Week 01 – 13 2019 Sweden, Helsingborg
31 December – 31 March 0 nm
Week 1 31 December – 6 January 2019 Norra hamnen Helsingborg
A new week and a new year.
Last week ended with Björn’s mother back in hospital after a new tripping, with a new fracture.
After nine days she was back at home with even more frequent support from the welfare system.
Hopefully that will postpone the next fall.
We found a recliner with electrical motor that could support her better when resting in front of the TV. She can actually find positions that almost take the pain away without medication. But as soon as she has to move the pain comes back.
For us the new year started as the old one ended, with us learning about the healthcare business.
We spent New Year’s Eve in the boat watching numerous fireworks that flew over Moon. Luckily none got caught in the rigging or landed on deck.
Except for the first of January, when we had almost fifty knots of wind, the week have been relatively calm and with almost no rain or snow.
We are happy to see that the daylight gets longer every day, especially days with clear sky brings us nice sunshine already at 8.30 in the morning.
Week 2 7 – 13 January 2019 Helsingborg
A week with electrical work.
Our struggle to come to a decision about new AGM or Lithium batteries is finally finished.
We bought eight Vetus 100 Ah AGM and will keep on living in the world of lead batteries.
Main reason; it seems that, at least for a 24 volt system, the technique is not really there yet.
No chargers are available with a regime suitable for lithium and “lead”-charging is one of the main reason for new lithium batteries to fail. Living in a boat with shore power is another problem. Lead love to work being fully charged the opposite to Lithium. Bottom line, we will stay with AGM until the market show proof that the equipment around lithium has improved.
The second half of the week we have been occupied charging our new AGM’s, one by one, to get them totally balanced before we install them into a 400 Ah bank next week.
The weather has been mostly calm but grey and some fog. Not much rain and one day we even saw the sun.
The chilly and humid weather together with colder water has brought condensation in to the boat.
Had to empty all lockers to dry them out and now we leave the doors open at night together with running the dehumidifier in the saloon. We are sleeping in the forward cabin with a closed door in between.
Björn’s mother is slowly recovering, but very slowly.
Week 3 14 – 20 January 2019 Helsingborg
A week off duty.
We were scheduled to drive to Gothenburg Monday, but due to forecasted frost and ice on the roads we decided to leave Sunday instead.
Visited friends on Comedie, living in Kungsbacka, before we settled in Berit’s apartment in Gothenburg.
Monday evening we had a full house (64) at Slören, a sailing club that we have visited almost every time we have been back in Sweden. Fun to meet old friends and there were even some new faces with long gone plans for cruising. Lots of questions after our slide show.
Tuesday we visited our dentist and in the evening we were invited for dinner by Lars and Brita. Very tasty and fun as always.
Wednesday there was again a full house (150). This time at the Swedish Cruising Club.
We were impressed to have so many viewers, but knowing that the booking was “full” already a few days after the magazine with the add was published, we felt sorry not to offer something to the once that called to late.
There were quite a few new faces in the audience, and we were happy that we choose to start the presentation with a summary of our first ten years sailing around.
On our way back to Helsingborg, on Thursday, we made a stopover in Bua to have dinner with our oldest friends, Agneta and Anders.
Back in Helsingborg Friday we resumed our work in the “healthcare” business. Björn’s mother had survived our temporary absence, but was delighted to welcome us back in her more personal “staff”.
Despite strong wind on Monday, the week has been calm and no stresses to Moon. We had a neighbouring yacht keeping an eye on Mon when we are gone. The temperature has been around zero with only little snow. During Saturday and part of Sunday we had sunshine and two Centigrade minus.
Our new AGM batteries are still under “balance charging” one by one, ready to be installed by the end of next week.
Coming presentations:
4:e of February we will have a slideshow at KNS in Oslo, and 2:nd of March in Sigtuna. 13 March we will visit the neighbouring Yacht Club in Råå.
Week 4 21 – 27 January 2019 Helsingborg
A week full of work.
We have worked the whole week, either in Moon with battery exchange and a new towel dryer/radiator in the aft toilet, or being volunteer workers in the community service, taking care of Björn’s mother.
The weather has been below freezing most of the week with some snow, but no strong wind.
The battery exchange takes some time as we want to charge each battery prior to connecting them to one bank.
The radiator exchange need a bit more work than planned, as the fasteners has another position. New holes for the piping, and so on…
Bought a snow shovel to clear the deck from snow! Most of the predicted snow came down north of Helsingborg and made havoc in traffic. We are happy to have our car in a warm garage.
Week 5+6 28 January – 10 February 2019 Göteborg
Björn started early Monday morning taking the train to Gothenburg to join a yearly Bridge meeting together with more than 700 people involved in bridges. He was invited by former colleagues and it was fun and a bit tempting to accept invitations to do some work
Back in Helsingborg on Tuesday we used the mild weather to fill our water tanks, something that has to be done when no frost. We also ran the engine and flushed the water maker.
Thursday a sister to Björn’s mother arrived and Friday we celebrated Björn’s birthday together.
We planned to drive to Gothenburg on Sunday, but due to predicted bad weather already Saturday afternoon, we left for Gothenburg already Saturday morning.
