard to disappoint people. Unfortunately, one cannot live to please everyone else; if you want to be happy then it's your own dreams that should be your major target.

Wish me luck....

How it all began

2010-01-14T12:30:00.001+01:00

By Lena @ Stockholm

We were sitting by the bar at Monks Cafe on Sveavägen, Stockholm.

In front of us there was a mirror. There, staring back at ourselves, were two pairs of eyes. One belonging to a tall man in an elegant suit, athletic body despite graying hair, and a salesman posture. The other belonging to a blue-eyed woman with dyed black hair, with an eye-falling cleavage, and a very decisive body language. Both had dark beer in front of them. It was early spring 2009.

"Look at them", I said. "Look at those two. Here they are, two people, both living their lives and reaching far, but both misplaced and longing for something else. There they are, sitting next to each other, dreaming of something that is just within reach. It's up for the taking, and they just sit there".

The eyes glittered. We shook hands. We would call each other up the next day to clear out the details, and get started. I wanted to sail as soon as possible.

Three months, in fact. Three months was all that I could bear waiting. As soon as you make that decision, you burn all the bridges. It's like jumping of a cliff; there is no turning back. Inside your mind, you leave all you have behind, kill your darlings and set off. It's not hard to do all of that later on, when you have committed to the decision; the decision is the hardest part.

I was headhunted by an extremely promising company, which would mean a huge carreer leap, a grotesque paycheck, and a promising future. I said no. I would also say no to my current job, which I like a lot. I was going to buy a car, probably a Corvette, I cancelled those plans. No house purchase either. I cancelled it all, I was going away. I told my boyfriend I would leave. That was not very popular. But I had made up my mind, and I am stubborn as a deadly sin.

Mark called a day later and said that he was very sorry - but he wouldn't go.

He wanted to wait a year. Save money, be with his girlfriend, and wait. I was furious - hasn't he waited long enough? And what would I do now, when I let everything go? You cannot just get back on the train and continue living like you did before. I was pissed off, disillusioned, targetless and depressed. Tried to get someone else to sail with, but it was impossible to find a person who wanted to sail off just like that. Everyone has a job or a family or an education to take care of, and if they don't then they are definitely no sail-round-the-world material, unfortunately.

That was the darkest hour. And yes, it always comes just before the dawn. Marks relationship ended unplanned, and he was ready to get away sailing. He promptly bought a boat, and we would head off in the early summer of 2010. No detailed plans, just a lot of books about circumnavigating the world, and a Albin Vega from 1969.

New Year

2010-01-05T12:26:00.002+01:00

By Lena @ Stockholm

The year 2009 has been tough for many reasons. But if you've got headwind, you don't turn around, you set the sails to sail upwind, that's it, or so I've heard.

My motorcycle got stolen, for one thing. But hey, look at the better side of it - I don't have to arrange for a winter garage. I am always trying to spot the silver lining and not let myself get beat by the setbacks. For me, that's one of the basic traits of an adventurer, and unfortunately there are too many people who lack that trait. Bitter, sluggish people who do not live their lives, they just exist. They have never done fun and crazy things in their lives, they have not experienced adventures, they have not committed grand achievements or great exploits, but they have a poopload of so-called Good Advice and Common Sense to feed you with. They will drag you down, they would tell you that things you are doing are impossible. Never listen to them, that's my motto. Otherwise you become one of them.

So now I have been preparing for the trip, and saving up money, which has been awfully hard, since the only thing that now motivates me to continue for a few more months is the possibility of having fun and therefore making the life worth while. "Fun" doesn't rhyme well with "Save" but I have done a very good job indeed, saving money at a pace I have never had before. Usually, I would spontaneously book a trip to some exotic country, or buy something nice, as soon as there has built up some sum over on my account, thus ruining all saving possibilities. Now, I'm just within the limit of being able to sail for several years if living cheap and Spartan, so I am considering locking up two-thirds of the savings in stock and funds, the risk of shit hitting the fan is quite low, now when the 2009 financial crisis is just behind us.I have also been buying stuff and things and gadgets for the Mare Liberum boat, as asked by Mark who is the skipper! I now have a large motor beside my bed, and the hall is taken up by a huge rubber dinghy, complete with pump, oars and what not. I will go out in the Stockholm archipelago and have some fun with that one in the spring, as well as go to the inland lakes and go fishing... Right now it seems too distant though, as the outside temperature in Stockholm has been between -10 and -20 C for a couple of weeks. Brrrr!

I've got a huge to-do-list fore the coming month: read more literature on sailing, book sailing lessons for the spring (I've got connections, you know!), sell all the junk that I have been holding onto for too long (and thus get more money for the trip), finish the paperwork with the bike insurance and other things, start working out (I will need the muscles during the trip... I am very strong, but the muscle tissue has been hibernating in a constant cozy beer-invoked slumber for several years now, so it's time to get up and get kickin!), move to another apartment, sell my car, and also, one of the most important points, get some sponsors. It will be a very positive, strong exposure for the companies wishing to sponsor us - and for us, it could mean a huge leap in living standards.

It is very hard to keep on working office hours when you know that there is a choice of sittin'n the dock of the bay instead, and motivation has been a weak point. But now I have been working very late almost every day for several weeks, and in the end it's all for the good thing so I'm keeping up! Cheers for now...