Sayonara Jennifer & Friends!

The Jennifer part of my very personal diary blog is dedicated to:

S/Y Jennifer, a beautiful and very

     capable lady & world traveller, warm

     inside when it is cold outside, 

my Captain Lasse, circumnavigator, 

     author and debater, proud owner of

     Jennifer and a great leader 24/7 with

     99% faith in his crew's ability to

     navigate around the clock while he is

     enjoying a cup of hot ginger tea,

my two full distance crew mates:

   - Tore, gratin master with a great sense

      of humour and my patient sailing

      instructor, come rain or shine,

    - Ingemar, wise, practical and always

      cheerful & willing to do the dishes or  

      to explain the use of navigational 

      aids on board Jennifer,

my four part distance crew mates:

    - Christian, Lars, Jack and Terry, 

      friendly, talkative & musical (J & T)

my positive wife Akane for her excellent

      home base support,

anyone curious and patient enough to

      read this this diary blog from Lagos

      to Stockholm.

   

I take full responsibility for any factual errors and/or 

grammatical and spelling mistakes when describing 

my 35 days together with Jennifer & friends, covering 

2042 nautical miles (3782 km) at sea, plus several 

miles over land on foot, by tram and bus in six 

countries. 

     Thanks,  Cheers & Sayonara from

                          Staffan,

   a novice sailor on board S/Y Jennifer. 

 Lagos, Portugal to Stockholm, Sweden

           May 2nd - June 4th, 2019

         Keep sailing and keep smiling!

Stockholm - our final destination!

At noon time yesterday, on June 4th, Jennifer and her happy crew entered Stockholm's inner harbour in order to reach our final destination,  Wasahamnen Marina.  It is the city's most central guest harbour with a capacity of 174 boats. The marina is located next to the world famous Wasa museum, Stockholm's number one tourist attraction.

Stockholm (pop. 966.000) was founded 1252 but construction started already 1187. The population of the greater Stockholm area is approx. 1.600.00 inhabitants.

At the marina I was welcomed warmly by my wife Akane, my daughter Priscilla and my granddaughter Isolde - a very happy reunion! After introducing them to my fellow crew mates I could show them Jennifer's inside, including a peek into the galley and our living quarters for the past five weeks. Later they got a chance to sample mine and Tore's cooking when we all sat down for a leftover lunch. After "fika" (coffee & cinnamon bun) it was time for me to clean my toilet and cabin before saying good bye to Jennifer, Cpt. Lasse and to my fellow crew mates.

Too late to welcome...

...us yesterday as we were getting close to Stockholm! 

- "It was the missed chance of a lifetime", were the exact words of Cpt. Lasse, "to welcome his brother after sailing from Portugal to Stockholm! ". All my crew mates were lined up on deck together with me in order to greet my brother! He lives very close to the last narrow stretch of water before reaching Stockholm harbour. He didn't make in time despite early enough notice...

Dalarö Skans...

...is a former sea fortress located on a small island, Stockskärsholmen, south of the small harbour town Dalarö in the Stockholm archipelago. Building of the present fortress started 1656. The idea was to protect ships in the Dalarö harbour. According to some other sources the purpose was to stop the enemy from reaching Stockholm from the south. The fortress has never been in a battle. Today the fortress is used for meetings and conferences.

Summer guests at Landsort: 1 weather and 30 does

Landsort Lighthouse is located on a small island called Öja in the southern part of Stockholm archipelago. There's been a lighthouse here since 1651. The island is 5 km long and 700 m wide. To keep the landscape open, one weather (castrated male goat) and 30 does (female goats) will do the job with their appetite during summer 2019.

Today's Cod Catch - Before and After

I prepared our freshly caught and bought cod for lunch in two ways:

- tempura style

- fish and chips style. Due to a lack of bread crumbs onboard I used crushed onion and sour cream chips!

For the tempura cod dish I used the yellow part of eggs, flour, Danish export beer and salt & pepper.

Both cod dishes were served together with a potato gratin á lá Tore. All in all an excellent meal according to the food jury onboard this sailing vessel.

165 NM to Stockholm, Sweden

We have now started on our last leg of this long sea voyage - nonstop sailing from Borgholm to Stockholm. If everything goes well we will dock in the Wasa Harbour close to the ship with the same name which sank on it's maiden voyage. Estimated time of arrival 4-5 PM on Tuesday. June 4th.

Gert - the Cod Fisher Man

Early this morning a noticed a small red dot far out at sea surrounded by seagulls. 

A fishing boat! 

A fresh fish possiblity!

I decided to meet up with boat as it entered the harbour to ask if I could buy fish directly off the boat. And yes, no problem! Gert, the captain, asked if I wanted him to clean the fish. Yes please! I paid him SEK120 for a kilo of freshly caught cod. 

Today's Jennifer lunch: butterfried cod with potato gratin!

Hull cleaning time...

...in Borgholm harbour. Our voyage through the English Channel has left yellow and brown stains on Jennifer's white hull. Ingemar and Lasse has launched her tender for a better hull reach from seaside. 