After lunch in Berit’s flat we visited two couples during the afternoon and evening, very nice to get together with old friends.
Sunday we had a lazy day except for visiting the Gothenburg Boat Show. Mostly powerboats, but lots of friends to talk to.
Monday we took the bus to Oslo to give a slideshow presentation in the evening. Our hosts picked us up at the bus station and then we had full service in their apartment, sightseeing in Oslo and of course during the evening the presentation at KNS (Royal Norwegian Sailing association) in the afternoon. Oslo was nicely covered in 25 cm snow and temperatures well below freezing.
Back in Gothenburg we managed to meet some more friends before we on Thursday drove back to Helsingborg via Varberg and a visit at our healthcare center. After almost a week with temperature below freezing, we were happy to have dry roads and well above freezing during our return south.
Back in Moon, except for taking care of Björn’s mother, we finally managed to get the radiator in place on Friday. Now the toilet/shower is nice and warm again.
The night to Saturday we had continues rain, but luckily we had almost no rain during daytime. The night to Sunday was quite windy with no rain. We will keep our sea legs!
Sunday the rain came back, but we managed to get some exercise taking a walk around the town.
Week 7 11-17 February 2019 Helsingborg
Sunday night was a bit stormy, but Monday came with less wind and sunshine late afternoon.
We had a meeting with the healthcare group in Björn’s mother’s flat, trying to sort out what medicine she should take. After the meeting some pills was excluded…
Tuesday we had visit from Sara and Magnus, sailing Mahi-Mahi, on route back to Kungsbacka from Malmö. We hadn’t met since Thailand 2015, so of course a lot to talk about.
Wednesday came with sunshine and fresh westerly wind, but as much as six Centigrades! Spring is coming.
Got new nav-lights instead of the ones we installed in Japan three years ago, full of condensation. Well treated aftermarket!
Friday still sunny and warm. Mounted a new LED in an old lamp in the saloon.
Annika has been working for almost three days moving our web to another host.
Saturday it was really full spring. Sunshine and ten C.
Unfolded the bimini to get sunshine in the cockpit and dismantled the steering pedestal to be able to exchange bearings.
Brought the pedestal to Björn’s mother to be able to work indoors.
Late evening we had dismantled most parts, but it was a struggle, didn’t seem to be design for maintenance.
Week 8 18 – 24 February 2019 Helsingborg
Week 9 24 February -3 March 2019 Helsingborg – Stockholm
This week we came back to the winter and snow, at least in Stockholm.
Continued our work to get the steering back in order. One bearing in place and the lever to the rudder welded back in place. Ordered a couple of items to be installed before we cast off in the beginning of April.
Wednesday we had nice weather and worked outdoors to re mount the steering pedestal. We still have not got the bearings to the hub. They are not metric so some delay…
We dismantled the “towel radiator” in the forward head, as corroded as the aft one.
Friday we took the train to Stockholm and Sigtuna, where we on Saturday afternoon had a presentation covering our 13 years cruising.
In the clear and sunny weather we took a long walk Saturday morning, covering most of Sigtuna, the oldest town in Sweden (from around year 1000). Visited two big ruins of churches that had been used for five hundred years before new ones were build in mid 1500.
The presentation was modified to allow time for some ”philosophic” talks about why and how we decide to change our life and go sailing full time. Interesting questions and we found answers to most of them. Nice dinner together with our relatives that had arranged the “show”.
Sunday we woke up to snow fall that later turned into rain. Drove back to Stockholm where we spent another day together with our relatives.
Leaving for Moon on Wednesday.
Week 10 4 – 10 March 2019 Stockholm – Helsingborg
A week filled with many events.
We managed to visit the Boat show and met with Björn’s sibling before we on Tuesday visited Annika’s brother.
Wednesday we took the train back to Helsingborg, with a short stop in Gothenburg between two trains, where Berit turned up for a quick cup of coffee delivering four imperial nuts that we have had problem getting hold of in Helsingborg.
The rest of the week became quite windy, up to storm force several days, but from a good direction that doesn’t disturb us much.
We managed to take out the old rusty pipes to the radiator in the forward toilet.
Last item was the wind vane that we took care of back at Björn’s mothers flat before having dinner with her.
The walk back to Moon had no wind and a nice clear rising moon.
Week 11 11 – 17 March 2019 Helsingborg
A very efficient at windy week with a visit and a tour to Denmark.
During Monday before noon we assembled the steering, but as usual some parts remain until we are able to use the helm. At noon Berit came from Gothenburg and we had lunch on one f the restaurants on the wharf.
Took a long walk through town to show her “our” town. A visit to Råå was included to see the nice village with a harbour and the local chandler.
Next morning we took the ferry to Helsingör and walked around the famous Kronborg Castle, well known thanks to Shakespeare.
Back in Helsingborg we had late lunch/early dinner at a local Thai restaurant.
Wednesday, after having had coffee with Björn’s mother, Berit drove back to Gothenburg. We also bought parts for our new radiator installation before we prepared for the evening slide show at Råå Yacht Club.
