6/24/03 to 6/26/03 – Ellös

Returning to Ellös had a strong sentiment of returning home for us. There were old friendships to renew and news to catch up on. Best of all, we could finally get our household goods which had finally arrived.

Early the next morning we “found” our pallet after the dockmaster located it. The yard had stored it somewhere for safekeeping while we were traveling. It was fun to unload everything, forgetting exactly what we had shipped. Finally we had dishes, pots, pans, real glasses, real silverware, bedding, pillows, plus a host of other boat parts and supplies.

We met with Stefan (our HR contact) and went over the list of questions and problems which had developed. He coordinated the yard technicians to fix our problems while we figured out places to stow all of our supplies.

The next day we decided to change the oil as we had put about 100 hours on the engine crossing Sweden via the canal. Vicky (from HR Parts) delivered the requisite 10 liters (2.5 gallons) of oil directly to the boat and Steve went to work draining the old oil with the newly installed electric oil pump.

The harbor was packed with jelly fish. The sea was thick with them. People on the dock however said this was nothing – should have seen them a couple of weeks ago – they were really overflowing the banks at the time. People had complained that they had infiltrated the various incoming filter systems of the boats. Apparently they had clogged several toilet, engine and salt water intakes. Everyone emphasized that the smell of dead jellyfish during the ensuing clean-up was not to be relished.

We had only seen one other American boat while on our trip around Sweden. However at the HR marina, there were several American or Canadian boats. Brian Anderson (Red Shoes – HR40, Canadian) was back at the marina along with his wife Barbara. She is a physician in Saudi Arabia. Brian originally picked up his boat the same week as we did, but Barbara was unable to join him at the time. Now they were getting ready to leave on their tour of the Baltic. Another American couple were also in the marina picking up their new HR46, John and Bobby Johnston. They had been already in the marina a couple of weeks and were still installing radios and other equipment. They planned to cross the Atlantic in November with the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). They were also waiting for their sons to join them for the trip south.

We didn’t have much of a chance to talk with Todd before he left for England. However, before he left, he offered us an electronic chart chip of the German Bight and English Channel. Our C-Map electronic chart system was working again now that we had left the Göta Canal. It costs about double to buy the C-Map cartridges in Europe over the US prices. We had only purchased two, which covered the East and West Swedish coasts. We didn’t have one for our trip south and were trying to figure out a way to have someone buy us one in the States and have it FedExed to us. Todd’s offer was very timely and much appreciated.

That night, Vickie and Rolland took us and Brian and Barbara to dinner at the little gourmet restaurant in Ellös. We had a wonderful meal and lots of great conversation.

On Thursday Brian and Barbara (Red Shoes) departed and Paul and Vivienne (HR 43, Walkabout II) arrived. Paul is from Seattle and was picking up his boat the same time we were back in May. He left the boat at HR and went back to Seattle to return a couple of weeks before we got back with his wife Vivienne. They had just left to go on their cruise a couple of days before we returned this time, so we figured that we missed them. But they returned under trying circumstances. They hit a rock and Paul was worried about damage. Everyone assured him that there were “probably no problems at all,” but HR agreed to pull the boat and take a look at it on Friday anyway.

It turned out that Paul was right to be concerned as the damage was extensive enough to require a new keel. HR coordinated the entire repair operation, and a week later they were sailing again.

6/26 – Ellös to Gullholmen

Today was Thursday and we were just barely finishing up projects. If fact, we could have used a couple of more days, but we didn’t want to wait until Saturday to leave, and leaving on a voyage on Friday is considered bad luck. So, that meant that we had to get underway somehow today. So we decided to have dinner with Paul and Vivienne at Gullhomen and spend the night there. After dinner, we dropped them back off at Ellös and returned to Gullhomen. While shopping in Gullhomen, Jan found 4 fabulous coffee mugs for the boat.

6/27 – Gullholmen to S of Marstand

Friday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with little wind. We decided to circumnavigate Ourst Island. This was a trip we had planned and “mapped” out on the computer while still in Seattle. Jan even put her bathing suit on for the first time on the trip! South of Tjorn Island, near the picture postcard small island with the single house on it, we anchored for the night using both the bow and stern anchors.

6/28 – Skagen, Denmark

Leaving Sweden for the last time heading due West, we practiced “heaving to” on our way to Denmark. The winds were 4 – 5 m/s and we could only do it with the sails reefed in. When we arrived in Skagen, the northern most point of Denmark, we were greeted by tons of boats rafted 7- 8 deep. There was a big Rock and Roll festival that had started at least two days ago. There was no way we were ever going to find a place at the main town marina. A call to the harbor master didn’t help much. We pulled the charts out and found a small marina away from town a little ways and decided to try it. There we finally found a spot in the local yacht club.

Although not in the center of town, it wasn’t that far, maybe a mile. We walked all over town listening to the music going on in the parking lots, bars, tents and on boats. We had a drink at the Buddy Holly bar – then walked back to the boat.  On the way we met a fisherman who was determined to tell us all the problems the fishing industry had with governmental regulations. He was upset that the government was restricting the length of the commercial fishing season. Because last year in 2 days of fishing they caught over 700 tons of fish. This year in 10 days they have only caught 100 tons. He didn’t seem to see the irony in his position.

6/29 – Skagen to Hals, DK

Now that it’s “summer” – it’s getting harder to get places at the marinas. The only spot we could get this time was right next to the gas docks. We are starting to move pretty fast now as we feel the pressure of having to get to Amsterdam before our scheduled meeting with our distributors and with enough time to shut down the boat. We didn’t allow much time to sightsee here. We did take a walk through the town and it turned out to have a great grocery store right next to the marina. Ahh, the little things that are important now, like where to get some groceries in a hurry.