June 5, 2007 -- We made the decision to take the main sail down and have it repaired by sail makers here in Sweden. They tell us it will take about a week which couldn't be better timing for us. The main continually gave us grief as it would get stuck and not furl into the mast. It had been stretched over the past years and would eventually create a hole which would mean twice the cost to repair. Along with the sail, we'll repair the boom vang, as it has seen a bit of wear.
Below: We've put up the main sail in the Stockholm marina; the sail makers taking it down


After Con and I scrubbed, polished, washed windows, and vacuumed Big Sky, we biked all over the city again. It's so hot in Stockholm today, summer is coming. The city is wild with celebrations! Every street is filled with open backed trucks with dozens of dancing, mostly drunk young kids wearing white shirts and white sailor hats. Some are holding up a picture of a small boy. We have no idea what the celebration is, but they're all really happy!

June 4, 2007 -- Our second day in Stockholm, the city that never stands still. We're docked at the only public marina and it's right downtown, which is surprisingly quiet and with plenty of open spots. The Mallard ducks were eating right out of my hand.


Stockholm could quite likely one of our favourite cities!

Swans would knock on the boats for lunch

There are major celebration going on, with balloons filling the sky, fireworks at night, antique car parade and cars honking in celebration of -- something. There was a festival in the park with this great band playing U2, Robbie Robertson, Rolling Stones...

A "Taste of Stockholm" is going on too, with foods from all the regions. We asked someone what was going on and he shrugged and said: "nothing, that's Stockholm."

The people are beautiful, healthy looking and so well dressed, and more blond people than I've ever seen. The summer fashions are funky and classy, lots of white, and off white, with splashes of colour here and there. It's a city that likes to dress.

The Baltic Sea fingers through the city, and bridges link all the fingers and the surrounding islands. There are 70 museums to see here, and so far, we've seen one. The buildings are beautifully preserved 16th and 17th century. It looks a lot like Amsterdam.

We biked for about two hours, just wandering up and down streets, exploring castles, parks, waterways. There's so much to do and see!

June 1 & 2, 2007 -- I called my dad for his 82nd birthday and by the time I'd returned to Big Sky, Con had decided we should leave the Aland Islands earlier than originally planned. He'd checked that the wind would be more in our favour by leaving sooner than later. "Besides," Con said "we can practice a night sail, and what better conditions than a bright northern night sky." We left at 10:15 p.m. and arrived the next afternoon to a sunny Stockholm. "The Plan" we'd set the course on the GPS and would sail in two-hour shifts.


The sun was showing us a magnificent setting, just as we were entering the 21-nautical mile stretch of open waters. Having no apprehension, except the shift-sleeping, I was excited to be sailing to Sweden. "The Plan" quickly failed, because as soon as we hit the open water, the motion changed to a rock and then a roll, causing me to have to swallow Gravol at regular intervals. All I could do was lay out in the bed. The two-hour shift lasted about nine hours for Con. About 7:30 a.m. I was able to take a shift and Con and a short sleep. "Apart from the lack of wind and the uncomfortable rolling motion," Con said, "the sail was comfortable from the pilot house." About two hours after the sun set, Con spotted a bright fire red sky. First he thought it was a boat on fire, then called to me believing the sun was rising again. It was the moon climbing out of the sea dominating the southeastern sky. Sailing along Sweden's coast on the way to Stockholm, we pasted small clumps of land with hundreds and hundreds of smelling-like-fish noisy cormorants nesting.

May 31, 2007 -- This morning, we biked to the fish monger whom we were told was in "that" direction, pointing south. This was our route:



Back at Big Sky, we prepared for our feast:



It was SO good and well worth the trek!

The marina we've bunked into is a 110 year old yacht and sailing club. For $22 Euro, we have 24-hour internet, a sauna twice a day (if we want), perfect access to the bike paths, and pretty much the entire marina to ourselves. The tourists still haven't arrived.

May 29, 2007 -- Having spent a full day on the island of Degerby, the prospect of investing another full day was not all that appealing, having seen the sites, eaten a "the" restaurant (only one) and checked out the tiny grocery store.