A clean yacht is a proud yacht,  a must before entering the Royal Capital of Sweden!

Barbecue dinner at Villa Verde, Borgholm

Old friends of Cpt. Lasse kindly invited us to Villa Verde, their little apartment hotel, for a hot shower upon arrival this morning, and later for a barbecue in their beautiful garden. The owners of the hotel, Anette and Kjell, knows Lasse from sailing days in the Caribbean. It was great to have a proper sit down dinner after many balance act meals at sea. After dinner Terry played a couple of much appreciated country favorites on his ukulele.

Flower power at Villa Verde, Borgholm

The owner of Villa Verde, Anette, has really "green fingers" as you can see from the pictures shown here. 

World Yacht Crew Appreciation Day

World Cabin Crew Appreciation Day was celebrated around the globe yesterday, on May 31. As a former cabin attendant (8 years in the air with Norwegian) I was inspired by this celebration to initiate a "World Yacht Crew Appreciation Day" to honor all fellow crew mates around the world. 

Onboard Jennifer we will therefore start to celebrate this day on June 1. A special and salty sea lunch will be served: smoked mackerel from Allinge, Bornholm together with a delicious potato gratin á lá Tore and a mixed salad based on what is left in the vegetable net in the galley. A well chilled chardonnay from Australia will be a perfect match for this meal for any off duty crew member. Active crew will only be served Jennifer still water...

Sweden on both sides of Jennifer

After 22 hours of excellent sailing from Bornholm, we now have the island of Öland on our starboard side and the Swedish mainland on the other side. One hour ago we passed under the bridge to Öland, the longest bridge in Sweden.

 

Bye, bye Rønne..

...and bye, bye Denmark!

After topping up the yacht refrigerator with Danish butter and eggs and filling two tanks with fresh water on Jennifer, we are now ready to head north, to Borgholm, Sweden. Our estimated sailing time is 24 hours to cover a distance of 125 NM. 

What goes around, comes around!

Our unwelcome visitor is still active inside Jennifer's hull. Next crew member to catch a cold was Ingemar. Yesterday was, luckily enough, a layday here in Rønne and he could rest and take it easy. A cup of hot ginger & honey tea and a dose of my super strong flu medicine from Dubai helped to ease his pain and discomfort.

Hammershus Castle Ruin, Bornholm

On our way to Allinge by bus earlier today, we made a brief stop at the entrance to Hammershus Slotsruin. While our kind bus driver went out to smoke one electronic cigarette, I was permitted to climb a small hill to take a photo of the castle. So much to see and so little time...

Hammershus Castle was erected in 1200 by the arch bishop of Lund (today a city in Sweden) and the Danish church. Hammershus played an important part in the struggles and wars that took place in the middle ages in Europe.

After the reformation the castle was presented to the King. It was deserted in 1745 and allowed to fall in decay. Today, however, it is counted as one of the major tourist attractions here on Bornholm.

- Hvornaar smager en Tuborg bedst?

- Hvergang!

Especially today at a harbourside cafe in Allinge (pop. 1.600) on the  northern tip of Bornholm when the morning rain had just turned into sunshine.

The commercial slogan used as heading here was used by Tuborg (founded in 1873) during many years. This brewery is now a part of the Carlberg group.

After lunch today Tore and I took a bus to the northern village of Allinge, using our pensioners discount, here in Bornholm labelled as a child discount! Happy as child I just had to try a seaside swing as well - perhaps my Tuborg put me in a swinging mood...

Allinge is a very attractive village with a small fishing port, now mostly used by pleasure crafts. You can still buy freshly smoked fish here and we bought some to be used as an appetiser tonight onboard Jennifer.

Ascension Day Dinner in Rønne

Tonight we all went out for a proper joint dinner in a local restaurant! We felt that it was time to celebrate coming this far without any mishaps. The tourist season had not started yet so it was easy for us to get a table for five. Even four legged friends are well taken care of here in town! If you need to park your husband while shopping here in Rønne, then there's a practical solution available to keep all family members happy!

Bornholm - "The Baltic Pearl"

The sailing from Holtenau to Bornholm,  (pop. 40.000) in Denmark was very good most of the distance on this leg of 170 NM. Limited traffic at night helped us to cover the distance in only 26 hours. Upon arrival in Rønne (pop. 13.700), the main Capital of Bornholm and the largest town, we were greeted and assisted by a very friendly Harbour Master.

The Port of Rønne is Denmark's 12th largest harbour and lively frequented by ferries, fishing boats and cargo vessels. The only pleasure craft in our part of the harbour today, when I write this, is a Norwegian yacht (Bavaria 42) spending two nights here before heading south to Poland. We are also thinking of staying 2 nights here before we continue north to Borgholm on the Swedish island Öland.

Two Sleepy Sailor Boys...

..moving across the big blue sea on Jennifer's gently rocking lap. Add a bit of sun and fresh, salty air and you are ready for a little cat nap.

Bye Bye...

...Germany!