Christmas again
Posted On Friday, 24 December 2010 at at 17:50 by Kapten IngerupSo much has happened since last year’s celebration. It’s now more than a year since we crossed the Atlantic with the ARC and yet it feels like yesterday. I still think a lot about all the good times we had together with our new friends. But it is also nice to celebrate Christmas with my relatives and eat all the traditional food. Right now it’s very cold in Sweden and we have lots of snow, it’s beautiful how the white surroundings lightens up the dark hours and make it possible to go skiing in the moonlight. I’m constantly being reminded of how incredible stunning Sweden can be and I realize that sometimes it’s really good to be home.
To all our sailor friends; we still think of you, miss you a lot and wish you all the best!
Sofia and I wish all our readers a Merry Christmas!
/The Captain
Ashore in Underpants or Offshore in Bikini Pants?
Posted On Monday, 29 November 2010 at at 13:14 by First Mate
Christmas is right around the corner, I can feel it. It is very cold, around -10 degrees, the snow is crackling when walking in the beautiful winter city Stockholm. For me it is very exciting experiencing winter again, first time in two years. Last year this time of the year was not spent shivering with cold looking for underpants, it was spent tanning in bikini pants onboard Cantare on our way to the Carribean. Contrasts? Indeed!
ARC 2010 started last Sunday the 21st of November. 234 yachts left Las Palmas headed for St Lucia just as we did one year ago....ONE YEAR AGO?!!? It's crazy, already one year passed since we crossed the starting line in Las Palmas and headed for the 23 days long adventure to Carribean. Time is moving by so unbelievably quick, in fact it's slightly scaring me. However, they say time flies when you're having fun and I'm definitely having fun!
Want to know more about ARC 2010? Click here
With Love/First Mate Sofia
Hard work to do
Posted On Thursday, 11 November 2010 at at 22:15 by Kapten IngerupCantare is out of the water and back in my parents' barn. When she came up her hull was covered with barnacles, dad spent at least an hour with the pressure washer before she was reasonable clean, luckily I was in Gothenburg that weekend. Then came the boring task of unloading all the stuff. Some of it I store in my parents' basement some of it I brought to my new apartment and a lot of it I threw away. I found some disgusting leftovers under one of the bunks, it looked a bit like a butter package but I'm not sure and some of the rusty tins had holes in them. I think you can imagine what an unpleasant task it was to sort it out. Every time I took something away from Cantare I felt sad, it felt like I was tearing apart my home. Leaving my best friend naked and vulnerable. At the same time it amazed me that we actually lived on her for a whole year, she isn't that big, but nevertheless we managed to fill her with everything we needed and a bit more (I found a lot of things that we never used). The fact that she has been on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean is sometimes hard to grasp even for me. When Sofia falls in love with our capital I'm falling in love all over again with Cantare, my beautiful adventurer who took me safe back to Sweden. How I miss waking up to freedom and possibilities.
After a sad weekend when making Cantare ready for the winter I decided to plan another trip, not too far away in the future, otherwise I won't survive. The beautiful nature of Scotland has lured me for a long time, I think it's time to go there next summer. Cantare and Nessie might like each other and I'll see what it's like to go north instead of south, Iceland is still in my mind.
When I spoke to Emelie the other day she told me that they had decided not to sail to Sweden next summer, instead they are going with Alan's new yacht to Scotland. What a coincident, reunion in Scotland next year then. Just need to get Cantare ready for another North Sea crossing. Now I have a lot to do again. / Captain Ingerup
Mallorca – Seeing Summer and Yachts again
Posted On Monday, 1 November 2010 at at 23:38 by First Mate
Last week I was very fortuned having the opportunity to experience somewhat summer again. I got a week off the hectic city life and managed to convince my very best friend Marie to join me on an unspecified charter trip to Mallorca. I had never visited Mallorca and really wanted to go there, not only because people speak well about travelling there, also due to the fact that Palma, the capital, is home to large marinas. In Palma de Mallorca a number of yachts gather to prepare before crossing to the Caribbean after having spent the summer in the Med. Among other yachts Varsovie was there. Do you remember Varsovie? The 100ft Swan we were lucky to go racing with in the Heineken Regatta on St Martin. (Sending an extra thankful thought to our Alaskan stalker for getting to know Varsovie’s Skipper Patrick on a dive course…:-) )
One day we went to Palma to visit the city and the Varsovie guys, Skipper Patrick, and his crew: Ian, Inness and Alexa. So much fun seeing them again and being reminded of the fantastic sailing year I’ve just experienced. For Marie the visit in Palma maybe wasn’t as exciting as for me, but I think Marie, to some extent, got a greater understanding of the importance and meaning of sailing in my life.
Around the same time as we landed in Stockholm again Varsovie took off towards the Caribbean. Guess who is kind of jealous?!? I am, big time! Instead of feeling the breeze in my hair while sailing out of the Med I have spent almost 14 hours at the office today …. I wont complain about my working hours though, after a week of total relaxation and sangria drinking I had to get back in business. And by the way, besides sailing I’m starting to think that doing business is my other passion in life! Over and Out/First Mate Sofia
I'm falling in love...
Posted On Saturday, 9 October 2010 at at 18:14 by First Mate
I'm falling in love, I'm falling in love with my capital, Stockholm. So far this city appears at its very best. There is a song describing my feelings very well. It is a Swedish song called "Stockholm i mitt hjärta" a literal translation would be "Stockholm in my heart". Below you find the lyrics, have a very nice weekend! Love/First Mate Sofia
Stockholm i mitt hjärta - Lasse Berghagen
Solljuset stiger ur havet,
spelar i koppar och glas,
Stockholm i gryningen strålar
som var hon en gyllene vas,
med blommor från Östersjöns stränder,
med ängsört från ekarnas sal,
en skönhet på urbergets stränder,
Mälarens ljuva vestal.
Refräng:
Stockholm i mitt hjärta,
låt mig besjunga dig nu,
åldrad i ungdomlig grönska,
öarnas stad, det är du!
Av städer jag känner i världen
är du den stad som fått allt.
Genom Mälarens kärlek till havet
en blandning av sött och salt.
Solljuset dansar på fjärden,
det glittrar för stort och för smått,
för träkåken uppe på Söder
men även för Konungens slott.
Det porlar i fiskrika strömmar,
det valsar i Mälarens famn,
det skymmer och skänker oss drömmar
sjungandes sjöstadens namn.
Refräng:
Stockholm i mitt hjärta, etc.
Skymningen kom i en smekning
av kvällsbrisens skälvande hand.
Nu rodnar solen i fönstren
på Söder och Norr Mälarstrand.
Säj, hör du musiken och skratten
från Djurgården och Gröna Lund,
en lovsång till Stockholm i natten
från skärgårdens vikar och sund.
Refräng:
Stockholm i mitt hjärta, etc.