We decided to get up early and make the four-hour sail to Mariehamn, a destination we've been excited to reach. We woke deflated, to the sounds of fog horns and looking out the windows, could barely see 25 feet. About 1:30 p.m. though, the fog-mist was beginning to clear and we could see the narrow exit channel, so we battened down the hatches and headed out. Con had loaded the GPS with our route, and together we tried to decipher the Finnish water-road markers. These were the most challenging yet -- red ones, green ones, black with white and white with black, as well as centre markers, and dots of rocks everywhere! We were approaching it all very gingerly, when we heard the fog horn from the ferry. At the same time, the fog moved down the channel like a slow freight train. The ferry captain blew the horn to let us know his intention, and we skirted to a tiny spot between a marker and the roadway, not wanting to veer off because of the many rocks. We could have jumped onto the ferry it was so close. At that moment, the GPS went haywire! Always dependable, it began jumping, putting us on top of rocks, in different parts of the water. I went inside to turn on the Raytheon plotter and called out our location to Con. This is what we saw coming a moment later.

We passed between the pole and the ferry!
We're now in the Mariehamn marina, with internet, and the sun has been shining since the fog lifted. We had a delicious dinner and like two computer geeks, we're typing away in the pilot house.

May 28, 2007 -- We have a routine in the Aland Islands. We sail into one small village after another hoping to see a living, breathing person, and sure enough we find one or two. It's a hit and miss finding an outlet for electricity and the access to internet is pretty much out of the question. I practice driving Big Sky out of the marina's as Con works the lines. I turn her on to warm up, check which way the wind is blowing, move the rudder to "0," test the bow thruster; Con unties the bow line on the side not holding us from the wind (lee side), and asks for my ready sign. He unties, I give Big Sky a bit of reverse and a little bow thruster if needed. Con walks to the helm, unclips the Finnish clip from the buoy, I continue to back out, watching the depth to ensure we don't get grounded. I can then follow the charted course that Con's set into the GPS while he cleans up the lines. For a beginner, that's a lot of stuff to do. Con's a great instructor. We've just left Remmarhamn, and are heading to Degerby. I'm crossing my fingers that there's cell phone reception so we can connect with home.

I found a spot in the back of an open cabin in Remmarhamn and charged up my computer. Con biked into town and toured about. I snuck up on Slavonian Grebe nesting, she took off and left me to peak at her delicate eggs.



May 27, 2007 -- We just left a strange little town called Lappo in the Aland Islands. The sun was warm so we attempted to bike the parameter of the island and found maybe five residents, and the rest were birds. The Harbour Office was unlocked, but no one ever showed up. We helped ourselves to the electricity and enjoyed our little piece of paradise. In the morning, the mist rolled in and we charted our course southwest with a gentle 5.5 knot wind filling our sails. Chopin is playing throughout the boat, in the pilot house where I'm sitting and in the cockpit where Con's happily working the controls. Life is very very good.

.

May 23, 2007 -- We left our island after breakfast and the wind had once again cooperated as we sailed on a close haul, south to Verkan, a very small hamlet with about 1,000 inhabitants, and made our way to the sheltered harbour. We'd been told the ribs were excellent there. And, there were. Verkan is surrounded by islands (an island itself) and dotted with hidden obstacles just under the water's surface.

The waters are a little tricky here, with coloured poles marking islands, rocks, and other surprises just under the water. It's all been surveyed, and one should keep to the "recommended routes." Getting a little casual with our navigation, we came into Verkan on another route. We were motoring very slowly, believing we may be moving toward trouble. We were! The depth meter dropped quickly, 4.3, 3.2, 2.1, 2! Big Sky's hull reaches below the water to 2.2 meters. We hit the sea bottom at 2 meters, scrapped some rocks. It was a horrid sound. I held my breath; Con was calm. Big Sky heaved forward and in a few seconds we were in front of the harbour conducting a perfect Finnish docking. Needless to say, we studied our errors and now know (we think) the various pole navigation guidelines. Unfortunately, the navigation systems have not been available in any of our books or charts in English. We were lucky to not come to more serious grief. The markings are a series of black and white, white with black, white on top, black on top. Each notates the location you should be in relation to the pole when you pass it, i.e. on your east, west, etc. To make it more challenging, the black and white system is being changed to yellow, red and green poles, so they're on the water roadway too.
May 22, 2007 -- Learning that as a Nauticat boat owners, (Nauticat Hull 515-09) we also have shared ownership to Jarviluoto Island which we've called "Nauticat Island." We sailed the entire way from Turku and on a beam reach, as the winds couldn't have been more in our favour. We dropped the sails just as we rounded the cove, according to our coordinates, and right in front of us was an adorable dark brown rustic cabin with a massive dock.

