The Arrival, Heathrow-Southampton

Saturday 09:11, November 12

After touch down in London Hans and I managed to find a coffee house just in the nick of time before our composure got lost in the void of fatigue. We just bought ourselves one hour of artificially induced energy. Three meters away, or 10 feet since we are in London, is an impressive array of cold pre-fab meals with everything from chicken Bombay to dodgy pies that a friendly lady can prepare for us. Although our experience of the British cuisine is a bit on the dark side we are prepared to sample and consume a meal. It's simple - We need food.

After that we will meet up with Henrik, a fellow crew member here at the airport. Our bus leaves for Southampton at 10:45, and then it's just a matter of a few hours until we board the boat and cast off. Can't wait...

The Channel, Dover

Sunday 07:40, November 13

We left Southampton in great spirits, clear skies, favourable winds and a happy reunion with the rest of the crew. Had a very nice first night, a beautiful moon lit our way along the English coast. Sailing in the channel is never boring, it is amazing how much traffic there is here. With all those navlights everywhere, where is our little boat supposed to squeeze in?

Is a storm brewing?

We are currently outside Dover, after a sturdy meal of chili con carne we are now getting ready to cross the channel. Since the wind is NNW this means bearing away and will give us a comfortable reach (waves and wind coming in from the side). We hope to reach the entry of the Kiel Canal early Tuesday morning. The weather forecast looks ok but as we approach the European mainland winds and waves will pick up. Now it's my watch and I have to go, see you later.

The Swell, West of Holland

Monday 15:35, November 14

15:00 the wind has now reached 30 kt (15 m/s) and is slowly increasing. But the sky is clear and the sun is out! Our new ETA for Kiel is 07:00 tomorrow . The GSM coverage out here is poor so a more extensive report will follow later. A rolling swell of 2.5 meters makes life onboard interesting. We have put the first reef in and are now prepared for the strong winds forecasted for tonight.

Pyttipanna and oilrigs

We are west of the Dutch coast and I can smell "pyttipanna" (a celebrated Swedish dish of hacked and fried potatoes, onions and meat) coming my way. We have just passed through an oilfield with a good close-up of an abandoned rig and one which was being towed.

The new rhythm of life

We are now enjoying the stable rhythm of the watch-system. Three hours on watch and six hours to rest. It now feels completely natural to go to bed at any time of the day. It is amazing how fast the human body can adjust to new sleeping patterns. Till tomorrow...

Elbe

Tuesday 09:45, November 15

After a stormy night on the German bight we are tired but in good spirits. Finally we will get some real rest. It will be amazing to lie down and sleep in a boat which has stopped rocking.

We have entered the estuary of Elbe at Cuxhafen where the river is still wide and somewhat exposed to the waves from the sea. Soon we will turn north-east and enter the canal. We look forward to a little relaxing motoring and catching up on sleep. In the canal you are not allowed to travel during the night, but we will make it there before it's too late. This implies cruising on the canal during the afternoon, mooring up at the other end, in Holtenau, and then cook a fantastic dinner and have a little party. We will post a full report tonight about the action from last night.

The Cruise, Kiel canal

Tuesday 20:30, November 15

After a night that really put us through the test we have now entered the Kiel Canal. During Monday evening we saw how grim clouds were gathering in the distance, and soon enough they covered the sky. The moon vanished and it didn't take long until the wind picked up together with high rolling waves. The captain of the boat ordered the elite team to take charge of the Bramora, and this implied Mats, Fredrik and Hans on top while the rest of us tried to sleep in the thrashing boat. The trio stayed out in the wind, rain and darkness throughout the night, and what follows is the story according to Hans.

The sea rodeo

I got on my shift as usual. The wind had turned slightly more from south to west and as we were trying to stay as much to the east as possible. The wind was coming in more and more straight from behind. This meant an increased chance of unpredictable gybes, and in the strong wind we were experiencing this could have meant broaches and maybe rig failure. Tucked in nicely between a stretch of sand dunes and a traffic route we counted 26 ships in one go, and we knew we had to push on in the night. The wind was peaking at 46 knots and the waves were about four meters. The only upside to this was that we were picking up speed 13,4 knots in the surfs and steady above ten. The promising mouth of the river Elbe and the tranquile waters of the Kiel canal was a promising haven just 40 nautical miles away. Just to show us who the big kahuna really was the weather turned the screws a little bit tighter and sent us some rain and hail. But we already knew how much worse things could get, and the weather appreciated our humility and finally gave us a gentle push inshore to calmer waters.

