Wednesday, 5 June 2019

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...😥


Tuesday, 4 June 2019

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.


Monday, 3 June 2019

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.