Mooring Finnish style, we climbed onto the pier and explored the property. There's a sauna, spotlessly clean cabin, rusty water from a pump, and hundreds of birds, ducks, geese and other wildlife surrounding the property. We arrived early evening, and caused quite a ruckus with the Herring Gulls, whom we later discovered had three unhatched eggs they were protecting, just under theedge of the pier.

They swooped down with their feet out as if they were birds of prey, ready to attack Con. We had dinner, then Con prepared the wood burning sauna. A half hour later, we were doing what the Fins do, relaxing and sweating in a sauna! Con, not bothered by the massive-sized mosquitoes, took the camera and explored the rest of the property and parts of the island, returning with breathtaking photos.
May 19, 2007
Just a few more days remain for us in this delightful town of Turku, the town we've called home for the past three weeks. It has been our "getting ready" location. Today, we biked into town to pick up yet more supplies.

It was a hilarious site to see us biking the 6 kilometers trek back to Big Sky with 270 feet of line, a reel to bolt to the side of Big Sky to hold the line; a four foot hook; vacuum cleaner; microwave lid; indoor/outdoor thermometer; batteries; book; rain gear; a few other smaller things; and most importantly to-die for smoked salmon from the Turku market (oh yes, and herring, pickled in juniper berries, Con's absolute favorite treat). Kai and Tuula Gustafsson, dropped by for a visit and to check with us if there are any other questions or things they could do for us. Kai is the Nauticat designer, and owner of the factory and marina and Tuula, his wife and most gracious host, never leaves without making notes of more things they can check for us. We hold great respect for them both, the epitome of Finnish people, honest, solid characters loaded with spirit and a love of the outdoors.

Con's haircut; Kai and Con at the Nauticat Yard

Last night, the wannabe hairdresser came out in me.
At 11 p.m., in the dusky daylight dark I sat Con on a cement post on the dock in a cold breeze, and plugged my hair clippers into the abandoned fuel house and gave Con the best haircut he's ever had. I'm so proud of it that I had to include it in this diary.
May 13, 2007
Feeling pretty good about our sail yesterday, we decided that in celebration of Mother's Day, we'd take Big Sky out by ourselves. Everything was perfect. We had 7.9 knots on a broad reach with the sun filling in the cockpit. Coming back into port was a bit different. The main sail was obstinate and decided not to furl back into the mast. But after coaxing... it went back in. I think it's still a bit tight. As we cornered the mooring, I lassoed the centre pole called the dolphin which secures the boat, then I can fasten the rest of the lines. All the while, Con is tapping the bow thruster port and starboard. NEVER LEAVE THE BOAT AT THIS POINT, UNLESS YOU'RE AN EXPERIENCED SAILOR. I decided to climb down the six bow steps to land to secure the bow (carrying the line). NEVER CARRY THE LINE DOWN THE LADDER. I took one step and fell the rest of the way. Ouch. Was it ego or elbow that hurt. I fell off the boat! Con gave me plenty of "there there's" and I managed to laugh at the whole affair.

May 12, 2007
We finally sailed today for the first time! Big Sky cut so smoothly through the water, if felt as if we were barely moving. We motored out of the harbour at 7.5 knots, which seemed as if we were gliding along the top of the water, but in actual fact, that's quite fast. Then, with the push of a few buttons, we eased up the main and the jib and were under sail.


Heeling at 20 degrees our port rail was nearing the water and we had no problem moving about the deck very sure footedly. With a slight breeze we were pushed along at 5 knots under sail. It was exhilarating; a perfect first sail!
Look up to the top --75 feet up -- that man's changing our light bulbs sitting in a Bosun chair!

Con used the bow thrusters on his return to our berth. We nearly went through the neighbours pilot house, but another tap on the thruster and we were instantly moving backward. It's loaded with power.

May 8, 2007
Our 5th day on Big Sky, and we're still discovering neat new things about her. The days are full, starting early, and practically dropping into bed at the end of the day as we try to fit so much into each day.

This is day one, when the clutter began.

We've been translating German and Finnish instruction and appliance manuals since we arrived. Today, we learned how to have the washing machine give us back our clothes (two days later). Believing the dryer didn't work, we learned that it sucks the clothes dry and stores the water in a funnel which needs to be emptied! It's a hit and miss on the microwave, as I really don't know what sequence of buttons makes it work, but we're not starving. Who would have thought that operating foreign appliances would be a challenge. Everything on Big Sky is like new, and the previous owner invested in the "best" of everything. What a treat for us. I've just scrubbed down the cockpit and put out the white custom fitted cushions.