I just woke up here dry and warm in the comfort of the boat, but my clothes are still hanging soaking wet from sea spray and rain.

Western Baltic, Rödby

Wednesday 20:30, November 16

After a good nights sleep we have now set sail again. We used the morning to repair the main sail and to stock up before our next part of the journey. While we we're patching up the sail we spotted a u-boat a kilometer away as it was gliding through the waters of Holtenau.

A night of rest

The night in the harbor brought all of us a little more energy, probably due to the fact that you sleep better in a bed that doesn't bounce.

Now we have a steady wind from the west of about 20 knots and we are cruising along steady abowe 10 knots. Sometimes up to 13 knots. The moon is full and our guide as we make our way through the night. Great sailing!

We are just passing Rödby and we will probably loose GSM-coverage in a few hours. Next report will be sent from Swedish territory some time tomorrow.

Western Baltic, South of Hanö

Thursday 07:00, November 17

Wind: NNW 8m/s, calm sea, clear skies and sub-zero temperatures.

We entered Swedish waters last night, and a little while later we rounded the the SE tip of the Swedish coast. It was a beautiful night for sailing, and with these conditions we will moor up in Gryt tomorrow morning. Clear skies and a bright moon will light our way.

Back in the S.W.E.D.E.N., Kalmar strait

Thursday 18.50, November 17

We have now returned to Swedish territory, and it feels like we must have done something right. Not only have we enjoyed epic sailing throughout the night with good winds and baby waves, but as the night finally yielded for the day we we're greeted by a sunrise that would invoke a sense of humility in Mike Tyson without the need of complementaty psychopharmaca.

The chill and the echo

The day has been blistring cold with a temperature hovering around zero degrees celsius, and with a decent windfactor it dropped down to 15 below. But three hours on deck can easily be endured when you know that you have six hours to thaw until next shift.

Just south of Kalmar strait we spotted the new flag ship of the Swedish navy - The corvette Visby. She was four km west of us, and you might think that with all her stealth technology she would be somewhat difficult to see on the radar. However, her echo on the screen looked just like any fishing boat's, only we knew that our government has payed a few billion kronors in order for us not to see her. An expensive echo... And as the stealth boat revved up in the distance an impressive smoke screen appeared behind her, and we could just barely smell the exhausts - an odd mixture of diesel particles and Swedish tax payers' money.

Coast guard greetings

After an hour or so of sailing further north we suddenly noticed the coast guard heading straight at us. They just materialized out of nowhere, and while we wondered whether they were going for us or a simply a joyride we heard their crackling call on the radio. And they wanted us, though their interest was purely benign. They just wanted to know what a sailing boat was doing here "just before Christmas", as they put it. We were glad to enlighten them, and after a brief inspection at a distance they must have reached the conclusion that Bramora wasn't filled to the brim with neither heroin nor illegal immigrants. Unharassed we we're still on our way home.

Now the night has fallen and we have taken the sails down in favor for the engine. Sailing in darkness, a narrow strait and with the wind from the north isn't the best combo at the moment. So we're chugging along, nice and steady, and planning for breakfast tomorrow in Gryt - our final destination.

Full circle, Gothenburg

Saturday 18.00, November 19

The last night on the boat (Thursday-Friday) was a cold one, and sub-zero temperature combined with sea spray from the waves is an efficient way to cover a boat with a layer of ice. At three AM captain Mats decided it was time to lower the speed in an attempt to slow the growth of the ice panzer that was forming in the bow of our boat. With a lower speed we could cut through the waves in a gentler manner without upsetting them - and hence less sea spray and ice. However, later in the morning the boat was a glistening popsicle and it was garnished with a 3 cm Stickleback that had been washed up and engulfed by the ice on deck with a frozen expression that conveyed a good portion of surprise (though there is some hesitance whether a small fish on the deck of a boat is capable of expressing anything but surprise).

Boat delivered - mission completed

Anyway, we safely moored at Gryt shipyard around 10 AM after subjecting chosen parts of the boat deck to a hot-water remedy. With the boat tethered to Swedish soil our mission was completed, and we quickly packed our gear and headed to a hotel in Linkoping, where rooms and beds didn't rock and roll.