Thursday we got delivery of ordered parts, especially one heat exchanger fan to be put under the sofa besides the Refleks furnace. Cut a hole in the plywood front to fit the fan and holes through the bulkhead to the pipes in the toilet. All new surfaces were then sealed with epoxy and then in late afternoon we could start the installation.
We are very pleased to finally have found a solution to the heating problem when not using the Refleks down in the saloon. The fan distributes warm air all the way from the bottom floor making the boat much more evenly warm.
Sunday evening we had a visit from the neighboring tug boat and the evening ended with us doing a one hour tow. A semi sized container ship was towed out of the harbor into the sound. Gale force and quite choppy sea state made it interesting. Amazing how maneuverable these tug boats are with their two 360 degrees rotating propellers.
Week 12 18 – 24 March 2019 Bua – Helsingborg
A slightly mixed week, starting with a two days tour by car to Bua, a 2 hour drive. The rest of the week Björn spent indoors mostly recovering from an intense flu.
Before we on Monday noon started north, we mounted the hub on the steering pedestal to be able to lock the rudder while off the boat.
After a late lunch with our long time friends, we drove to the post office to collect two items for Moon, and then took a walk in the sunny but wind chilled air.
After a pleasant evening, with delicious food and wine, we drove south again shortly after noon together with our friends, but this time in separate cars. We were to continue south after two shorts walks together in Varberg. Still chilly but with a nice clear blue sky.
On our own we did “costal hopping” south, visiting one shipyard to look at their facilities to dry out Moon. Then a nostalgic trip to Glommen where Annika spent all summers up to eight years of age. Last stop was at an outlet shop for outdoor clothes in Falkenberg where Annika bought a pair of shoes.
Wednesday we had lunch at Björn’s mother and we spent some time to sort things out in her storage, to later bring them back to Moon. The day was ended with installing the new battery balancer. We also finalized fastening the batteries in place.
The rest of the week was spent curing Björn’s flu, starting Thursday morning.
Annika has again spent lots of time trying to solve a problem with automatic e-mail to our subscribers. We now hope the final solution has been found. Sorry for the emails send by mistake
The week ended with us hoping that the flu is gone next week and that no one else in the crew gets it
In spite of the inconvenient flu, we still hope to start sailing in little more than a week!
Week 13 25 – 31 March 2019 Helsingborg
An efficient week with cool weather, ended with a pre summer Saturday!
Monday, sorted up everything in the boat to change her from a floating home to a sailing ship! Lots of new food was stored in our lockers and a few remaining items were attended. The wind vane was brought back and mounted on the transom, except for the vane and rudder that was sowed away, waiting for longer passages.
The steering wheel is completed and calibrated to the autopilot, meaning the autopilot knows when the rudder is amidships.
We had a final meeting with the social care for Björn’s mother to make sure that everything can work fine when we are not any longer live in the harbour. More resources are needed when we aren’t shopping, cleaning and doing her laundry.
We got some last minute visitors. Friends from Gothenburg came visiting us for a late dinner and lots of talk about their newly bought Moody 42, brought back from France this winter.
Saturday came with summer temperature and almost no wind.
Hoisted the main to get it fixed to the mast and to tension all battens.
Moon got a very needed clean up on deck and cockpit. Moon looks very tidy and eager to get going.
Sunday brought winter back again with gale force from the North West. We keep our sea legs even in harbour!
Had a farewell dinner with Björn’s mother, cleaned the car and left it in hers garage for the summer and walked back to Moon.
Hopefully the forecast with south easterly for Tuesday will come true and we can get a comfortable ride to the north.A week of almost full spring! But some cool days in between with sunshine every second day. The wind was more or less from south and moderate.
Monday started with buying some more tools to make a screw come lose for the brake in the steering system. The design is clever and looking nice, but hopeless to maintain and service. Five hours and the shaft finally came lose.
Tuesday we visited a store that sold bearings and hydraulics. They helped us getting the bearings out of the hub. We bought some new bearings and they didn’t charge us for the work!
Wednesday we made some carpeting work. Two new platforms in front of the two doors at Björn’s mothers place, to reduce the step out to the terrace.
We also had to cut a weld on the arm to the rudder to be able to get the lower bearing out of the pipe. Again not a very user-friendly design!
Thursday a day at the boat. Used the high temperature and filled water in our tanks. We have to do that once a month. In the evening we were invited to our boat neighbour, to their house in northern Helsingborg. A pleasant evening with nice food and lots of chatting about cruising.
Friday we unfold the tarp above the main on the boom to vent out accumulated moisture. Looked quite ok and the stack pack was almost dry. Took the car to Råå to pick up our two replaced navlights. Took a long walk along the beach and then up high on the field to get back to the car. Bright sunshine. But a bit chilly. Back in the harbour we covered the main again and drove to Björn’s mother for dinner..
Saturday we unfurled the two headsails to vent these guys too. They looked as if we had used them yesterday! We really felt it was time to go sailing.
Continued with the steering pedestal rest of Saturday and Sunday at Björn’s mother and had our meals there in between.
The nice weather made it possible to have coffee outdoors for the first time this year.
Annika & Björn