Yesterday, we discovered an enclosure for the cockpit creating a spacious canopy and another huge addition to the boat. At this moment, Con's working with a man in our engine room learning how to change the oil. I'm in the pilot house, with the sun coming through the windows, music playing in the background, birds carrying on outside with great animated conversations and the smell of the buns just about baked in our newly understood oven is wafting through the boat. We're a few days away from taking our first sail and we're getting anxious to try it out. Yesterday, the previous owners dropped by (from Spain) for a visit and showed us a ton of things. Their visit answered many questions for us. This afternoon, we'll get on our bikes (or maybe be a bit lazy and take the bus) into Turku with our laptops. We discovered a friendly bar where for a coke or a cider, you can camp out as long as you want there with your laptop.

May 2, 2007
Our last full day in St. Petersburg. We've likely walked a marathon each day and there's still so much more to see. We managed to make our way through the Metro stations again, Con with one hand in his pocket (holding the cash), the other holding the map. I have one hand on his jacket while I glare at all the gypsy-like people believing ALL of them to be pick pockets. I realized that many were staring back. I think I'm scaring innocent Russians.

Yesterday in the snow.

April 28, 2007
We're in St. Petersburg, Russia while Big Sky is having the attention of mechanics and electricians. What a day we had! We finally began to get into our lazy holiday/retired lifestyle after having been traveling and visiting family for 10 days. We were shuffle-walking our way through St. Petersburg's beautiful sights and made our way into the Dvor Metro Station to check out some of the most fascinating embodiments of Stalinist style and ideals (so the books say). We purchased our token entrance coins and after lots of miscommunication with the lady behind the window, we randomly selected the blue line to hop aboard. In the flash of a moment, Con was pick pocketed by an expert gang of about five gypsy type guys. It was a well orchestrated event.
Dvor Subway

Con and I were holding hands when we entered the car; in a flash we were swarmed, someone behind Con and about three men between him and me. We continued to hold hands, he was pushed back and off, I pulled him on, he was pushed again, and about then, his wallet was gone! We had a moment to debate getting onto the train or running off to catch the invisible thief. We got on. I glared and accused the men at the door who were SO SO SO guilty and pretended not to be. Con was stunned and said "Barbie, they took everything, my credit cards, money...)" About that time, I started frisking the men at the door and one man started to undo his pants -- to cause some kind of "other" attention. If there was a moment of doubt with respect to their innocence, we sure didn't at that point. But, they won, we got off at the next stop, licked our wounds, walked back to the hotel. The pleasant irony of the day was that our "soft" phone (computer phone) has not been working, but that afternoon Con was able to call all the credit card companies and very efficiently canceled everything. We should have our new cards in a few weeks. The only fear is identity theft. Time will tell I guess. Con always puts his wallet in his front pocket and his hand in his pocket... except today. We called the kids (delighted once again with the soft phone's performance) and laughed about our ill fate.

April 25, 2007 -- We launched Big Sky today! See the video for footage. It was a two-hour slow drive down the country roads to the sea.

April 19, 2007 --It was good to be in Holland to celebrate Con's mom's 91st birthday. While there, we were invited to take a ride in a balloon. Amazing, it's like a magic carpet ride. At some point, we were just suspended, not moving at all. Strange, scary, and serene!

April 8, 2007 -- A very busy time for us all. Con and I just returned from seven days in China.

It's Easter weekend, and we're celebrating with the kids before we say our "good bye's" in 10 more days. Items we'll need on Big Sky will be crated Tuesday and air freighted to Turku, Finland.


March 13, 2007
- the adventure begins in 36 days

We're investing these days taking in as much time with our kids, friends and families as possible, before we say our "good-bye's." Our careers are winding down, and we're extremely busy packing up an an 100+ accumulated years of land-living.

There's a touch of sadness at the loss of the familiar. A touch of fear mixed with excitement about the unknown. "Big Sky" is like our magic carpet, taking us on adventures beyond our wildest imagination. I expect we'll learn about ourselves through our new experiences, and understand where we "fit in" to our amazing world. This adventure is surely a gift, and we can hardly wait for it to begin!