Postponed departure...

...due to additional paperwork and missing spare parts and security equipment. At least we don't expect to wait 60 days like Niklas from Sweden. He bought a Nauticat 34 at a fair price here in Croatia two month ago from a German gentleman.

Finally, today he could leave the marina after major repair work had been carried out at Croatian speed. I am showing his boat below - on shore and off shore.

Niklas lived onboard his boat on shore the whole waiting period together with his 12 year old dog Terry who was wondering about the lack of water...

Bridge sailors today

We are living on Croatian time, waiting for spare parts and new sails. At least one extra night will be spent at anchor at our marina before we can set sails. Checking the mast 26 meters above sea level takes a bit of courage!

Yesterday I met this fishermen in Primosten checking his net together with his cat. Perhaps he got more fish than net worms...

First night onboard & final preparations

After an excellent dinner in Primosten, a small seaside town 6 km from the marina, it was great to go to sleep in my small cabin. After 1:st breakfast on board I took  long hike together with Stefan, 14 km - only to meet four Germans and a Croatian viper.

Fredrik, the captain on a sister ship, is busy making final preparations on "my" boat.

Preparing our boats...

...and meeting meeting my fellow shipmates at the marina in Croatia. I arrived at Split airport after less than three hours of excellent service by my ex Norwegian colleagues! After a 30 minute transfer I am now sitting next to my home for +/- three weeks.

Four boats will set sail at the same time on October 16. The crew onboard my ship,  the PIXEL, consists of 6 experienced sailors and one kayaker.

More time at sea...

...this time with More Sailing, a Swedish company organising sailing trips in the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic and in the Caribbean. I booked this trip already in early Spring this year. After my heart ache, described in my previous blog, I have now been given OK by my surgeon to participate in a scheduled three week cruise from Primosten (close to Split), Croatia to Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The total duration of the trip and actual route depends of course on the weather, but I have listed planned stops on the map below.

The boat used for this trip is a newly designed More 55, built on a recently established Swedish-Croatian owned wharf located in Croatia. "More", by the way, translates to "Sea" in the Croatian language. In Las Palmas a new crew will take over the boat int order to participate in a race across the Atlantic to St. Lucia, the annual ARC- Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.

Early Saturday morning (14 October) I will fly down to Split with my old (but still young) company Norwegian to meet up with my fellow shipmates for the first time,

Back on track

My kayak trip ended earlier than planned as mentioned in my last blog. The reason was not a bad common cold but something much worse! After being picked up by my son in law I visited a local clinic in southern Sweden the following day. After a very basic check at the clinic I was told to rest for a few days before I could continue my kayak trip. But I felt that something was seriously wrong and after a few days of terrible suffering I decided to return home.

On June 4th my wife Akane kindly picked me up by car for the 500 km return journey to our home base. On the following day I visited my local clinic only to be sent directly to the emergency room at one of the the major hospitals in Stockholm.  I was immediately hospitalised. My problem was a collapsed mistral heart valve, resulting in the incomplete closing of the leaflets of the valve and causing leaking back of the blood.

After surgery on June 15th and a total of three weeks in different hospitals I was sent home to recover. Luckily for me it was possible to use the old valve. My talented surgeon was able to attach the valve to a support ring and tie it up with Gore-Tex tread. This repair method, combined with healthy home cooked meals, have really helped me to make a speedy recovery.

I am now in the final stage of planning my next salty adventure!


Fresh from the operation table

"Lessons learned, don't retire too early - or bad things might happen!

10% - over and out

PU: 30 May - Day 11
        Gillholmen - Koviks hamn     5 km

Eleven exciting days are over. Everything has been working very well for me as a lone paddler, both physically and mentally. 
I was able to navigate Red Nose only by using compass and sea charts. Support from my homebase has been excellent.

However, during the last couple of nights I have been suffering from a terrible cough. Last night I even started to feel pain in my lungs. After a lot of thinking I have today decided to end this adventure at this time. Better safe than sorry! The HBB challenge is always open for future attempts.

Very early this morning I called Per-Eric, my son in law, and he kindly agreed to pick me up. I back tracked 5 km from Gillholmen to the nearest marina easily accessible from the mainland.
Again it was a very difficult decision to throw in a rather wet towel - but in order to stay healthy for a future adventure is important to listen to your body and your wife. I am pleased to have paddeled 216 km, almost 10% of the full HBB distance.

In closing this blog I would like to thank all known and unknown followers for your interest in my adventure. Keep your eyes open for any future activity of common interest on this site

Thanks and sayonara!

Staffan

PS.
Red Nose left HBB in style, in a horse taxi!